I've tried Flonase and it did not work for me. I have now ordered Sinus Buster and will give it a try. If that doesn't work, I will go cold turkey and just use saline. Once your addicted to the nose spray, it will be easier to get hooked on it. When I get off this stuff, I will never use nose spray again!
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i have found myself using Afrin everyday for almost 2 months. I cannot go a day without it and feel I am definitely addicted to it. I believe my options right now are fairly limited, because I am 36 weeks pregnant. My midwife knows i use afrin. Tonight is by far the worst so far. Usually I spray before bed and when I wake up. Few occassions require more. tonight I have had to spray one nostril 2 additional times in only a few hours because it is so stuffy. i recently started using the breathe right strips and sudafed to try to help...i even tried using saline spray with no relief. at this point, i know i don't want to keep using afrin, but find it is the only thing that is working still. i try to not use it, but breathing is more important at this point. hopefully i will only have to endure a few more weeks of this and then once i have the baby i can get some prescription meds to help. i will try the dilluting thing because i have an empty bottle....i am willing to do just about anything after i have the baby to get back to normal. i had always been able to use afrin in the past with a cold or whatever for a few days with no problems. then around christmas i got sick and have needed it ever since. i am unhappy because of this and just want to be able to breathe again on my own!!
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I had this same problem, couldn't breathe still a week after the sinus infection was gone. I tried to go cold turkey and that only lasted a few hours. Here's how I finally did it- pick one nostril and use it ONLY in that nostril and ONLY when you really really need it. This way you can always be getting a little bit of air, and it allows one nostril to heal. Then, when the nostril you aren't spraying is clear enough, stop using Afrin altogether. I started this on Sunday night, and now (Monday morning) my left nostril is clear with no medicine and I'm just waiting for my other one to clear up.
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"pick one nostril and use it ONLY in that nostril and ONLY when you really really need it. This way you can always be getting a little bit of air, and it allows one nostril to heal. "
This=win. Thanks! Worked great!
This=win. Thanks! Worked great!
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A friend of mine recently introduced me to the Netti-pot. There was a special on Oprah about it. It's like a teapot that you mix a lukewarm saline solution in, pour in one nostril and all the mucus comes out the other. It works wonders. I use it in the morning to empty my sinuses so I don't have to blow my nose throughout the day.
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I used Afrin nasal spray for the first time this year due to extremely bad hay fever this year. Never used nasal spray of any kind before. Within 10 days I am suffering "addiction". I am very unhappy. I realize that the fault is mine for not reading the label and believing the "3 day" limit warning. But I feel that this product should not be on the OTC shelf. The FDA has failed us by allowing this to be placed on the market.
Afrin and the other spray companies seem to have a business model built on the heroin dealing trade - the first taste is free. They know you will overuse the product because the hay fever symptoms last weeks, not 3 days. They know therefore you will become "addicted" and be forced to buy more and more of their product to be able to function. Guaranteed sales!
While I am to blame for my situation, this should not have been available OTC. It should have required a doctor's oversight and proper administration of correct amounts of the stuff.
Afrin and the other spray companies seem to have a business model built on the heroin dealing trade - the first taste is free. They know you will overuse the product because the hay fever symptoms last weeks, not 3 days. They know therefore you will become "addicted" and be forced to buy more and more of their product to be able to function. Guaranteed sales!
While I am to blame for my situation, this should not have been available OTC. It should have required a doctor's oversight and proper administration of correct amounts of the stuff.
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I feel everybodies pain. I am in day 1 of cold turkey right now. Ive been addicted to Afrin (specifically the All Night variety) for the better part of a decade. I dont even remember why I started using it in the first place, probably a cold when I was a teen. Ive gotten off it once before in the past but that didnt last for long. I feel like c**p right now, but know it will get better. I got 0 sleep last night and am in that completely stopped up, ears popping at every swallow stage. Not sure how Ill sleep tonight. It really does just fudge up a week of your life when you decide to get off of it.
I am just tired of needing it all the time. Like alot of others have posted, I have spare bottles everywhere, car, around the house etc. I literally can not leave the house without a bottle in my pocket. I know its not the same as being an alcoholic or addicted to drugs etc, but it feels pretty bad right now. Makes me feel better to know others are going/have gone through the same thing. Ill be glad when its over.
