how to beat afrin nasal addiction

I had zero idea that it could get that bad. 

I am a 22 healthy, active girl- no drugs or smoking, ever and for about a year now, I have been experiencing what I think is, nasal swelling. Six months in, my stuffy nose would come and go, nothing I really noticed. The last months have been really bad; it's been a total snow ball effect to where now if I don't take anything, my nasal passages close completely and I can only breathe out of my mouth but even that's hard as it feels like my lungs don't feel like they fully expand. So I've been seeing a highly acclimated allergist and have done all the tests and trials. We ruled out asthma and allergies. I've gotten steroid shots to my hips, spent a lot of money on inhalers and compound nasal sprays. As one of my treatment procedures, I had to take Afrin for only three days. My physician was VERY adamant on it only being three days. It worked WONDERS!! While EVERY thing else failed, the painful shots, the money thrown away on stuff that didn't work, Afrin did it. I was FINALLY able to sleep in peace and not have to worry about waking up, gasping for air. I could FINALLY work out and not have to stop because I couldn't breathe, or take many pauses because I couldn't breathe while eating.

I've been using Afrin for about three months, as directed, 2 sprays in each nostril every 10-12 hours. I find myself scheduling the 10 hours out but sometimes I forget to take it in the morning so I spend the day with a clogged nose until I allow myself to take it at night. Sometimes I take it before the 10 hours, mainly, if I mess up the schedule, I don't want to sleep knowing that I'll need it before my alarm goes off. I'm starting to become more aware of myself and my habits of ALWAYS having a bottle right by my bed, one in my car, I MUST take it on trips, and I've even had nightmares where I couldn't breathe and I can't get to my Afrin. 

I'm scared because now I notice that I get an acute feeling anxiety after I take Afrin (it always only lasts for about 10 min.) and I'm becoming frustrated that this method, though the wrong one, is among many short-term, temporary solutions and don't provide a permanent fix. I've never experienced anything like this- I've never had a medical issue and it's scary that what I feel like is something simple, is taking control of my life.

I'll try the Netti Pot, saline solutions, anything to help me combat this. 

I have been addicted to Afrin (and other generic brands) for over 18 years.  During both my pregnancies I became so stuffed up that I would wake in the middle of the night and feel claustrophobic.  This type of panic is scary even though my mind would tell me that I could still breathe through my mouth I couldn't stand the pressure on my sinus area.  I watched my mother have an Afrin addiction all my life and I had always told myself "that will never happen to me".  hahaha. My mother loved the stuff and said she couldn't live without it.  Even having my dad go to the store several times late at night to get her bottles of Afrin because she feared running out.  After my babies were born my sinuses were not the same.  Stuffed up constantly.    So I started using Afrin because it worked so well, I could breathe all day long.  After reading all the posts about other's addiction to this spray I don't feel so bad.  I'm actually nodding my head when I'm reading all these people's stories cuz I've been there.  Last year my mom started having horrible bleeding through her nose.  Enough bleeding to where she actually had to be rushed to the hospital for treatment.  After decades of using the Afrin the doctors told her she would have to get off the spray completely, use a humidifier, and start a saline nose spray.  The bleeding scared her so much she was willing to go cold turkey.  I couldn't believe she could actually do it.  My mom has been Afrin free for 11 months and she feels really good about this since she has only had one light nose bleed since leaving the Afrin.  She still continues to use the humidifier every night for fear of a relapse.  Two weeks ago I decided it was time to do the same.  However, the humidifier didn't work as well as I thought ( I want instant results, ha ha) but I kept it on for a few nights.  I went cold turkey - no Afrin at all, but lots of saline. Truthfully the saline doesn't do much except give me a cool feeling that helps me get through rough spots.  Instead of spraying the saline, I drench a Q-tip with it and then rub the inside of my nostrils with it.  Seems to work better.  First couple days of going cold turkey were very difficult but I was determined.  Tomorrow will be two weeks and  my nose is clear and I can breathe so good, however sleeping at night is a whole different story.  If I sleep on my right side my right nostril becomes super plugged, same if I sleep on my left side left nostril becomes plugged but not as bad.  I favor sleeping on my right side so this is a bit of a problem.  But I don't use the Afrin (although I have come close a few times) and suffer through it .  I have not slept in the same room as my husband these last two weeks because I can only assume that my snoring will keep him up.  My sister, who was also addicted for a short time, told me yesterday that it takes about a full month for sinuses to get to their pre-afrin state.  I hope this is true because I would love to be able to breathe through my nose while I sleep.  I know some people say Afrin should be out-lawed but I can't imagine going through a severe cold without it.  However, I will try to hold off using it through a bad cold, but if I need it I know to only use for three days and nothing more.   There are many people with this problem so you are not alone.  Good luck to everyone out there that are struggling.  I kept telling myself if my mother can do it anyone can.  

