I feel like I can’t get enough air in when I breathe through my mouth, and to get enough I have to draw in a really big breath like I was just exerting myself, which gets my heartrate up so I can’t relax to sleep.
I’m susceptible to all sorts of anxiety and panic attacks, so it may also be a manifestation of those.
I can breathe I can breathe I can BREATHE!!! Still need my sinus stuff every 6 to 8 hours and have a CRAZY sinus headache, but at least I can BREATHE!!! Hallelujah!
Oh, that’s helpful (not!).
Others have already suggested the real Sudafed (not that useless phenylephrine / Sudafed PE crap - you mentioned Sudafed but you didn’t state which variety), and neti pots. A burst of oral steroids (prednisone etc.) if you’re not already on one (your post mentioning steroids wasn’t clear regarding the form you’re using).
Really, it sounds like the nasal sprays you’re using now give you so little, and such brief, relief, that they aren’t worth it. Unfortunately, you may have to “just suck it up” for a few days without them, as awful as it sounds :(, but I sure hope you can at least get the help that QtM described. I’d bet your neti pot / sinus rinse can’t even get to where it needs to go!
FWIW - for many years I was confused as hell as to why anyone would use nasal sprays, or get addicted to them. I sure never used my nose for breathing. Then I had surgery, and realized that thing was good for more than a glasses holder. 
Just another vote for feeling your (late) pain. Been addicted to sprays for probably most of my life, and I will most likely never be unaddicted. (Sorry, doc, prednisone is out, don’t like the side effect).
Anyone who has chronic sinus pain, congestion, drip, etc. and has not found a cause or relief might want to check out the possibility of migraines. After things got to the point of unbearable last year I went to an allergist, who found nothing, but had the sense to point me to a neurologist/headache specialist.
I could not believe it at first - I insisted to the nurse, to the point of being hostile to her, that I had allergies/sinus and that the doctor was just pawning me off on them. But she convinced me. The symptoms are that indistinguishable from actual sinus problems.
But, I still have to use the sprays.
I use the Sudafed PE. I didn’t think you could get any other kind without a prescription. I use the 12 hour stuff though, usually works for a sinus headache, not for the actual congestion though, thanks to the rebound effect.
I’m not taking any kind of oral steroid. I just meant the nasal spray.
They usually do, they were just worthless with the cold. My thing is, I’m trying to get off of them on a day to day basis, so I’m not dependant on them when I don’t have a cold. I was also scared that the increase in how much I’m using them with the cold would result in my becoming dependant on them at a higher frequency then I already am, which would be BAD.
Unfortunately I don’t think my doctor will do it. I emailed her about prednisone last night. We’ll see what she says. I hesistate to forward her QtM’s post, because as a public defender, it’s my ultimate pet peeve when clients come in and say stuff like “my cousin’s roomate is an attorney and he said you should be doing this.” I usually tell them to hire that person then and get the hell out of my office. She’s so cool and is so responsive, I don’t want to piss her off, you know? I refuse to take orders from some unnamed attorney who probably hasn’t even cracked a penal code book since their 1L crim law class. I don’t want her to have that same reaction.
I know, right? They’re like cigs or caffeine or something. Before you use them, you have no idea what you’re missing. After you experience their miracles, however, you wonder how you ever survived without them…
What kind of side effects did you have?
From the prednisone? It makes you severely retain water or gain weight, I’m not sure which. Jerry Lewis had to go on it and complained he looked like a pumpkin.
My husband has been suffering through a really horrible cold. He has scabs all over the inside of his nose. His doctor told him to take real Sudafed (the 12-hour kind), instead of PE, and he started feeling better within hours.
What state are you in? Here in Washington, you have to sign a register and show ID to buy real Sudafed (from a pharmacy), but you don’t need a prescription for it.
Prednisone’s side-effects, while not pleasant, are more of a problem for those who need to take it regularly for months at a time. Brief 5 to 10 day bursts are generally more readily tolerated, and the side-effects generally clear quickly after stopping the medication.
Oh, yeah, a short burst of pred is ok. I’m just leery after having it prescribed for eczema some time ago.
