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Posted: September 3, 2015, 12:43 PM
Hey There, I have been using this since April 2011 till date , I am 23 years old I was 19 when I started that, I am a chronically addicted to Nasal Drops at first I started taking Otrivin but now I am consuming Nasalin it is much cheaper compared to the previous one. Also When I don't use like for 5-6 hours one of my nostrils get blocked , so I am bound to use it everyday, I don't have any other issues except blocked nose, sometimes very few I suffer from Headache , but Now I am trying to avoid , It was time when I threw a bottle in every 5 days , but now I am controlling myself and using a bottle in every 15-20days also I have moved to a dryer place , since my climatic condition changed the dosage decreased, previously I was in a humid zone last 3years
so I am also thinking of what to do. So this is my story with Otrivin and other nasal drops . | ||
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Posted: October 2, 2015, 7:51 PM
Hi otriviners!!
I have been using Otrivine since I was 15-16 years old and I am 21 right now. I can tell I am addicted. I always told myself that I can easily quit Otrivine, unfortunately today is the day when I don't believe myself anymore... Im not sure I can... It is starting to worry me as I started having lots of headaches, always feel nervous. It is mentally killing me. I really want to stop, as I will still have to give birth in the future, and I dont want my baby to born addicted to Otrivine... I just don't know if I am strong enough, or if I wont slip as soon as I try to stop. I am going to see my GB next week so hopefully he will give me some useful advices. Also I have booked myself for nasal cleaning massages, when different oils are used to clear the sinus area and help me breath-free. I am still on Otrivine, however I am trying to reduce amount used daily. I will try to use them only 3 times daily, then 2 and them I am going to try to use it once at night and only for one nose hole. Please wish me luck! I just hope I will be able to find strength in me to stop it, otherwise I don't know what else to do! | ||
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Posted: October 8, 2015, 9:33 PM
RE: nasal congestion - I noticed that when I ate, esp chewy foods, that my nasal passages cleared, so I tried chewing gum when I needed to get the airways open... and it worked. Problem is that can't chew gum while you sleep, but works well while you're awake until your jaw tires then you have to take a break. But can't get more natural than that!
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Posted: October 23, 2015, 4:31 AM
Have had this problem on and off for years. I've managed to give it up in the past by buying the junior drops which isn't as strong and slowly diluting it more and more with saline until it's really weak and eventually weaned myself off all together. Unfortunately I always seem to end up back on the stuff.
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Posted: November 11, 2015, 7:21 AM
I know this is a long time since the last post. I was researching otrivine addiction and it brought me here.
Have been using it for several years. I noticed that as I got older (50s) my nose started blocking up when I lay down to sleep. It was insidious. I did not use anything for a few years, then discovered otrivine under the name Sudafed Nose Spray. It solved the problem, but I did not know it was going to cause more. The use went from once at bedtime to waking up and needing it several times a night. We got a new mattress and I noticed it went away some, but did not think about it. Later, someone said that older people can pick up allergies later in life that they did not have before. Wow... so I thought, what if it's DUST MITES. Just vacuuming the mattress did not help... I had to vacuum all parts of the bed, frame, headboard (all fabric). THEN I bought a DUST MITE SPRAY as well as removing the down pillows and replaced them with poly-filled ones. They got the spray treatment as well. All pillows were left out in the sun to dry. Bedspread and decorative pillow covers were washed and sprayed. I could not believe it. My first night after this deep cleaning/spraying was congestion free! It wasn't perfect, I could breath but felt dry. So I got a saline spray. I also have the irrigation rinse kit, but had not used it in a while as that alone never helped. I will try again to get my tissues to moisten up and hopefully they will start producing natural mucus. I know I can't keep all dust mites at bay, but with regular cleansing and spraying, I think it will be better. I only had minor sinus type headaches in the mornings for a while, but they are getting better. Nice hot coffee helps. I keep the otrivin on the bedside table, but hope not to need it. If I do, then I will know it's time to do the above routine again. The spray is supposed to last a good while on mattresses. But we will see. So you might have picked up an allergy to dust mites if your suffering is, or originally was, when you lay down in your bed. And if you have dry skin... use a proper moisturiser on your legs and arms to keep from feeding those dust mites with your extra dead skin cells! :) Happy in the UK | ||
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Posted: November 11, 2015, 7:30 AM
Me again... sorry I forgot to say I ordered one of those ultrasonic dust mite plug-ins. It is a noise higher than your dog can hear, so you won't hear it. It will be interesting to see if it works along with the spray and cleanse mentioned in the post above.
