Hello @mel062284, Welcome to Connect. I know how you feel as I've struggled with a stuffed up nose and congestion for years and found out I had a deviated septum when I had a sleep study done and was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea.

I thought the deviated septum was part of the problem and went to an ENT at Rochester Mayo Clinic to discuss getting a septoplasty. After listening to all of the pros and cons he recommended we start with a Mayo Clinic proprietary nasal spray - The 3 ingredients are Mometasone to reduce inflammation, Ipratropium to reduce nasal drainage and Diphenhydramine which is an antihistamine to help reduce nasal drainage. The product description on my prescription is MOMET 0.033% – IPRA 0.02% – DIPH 0.02%. I used it for about 3 months and it cleared up most of my congestion. I had to use a normal nasal rinse prior to using the nasal spray and did it in the mornings and evenings.

That was well over a year ago and rather than renew my nasal spray RX I decided to switch to a twice daily nasal rinse using the NeilMed Sinus Rinse Kit with Xylitol after reading an older study on Xylitol - Xylitol nasal irrigation in the management of chronic rhinosinusitis: a pilot study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21994147/

I'm not sure it will help you but it's a rather inexpensive thing to try so I thought I would mention it. Have you tried nasal rinses along with nasal sprays?

@mel062284
I am sorry you are experiencing this and I know you are frustrated.

Do know that your experience is not rare. These are just not shared or reported. What you are going through is very common. Along with the direction you’ve been given post surgery.
Allergy shots, when you would have never needed them before. Nasal Rinses w/ antibiotics that you most likely never had needed before.

This becomes a physiological issue vs. a pathological issue.

What the ENTs are recommending for you now, are the only thing they have to offer once the function has been disrupted due to surgery.

These side effects can happen just from a septoplasty alone. But is more likely to occur when any other tissue/bone such as turbinates are altered/removed.

Have you been to one of the few major tertiary institutions that are willing to explain this-such as Stanford?

I have been very open here about my opinion on nasal/sinus surgeries. I get many responses of people who refuse to believe that so much harm can happen. But it does and most people don’t hear about it.

You could try one of the few tertiary clinics whom acknowledges these issues- Stanford.

Again-thank you for sharing in order to bring awareness.

I have had nose problems for decades. It started when I moved to a cold city in the Midwest and after a year I had a lot of problems with dry feeling nose when I slept. One big issue was that my mucous changed. It went from slightly yellow and runny looking mucous to very sticky white milky looking mucous (no yellow whatsoever). I would as ENTs what this signified and they had absolutely no answer for me.