Public Service Advice

The pollen level was all the way down to medium low yesterday.

However, it is going to go right back up to the medium high levels for today and Sunday.

I don't care, I was ready to take any relief God will toss my way.  Everything, I mean everything is covered with greenish yellow pollen.  Even Roxy.  The bad thing about that is that I don't think about it  until I roll around with her.  I realize what I have done when I see a puff of a green cloud come up from her.

I can't tell which is worse - suffering from the allergy symptoms or the drugged up feeling from the allergy medicine.  I can't remember when I have ever been hit so hard with such horrible congestion in my head.  I have been taking such a cocktail of drugs, can't tell what is working, what isn't working.  

I am a firm believer in using Neil-Med Sinus rinse.  After many years of it hit and miss treatments by an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, that sinus rinse is about the only thing that works for me.  For you, Dog.

I couldn't resist that.

Doctor H and I tried everything.  Pills, inhalers, I gave myself shots for a couple of years, not one, not two, but three sinus surgeries.  Nothing worked for me.  Then Doctor H gave me a Neil-Med Sinus Rinse kit and my life was changed.

I even wrote him a thank you note and told him that if he continued to give the kits out, he would be out of a job.

Anyway ~

This being our first spring in the Ozarks, both Randy and I have been hit pretty hard.  Last week, my nose was so stuffed up that I couldn't use my rinse.  I just wanted to be able to breathe.  I knew that I had some very old sinus spray, the kind that opens up the breathing passages.  I used it for a couple of nights before going to bed.

Ah, breathing.  What a great feeling.

Sunday, I loaded up on allergy potions and did some much needed weed-eating around the house.  By the early afternoon, I was pretty stuffed up, so I gave myself a couple more sprays.

Ah, breathing.  What a great feeling.

I woke up in the middle of the night with my sinuses practically screaming for relief.  The spray was twelve hour spray, and it had been about twelve hours since I had used it.  I didn't think there was any problem with it - even given my penchant to over-use OTC medicines.  My nose got a couple more sprays and I finally fell back asleep with the bottle clutched in my hand.

Ah, breathing.  What a great feeling.

I happened to have a doctor appointment on Monday morning and I mentioned to Doctor 'Smith' about my allergy issues.  She asked what I was doing for them and when I mentioned the spray, she told me to stop using it.  Doctor 'Smith' said never use those types of sprays anymore more than three days in a row or else you will get something called 'Rebound Congestion'.

Rebound congestion, or rhinitis medicamentosa as my friends at Wikipedia call it, is one of the most miserable, horrible things that I have experienced.  I used to say that I wouldn't wish sinus surgery on a teamster, well, I wouldn't wish rebound congestion on a teamster.

I have nothing, nothing at all against teamsters.  However, I spent many a year doing my best to keep a group of them in line as they travelled across the Pacific Northwest with trailers full of light sheet metal products.  I often said that the reason I never had kids of my own was because I had anywhere from 16 -20 teamsters to raise.

Anyway ~

Rebound congestion is, in a way, withdrawal from using the sinus sprays.  Now, I knew that one could get 'addicted' to these sprays, but never, ever, once thought that it would only take a couple of days for it to happen.

I was miserable, absolutely miserable.  My sinuses were rebelling in a huge way and I was plugged up solid.  At times, I felt like I was suffocating because it seemed next to impossible to breathe.

Since I could only breathe through my mouth, I started to panic when I thought of choking.  If that would happen. my only hope for survival was counting on Randy to resuscitate me.  Considering the pitiful way I was acting, that hope didn't stay alive for long.

My head hurt, my ears hurt, my throat hurt and there was nothing I could do to relieve the pressure.  I couldn't sit still, I was praying that I only had to go about twenty-four hours like this.  That was only thing that kept me from using more spray was the thought that if I gave in and used some, that would only prolong the inevitable and the inevitable would get worser and worser the longer I put it off.

So, here is my two cents worth - use sinus sprays with 100% caution.  They may help you for a couple of days, but you may be even worse off than when you started.

The last couple of days have been a whole lot better for me.  I have yet to know if it is cutting back drastically on all the medicine, or because the pollen has settled down a bit, or a combination of both.  It really doesn't matter because not only did I feel like doing something yesterday, I actually accomplished quite a list of chores.

I'll probably have to take today off to rest.

Have the BEST day ever!

~ Dorothy