ive had this problem since i was 8 im allergic to dust trees cats flowers , pretty much everything .I always quit and get off it for a year or 2 but its so hard to go through a cold when you know a temporary solution is afrin. ill try a few days when i get sick until i cant take it anymore and i swear to myself ill stop after the 3 days but i never do.im on day 2 of stopping again and i want to use the spray so bad becuse my asthma is also acting up. it would be so much easier to get off it if i was sedated or something lol

I didn't realize it was that serious until I read these posts. I'm suffering from the same problem for 3 month now. 

Got sinus during flu season  and I've been using Afrin ever since. I wake up at night few times, because I just can't breathe. I spray it 4-5 shots each nostril and then go to sleep again until I wake up with stuffed nose in a few hours. I use 3-4 times during the day.  Dosage went up from 1-2 sprays each nostril to 4-5. I have bottle of Afrin almost everywhere at work, home, car, jacket .. everywhere. Today I decided to stop using it and actually went online to search if anybody had the same addiction/ abuse problem. I'm surprised how many people are suffering from this drug for so many years. It's been almost a day without Afrin and my nose hopelessly stuffed and head is about to explode.  From what I've read I should brace for 3-5 days of suffering,that what it apparently takes to get rid of this addiction. 

I had been addicted to Afrin for 8 years when I finally came up with a solution that helped me kick the habit. I slowly started watering down the Afrin. A little more water each time and before I knew it, I was off of it. It took approx 9 weeks to follow through with this but I feel so much better off of it! :)

I had the sinus surgery and it was great for the first year. Now I am experiencing the same stuffy nose that I had prior to the operation. I had a deviated septum and a cyst in one of the sinus cavities that was corrected and removed. I went back to afrin and this stuff should be illegal. My doctor says that it should be dispensed with a prescription only. After repeated use of this product it reverse effects your sinuses and leaves you stuffy with no relief. No more of this poison for me. Good luck with the surgery!

I was addicted on and off for the last 13 yrs. I finally beat it by taking Walgreens sudafed brand. It's been 4 days and I haven't used any nose spray. And I've stopped the sudafed. Breathing through both nostrils just fine. I can't believe it took me this long to finally make a change. It was apart of my life so long, it just felt normal. I finally realized I had a problem when I was obsessed with timing future spray sessions.

I really appreciate all of you for posting your stories.  I have used the stories as motivation to kick this afrin habit.  I used afrin a few times off and on several years ago but did not get addicted.  However, I had been using pretty much daily for the last year and a half until I just could not be controlled anymore.  I googled how to stop using afrin 2 days ago, found this board and stopped using it.  Over the last 8 months, I had to use the green extra strenth bottle to get a complete clear nose and the last 2 months or so I was going thru a bottle every 2-3 days.

Tomorrow will be my 3rd day and it has been rough so far.  I had a terrible night sleep the first night and I have not been able to taste anything I eat.  It also is very uncomfortable to drink feeling like my head is going to burst.  Yesterday, I had very short moments where each side would get about 10-20% clear, but then it would go back to 0% for a couple hours at a time. 

Tonight, I had somewhat of a breakthrough.  The breathing on my left side went to almost 100% out of nowhere.  I can't believe how excitied I got over a clear nose even if it was just one side.  That was a few hours ago and it has since went down to about 60%, but I was able to taste my bbq dinner. 

I am hopeful that over the next days and weeks my nose will clear completely.

Thanks for your post.  I have one question though.  When using saline with the Afrin, did you dilute the Afrin itself with it or use the saline just before or after using Afrin.  Only been using it for a couple months and got somewhat hooked using it before sleeping after a bout with a bad sinus infection.

