Anyone got any good nasal decongestants?

xzombie · Post by **xzombie** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 12:34 pm

Tried Rhinocort and Nasonex. Gave me nose bleeds. Can't believe nobody's mentioned plain old sudefed. Only thing that works for me except that if I take it for too long I start to get jittery. But they have a new version now that can't be used to make crystal meth so maybe that won't be so bad!

Other than that I used to wear the breathright strips (also too many broken noses) but quit since I started my cpap. I'm just coming off a cold so I've been taking sudefed. Anyone use the strips with thier cpap - or does that sound like overkill?

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 12:35 pm

xzombie wrote:Anyone use the strips with thier cpap - or does that sound like overkill?

If it helps your therapy, it's never overkill.

WAFlowers · Post by **WAFlowers** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 2:21 pm

xzombie wrote:Tried Rhinocort and Nasonex. Gave me nose bleeds.

Rhinocort could cause nose bleeds, that's why Rhinocort Aqua was developed.

Can't believe nobody's mentioned plain old sudefed. Only thing that works for me except that if I take it for too long I start to get jittery.

It is contraindicated for hypertension (high blood pressure) which shows up so frequently with apneics. Myself included.

sleepy gal · Post by **sleepy gal** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 5:51 pm

Hi Slpyhead, please keep us posted as to how you make out with the RF treatment of your turbinates.....I am considering doing this also, and would like to know how you make out. Have read (thanks to RG) that others have had good success with nasal surgery.

Snore no more, Sure hope you can find a solution, lots of good ideas posted. But there seem to be some folks like me, hopefully not you, that are resistant to almost everything! The Full Face Mask is my current answer to nasal congestion.

snork1 · Post by **snork1** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:05 pm

The "D" in Claritin-D, which is basically the same as sudafed, does a nice job of keeping me awake and jittery for about 24 hours. But then I only drink tea and avoid coffee, so I am fairly sensitive to speedy stuff.

I add myself to the votes for the saline RINSE. NOT the cute little saline spritzers that moisten your sinuses, but throwing some salt and baking soda in warm water and squeeze-bulbing a good flush-out up your nose. (exact details may vary with individuals)

I do it twice a day and its impressive how it knocks down allergies and reduces colds and other congestion.

Of course major nose and sinus surgery also helped considerably in MY case.

eblack · Post by **eblack** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 8:26 pm

I have experienced years of sinus infections prior to cpap and allergies and just plain stuffed nose since. Of course I have become dependent upon afrin several times, but had no trouble breaking that dependency simply by not using for 3 days. Hey, who needs to breathe? So throughout the years (I have 7+ years on cpap) of the many things that I have tried, I am now using Nasonex, 2 sprays in each nostril once per day, and Astelin, 2 sprays in each nostril twice per day. This seems to be working rather well. These were prescribed by my allergist.

Jere · Post by **Jere** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:45 pm

I was able to stop using the breathe right strips soon after starting CPAP. For me, the pressure does a much better job than the strips.

As for nose bleeds from these steroid sprays, I had the same problem and my ENT kept switching products until finding one that works. Different kinds must work better for different noses.

My ENT recommended saline solution that is just water (well boiled) plus table salt (2 tsps per quart of water). Never tried adding baking soda. What is it supposed to do? What is the best recipe?

NasonexAO + Asteline = relief.

Pretty much the same time I started using CPAP I was able to stop taking Ambien (but that is another story), which was a MAJOR victory.

Cheers!

susanhhill · Post by **susanhhill** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:15 pm

It was the Astelin that tipped the scales.

Astelin tipped the scales for me too. I had been using Flonase and decongestant at night and I was getting frustrated because it wasn't working. My dr. gave me the Astelin(still w/decongestant) and I haven't had a problem since!

yellowcason · Post by **yellowcason** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 8:29 am

I use Afrin (available otc) only i dont sniff when i spray it in my nose.. that way it only gets on the inside of my nose and the stuffyness goes right away. Ive been using it for 7 months as needed and havent had any rebound effects

SnoreNoMore2005 · Post by **SnoreNoMore2005** » Sat Oct 08, 2005 8:17 pm

I've tried Rhinocort, Nasonex, and Flonase. My understanding is that all three are synthetic steroids. I'm still using Nasonex which seems to have some limited benefits. I'm concerned about what the long term effects of squirting steroids up my nose every night. My nose is big enough and doesn't need any extra muscles.

Anyone know any more about this?

I'd like to try the Astelitin.

SnoreNoMore2005