I've got an addictive personality. My weight should be evidence enough to prove that. Every year, I catch a little cold, get a sinus infection, whatever you want to call it and face the same dilemma each time. Do I go with the immediate gratification of the nose spray or do I suck it up (pardon the pun) and stay stopped up? Since I hate the feeling or fear of not being able to breathe through my nose (or not at all) I go with the nose spray every time. Not *just* regular nose spray. But the *menthol* nose spray. The severe congestion kind. You know? The kind that makes your brain feel like you just took an electric shock? But it works. And it works good. The problem is. It's only supposed to be used twice a day and not for more than three days. HA! I've been working that stuff over for about two weeks now. I tried to quit once but quickly hopped back on the wagon. Or is it off the wagon? Anyway - - I snorted it again. And it felt good. I could breathe. So, Monday night, I decided to kick this beast. It is not the boss of me. And I've been successful this go round. Yay me. But all stinkin' day, I've sneezed and had to blow my nose. I've probably given myself some kind of actual sinus infection from snorting the stuff too much. Will I learn? Probably not. The next time I'm stopped up, I won't be patient enough to wait the three days it will take to clear up. Instead I will drag it out another two weeks and have to kick the habit again. So not only do I have an addictive personality, I don't learn from my mistakes.
Wednesday, November 22
I think I beat my addiction.
I've got an addictive personality. My weight should be evidence enough to prove that. Every year, I catch a little cold, get a sinus infection, whatever you want to call it and face the same dilemma each time. Do I go with the immediate gratification of the nose spray or do I suck it up (pardon the pun) and stay stopped up? Since I hate the feeling or fear of not being able to breathe through my nose (or not at all) I go with the nose spray every time. Not *just* regular nose spray. But the *menthol* nose spray. The severe congestion kind. You know? The kind that makes your brain feel like you just took an electric shock? But it works. And it works good. The problem is. It's only supposed to be used twice a day and not for more than three days. HA! I've been working that stuff over for about two weeks now. I tried to quit once but quickly hopped back on the wagon. Or is it off the wagon? Anyway - - I snorted it again. And it felt good. I could breathe. So, Monday night, I decided to kick this beast. It is not the boss of me. And I've been successful this go round. Yay me. But all stinkin' day, I've sneezed and had to blow my nose. I've probably given myself some kind of actual sinus infection from snorting the stuff too much. Will I learn? Probably not. The next time I'm stopped up, I won't be patient enough to wait the three days it will take to clear up. Instead I will drag it out another two weeks and have to kick the habit again. So not only do I have an addictive personality, I don't learn from my mistakes.
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1 comment:
I totally feel your pain! I have this exact same dilemma. My dad was one of those addicts who never bothered to kick the habit. He had bottles of Afrin stashed everywhere: in his nightstand, in the glove box, in the end table *and* the coffee table, in his office, in the kitchen drawer, in the bathroom, just everywhere - true junkie style. The stuff over the long term can really cause significant medical damage, so it has always scared the heck out of me, but like you, I use and abuse anyway. ;)
The last couple of years I have come up with a new strategy that seems to help. I buy the hardcore Sudafed, which seems to work decently well. I take that on a religious schedule, every four hours or whatever the limit is, and then I only allow myself the nose spray for nighttime sleeping. And I try each night to lay down for 30 minutes before I actually use it, to see if I really need it. There are times when the Sudafed works well enough, but then I wake up six hours later stopped up, so I use it then. That's the rule: only at night. It seems to help fight the addiction much better.
Anyhow, sorry to hijack your blog, but I am right there with you, friend. We seem to share several addictions, food, nose spray, scrapbooking. :D
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