Oh Nasal Spray, How I Love Thee

I've said many times before I don't like to take medication. I will usually suffer with pain or illness over taking an OTC medication.

Old age is getting the better of me though and I'm slowly starting to resent these aches and pains and other ailments.

I started taking antihistamines for my allergies about 2 weeks ago. I don't take them everyday but often enough to somewhat keep my allergies under control.  The problem is taking a decongestant. They make me feel really funny so  I avoid allergy meds with them.

This leaves me with clogged sinuses and for the past month I've slept horribly, not being able to breathe out of one or both nostrils means I'm breathing through my mouth and snoring (more than usual) waking up with a pasty mouth and sore throat.

The other day I was completely miserable. I couldn't breathe through either nostril, I couldn't use my NetiPot because both sinuses were so clogged the water would not drain through. I caved in. I went to the pharmacy and bought come Claritan allergy nasal spray.

You no how you build something up in your mind and then when you finally cave in you think "huh, what was the big deal?"  - you know like going to the dentist?

Well, I felt this way about the nasal spray, I built it up to be a bad thing (you see, nasal spray is habit forming - continued use is actually counter productive as eventually your sinus passages will be inflamed because you're not using it, much like what happened with my Dad, or much like my brother who has a hole burned in the cartilage in his nose because of it) 
I can totally see why they used and and am jumping on that bandwagon. After a full month of not being able to breathe - I could breathe....clearly...without a Breathe Right strip...without anything. It was like the clouds parted, the sun shone and a choir of angels sang to me. "aaaaaahhhhhhhhh"

I've only used it twice (though I'm debating using it today as I am totally clogged) but I'm trying be careful about it. I don't want to feel this way all the time but wow - this is how a drug addict must feel when they get that fix and feel relief. 

On a different note, I'm off to see the surgeon today. We'll be getting this lymph nodes out and they'll biopsy them. My CT scan is on July 21st to see if there is anything else in there to be looked at.

Wish me luck and throw a little prayer up that all is fine.