I am just tired of needing it all the time. Like alot of others have posted, I have spare bottles everywhere, car, around the house etc. I literally can not leave the house without a bottle in my pocket. I know its not the same as being an alcoholic or addicted to drugs etc, but it feels pretty bad right now. Makes me feel better to know others are going/have gone through the same thing. Ill be glad when its over.
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FINALLY after trying just about everything imaginable, my husband was able to end his addiction.
We have been married for almost 9 years and I swear he had a bottle of Afrin in his pocket when he walked down the isle to marry me. He had been working with one doctor after another to no avail. Steroids, injections, pills, nasal washes - nothing worked. Several of the doctors suggested surgery (gasp!).
Finally - he went to see a doctor at our local university in the ENT department. She advised him to order a kit from Rhinostat. That was about 3 weeks ago. I can hardly believe it, but he is finally free of that terrible problem. We no longer have to stop at convenience stores when he runs out of spray.
All I know is that he was able to quit without any suffering an misery. Thank goodness for that product - that's all I can say.
Glenna L.
We have been married for almost 9 years and I swear he had a bottle of Afrin in his pocket when he walked down the isle to marry me. He had been working with one doctor after another to no avail. Steroids, injections, pills, nasal washes - nothing worked. Several of the doctors suggested surgery (gasp!).
Finally - he went to see a doctor at our local university in the ENT department. She advised him to order a kit from Rhinostat. That was about 3 weeks ago. I can hardly believe it, but he is finally free of that terrible problem. We no longer have to stop at convenience stores when he runs out of spray.
All I know is that he was able to quit without any suffering an misery. Thank goodness for that product - that's all I can say.
Glenna L.
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Like most of you here, I too fell victum to Afrin. It lasted for a year or so. I just thought I had all of sudden come down with a sinus infection that I just could not get tide of. One morning I googled, Pro-long use of Afrin, low and behold, I find out I'm addicted to a drug, an addict. I did not have a sinus problem but an Afrin problem. Not being one that likes to be dependent on anything, I knew I would go cold turkey. That's what I did. I was ready to face the nights of no sleep, breathing through my mouth(dry) and the misery. It was not all that bad actually, I slept on my back, used saline and lip balm. Day by day my breathing got better and better. I'm on my 3rd week of cold turkey, last night was the first 100% free breathing. My days were never all that bad, nights were a challenge. I can now say, going cold turkey was not the nightmare some of the comments here made it seen.
Go cold turkey, be strong and breath freely without the help of another medication.
Go cold turkey, be strong and breath freely without the help of another medication.
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The dilution thing did not work for me.
I was beyond..and even saline with congestion caused more blockage causing me a trip to the emergency room. I just knew something was wrong because this was beyond anything I had ever felt with severe congestion. I had fluid and pain pressure from my tear ducts. A head scan found a infection in my upper sinuses and behind my eyes..close to my brain. So I was on some super antibiotics and an "ear nose and throat" dr. put me on prednisone. That was the best week I've had in years! You feel and breathe great! But it makes you eat like Night of the Living dead..so I put some weight on.
However, I did acquire Hashimoto's disease and hypothyroid during the time I started nasal sprays..so I don't know which came first. I wonder if there was a trigger from using nasal sprays for over 5-6 years !
But whatever you do..get OFF the nasal sprays.
You will feel so much better...and stopping the thoughts like worrying of what you would do if you were ever arrested..You would never survive a night in jail without a bottle of Afrin.
It's the ultimate desperate thought of what if? It's a sucky place to be.
I was beyond..and even saline with congestion caused more blockage causing me a trip to the emergency room. I just knew something was wrong because this was beyond anything I had ever felt with severe congestion. I had fluid and pain pressure from my tear ducts. A head scan found a infection in my upper sinuses and behind my eyes..close to my brain. So I was on some super antibiotics and an "ear nose and throat" dr. put me on prednisone. That was the best week I've had in years! You feel and breathe great! But it makes you eat like Night of the Living dead..so I put some weight on.
However, I did acquire Hashimoto's disease and hypothyroid during the time I started nasal sprays..so I don't know which came first. I wonder if there was a trigger from using nasal sprays for over 5-6 years !
But whatever you do..get OFF the nasal sprays.
