[Marie]

I'll bet you have bottles of Afrin by the bed, in the car, on your desk and in the bathroom. Once it was so bad that I kept two bottles in every room in the house, one in the car and two in my purse! Cost me a mint! Now I only use it 3 times a day, max.

Here's the trick to reduce your usage to a more manageable level; when you wake up in the morning, only clear one nostril with Afrin. When that closes up, wait as long as you can stand it (I can't go much more than and hour), then clear the other nostril. (I find that I'm usually fine if I can breath OK with one side.) I do the same thing when I'm sleeping and alternate nostrils and nights.

When I find myself getting out of control I do this and I'm almost Afrin-free during the day surprisingly fast. I think it's only 4-7 days.

I can NOT sleep without it, though!

And, no. I don't blame Afrin for my problems. I had so many sinus infections as a kid that I thought it was normal. Afrin actually saved me. After starting Afrin I've cut the bad infections down from 3-5 a year to 1 infection every two or three years.

[LadyNavyVet]

I was addicted to Afrin and got off it. Here's how--pick a nostril and use Afrin as often as necessary, but only on that side. The non-Afrin side will clog up horribly for several hours or possibly even a few days, but will eventually clear up. In the meantime you can breathe through the Afrin nostril. When the first side clears, stop using Afrin on the other. It, too, will clog up horribly, of course, but eventually clear. Then you're off Afrin. I'm now using prescription generic fluticasone proprianate, which is once a day and keeps me as clear as Afrin ever did--no headaches, stuffiness, sinus infections, not even a cold since I started using it. And since it's generic, it's not expensive.

Hope this helps.

[cloud8]

Have your tried draining and cleaning with a nasal saline solution that you make yourself?

[mysterio]

Yeah, I have a bottle and several backups scattered around the house and car. This will be the third time I've had to kick. I'll get off it, be clogged for a month, and then I'll have this state of sometimes clear, clogged for the better part of a month and after a few years, I'll decide it's better to be addicted to Afrin and be able to breathe 12 months a year. But thanks, everyone, for the advice. I'll probably stop using the stuff again, suffer through it, and realize I was better off on Afrin and start using it again in a year or so. LOL.