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Posted: November 14, 2015, 7:52 PM
I am sooo glad I found this page because i thought I was the only person with this problem, I have used otrivine for about a year now. I started using it when I had a cold and then became dependent on it. Have tried many times to stop using but find it so difficult to sleep. I also use nasonex, also sterimar which is great for cleaning the nose out but doesn't fully clear the airways which makes me anxious when trying to sleep, hopefully I will find a way to stop using otrivine as I've seen some of you have.
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Posted: November 23, 2015, 8:22 AM
I am also addicted to Otrivin nasal spray. I want to remove my addiction to it. so please help me
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Posted: December 7, 2015, 3:25 AM
I've used Otrivine several times a day for 10+ years. Felt I was dependent on it. If I didn't use it regularly then my nose would be completely blocked so I couldn't breathe, head would get sore etc. I knew it was wrong to keep using it but didn't see any way of stopping.....I couldn't bear how blocked my nose was without it. Then I read some info online, other people's stories etc including a couple that made it sound relatively easy to stop. So 48 hours ago, I stopped. Following advice of some others online, I've used sudafed tablets, ibuprofen & a different steroid type spray (only once in morning, once at night rather than repeatedly throughout day like Otrivine). Already my blocked nose is getting much better & it really IS much easier than I expected.....wish I'd tried years ago! Over next few days, continuing to follow advice of others, I will gradually decrease the sudafed etc. Fingers crossed......
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Posted: January 10, 2016, 6:31 PM
Hello,
I started using otrivine in 1990. I have found it hard to give up, I know it's all in my head but having asmtha and a blocked nose is just too much for me. yesterday afternoon I decided to stop. I have slight blocking of the nose but nothing I can't cope with. But I do have a really bad front head ache/pain, my eyes are sore and I feel a little sick. Have tried painkillers and they do not work, the only thing that seems to help is a hot water bottle on the back of my head/neck area. This pain is not because I am badly stuffed up because I'm not but I am getting scared yet am determined to get this devil out of my life. Can anyone suggest anything please Thank you | ||
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Posted: January 16, 2016, 3:37 PM
I have been using Otrivin for the past 7 years and use around 1 and a half bottles per week. After 4 years I got tired and decided to get a nose surgery that was supposedly going to make my breathing better and help me get off Otrivin. Unfortunately, the surgery did not help much as i returned back to heavy otrivin use. The Surgery did however help me breath much better even with OTRIVIN.
In a month im getting another surgery , which must solve my breathing problems once and for all. This time it will be a fully reconstructive surgery, a more complicated type of surgery comparing to the first one.Hopefully it will help . Otrivin will kill you eventually , cause cancer after a years use. There is a reason why it is only meant to be used for the most up to 5 days. 6 years is an overdo. | ||
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Posted: January 16, 2016, 4:22 PM
One week on, cold turkey going great!
I don't go out with it, don't look for it, don't miss it! Have a different pain in different places throughout the day but I am surviving. If I can stop after 25 years.....so can you!!!!!! Good Luck | ||
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Posted: January 19, 2016, 3:23 PM
Hi everyone,
I have been using otrivin for so many years, probably around 15 years. I use it during the day as well as once before bedtime to make sure I don't wake up stuffed. I have been thinking alot lately on how to get myself off of it for several reasons. #1 Not good for us to be using this everyday for years #2 Expensive #3 hard to find anymore. I use the spray bottle with moisturizers and you can't find it anywhere in Canada right now. I have read most of the post here and think I might try the spraying one nostril for a few days and see if that works for me. If not then I will go see my doctor for help. Any pointers would be awesome | ||
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Posted: February 8, 2016, 3:21 AM
Hi all. Found this thread in my quest to kick a brutal Otravin addiction.
