Afrin

PCP here

I literally can not get two young ladies off of Afrin despite every measure we have taken including behavioral therapy, various decongestants, rinses, etc. I’ve sent them to two local ENTs which has rendered not helpful minus the obvious that they are destroying their septum and developing chronic sinusitis.

Any suggestions? One is willing to try just about anything at this point

At our pharmacy we have 2 patients that are a couple that consistently come in and purchase ALL of the Afrin we have on the shelf. I'm convinced they can't be using it all themselves because of how frequently they do this (at least once a week). I have have tried to find ways it could be used illicitly but I'm just coming up empty. Have you ever had someone do this and why?

I had my consultation with Dr. Afrin yesterday and I have to say I am blown away with how thorough and kind this man is. He stay an additional two hours after his clinic closed with me to continue my history and treatment plan. His post visit notes are 9 pages long. If anyone is considering seeing him I would highly recommend him.

I've battled with nasal congestion for many years, particularly when I lay down to sleep at night. I have turbinate hypertrophy. I've been using Flonase, which does offer some relief, but it's not always as effective as I'd like.

Now, I've come across a product called Allermi that combines several ingredients, notably including Azelastine, Ipratropium, Triamcinolone, and Oxymetazoline (commonly known as Afrin). What caught my eye in particular was the inclusion of Oxymetazoline. For those unfamiliar, this is a decongestant that works incredibly well, but I have always been cautious with its use due to the well-documented risk of rebound congestion (rhinitis medicamentosa).

The manufacturers of Allermi claim that they are using a 'micro-dose' of Oxymetazoline, and that at this dosage, the product can be safely used daily without causing rebound congestion. This intrigued me, as I have had such a good response to Afrin in the past. However, I am somewhat skeptical about the claims. Given the mixed experiences I've had with decongestants, I don't want to risk worsening my symptoms.

Has anyone tried Allermi? If so, what has been your experience with it? And does anyone have insights into the safety of micro-dosing Oxymetazoline? Any thoughts, opinions, or experiences you can share would be greatly appreciated! I'm debating making my own version of this product by putting a few sprays of afrin in a diluted bottle of saline spray.

I’m hoping this is it! I’ve made it three days without any Afrin - by far the longest I’ve made it in seven months.

I tapered by cutting back on how often I sprayed (kept a log) and switching from the no drip to the basic Afrin and diluted it with saline at the end of each day. I allowed myself one dose of no drip in the middle of the night each night while quitting so I could sleep. Tried to go longer and longer between each spray. Took me 8 days. I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it but it (surprisingly) wasn’t too bad.

Why YSK: "While it’s not considered an 'addiction' in the usual sense, your body can become dependent on the drug. Doctors call this phenomenon 'rebound congestion,' or , and it is a very real problem. In fact, it could be responsible for up to 9% of visits to allergists and ENT doctors. "

Harekat ile ilgili burada konuşulabilir. Kesinlikle megathread değil, kullanıcılar geçmişte sevmediklerini söylediler zaten, subın kendisine post etmek hala serbest yani.

I quit afrin last week on wednesday. The first day rebound congestion was bad, second day was much worse. Third day was better, and it’s increasingly gotten better every day. I’m still not breathing 100% clearly but i’m never clogged anymore, and i’m optimistic that it will keep improving.

I didn’t just quit because i was sick of relying on afrin. I was also having chest pain that came and went (and was getting increasingly worse), headaches, even a panic attack. I went to the doctor thinking i was having a heart attack and had a bunch of tests run. Turns out it was all bc of afrin. The headaches went away immediately after quitting, and the chest pain gradually got better over the last week. For the past couple days i havent even had the faintest sign of chest pain. I feel healthier than i have in years.

It feels great to not have to deal with taking afrin anymore. No more constantly picking my nose that was filled with disgusting afrin boogers. No more sneaking off to the bathroom to shamefully snort afrin in secret when i’m at my friend’s. No more anxiety when i realize I left the house without my afrin or when i’m about to run out but don’t have another bottle. I feel free

I mentioned a couple times on here I was going to see him and a few people asked me to make a post sharing my experience when I did, so here I am lol

I left his office delighted with the entire experience. It was a 2 hour appointment (which he stayed another 2 hours + after the office closed as he had more stuff that he wanted to help explain to me) and it was incredibly thorough. Medical history went right back to when I was a baby and slowly working forward in chronological order, really getting me to mention absolutely anything that may or may not hold any sort of relevance. This was followed by a 20 minute physical and a break for the nurse to explain the urine test instructions to me (very strict as most of us know!). For the remaining hour and a half after hours he explained in incredible detail every single potential trigger to try take note of (including particulars like salicylates based on my presenting symptoms), the evolving science behind MCAS and what makes it such a complex condition to diagnose and form an individual treatment plan currently and then answered the long list of questions I had brought with me (although 80% of the 40 odd I had pre written he had already covered during our appointment anyway!) I found him to be compassionate and humorous. I now wait for lab testing and we will take it from there.

The price is steep, granted. But in my opinion it’s worth every single penny. I’ve spent thousands already on emergency room visits, holistic treatments, supplements etc etc so to have access to this knowledge and know that I will finally be on the right path at some point is priceless to me, personally. As I’m sure a lot of you can relate, the damage of having to go from doctor to doctor, waiting months between appointments only to be dismissed, not believed or have issues blamed on “anxiety” has taken a huge toll on me psychologically. A small price to pay for my sanity :) happy to answer any questions!

EDIT: something else I forgot to mention also, following on from a post the other week debating the use of “limbic system rehab training” (DNRS, Gupta etc) - he said some, not all, of his more reactive patients have had success reducing their reactivity by using them and that they are worth a try. He recommended trying one daily for 6 months as results would be shown, or not, by then. Didn’t recommend a particular program just said to do my own research and see which one in particular seems like it would be more interesting to me personally. If I remember correctly his reasoning for why it can help is that mast cells and neurons are often closely associated with each other. Hence training your neurons to “calm down” can also have a similar effect on mast cells in the nervous system.

Just to be clear, I haven’t decided whether or not I will use one of these programs nor am I advocating for their use. Just thought it might be helpful for some to hear.