i've had a stuffy nose for pretty much my entire life. even when i do manage to get some airflow in there, it's certainly not full capacity and my oxygen intake is probably less than ideal. i've learned to live with it for the most part, but it is pretty annoying and frankly a little exhausting at times.

are there any remedies for poor souls like myself? i'm not a big fan of pharmaceuticals, especially if i have to take it for the rest of my life. i take tylenol severe allergy in the spring when the pollen is bad, and i've used nasal sprays with excellent results, but i don't want to end up addicted to chemicals (and i'm a cheap ass so i don't want to have another bill to pay for the rest of my life). i've heard of people getting surgeries where the doc scrapes out a bunch of stuff in the nasal cavity - anybody had any experience with that?

9/27/2010 1:42:55 PM

qntmfred is a talks about self in third personer

9/27/2010 1:44:39 PM

prune juice always worked for Worf

9/27/2010 1:44:53 PM

?

9/27/2010 1:45:18 PM

cocaine

9/27/2010 1:50:14 PM

I kill you, pshoes.

9/27/2010 1:50:51 PM

9/27/2010 1:51:52 PM

RIP pshoes

9/27/2010 1:51:53 PM

we hardly knew ye

9/27/2010 1:52:41 PM

that will never happen, pshoes.

Some helpful suggestions would be so awesome! He is miserable because of this.

9/27/2010 1:55:26 PM

have you ever had your adenoids checked out? some people can have sinus issues because they're enlarged

9/27/2010 1:56:22 PM

Yeah, this is pretty much why I stopped talking to you on the phone.


KKCCCGUAAAAAAAAA
HUUUAAAAAAAA


For 29 minutes. In my ear.

9/27/2010 1:56:54 PM

I have terrible sinuses on account of allergies and nasal polyps that combine to clog me up pretty much nonstop. I had surgery when I was in high school to have the polyps removed, but it's pretty common for them to grow back eventually, and mine have. Using a saline nose spray (not the fancy ones with medicine in them like Afrin or anything prescription) can help slow the regrowth substantially, so that might be an option for you. I'm planning to have surgery again to remove them in a month or so.

I would at least get a scan done so you know what you're up against. Your problems might be caused by any number of issues--nasal polyps or cysts, deviated septum, allergies, etc--and they would each have different treatment options and long-term outlooks.

9/27/2010 1:58:29 PM

I know a girl who just got a bunch of surgeries to fix her sinuses. I'd definitely go to a doctor and explain how it feels so that you can see what your options are. I think one or two minimally invasive surgeries is much better than constantly dealing with pharmaceuticals. Let me know how it goes!

9/27/2010 1:59:32 PM

Quote :

"i've heard of people getting surgeries where the doc scrapes out a bunch of stuff in the nasal cavity - anybody had any experience with that?"

just had the surgery. was great at first but now my turbonates have scarred together and I might have to go back under the knife to separate them if they continue to heal together. I definitely breath better though. much better sleep as well

9/27/2010 2:41:53 PM

Quote :

"are there any remedies for poor souls like myself? i'm not a big fan of pharmaceuticals, especially if i have to take it for the rest of my life. i take tylenol severe allergy in the spring when the pollen is bad, and i've used nasal sprays with excellent results, but i don't want to end up addicted to chemicals (and i'm a cheap ass so i don't want to have another bill to pay for the rest of my life). i've heard of people getting surgeries where the doc scrapes out a bunch of stuff in the nasal cavity - anybody had any experience with that?"

Every now and then I wear breath-right strips to bed or when I exercise. They work for me.

I know of a few people who have had their sinuses removed and love it. They say it's like when they breath, air flows freely straight to their brain. I will be doing this sometime in the future.

9/27/2010 3:07:58 PM

I know folks who use neti pots on a regular basis with great success. They're non-chemical, not terribly expensive, and might (?) help in the long run. But they'll definitely give some short-term relief if you want to avoid surgery.

If the problem is mucus buildup I wouldn't think surgery was necessary; if there's something else going on, say with your septum or the actual breathing apparatus, then you probably need it. Which is it?

9/27/2010 3:08:07 PM

I have a deviated septum, and my sinuses close up pretty easily. I have been meaning to check out sinuplasty (they stick a balloon up your nose and inflate it, stretching out the cavities). Dunno if it would fix your problem, but it's worth reading up on.

9/27/2010 3:12:50 PM

when lying down, i can only breathe out of one nostril at a time, determined by whichever one is higher

as such, i do a slow, continuous alligator death roll as i sleep to rotate which side gets to breathe

9/27/2010 3:13:13 PM

Most people predominantly breathe through one nostril at a time anyway, whether standing or lying down.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/03/about-85-of-people-only-breathe-out-of-one-nostril-at-a-time/

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

9/27/2010 3:53:48 PM

practice yoga (pranayam) and use ^

9/27/2010 4:17:52 PM

i cannot breathe worth a freaking damn

11/18/2010 10:58:42 PM

have you seen an ENT

or whatever kind of doc specializes in this sort of thing?

11/18/2010 11:02:01 PM

no, i haven't seen anybody. though i should be getting some pretty rockin health insurance shortly so maybe i will then. in the meantime, i'll just bitch and moan on the internets

11/18/2010 11:03:20 PM

well i hope you feel better

and i like your style. bitch and moan on the internets is my mantra

11/18/2010 11:03:49 PM

^ We know.