But would’t another round of congestion after the treatment described above, say, due to a cold, just reinitiate the cycle of spray, rebound, spray?
Not if aggressive use of nasal steroids and saline flushes is continued after the burst. The nasal mucosa will continue its progress towards acting like normal nasal mucosa, not tissue that’s on a hair-trigger to swell up like a balloon if it doesn’t get its fix of Afrin or pseudoephedrine NOW.
And as I’ve long-ago discovered, having a cold does not mandate using topical or oral decongestants. Blow your nose for a few days, use more saline rinses, take a steamy shower. It passes.
QtM, who, in keeping with evidence-based medicine, does not generally prescribe or recommend any decongestants or antihistamines of any sort for a cold.
Can you elaborate on this? I know these drugs won’t have any effect on the duration of the cold, but if they relieve the symptoms and make one more comfortable, then why not use them? (bearing in mind rebound, personal health issues proscribing their use, etc.).
Or are you saying they don’t even temporarily relieve the symptoms?
A cold was a bad example. But I’m good and well addicted to the damn sprays, and if I don’t have the thing with me I can’t rest until I find it or buy a new one. I think my psychological attitude towards it would override any physiological intervention. I can’t stand having to breathe through one side of my nose or the “blocked” feeling, whether it’s really there or not.
Bad situation, and to the OP, I’m glad you found relief ! You dodged a bullet.
Against QtM’s recommendation, I wouldn’t dream of trying to get through a sinus cold without the “real” Sudafed. It is pseudoephedrine, and there are usually placeholders in the decongestant aisle - little plastic cards - that you take up to the pharmacy counter. You have to show your ID and sign for it, but you do not need a prescription. (This assumes you’re in the US.)
Pseudoephedrine is a stimulant so keep that in mind at bedtime. I usually take a sleeping pill (Unisom) with the Sudafed or use Nyquil, which contains both pseudoephedrine and a sleep aid (but along with other stuff that you might not need).
I prefer not to get the 12- or 24-hour kind because then you’re stuck with it if it doesn’t work. I like the regular 4-6 hour kind so if it doesn’t work or when it starts to wear off, there’s another dose coming up soon.
IANAD, just a sinus cold sufferer with lots of experience with this stuff. And real Sudafed is the good stuff.
As I noted in this thread: Has any one studied effectiveness of pseudoephedrine now its so hard to get it - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board
Pseudoephedrine is thought to be generally effective in relieving congestion symptoms. Phenylephrine is thought to be possibly effective in some cases. In both cases, studies of the drugs are not good, and filled with conflicting evidence.
But these are not ringing endorsements of these meds. Neither drug is really medically necessary, both have side-effects, especially for those patients with hypertension, and neither shorten either the duration or severity of the infection.
Best scenario: Use of the drug gives moderate symptomatic benefit with mild health risk. Usual scenario: Use of the drug gives mild symptom benefit with mild health risk. Common scenario: mild or no symptom benefit, moderate health risk.
So I don’t recommend them. And I actively discourage patients with hypertension and heart disease (along with a few other disease states) from using them.
So my Dr. emailed me back and said prendisone is helpful, but she’s going to put me on a steroid nasal spray for a few weeks and have me wean off of that in order to get me off the regular sprays I’m hooked on.
So…it would be helpful but she’s not going to prescribe it. Ok. I’m hoping the steroid sprays work. My boyfriend has those and I’ve tried them once before and they didn’t do ANYTHING, so we’ll see…
Double-sided congestion has made me panicky, so that with really bad congestion, I haven’t been able sleep AT ALL. Fortunately, for me, this is rare, but still awful. The last time, rather than asking for a better decongestant, I asked if I could possibly have a prescription for three days’ worth of Xanax or an equivalent. Not something I’d want to do without a doctor I knew well, but it worked, in a way. It cut the stress long enough for me to get an few decent nights’ sleep and to get over the infection. Better yet, having found that I could deal with congestion drugged, I’ve discovered that I can deal with it a little better undrugged. Anyway, depending on your stress level, this may be the rare time when anything that will knock you out at night is a good idea.