My story, i'm 34 and have been addicted since i was 16. It started with just the regular squuze bottle, 2 times a day. Then 3, 4 until if i could get 2 hours clear i'd be happy. In about 2013 the regular stuff stopped working and i started to use 'metered dosage' bottles. These seemed stronger but in about October 2014 it had got to the point where i was going through 2 bottles per week. My addiction is what i would have described as severe. I couldn't go anywhere without it. Often taking spares. If i woke up in the middle of the night i'd be like a crack head searching for it. Lights on, moving things, the lot (much to my wifes annoyance!!). I tried to go extended periods occasionally and after about 3 hours my nose woukd go as if cement was poured into it. Then, just over a month ago, i decided enough was enough. I used it 09.30 on one Sunday morning and thought i'd try a whole day without it at work where i finishef 23.30 that evening. This would have been the longest i'd gone with out a spray in almost 2 decades. After about 8 hours, total blokage, sinus pains and a headache, 1 nostril semi cleared. Not enough to breath out of and eating was near impossible but there was a glimmer of hope. I got home about midnight and sat in a chair, mouth open and decided the progress i'd made was not going to be reset and emptied the little 10ml bottle of poison into the sink. 2 weeks of misery followed. Headaches, sinus pain, complete blokage, sensative teeth, minimal (broken) sleep, cracked lips and panic attacks. What happened next was 1 absolute crystal clear nostril. For about 4 hours. Then it blocked and the other opened up. This continued for a week. Now, for the last week, i'm clear. I sleep well, slight stuffiness 1 or 2 mornings but still clear enough to breath through and no pain. Please, PLEASE, if you are thinking about quitting do it now. Accept it's gonna be misersble and hard, your will power will be tested, but it can be done. If my nose is working after the last 18 years of abuse, yours will too. God speed to you all. | ||
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Posted: March 21, 2016, 6:16 PM
Hi all,
Last night I decided to try and kick my addiction of otrivine. It's been a long time coming. I've been using it for 10 years now. I use at least 1 bottle per week. I have always suffered with my sinuses, infections, pain and allergies. I've had tests but they're all come back normal. I've tried Vicks nasal spray and many other nasal sprays but to no avail. They didn't work. A friend of mine recommended that I buy otrivine and it gave me the best relief ever. I could breathe normally again. Of course 10 years ago they didn't give out warnings not to use it longer than 7 days. I've only been hearing that warning here in Ireland in the past year, too late then, I was hooked. I couldn't go anywhere without a bottle and I carried spares in my bag and in the car, God forbid I forgot it. I have been thinking for a long time of how I'm going to stop. So yesterday I put how to stop otrivine addiction into a Google search and up came this forum. After reading all the posts on this thread, btw thanks for sharing, I'm going to use the one nostril at a time method. I'm going to keep a diary on this thread to hopefully help other sufferers in their recovery of otrivine. I'm starving the left nostril first as I think this will be the hardest for me as I sleep on my left side. Once I can breathe normally thought that nostril I will move on to the right one, should take anywhere from 3-7 days for the first one to unblock. Day 1 I woke up this morning at 8. My left nostril was completely blocked, with my right not far behind. I sprayed one measured dose into the right and got relief after a minute. By 10.30 my left side was still blocked so I took a sudafed tablet and off I went to work. I found driving bad as I felt very closed in as I couldn't breathe properly. Had to turn on the air conditioning in 7 degree temps!!! By 11.30 the tablet kicked in and I could breathe normally out of my untreated nostril. This continued until 3pm and then both nostrils blocked up, used otrivine in right side 3.15pm took another sudafed tablet, 45mins later I was breathing normally. 7.30pm and the sinus pain started but only on the left side. It's was bearable, but now it's just past 10pm and the pain seems to be getting progressively worse. I'm going to take an actifed tablet now and go to bed. Hopefully I will sleep. Will update tomorrow | ||
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Posted: March 25, 2016, 1:04 PM
If you read the warning on the box it states do not use for more than 3 days at a time otherwise it can cause worse symptoms.
