Rhinitis and nasal congestion at night

[m443]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has had issues with this here. About three years ago (before starting TRT) I started waking up with congestion/swollen turbinates. It always shifts to whichever side of my nasal passages are closer to my bed/ground. For example, if I’m laying on my side, whichever side is on the bottom will eventually begin to close and swell up. I always end up waking up with one side mostly swollen shut. I can usually still sleep somewhat but it’s been getting worse and now my sleep quality is effected quite a bit. It seems that it’s more of my back sinuses that swell up, I had a septoplasty and tubrinate reduction done last year that did basically nothing for it due to that being done more towards the front of the sinuses. My issue is the back of my sinuses sealing up.

To this day I’m still not really sure what caused it. Around the time it started I was hitting rock bottom and had a 1-2 month stint with coke and Xanax. I got clean, went to therapy, fixed myself up, but the nasal issues didn’t go away ever. Previous to that I did smoke weed heavily (sometimes all day, most days at least once) for about 3-4 years.

I’ve tried damn near everything to fix it. I’ve seen 4 or 5 ENTs who are all fairly useless. I got a turbinate reduction and septoplasty done last summer which did not fix my issue. I’ve tried every god damn allergy spray on the planet. They all seem to help while I’m upright but as soon as I lay down for an hour+ my nose starts congesting like usual. I’ve tried allergy pills, literally every kind OTC and decongestant based. I’ve tried so many supplements, nothing seems to work. I’ve tried nasal washes with saline and xylitol. I’ve tried adding an air purifier to my room and washing my sheets religiously. I’ve tried anti allergy/dust mite zipper pillow cases.

I’ve been trying to figure out the root cause and the only thing I can come up with is some kind of allergy. I’ve got an appointment with an allergist finally end of July, but I’m worried after all the money and time I’ve spent on other doctors they will just hand me yet another spray or prescription and send me on my way. And you would think if this was some kind of allergic reaction, that at least one of the allergy treatments would have worked through the night.

I’m currently working on fixing my tongue resting position to increase/improve nasal breathing airflow, and am working on getting used to sleeping with my mouth taped. Hoping this helps but not sure if I’ll even be able to breathe with my mouth taped if my nose seals up.

Has anyone had issues like this and actually fixed them? There has got to be some way to get over this. I just want to sleep deeply again.

 

[pigeonhed]

My father in law is allergic to many things. Without an allergist his life is rough. They moved closer to us was only 20 mile move and he needed new pills.

Do not get frustrated finding a solution. Gain power knowing you are becoming more informed and complete on your journey.

Your appointment sounds like an intelligent idea that has a high likelihood of solution. This will get better.

 

[Jin23]

Hi all,

Wondering if anyone has had issues with this here. About three years ago (before starting TRT) I started waking up with congestion/swollen turbinates. It always shifts to whichever side of my nasal passages are closer to my bed/ground. For example, if I’m laying on my side, whichever side is on the bottom will eventually begin to close and swell up. I always end up waking up with one side mostly swollen shut. I can usually still sleep somewhat but it’s been getting worse and now my sleep quality is effected quite a bit. It seems that it’s more of my back sinuses that swell up, I had a septoplasty and tubrinate reduction done last year that did basically nothing for it due to that being done more towards the front of the sinuses. My issue is the back of my sinuses sealing up.

To this day I’m still not really sure what caused it. Around the time it started I was hitting rock bottom and had a 1-2 month stint with coke and Xanax. I got clean, went to therapy, fixed myself up, but the nasal issues didn’t go away ever. Previous to that I did smoke weed heavily (sometimes all day, most days at least once) for about 3-4 years.

I’ve tried damn near everything to fix it. I’ve seen 4 or 5 ENTs who are all fairly useless. I got a turbinate reduction and septoplasty done last summer which did not fix my issue. I’ve tried every god damn allergy spray on the planet. They all seem to help while I’m upright but as soon as I lay down for an hour+ my nose starts congesting like usual. I’ve tried allergy pills, literally every kind OTC and decongestant based. I’ve tried so many supplements, nothing seems to work. I’ve tried nasal washes with saline and xylitol. I’ve tried adding an air purifier to my room and washing my sheets religiously. I’ve tried anti allergy/dust mite zipper pillow cases.

I’ve been trying to figure out the root cause and the only thing I can come up with is some kind of allergy. I’ve got an appointment with an allergist finally end of July, but I’m worried after all the money and time I’ve spent on other doctors they will just hand me yet another spray or prescription and send me on my way. And you would think if this was some kind of allergic reaction, that at least one of the allergy treatments would have worked through the night.

I’m currently working on fixing my tongue resting position to increase/improve nasal breathing airflow, and am working on getting used to sleeping with my mouth taped. Hoping this helps but not sure if I’ll even be able to breathe with my mouth taped if my nose seals up.

Has anyone had issues like this and actually fixed them? There has got to be some way to get over this. I just want to sleep deeply again.

Turbinates swell up when you lay on the side because of increased blood flow. And turbinates also hypertrophy when they are irritated, so this means allergies and stuff but also possibly coke use. Another thing would be non allergic rhinitis. It's when stress clogs up your nose. I'm no ENT and I'm a total layman in this field, but I have all of the above issues that you described, pluss non allergic rhinitis, deviated septum, nasal polyps and turbinate issues. So I feel your pain.

If your posterior turbinates swell up maybe you should have operated on them too? And are you sure you don't have any other issues I've mentioned?

 

[psauce]

I’ve had to deal with this all my life… I will never forget that I learned the word “hypertrophy” as a little kid because of it, and was surprised to is everywhere when I got into lifting.

You mention that you’ve tried everything, so this may be too basic, but it’s the only thing that works for me so it’s worth passing along.

I mix glucocorticoid with oxymetazoline at a 4:1 ratio. Nasacort is the most effective gc for me, but I know everyone varies. Oxymetazoline is insanely effective, but is so profoundly addictive that it’s not a sustainable solution. However, when the two are used together, you get the baseline benefits of reduced inflammation with the reduction of interstitial fluid on top. Because the dose of the oxymetazoline is so small, there is no noticeable rebound congestion during the day — when blood is pumping and you’re moving — but it’s enough to do the job at night.

 

[clearheaded]

what kind of pillow do u use? how old is ur pillow? is ur bedroom have old carpet? do u have air filters? have u tried neti pots? work wonders for some folks with allergies.. amazing what comes out even when dont feel like can blow anything.

my bro has bad allergies and I remember waking him up as a kid and he would sit up and an actual gush of water came out of his nose when he sat up, not snot like 1/4shot poured right out lol. but didn't have runny nose all day or anything. just we had old old feather pillows and home made feather comforters and shit, aswell was in a basement that was wooden and not concrete.