(no subject)

[sisabet]

Today - today is slightly sucky. I'm trying to think of ways to make it suck less and things to concentrate on, and it is a stretch, even for me.

As far as oral decongestants go - I'm stuck with pseudoephedrine, right? I mean - that is pretty much all we got, right?

Why haven't they invented more decongestants? Antihistamines we have by the truckload, you'd think there would be some new designer decongestant out there that my insurance wouldn't cover and would cost way too much for me to buy it, but at least I would know it existed.

And can I get any more lame? I bet I can.

Things are looking fairly serious for my friend who had the melanoma removed yesterday - she's in significant pain today from the surgery (huge massive incision) and there is concern about her lymph nodes now (apparently the lesion was much more aggressive and deep than they originally thought) so - dudes - just remember to keep doing skin checks and wearing sunscreen and not tan and I promise I will feel better about all of y'all.

I swear I have Deep Thoughts about Smallville (and look - Cappy made me a Saved!Smallville icon) and Clark and... stuff. Hang on and I'll dislodge it.

Meh - I tried but now I don't feel like really discussing anything so nevermind. I'll be entertaining later.

Comments

[jebbypal]

Actually, you can also look at pseudophedrine/guafenisen mixes. Pseudophed is the decongestant of choice since it has less propensity to probs w/ stroke though it still does bad things to blood pressure. Guafensisen is an expectorant -- it helps to make the mucus and stuff so you can cough and get rid of it easier while the decongestant just makes it run. By combining them, you generally don't have to use quite as high a dose of pseudophed a lot of times.

You can also now buy (i forget what it's called---i think it mucinex or something like that) guafenisen by itself OTC...it's being marketed primarily to the high bp crowd as a way to treat colds and allergy related congestion. I haven't tried it, but heard people say they like it.

You body adjusts to the pseudophed eventually and the side effects go away after a while. I've always had bad allergies (including those I didn't know about) and had to take pseudofed/guaifensin mixes pretty much since I was 3 if I didn't want to have massive sinus infections ALL the time. Never really noticed too many side effects till this last time I stepped up the dosage due to having problems w/ work related environmental allergies and stuff. If you have to take for a week or more, the side effects should dissipate some.

And interestingly, decongestants are just hard to make due to the molecular mechanisms that they work by. The chemicals we have seem to be the ones that do it, and well...discovering new molecules isn't all that easy, let alone making them safe enough to consume.

Okay..those were the science facts of the day. Back to my experiments.

[sisabet.livejournal.com]

I've been on allergy medications since I was little. I've had chronic insomnia dating from this same time. I never connected the two until recently and it is like magic. I don't take Sudafed - I am able to fall asleep and stay asleep. I do take Sudafed and it is 4am and I am miserable and awake.

It is actually writing in this LJ that made me notice that my insomnia had a pattern that follows my allergies.

So while most of Sudafed's stimulant-like side effects do fade in time, like the appetite suppression is gone in two weeks with regular use - this does not appear to be one of them. Cause - I remember being nine years old and asking my grandmother "How do you fall asleep" cause I just assumed I didn't know how to do it. And this fits because I *always* took my allergy meds at night (and in the mornings in season) so I could keep, y'know - breathing.

[laurashapiro.livejournal.com]

Seriously, if it's just about breathing at night, try making 3pm your latest dose of Sudafed, and spraying your nose with Afrin (once in each nostril) about ten minutes before you lie down. The stuff lasts for 12 hours.

Beware, though, of the rebound effect: if you use Afrin more than 2 days in a row, your sinuses actually get *more* blocked up. In allergy season, I try to restrict my nasal spraying to twice a week.

Steam is also good for opening you up. Try a nice hot shower at night with your bathroom door/windows shut.

If you are willing to get your hippie freak on, there's always the neti pot (http://www.bytheplanet.com/Products/Yoga/neti/Netipot.htm). My sister swears by it; she used it during her last pregnancy (since you can't take drugs when you're pregnant).