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Re: VERY FRUSTRATED!!! My nose is still stuffy!


Posted by SleepyJen on July 25, 2000 at 12:28:44:

In Reply to: VERY FRUSTRATED!!! My nose is still stuffy! posted by Carla on July 25, 2000 at 10:33:42:

Well, you need to plan to spend about 4-5 days stuffed up once you've decided to stop Afrin.

I recommend using a corticosteroid nasal spray, like Nasonex, or Flonase. Start it about a week before you stop the Afrin. Use it twice a day, two squirts per nostril (morning & night works best), even if the Rx is only for once a day.

After a week, taper off the Afrin - it sounds like if you're just doing one squirt in one nostril nightly (which is what I did for a year), you're just going to have to go "cold turkey."

Can you get your hands on a full-face mask? It's better than not being able to use your CPAP. And it will ease you through the transition. Once your nose is fairly normalized, you can taper down the corticosteroid to bedtime usage.

I have also found it helpful to take a Claritin every night. It helps the allergies stay at bay during the night when I am most likely to suffer congestion. You can also use something like Contac, which contains Phenylpropanalamine HCl, another decongestant that does not wire you up like Pseudo-ephedrine (Sudafed) does. All of these will elevate your blood pressure.

Try using a Phenylpropanalamine HCl medication (I think A.R.M. may be a 4-hour version; Contac is the most common 12-hour variety) to ease your transition off the the Afrin. Take the Phenyl. about 2 hours before you plan to go to bed. (You may need to do some label reading at the drugstore to find one that does not contain other stuff)

You can also taper off the Afrin by slowly diluting it more and more with saline nose spray. There is a device available on the Internet to do this; if you search for "hooked on Afrin," you'll probably find it.

I never thought I'd be able to go back to my nose mask, and it took a few weeks for my nose to stabilize without the Afrin. But now I'm not on it, and I use my nose mask every night, without a humidifier. A humidifier is supposed to help keep your nose open, so that's something else that would be worthwhile procuring. A room humidifier may help if you don't have the CPAP humidifier, particularly in winter.

Please feel free to email me if you have further questions! JenPoore@bigfoot.com And good luck - even though Afrin is wonderful, it does take its toll on the body, and, long-term, is not worth it. Stick to it, and you'll find you'll actually sleep better without the Afrin (because Afrin, like Pseudo-ephedrine, makes you hyper).

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