The only problem is that many do not want to have to get bronchitis to quit.  I too was addicted to the point of having to use every 20 min. As others say, the saline and steroid sprays did not help.  I thought I had to do it the old fashion way and just suck it up and live 2 or 3 days with complete nasal pluggage in both nostrils.  But I luckily was prescribed something by and alergist that is so basic that I could not belive more people do not know about it. 

PREDNISONE!!!

Guarateed that if you go on a high dosage of prednisone while trying to quit cold turkey, after about an hour you will start to feel relief.  Stay on the pills as long as you need to kick the habit.  Much easier than mixing solutions or quitting cold turkey and less time consuming.  Better yet prednisone is cheap, I was able to get a good supply for only 4 dollars with no insurance at the pharmacy.  Prednisone is also a good source for preventing allergies.  I take some before I go around dogs (which I am really allergic to) and I am fine the entire time.  Some may require higher dosage (40 or 60 mg).  There is a tradoff however.

Prednisone is a steroid drug that can over a long period of time weaken bones etc.  One is supposed to gradually taper off of prednisone bc of the side effects.  Effects include sleeplessness, anxiousness, kidney pain or stomach pain if not taken with food.  For me the tradoff was easy to kick the habit of afrin or to be around dogs without being miserable.  I obviously would suggest consulting a doctor as a prescription must be called in.  I have been searching anywhere to find if there are serious long term effects of coming on and off of prednisone.  As of now I have found nothing, nevertheless I am still going to go into a doctor and discuss my prednisone usage just to be safe.  As for your initial use to kick afrin.  Just one small bottle will help you out I bet.  Check it out you wont be disappointed.  If you use it and it works for you.  Spread the word. 

I was addicted to Afrin for 10 years.  I used it at bedtime so I could get a good night's sleep.  Without it I could not sleep. Finally I decided that I had to stop it.  What did I do?  I switched to  the Walgreens formulation for Claritin-D (240 mg of pseudoephrine sulfate nasal decongestant and 10 mg of loratadine an antihistamine).  It worked just as well as Afrin.  After a few weeks of nightly use, I felt that I didn't need that decongestant any more, and for the last several months I have used nothing.  You see, it is not hard to get off of Afrin at all.

After being at work realizing that I probably do have a nose spray addiction- I decided to google it. and HOLY COW this has scared me to death realizing people have used it for 30 years. I am probably on my 2 1/2 month and can't sleep without waking up in the middle of the night and have to spray. After reading this.. I WILL suffer through all of that from now on! Thank you so much for sharing your stories as I will not let myself continue to do so!

Glad I realized what I was doing sooner rather than later! Thank you!

I've used Afrin whenever I've had a cold. This started when I was in grade school/middle school and my mother made me take some because I was so horribly congested. I became addicted once in 2006ish where I was using it continuously for over a month. My brother told me to stop because I was addicted. I think I just stopped cold turkey and it sucked but I survived. Since then I never wanted to become dependent on it again so would try to stick to the 3 day rule. I did this when I was pregnant with my daughter in 2010 and had a cold in my first trimester. I was so afraid of hurting her that I just had to live with the congestion after the three days, but luckily the cold wasn't too bad and it went away relatively quickly.

A year or so ago I had a sinus infection, and my doctor said that I could use the Afrin for up to a week, but after that I should wean myself off of it by only doing one nostril. This seemed to work just fine... as long as I could breathe out of one side I could survive (I had also been on antibiotics for the infection, so the congestion started to subside because of that as well).

Now, I'm pregnant with twins. I got a horrible cold from my daughter right after Christmas (at least I'm in my second trimester this time). Even if I weren't pregnant, this cold was awful!! I was so congested, even Afrin wouldn't touch it for two or three days. Steam did nothing, Sudafed did nothing. I had to sleep sitting straight up. I finally got a warm mist humidifier and it seemed to help a little (by this time I was three days into the cold, so it was probably getting better on its own as well). I continued to use Afrin for a week. Luckily for me I was on school vacation (I'm a paraprofessional) and I was getting plenty of rest and relaxation and started to get better. I decided to try the single nostril technique again. I would only spray on the left side. My right was slightly stuffy, but after a day it was tolerable. I would have some restless nights when I would lie down, so I tried to sleep sitting up. But then after three days I was struck with horrible sciatic (back) pain due to my sleeping position. That day was so bad I could hardly walk. I rested when I got home from work but I really, REALLY wanted to be able to lie down and sleep that night so I took Afrin in both nostrils. I had the BEST night of sleep I had had in weeks and my back felt so much better the next day.

