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Oh, that sounds miserable!

 

Have you seen a doctor? I am generally a let-nature-take-its-course type when it comes to colds and such, but if you have been sick for weeks it may be time to get it checked out! I once drug my sorry sick self around for a couple of weeks, finally caved and went to the doctor. I had double pneumonia. Antibiotics and an inhaler had me feeling 75% better within 36 hours and totally better in 72 hours.

 

If you are against the doctor idea (or even if you aren't ;), have you tried a neti pot? You can get one at most drugstores.

 

I hope you feel better soon!

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I'd suggest skipping the Benadryl during the daylight hours. Take it at 8 PM, and again at 2 AM if you wake up, but take it no later than 4-6 hours before your normal/needed wake-up time. If you need 24 hr antihistimine coverage, take Claritin or a similar non-drowsy antihistimine in the morning, then just add the Benadryl at night if it works a bit better for you.

 

During the day, just take non-drowsy stuff like the Claritin, Sudafed (the old fashioned stuff you have to get at the pharmacy counter), using a neti-pot (google it if you are unfamiliar!), and whatever other remedies are non-drowsy for you. Drink TONS of liquids, especially warm ones. In the evenings, if things are getting bad, take hot showers to loosen things up (and use that neti-pot). Try to force yourself to be somewhat active during the day, avoiding naps, etc, maybe even going for a walk (they help, believe it or not, lol) when you get really groggy. and, hopefully, that will allow you to sleep a bit better that night and maybe reset your clock a bit. Once you get a truly good night sleep, you'll probably be able to function better the next day, etc.

 

I've also heard that taking a hot bath 2 hrs before bed works to induce sleep. As does drinking warm milk. Avoiding screen time in the evenings is helpful as well.

 

If you are coughing a lot, you could consider asking your DR for hydrocodone cough syrup (or pills, but I've always had the syrup). IME, it is THE BOMB for allowing you to stop coughing at night long enough to sleep! When I used to get bad winter colds (no more since I started running 2 years ago! Running does great things for my immune system!), I would hack and cough for weeks on end, sleepless and miserablewithout the hydrocodone. Hydrocodone actually WORKS to stop coughs in their tracks when nothing else does. However, it does have risks, so talk to your DR. Also, stay away from it if you have any addictive tendencies, as it is a narcotic/opiate, and is addictive. I only took it at night (i'm a believer that productive coughs are generally good for you, so I don't want to stop them all the time, just long enough to get some sleep), and I would still have to wean myself off of it over several days (reducing dosage) if I was on it more than about 10 days. (I discovered that I was addicted to it physically simply by stopping when I felt better, and then I'd get nauseous for about 24 hrs! That rather freaked me out, so in the future, I just tapered the dose over 3-4 days and avoided that problem!) I apparently got whooping cough one winter . . . over a month of hacking!! Anyway, it was my salvation when I had bad colds/coughs at night, and I wouldn't hesitate to get it again if/when I had another lengthy bad cold/cough!

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I just can't seem to sleep at night. You know, it's like when your kid has croup, and it's always 100x worse at night? Gah. I feel like I'm getting over it by dinner time and by bed time I'm worse than I ever was.

Is it worse at night in general or when you're in bed? I react strongly to dust mites and need special covers on my pillows and mattresses along with an air filter( for other allergies) in the bedroom in order to be able to breath at night.

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Sudaphed clears my nose out when it is stuffy. Also try a nose spray; just ask the pharmacist which is the strongest one. The last time I was sick, the pharmcist showed me one to use that is super powerful (I can't remember the name of it). You are only supposed to use it for 3 days, because it can be addicting, but baby did it help!

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Maybe you are rebounding? Using a lot of decongestants can lead to more stuffiness. I've heard it happens more with sprays, tho.

 

I would thoroughly wipe down your bedroom using a damp cloth, change your sheets/pillow cases (maybe even buy a new pillow), stop the Benedryl during the day and take a Zyrtec instead, and use Vicks on your feet with socks at night. Neti your sinuses right before bed, unless they are swollen. Take an ibruprofen to reduce the swelling. Finally, get an air filtering machine and let it run in your bedroom from the afternoon on (thru the night if you can, but I hate the noise). We have one, and I can literally feel the change in the air when I do the above--it's amazing.

 

HTH. Sorry you are feeling so crummy.

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I agree it is time to see a doctor - after two solid weeks of broken sleep from a cough but no other symptoms I took youngest dd in - she had bronchitis, asthma and was coming down with strep! She is now coughing a lot less since she has an inhaler and (generic) Singular.

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Here's a totally weird sounding idea, but I think maybe it helped me. I read this somewhere....don't know where. Cut a chunk or slice of raw onion. Get a pair of cotton socks. Run hot water over the socks till they're soaked through and feel warm or even hot to the touch.Wring them out very well. Insert onions into socks so they lay flat across the bottom of sock (like where your feet would step on them if you were wearing them. Then, get into bed and put socks on. Go to sleep. I swear, if the socks are hot enough, it is so relaxing. And I think the onion maybe does something. :tongue_smilie:

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I had the exact same thing earlier in the summer. It was awful. The only way to sleep was to take Nyquil. Of course then, I snored so much that my dh couldn't sleep. :) So after 3 weeks of both of us taking turns sleeping at night, I called the dr. They called me in a nasal spray to help with the inflammation in my sinuses so that mess could drain out of my head. It was so bad though that I really had no improvement for about 5 days. And then finally I was able to clear out my head. It was bliss being able to sleep at night without drugs.

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Afrin is what I take when I can't sleep at night from congestion. It's a nasal spray, works for 12 hours, and it is Amazing. Within a few minutes I go from being totally stuffed up and unable to breathe, to feeling like my sinuses are completely clear. It reduces the swelling in you nasal passages. I only take it at night, because it can be addictive and I can usually deal with the congestion when I'm not laying down trying to sleep.

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