I can’t breathe through my nose. So I can’t think about anything else. I sleep but I wake up exhausted. I’ve tried Saline, Nasonex, Afrin, Neosinephrine, I run a vaporizer next to my bed, and today I did the one thing I swore I would NEVER do. I used a Netti Pot. And the only reason I did was because I know it’s the first thing an ENT will tell me to do when I make an appointment (which I will do when I get back from vacation – leaving Friday back next Thursday late). I want to be able to say I did EVERYTHING on my end and NOTHING helped. 
The only thing I can think of is that it’s the heat in my house – but I’ve lived here for almost 14 years so WHY NOW?
I’m losing my mind. I’m miserable and exhausted. So sorry to dump on all of you, but it’s all that’s on my mind these days! So suggestions above and beyond the ones mentioned above would be great. If not, some old fashioned pity and commiseration will do just fine! 
Update – Come to find out, the medication I am on for my headaches (maintenance preventive medication) dries out nasal membranes! So with a little luck, I will be able to call my doctor, change my medication and this will go away! 
However until it does, old fashioned pity and commiseration still welcome!
Carly Phillips would like to take 100% credit for all her stories but the truth is, Carly’s strength is writing family, emotion, funky elderly people and animals. She couldn’t plot her way out of a paper bag, which is why she smartly found her plotmonkey pals early on in her writing career. Thanks to their support, Carly is now a NYT Bestselling author of 23 plus novels. Because writing doesn’t keep her busy enough, Carly is also a wife, a mother of one preteen and one teenage daughter, the primary care giver of her soft coated Wheaten terrier and an expert carpool mom.
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Carly, so sorry you’re feeling miserable. And with the awful weather the east coast has been having, it’s a double whammy. I hope they can finally figure it out so you get some relief.
Hope you have fun on vacation and end up going somewhere warm and tropical! Hugs!
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Carly- I do understand your pain! I am still having problems breathing. :*&#!:
and isn’t modern medicine with it’s side effect just so much fun.
I have a friend who is on one of those osteoperosis meds- she found out the hard way that it loosens your teeth. Isn’t calcium supposed to make the teeth stronger? Still haven’t figured out how this works, or doesn’t work.
YAY! Our icons are back!
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I so feel you pain, Carly. Woke up this morning with the feeling something was stabbing me in the right eye. My head is totally stopped up, and I seem to blow my nose non-stop. Can you take Muscinex? My dad says it always clears him up. My BP doesn’t let me take it, but 1/2 dose of sudafed does help a little. Hope you feel better soon and have a great vacation!
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Tami
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STOP USING THE NOSE SPRAYS!!! They totally make it worse. This happened to me one year during spring allergy season. Helped for like 20 minutes, so I kept squirting. Nose totally clogged up. It does something to the membranes. (Scientific, I know.) At night, I use Breathe Right strips. Sometimes with a smear of Vicks VapoRub under my nose. Used to help a lot. Now, not so much. Think it definitely is the heat inside the house and the cold out. — Terri
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There is a difference between nasal sprays and nasal saline salution which I have been using for years. It helps stay off sinus infections esp during the winter.
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how about a vicks inhaler? you know that little tube that looks like lipstick or chap stick? it has been around since way before i was born for a reason, it works. just sniff it and it reduces the swelling and makes breathing easier. get better soon and get plenty of rest.
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Carly hope you feel better soon, I hate it when we get those colds where we can’t breathe it is the worst. I had it once this year didn’t last to long that goodness.
I heard that nett pot works hope it helps you.
Hopefully this weather will get nice real soon.
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My sister swears by the Netti pot….but YUK! I’ve never been able to bring myself to use it.
Feel better soon!
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Yikes! I just went through a half-hour of trying to figure this out before getting my middle daughter out the door. She didn’t want anything that would make her tired at high school– and she’s miserable.
We had one of those pot things in the closet– unopened. I may force it on her tonight. Do they really work?
Huge hugs, Carly. Not breathing is rotten. And so are headaches.
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Carly, so sorry you are feeling so miserable.
I use NeilMed Sinus Rinse Pre-mixed Packets. They are in a blue and white box that you get from the drugstore. Take one packet and dissolve it in a cup of warm water. Then pour a little in your palm, snort it up then out into the sink. Sounds gross I know but it really works. Keep doing that until the cup is gone. You can also get these packets with a special plastic bottle but I don’t recommend the bottle–bacteria buildup no matter how often you clean it.
The packets themselves are great. They are the right mix–no burning or irritation.
Hope you’re better soon,
Cher
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Lots of hugs, Carly…I hope that it gets better…I have had a sinus-y thing for the last two plus weeks, so I totally understand. It’s making me so tired, I fall asleep at 8:30ish each night.
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Like Pat, I think those Vicks inhalers are great they help a bit. After using one you can’t help but smell the menthol. Non Drowsey sudafed if you can take it helps me.