You will feel so much better...and stopping the thoughts like worrying of what you would do if you were ever arrested..You would never survive a night in jail without a bottle of Afrin.
It's the ultimate desperate thought of what if? It's a sucky place to be.
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i have the EXACT same problem!! i very rarely breath through my mouth so breathing through my nose to me is a NEED!! i got addicted to nose spray and it really excited me to know how great it worked! Soon, I couldn't SLEEP without spraying! in no time, i had begun taking it to school - realising I needed to use it more and more everyday. My gran had to eventually buy a new small little spray every WEEK for more than 70 bucks. I had tried stopping.. but it was so difficult. I couldnt concentrate, sleep, eat, NOTHING if my nose was blocked!! it was TERRIBLE.. i was using the spray Iliadin. In no time, the chemists realised how often my gran asked for a new bottle and worned her how the sprays chemicals can eat away the bridge of the nose if used too often!! OH HELL that scared me! It is extremely difficult to get off nasal spray once your nose is adapted to it. I would also need some advise PLEEEAAAASSSSSSSEE :-(!! i am finding it so difficult to cope with a blocked nose 247 :-( .. and I dont even know why its blocked!! there's nothing even in my nose!! i blow and blow and NOTHING comes out! : but its soooooo blocked that I can't even get one single whiff of air in through my nostrals!! I have been on all medications and seen ALL doctors and NOTHING is working!!!! HEELLLPPP ME!! :-( o.O
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A friend of mine used a natural nasal spray but I can't remember it's name. I think it contains manuka, cumin and tea tree. They kept going on and on about how it helped them to stop using decongestants. It might be worth looking up.
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Trust me, the 'dilution solution' system works. I will have to say though, starting half/half mix can be a little much to start off with. This is how I got over my need to use:
1. Start with a new bottle of medicated nasal spray.
2. Every day, at the end of the day, I would squirt 4-5 sprays of saline solution into the medicated bottle.
3. Each day, do the same thing (thus replacing what you have used with regular o'l saline.
4. (I know, it takes a couple weeks, but bear with me) ...soon, you will not even feel the need to use it because it is all pure saline.
This is the best way that I found that worked for me, it was very gradual and I knew that I was finally over it when I blew my nose and had a huge blockage come out. It felt like such a relief that I was clear!
Try it, you will not only save yourself a ton of money by not having to go to the doctor to get prescriptions and shots that cost a ton, just one generic bottle of saline...that's it! I would say you could use h2o instead, but the saline keeps the nasal passages moisturized, so maybe h2o and a little saline if it bothers you (but really, the saline can't be worse than the agony of using medicated nasal sprays, right?)
ALSO....do NOT use (I repeat, DO NOT USE) medicated nasal spays after you are off of them, no matter how congested you are!!! I haven't touched them since (just saline spray if my nasal passages are dry). I do not agree with the person who says that each time they have a cold, they use them, then dilute and start over again...it seems ridiculous to go through the weaning process each time you have a cold.
If you want off of using them, then stop using them for good.
Hope this helps!
1. Start with a new bottle of medicated nasal spray.
2. Every day, at the end of the day, I would squirt 4-5 sprays of saline solution into the medicated bottle.
3. Each day, do the same thing (thus replacing what you have used with regular o'l saline.
4. (I know, it takes a couple weeks, but bear with me) ...soon, you will not even feel the need to use it because it is all pure saline.
This is the best way that I found that worked for me, it was very gradual and I knew that I was finally over it when I blew my nose and had a huge blockage come out. It felt like such a relief that I was clear!
Try it, you will not only save yourself a ton of money by not having to go to the doctor to get prescriptions and shots that cost a ton, just one generic bottle of saline...that's it! I would say you could use h2o instead, but the saline keeps the nasal passages moisturized, so maybe h2o and a little saline if it bothers you (but really, the saline can't be worse than the agony of using medicated nasal sprays, right?)
ALSO....do NOT use (I repeat, DO NOT USE) medicated nasal spays after you are off of them, no matter how congested you are!!! I haven't touched them since (just saline spray if my nasal passages are dry). I do not agree with the person who says that each time they have a cold, they use them, then dilute and start over again...it seems ridiculous to go through the weaning process each time you have a cold.
If you want off of using them, then stop using them for good.
Hope this helps!
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