So I am addicted to nasal spray...Are you?

That stuff will jack your blood pressure up, especially if you are already prone to HBP. That’s worse than feeling stuffy again.

I tried it once and decided not to use it again, ever! Since you’re addicted, I think it’s unhealthy in your situation, so you better decide to quit and ask someone to hide it away until you overcome your addiction :)

You can get a buzz off nasal spray?

@FutureMemory it’s not like that. It’s more like.. you’ll get a rebound stuffy nose if you don’t use it.

Not now but I’ve been there and to get your body off, you’ll have to go through the flu like symptoms for about a good week. I use the mucinex type of decongestants now and surprisingly, they work without the reliance of the spray.

Weird.

Here’s how to get off it. Or never start…

Don’t try going cold turkey. You will be miserable. (You already know that.)
Only spray one nostril per day and alternate. With one nostril open you can still breathe freely and sleep. That gives the other nostril time to recover. Write on the calendar “Odd days left. Even days right.” And stick to it !
After doing this for a week you will not have such a strong rebound effect.
Get a Neti Pot or similar nasal wash. It works.
It worked for me.

I have terrible allergies and my sinus will cause other things like bronchitis or rinutitus if left stuffy….all with the gross cough. It’s a terrible cycle.

Forget the Neti pots; they can cause severe pain in your sinuses if you have narrow eustachian tubes. How do you determine the thickness of the tubes; try the Neti pot and gauge pain level (Not.)

The safest and easiest method is get a rubber baby syringe and fill with a tepid saline solution (1 c.warm water to 1 t salt) and squirt gently into each nostril at will.

The rebound effect of a commercial nasal spray tells you that it is a NASTY product.

Say what?

Nah, but I have other issues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinitis_medicamentosa

I had a friend who was addicted to nasal spray. It took her a long time to kick the habit.

Before I had surgery on my sinuses, I HAD to use nasal spray. My nose had completely shut down and breathing was truly a chore. My doctor told me that I had to use a nasal spray.

Yes, it is very addictive.

I finally had sinus surgery and it cured my problem.

I kicked two bottles of nasal spray to the curb.

They sell saline nasal spray. I’d try weaning off the one while using the other.

@Augustlan: The commercial safe nasal sprays are Ayre and Ocean. They are expensive versions of 1 c. warm water with 1 t. salt dissolved in.

@gailcalled @augustlan I’ve tried and I should be more disciplined with it. That is a good idea. I have an acupuncture appointment on Tuesday to start addressing the issue.

@judochop: Report back. I still remember how awesome jaw-dropping I found my first experience at the acupuncturist’s.