My doctor told me this as well and said you will be dependent on it to be able to breathe properly or have your sinuses work properly. If I use it once in a day, the next day I'm stuffy but I wait and the next day I'm fine. Key is not to over use it and wait out the stuffiness until your sinuses clear again. I only use it when absolutely needed to clear sinuses and sinus headaches. | ||
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Posted: March 26, 2016, 3:52 PM
Good Day All Otrivin Addicted patients,
I will keep my email short. Seek medical attention now. Otrivin is very addictive. Side effects are real. Rebound effect real. I was addicted to Otrivin for at least 5years. every day use. I was lucky I guess and during a Sinusitis, was prescribed a prescription medication called Nazonex. It is a cortisone base med. One weeks use of Nasonex and 5years of Otrivin, POOF...gone!! I am NOT a doctor, just an Ex-Otrivin addict. I have spoken to many pharmacists and my family doctor. ALLLLLL have said that Nasonex was what doctor's prescribed for Otrivin Addicts to GET OFF the bloody mess one gets into. Well, if it can help anyone. See doctor is what I recommend. Stop Otrivin as soon as you can. It did affect my blood pressure and now that I have come off Otrivin, ONLY now have I discovered I have high blood pressure issues. After 5years of use, yes, I can see why!! Man on a mission. Stop Otrivin use!! | ||
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Posted: April 17, 2016, 3:17 PM
Hello everyone.
I have been using otrivin for past 4 years. I have always thought of leaving it, but every time i didn't used it, I felt like I can't breathe. When 4 days back I decided to consult an ENT specialist. He gave me a tablet named Montair FX, to be taken 1 in a day and a nasal spray named Duonase, to be used 1 spray/nostril twice a day. That day I decided to not use otrivin a single time, I am taking the above medicines and not used the otrivin for the past 4 days. Sometimes I feel like crying because of blocked nose but still I have not used otrivin. Today I am feeling a bit better in breathing. But still my nose is not completely through but it's better now. I have faced the same problem that you guys are facing that's why I decided to post this. Hope this helps you all and also improves my condition. Thanks. | ||
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Posted: May 13, 2016, 11:13 AM
I HAVE been on otrivin sine 1998 or before when I went in hospital to have my baby. It's the only nasal spray that relieves my block nasal. Because of the use of Otrivin nasal spray during my pregnancy, my daughter now 17 years old was born with allergies and sinus problems from her birth. She has had a cold from birth and still does today. She now uses otrivin but now as often as I do. When I don't have the nasal spray I would feel like panicking. I continue to look for ways to clear my nasal but without success.
#DESPERATELY NEED HELP | ||
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Posted: May 28, 2016, 5:56 AM
Just an update on my progress -
As mentioned in my above post, i had been addicted to Otravin for the better part of 20 years. TWENTY YEARS!! Sounds crazy when i say that now. I have now been 100% clear since January. Since then, i've had a cold, it was tough but not one spray went into my nose. I am clearer now than during what was most probably the last 10 years of Otravin use. The feeling of leaving the house and not needing to worry about remembering a nose spray is so freeing. Please, PLEASE, if you are trying to stop, just stop. That is all it takes. You make your mind up, you accept you're gonna suffer for a bit. It's gonna be painful. There will be sleepless nights, banging headaches and you might not be a great person to be around. For a week or 2. Out of your entire life. There are NO EASY OPTIONS. But it can be done. Make excuses as to why you can't or make progress to quitting. You cannot do both. | ||
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