I tried Fluticasone for chronic congestion before, and I was unhappy with the results. It appears that I may not have been doing it wrong. Let’s try again!
And, on a side note: Are you supposed to shake the bottle first? Does it matter? That’s something else I need to find out.
So, yesterday I met with an allergist and also a young man who’s on the verge of officially being a doctor. And, they were both extremely cool. But, the thing I always forget about is that I’m not trying to make new friends…these are doctors…I need them to to help me. I don’t know if that digression will mean anything to you, but a lot of times I sort of get sidetracked about my main purpose.
And, presently my main purpose is this chronis sinusitis…this almost always present nasal congestion that makes my life miserable (reduces my quality of life big time!) and interferes with my sleep and at least slightly ties into and exacerbates my apneas. It all kind of connects back together.
So, the loose theme of this blog is “pain”…and, while this isn’t pain in the traditional sense…it’s a physical condition that’s fucking miserable. Let’s just be honest and not mince words. This whole not being able to breathe through the nose most of my life is a fucking miserable way to go through life. It won’t kill you per se. But, it’s just very damn unpleasant, and I’m sick of it!
So, I’m trying to do something about it. I’m addressing the sleep apnea directly. And, also the nose stuff. I’ve already had the CT scans/MRIs done on the nasal/sinus cavities. That’s been done. And, they said it was “unremarkable.” There’s no nasal polyps, no cancer, no structural problems. And, that’s great! But, I still can’t breathe through my nose most of the time!
So, it was sort of a process of deduction that if it’s not structural then…hey, must be some sort of allergy thing, right?
So, they game me the many little pin prick skin test and it showed that I don’t have any allergies.
And, that’s where you get into the whole allergy vs. irritant thing…there can be something that doesn’t go through the allergic system (histamine etc.) that still is an IRRITANT causing you problems. That’s something I learned yesterday!
And, I regret not asking about SINUS INFECTIONS! I regret not asking that because they were being generous with their time. And, I forgot. I always forget to ask things during these doctor meetings that I later remember when I get home. It’s always like, I SHOULD HAVE ASKED ABOUT _____________!
Anyway, after talking to them, I’m going to give the Fluticasone Propionate Nasal Spray USP another chance. This was prescribed to me a while back. And, I gave it a try, of course. I gave it a good try for like six weeks. And, my conclusion…honestly, I felt that the Fluticasone was making things worse. And, I remember concluding that if the Fluticasone wasn’t making things worse…it sure as hell wasn’t making things better. And, technically it’s some sort of steroid and if it’s not helping me I’m not going to put this steroid into my system.
(By the way, Fluticasone Propionate is also called Flonase Allergy Relief…that’s the sort of friendlier, we live in a hyper-capitalistic everything gets a cutesy name sort of society)
So, the doctors seemed surprised by what I said about the Fluticasone. It seems like that’s something they don’t hear much.
The one doctor emphasized that the Fluticasone gets sprayed AWAY FROM YOUR SEPTUM. That I didn’t know! I guess I didn’t research/read enough about it…wasn’t instructed…or I just didn’t read the papers that came with it. That’s on me! I usually don’t read all those papers. AND, I SHOULD! As you can see…I should!
So, you’re supposed to spray away from the septum, and he also said you’re not supposed to really be holding your head back. Your head should actually be tilted forward a bit. And, I’M PISSED AT MYSELF FOR NOT TAKING NOTES! I usually take some notes, but I was tired because I was coming straight from the sleep study…because I can’t quite remember how many times a day/how many sprays, etc. I think he said to do two sprays in each nostril once a day. I need to contact this doctor to get that clarified!
Anyway, that’s where I’m at. SPRAY AWAY FROM THE SEPTUM!