I seem to have the hardest time breathing through my nose, even when not noticeably congested. I do have a deviated septum and get a sinus infection about once a year (have one at the moment). Have tried all types of decongestants, nasal sprays, sinus rinses, which provide little relief. I'm seeing an ENT Tuesday to see if surgery is an option. Has anyone else been down this road before?

Yep. Not sure if it did any good or not.

Right now I'm trying Sinus Buster nasal spray that Pea Ridge recommended. I can't tell if it's doing any good or not either. LOL I used it for a few days and forgot to take it with me while I was out of town over past few days. I do think for sure that it helped my allergies while I was using it.

Yep and it's awful. I wouldn't wish sinus surgery on my worst enemy. It was awful, but I could breathe for a couple of years, but I still have issues breathing.

Painful recovery?

I've had 5 sinus surgeries the last one in Dec. I have sinus polyps that are a pain in the butt. Hopefully this time it will be my last one. The dr is prescribing me some new steroid nose spray that is suppose to keep them from coming back. Surgery is not that bad. Had mine on Thursday, hunted sat & sun and back to work on Monday

For me, yes. I will say that I had a scab break loose in the shower that was bigger than my nostril. Had to dig it out. LOL

It was bad and the scabs that keep coming out were rough !

At the suggestion of 2Dogs, I've been using Flonase for about a week. Seems to work fine until I go into a warehouse for a long time. Then, without fail, my nose bleeds like crazy the next morning. I'm going to Dr real soon...

Mucinex has always worked well for me but when I take it it clears my sinuses so dry that it almost burns to breathe. You will wake up in the morning and it burns like hell.

From about 18 to 31 I had to have a medicated (over the counter) nose spray to feel like I was breathing halfway normal through my nose. I went to the doc thinking it was sinus issues and was prepared for surgery. He told me it was a severe deviated septum and enlarged turbulants. He said my sinuses were crystal clear and that he wanted to fix the other two problems. Surgery was rough but not bad like I had heard. I felt like a new man for about 3-4 months then I was back to needing the spray. I guess Ill die with a bottle of spray close by.

If it is from turbinate hypertrophy, balloon sinuplasty could help.

I've had 3 sinus surgeries and each one has been successful. Like some of the previous posters I have sinus polyps. My first surgery was removing polyps, trimming turbinates, and fixing a deviated septum. I also found out I was allergic to demorall, which makes the recovery room a blast. My 2 surgeries since then I have no demorall written all over my charts and I'm up just like normal after lunch except for cottonballs taped to my nose. You'll blow out all kind of nastiness for about 2 weeks after but it makes for great opportunities to gross out the wife and kids! Get a good ENT and if it's just polyps it won't be too bad. Fixing the deviated septum and turbinates is a little worse. I'm 34 now and had that done when I was 16 or so. My last surgery was when I was 32 and the CT scan showed the turbinates and septum are still good. I've heard horror stories of sinus surgeries but I've felt 100% better after each one. I used to get multiple sinus infections each year and it's been better since surgery. I use a sinus rinse stuff now that seems to be helping and will hopefully prevent future surgeries. Can't remember the name of it but I'll try to remember to post it up when I get home. You can buy it OTC at any pharmacy. Looks like some sort of scam product but my ENT recommended it and it works really well.

Alright, got a septoplasty and turbinate reduction surgery scheduled for April 1st. Nothing like a April fool's surgery.

Good luck and I hope it lasts longer than mine did. I had mine done right before a big snow and I was low on split wood so I was in the yard slinging a splitting wedge the day after. I should have thought about that beforehand.

MIGHT WANT TO LOOK AT THIS

http://www.balloonsinuplasty.com/

I've had the surgeries. Benydril is the only shelf medication that will combat it. Take as directed and it will make a difference.

Claritin non drowsy 24 hour reditabs. I've tried them all and this one has worked everyday for a few years now. No nervousness, no headache- just works. Expensive though....I think thirty of them is about $20-24.

As far as breathing goes, try a breathe right strip. I sleep with one and feel a lot more rested the next day. I would wear one during the day if they didn't look goofy. Helps with snoring big time.