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How I Beat My Afrin Addiction

By tmchap88226427 | 5 posts, last post
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tmchap88226427

So I have been searching and searching on different ways to get off of Afrin. Reading about how hard it is was making me really dread breaking this habit but I knew it had to be done. I started using Afrin when I had a cold, I continued to use it for a week even after my cold was gone and so I realized I needed to stop so I did. Then a few months later I developed a bad sinus infection and went back to the Afrin, only this time I kept using it and this lasted for about 4 months. I became so dependent on it I was using it every few hours. I couldn't go anywhere with out worrying about when ill have to use it next because i can't breath without it. It felt like it was seriously ruling my life and I hated it so much. 

So I read the different ways people quit Afrin and for me personally I wanted it over as soon as possible. I read about Rhinostat and thought ok ill give that a try. But then the next day I just picked up the phone and made an appointment with my doctor that same day. I went in and told him about my problem and if he could help in any way. I wanted to quit cold turkey but at the same time I know I needed some sleep at night so I could function during the day. So I asked him if there was anything he could recommend. He first pointed out different pressure points to press on my body, mainly the head that actually drains and opens your sinuses if you do it enough. That gave relief but very short term. As my first step to getting off the Afrin he prescribed Sudafed and he also gave me an antibiotic to clear up any bacteria since I had been having so many sinus infections. I had mentioned to him that I also used the Afrin for relief of allergies that I recently seemed to have developed so he prescribed Flonase. He then also prescribed Prednisone to use. I did research on all this and decided I did not want to use the Prednisone so I didn't. 

As soon as I got home I gathered up every bottle of Afrin I had in the house and put it all down the drain and in the trash so I wouldn't be tempted. If I was quitting it was gonna be with no further use of this terrible stuff. I was really done with it and it felt very good to throw it all out. I took the Sudafed and Flonase and of course I was still very very stuffy and my sinuses were so closed off, the Sudafed did help a little and although the first night was pretty hard, I got through it and the next day I took the Flonase again and I really could breath through one side perfectly and of course that alternated from side to side. But by the end of the second day going cold turkey with no Afrin at all, I could breath pretty well and slept good that night breathing through my nose. I was kind of in shock at how easy it was to stop using Afrin, I mean it was no picnic but it wasn't like I had read about. I think the Flonase and the Sudafed worked perfectly to ease me off it. This is my third day and I'm still a tiny bit stuffy on one side of my nose but I can breath really well still. It feels AMAZING to not be squirting my nose with that stuff every few hours, I slept through the night last night for the first time in a long time with out waking up to use more Afrin cus my sinuses were so closed off. It feels like a big burden is lifted off me.

It may seem scary to stop but its necessary. That stuff can do damage and its not worth it to let something like this rule your days and your breathing. I would tell anyone who wants to get off it to go to your doctor and get some Sudafed and Flonase because these two things got me through the rebound very quickly, one bad night and it got so much easier and I did it cold turkey, not picking up that bottle once. 

So I just wanted to let everyone know how I did it because I have spent hours searching on how others did it and didn't really find much on how to do it other than weaning off of it, and so for me the Sudafed and Flonase worked so well. My doctor told me within a few days of using the Flonase I probably wouldn't need it anymore once it got me through the rebound. But seeing as how I probably have allergies he said I may need to keep using it. I will probably go off the Flonase and use Benadryl if I do have allergies but I just wanted to clear my system of Afrin and then see if my allergies get better. So Im not sure if this way just worked for only me or if its different for everyone but I just wanted to share my story and maybe this will work for someone else.

Guest

Every few hours? That's crazy. You are/were addicted. I've used it every day for years but I'm not addicted. I only use one half to one squirt at night before bed it helps me get a great nights sleep. I can't use it any more than that or it will cause me to have to use it more. If my nose is plugged in the day I have to use something else. This is just what I do...I'm not a doctor so I can't recommend it. :)

 

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ARLO


I commend you for your achievement. I was also addicted to nasal sprays and kept some with me at all times. I also kept spares in the house, in the car, at work etc.. I managed to beat it using a combination of otc medications, like surafed, and saline nasal sprays. Every once in a while, I feel the need to use it again but resist the temptation and get out the trusty saline.
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erica420


Like you, I've been looking all over the web to find some information on this. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with other people that suffer with with the same thing. I will try your tips and see if it works for me! Erica
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Guest

Great board for sharing tips.  I used for over two years, anywhere from 3 to 10 times a day, a few sprays in each nostril with each time used.  I would even wake up in the middle of the night and have to spray.  For two or three days two weeks ago, one nostril woudl just not open.  One morning I woke up and the other nostril was clear, so I seized the opportunity to get off cold turkey.  I told myself that days of mouth breathing and sleeplessness were ahead of me, but in a few weeks, I would be better.

I have been "clean" for a week and a half. After three days, all the pressure was gone.  The one nostril that tended to always be worse than the other is still a little stuffed at times, but there's virtually no pressure.  each day gets better.  

For the last year, when awake at night because i could not breathe through my nose, I would peruse chats like this, trying to find the miracle solution.  There is no miracle.  To all those suffering, just go cold turkey.  Hunker down and refuse to be smaller than that little white plastic you keep in your nightstand, car, desk, pocketbook, etc.  Free yourself!!!!!  I now sleep through the night and have lost that annoying compulsion of pressing my hand to my pocket to make sure the bottle of afrin was there.  

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fateful bronco

To you I can only say that you are very lucky. Sadly, not all of us are as lucky as you are to simply use a very small amount with no problems.

I for one have been hooked on Afrin for over 6 years now and have tried many times to get off the stuff only to get so frustrated in the middle of the night feeling as though someone filled my nostrils with super glue.

Currently my doctor has me taking Sudafed, twice daily. Astelin twice daily and then Flonase twice daily and I am struggling.

If anything can be taken away from my experience, that would be to never EVER even use Afrin! It is the worst medication there is next to Opioids!
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