The next night, however, the rebound congestion started. I had used Afrin in the evening (around 6 pm) but I fell asleep on the couch and when I tried to go to bed around 9, I couldn't breathe! I said to myself that obviously I need to kick this habit now, otherwise I will be on a vicious cycle. I waited (or rather suffered through) the next couple of hours until midnight when I thought it would be ok to use the Afrin again in one nostril (the right, this time since I had previously done the left). I got maybe four hours of interrupted sleep sitting straight up on the couch. The next day (yesterday) I had to stay indoors with my 2 year old and try to not go insane from the congestion. The weather was yucky and I didn't feel like going anywhere especially carting her around. I still only sprayed on the right side, but I found that I was having to use it every 6-8 hours, and I would have a lot of mucus running down that would cause me to sneeze and then my passages would get clogged. Around midday my left nostril started to ease up at least. I took Sudafed and Tylenol, and used a little saline on that side and it felt pretty good. I wasn't able to fully breathe, but it was enough to not feel like I was suffocating.

Reading posts around the Web made me realize that the first few days of kicking this habit were going to be the hardest. I want to do what's right for my babies, so hopefully I can persevere and do this. Luckily I have a wonderful husband who is tremendously helpful. Last night was a little better, I slept for a few hours while the football game was on, then for about 4-5 more hours after midnight. I've also started to dilute the Afrin with saline. I measured what was left in the bottle, then made a 3:1 ratio (3 parts Afrin to 1 part saline). So day 2 will hopefully be more tolerable than day one... I've already diluted the Afrin a little more. I plan to do this until I don't need it.

It's so difficult because I also have anxiety and so I feel like I'm suffocating if I can't breathe through my nose. Being pregnant makes it worse... pregnancy causes nasal passages to swell anyway, and I swear it's twice as bad with two babies in there. I'm actually thinking that being back at work tomorrow will help me to keep my mind off of it... being up and around doing stuff, as opposed to sitting on the couch or at the computer, will help clear things up.

I have an OB appointment on Wednesday, so if things are not going well by then I will be able to talk to him about it. Until then, wish me luck!!

I had been hooked on nasal spray for 6 good years, i wasnt aware that i was addicted until i bumped in to blogs like these. i then accidentally left one of my nasal spray's at my boyfriend's place (it happened to be the only one i had at the time) it was then that i decided that i would quit using it. I was addicted to Sinutab and Drixine, i slept just ok the first night, not as horrid as it was for other people as i noticed when i read through the different blogs; but other nights were more pleasant than others. when i was clogged up, at night changing sleeping positions helped, during the day walking around would help. but for that extra boost i'd also browse the net for success stories of nasal spray addicts. DO NOT KEEP ANY 'just in case" BOTTLE IN YOUR HOUSE!!!!

It was fairly much simpler than i thought it would be over the years when i kept "suspending" letting go of the spray, It has now been 2 great weeks and I feel amazing. I will never ever use a nasal spray, my dependency on the nasal spray's made me prisoner. aint no way im going back!

feels good walking around without a little bottle in my pocket :) :)... Hope whoever is still struggling finds the will power to let go and be free

Just a few days ago I got slammed out of nowhere with some ridiculous never before seen allergies.  I know the pollen count is high right now, but I've never experienced such misery before!  I had been taking OTC antihistamines daily for the last year (Claritin, Zyrtec, Allegra) and have been able to maintain with just that.  Sunday night, in search of relief for the unbearable nasal congestion I was dealing with, I went to Wal-Mart in search of relief.  I came across the Equate Nasal Spray (Oxymetalozine).  And sure enough, just like everyone else has attested to..it works wonders!  However, after doing some research online and coming across this thread and many others like it, I've began to realize the potential harm that can result from overuse.

This is the first time I've used this stuff in my life and today is day 3 of the recommended 3-day cycle.  The congestion got so bad today in one of my classes I felt ready to pull it out and take a hit in front of the entire classroom...  Anyways..I went to a doc after school today and she gave me some Nasonex, and recommended that I stop taking the spray immediately.  So tonight I'll be trying a new regimen of Allegra + Nasonex + Sudafed and hopefully I won't need any spray.  Wish me luck!