11/18/2010 11:22:03 PM

we also know that no one asked your opinion.

11/18/2010 11:23:38 PM

Just today, I finally set up an appointment in a few weeks for a surgical consult to get my shit taken care of. I hope you're able to once your insurance kicks in, too, buddy.

11/18/2010 11:26:59 PM

I've had polyps in my nose surgically removed 3 times. It helps, but in some cases (such as mine) isn't a permanent fix.

11/18/2010 11:33:32 PM

^^^ I was agreeing with you.

[Edited on November 18, 2010 at 11:37 PM. Reason : .]

11/18/2010 11:36:53 PM

well couldn't it be something else besides polyps? ew what a disgusting word.

like collapsed septum or something? isn't that a part of the nose? haha

11/18/2010 11:36:58 PM

As you know, qntm, I am too and hate it as well but everyone tells me I'm not a vocal mouth breather so I'm ok with it. Sucks though, those moments where I can breathe through my nose is glorious.

Oh and how is your sense of smell? Mine is very limited. When I get out of the shower I smell the most horrific things (not me) hahaha

Also, my nose is constantly draining so I choke while asleep, must have water on me so I don't get into a coughing fits and sneeze a million trillion times a dat.

You?

11/18/2010 11:42:06 PM

sense of smell? what's that?

11/18/2010 11:43:00 PM

I know

I only smell severe badness or perfumes and shit that make me sneeze.

11/18/2010 11:45:59 PM

I'm the same way. Basically, unless all of the stars align at once, I would suffocate myself if I tried to just breathe through my noes. I'm allergic to a lot of stuff, but even when I'm not stuffed from allergies...something else blocks my nose. And the shittiest part is...it's not like you can just blow your nose and be done with it. Shit sucks.

Maybe a total of like 2 weeks of the year can I breathe like a normal human being. And even then, it's not even like entire days that I can breathe fine...just for like a couple hours of the day here and there.

11/19/2010 12:23:40 AM

Fumbler was in your exact same situation. stuffy feeling nose for his whole life. his turbinates were permanently swollen. if you don't know what this looks like, look in someone's nose who doesn't have breathing problems. notice the dark cavity, normal light colored tissue. if you look in yours & it's red & there's only a little slit of an opening, then they're swollen. an image search for swollen turbinates doesn't really produce a good picture.

he had surgery several months ago to reduce the size of the turbinates, mainly on one side, but a little on the other too. they cauterized them until they shrunk. this method makes for a lot less bleeding and less pain (the other method is scraping). they don't need to pack your sinuses if they cauterize. they also straightened his septum. he's really really happy he had it done.

11/19/2010 10:17:16 PM

neti pot

11/19/2010 10:19:10 PM

^that may do some good. he needs to go to an ENT, but if he's got the same problem of permanently swollen turbinates, then there's nothing that can be flushed out. neti pots do help a lot during allergy season though.

[Edited on November 19, 2010 at 10:27 PM. Reason : ]

11/19/2010 10:26:56 PM

A neti pot didn't do crap for me. You can wash your nose out all you want but it's not going to shrink all the meat in your nose if that's the true problem.

Go to the doc.
If they say surgery would help then do it. And take pics and video and post them on youtube. The video of the doc pulling the splints out of my nose is priceless.

My surgery wasn't perfect; they didn't reduce one turbinate as much as they should have. Still, it's infinitely better.
I used to constantly feel as if I had boogers clogging my nose.

11/22/2010 3:54:22 PM

i tried a neti pot last night

it was pretty funny, they videos show a steady stream of water pouring out the other nostril, at the most i had a slow drip and half the time it didn't do a thing other than spill down my throat

on the other hand, i have breathing capabilities out of one nostril today, which is more than i can say for the last 2 weeks for sure. i'll continue with the neti pot a few times a week until i can make it to the ENT

11/22/2010 3:57:48 PM

the neti pot episode of Cougar Town was full of lulz. I honestly had never heard of/seen a neti pot in my life before that.

11/22/2010 4:00:38 PM

went to a specialist today, gonna get surgery next week, gonna start allergy shots soon after.

my CT scan was a mess

[Edited on March 1, 2011 at 10:44 AM. Reason : .]

3/1/2011 10:42:50 AM

on a scale from not a problem to terrible....

3/1/2011 11:05:31 AM

Good Luck!!!!

3/1/2011 11:07:21 AM

You sound like my dad. Turned out he deviated septum.

3/1/2011 11:24:51 AM

yeah i've got that, and my entire lower nasal cavity is filled with polyps

EWW GROSS

3/1/2011 11:56:29 AM

my allergies have gotten better in the past 5 years or so

they used to be awful

I'm not sure what I've been doing differently, because from what I understand, the older you get generally the worse allergies get

3/1/2011 2:15:54 PM

NETI POT

3/1/2011 3:04:35 PM

take vids and pics, then post them up.

3/1/2011 3:11:13 PM

Quote :

"yeah i've got that, and my entire lower nasal cavity is filled with polyps EWW GROSS"

Welcome to the Surgical Polyp Removal Team!

It's really not too bad, and they slip you some cocaine right before the procedure which you never experience, but makes for a cool story.

If you have any questions about what to expect, I can probably answer them.

3/1/2011 3:16:32 PM