I have found this winter my sinus’s have been dryer because we have the heat on so much. My bottle of saline has been my best friend lately.
Hope you get feeling better soon.
ps try sleeping inclined so you sinus can drain.
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So sorry to hear you are suffering. Cher’s idea is a very good one. I highly recommed the sinus wash. Also the only nasal spray you should use is an ocean spray. Hope you’re breathing better soon.
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I can sympathize with the problem. I take a headache preventive and several other medications that cause dry mouth, etc. I use a humidifier to help counteract the heat. Thankfully I haven’t had a stuffed up nose this year.
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Only use nose sprays for the number of days stated on the box – if used longer, it worsens the problem. The ENT doctor told my Dad that the nose becomes addicted to the spray – one uses more and more with decreasing results.
Carly, I saw an ad for the B&N nook – it featured Simply Sensual on the screen!
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you do become ‘addicted’ to the nasal sprays and then you get a ‘rebound’ (comes back worse
).
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Carly, I’m so sorry you feel so miserable. I would highly recommend trying the Netti Pot & not just once. I know people with terrible allergies that use it daily because it really does help. I’ve had to use a nasal saline solution to clear out my nose many years ago. It is hard at first but once you do it a couple of times it is easy. Similar to what Cher was saying. There were no Netti Pots around then. As far as taking over the counter medication if you are taking prescription medicine it isn’t a good thing to mix without talking to your doctor. You have my sympathy and
I hope something works soon so you feel much better.
Enjoy your vacation.
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Lots of O.F.P. & C. coming your direction! Fix yourself a cup of green
tea and lemon, then get ready for your trip! Hope the medication
change will do the trick!!
Pat Cochran
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Hey Carly, I got tea and sympathy for you. I hope you do feel better soon, and that the change in meds helps a lot. Have fun on your vacation, and maybe the change in locale will help with your nasal passages as well.
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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I’ve heard the same thing about the sprays–I have horrible dryness in the winter. Doctor suggested just plain saline spray.
Of course, for the past 2 weeks, I’ve had the opposite problem…lolol! Can’t stop dripping and sneezing and blowing!
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Carly,
Hope you’re feeling better soon.
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ok…this might sound stupid…but…the doctor always had me do it with Amber and Autumn….and it worked…they both would get like that all the time…then it would trigger these really bad bloody noses…we tried everything we could think of…finally the dr suggested washing clothes and hanging them to dry in their bedrooms by their beds to put moisture in the air so they could breathe and sleep…..and if I didn’t have laundry she recommended soaking a bath towel…lightly wringing it…and hanging it at the top of the bed by their head…worked miracles…these girls went from not being able to breathe at night and having these massive (and I mean things the size of fist coming outta them) all the time to once or twice a year now…it really was amazing the difference. And my sister who has had the same problem since she was born and even had her nose cauterized to still have the problems does it too now with the same results.
And no…the problems weren’t from bloody noses to begin with but the drying out of the nose at night….they do have a problem with the heat/air at night….we also turn the heat to 60 at night in the winter to make it more comfortable for them…and just throw on an extra blanket…no one complains because it’s better than the alternative was.
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btw…thought this joke might help you feel better…and remember I’m from Massachusetts…lmao
THE DIFFERENCE IF YOU MARRY A MASSACHUSETTS GIRL
The first man married a woman from North Carolina . He told her that she was to do the dishes and house cleaning.. It took a couple of days, but on the third day, he came home to see a clean house and dishes washed and put away.
The second man married a woman from South Carolina . He gave his wife orders that she was to do all the cleaning, dishes and the cooking. The first day he didn’t see any results, but the next day he saw it was better. By the third day, he saw his house was clean, the dishes were done and there was a huge dinner on the table.
The third man married a girl from MASSACHUSETTS . He ordered her to keep the house cleaned, dishes washed, lawn mowed, laundry washed, and hot meals on the table for every meal. He said the first day he didn’t see anything, the second day he didn’t see anything but by the third day, some of the swelling had gone down and he could see a little out of his left eye, and his arm was healed enough that he could fix himself a sandwich and load the dishwasher. He still has some difficulty when he pees!!
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Some moms on the Holistic Moms Network were discussing about dry nostrils just this past week. Several of them suggested putting a very light coating of oil in the nostrils, sweet almond oil, or olive oil.
In the winter, my mom would put bowls of water around the room to combat the dryness.
Hope you feel better!
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You might try putting a bit of BenGay lotion on top of your nose before you go to sleep. Like Vicks VaporRub, its the aroma/fragrance that seems to clear up the nasal passages.
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I hope you feel better soon. I have a lot of sinus infections so I really feel for you.
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Hey, Carly,
Sorry to hear you feel so miserable! Here are two solutions that I find helpful with my family:
1. Buy a VICKS VAPOR PLUG-IN. The square one that sits on the table. (LOVE THIS)
2. Rub vicks on the bottom of your feet and cover with socks before you go to bed. This helps my son when he can’t breathe.
Get well soon!