Nasal issues causing sleep problems

Hi all,

Hoping to seek some input from others.

I have bad sinuses. I can breathe out of them but never very well. When standing up/sitting up I can kind of breathe out of both of them but its straining and not natural. When lying down one of them often blocks.

I had a septoplasty many years ago when I was a kid which I dont think fixed my problems. The surgeon said afterward that I have very narrow windy nasal passages and he is not sure whether or not the surgery will have fixed the problem. Was through the public system. I actually think it did help a bit though.

But now I have found the problem worse in recent years. I think maybe the sinuses have grown worse over time. I have noticed a couple of things I never used to have happen. One is severe aerosinusitis and ear popping on planes. Very painful and was slightly terrifying. Now I take both a steroid spray and pseudoephedrine pills before flying and it prevents this problem.

Also if I drink alcohol, even like two drinks, my sinuses swell right up that night and then next day and I get very little sleep and a worse hangover than most people.

But in the last year I have noticed very poor sleep quality at times, without any alcohol consumption. I seem to wake up throughout the night and often have difficulty getting back to sleep. Each morning I wake up very early, like 5 to 6am, regardless of how late I went to bed and can't get back to sleep again. It sounds a bit like sleep apnea, but I think it is related to my sinuses. I am mid 30s, very slim and fit so I dont fit the mould of typical sleep apnea sufferer, but I think with my nose problems I do. Its starting to impact my life. I am regularly feeling tired and like crap, as though I am hungover but without having drunk any alcohol. My energy levels are very low. I had to call in sick to work two times because of the severe fatigue my sleep loss caused.

I have been taking a steroid nasal spray for many years called Alanaise. I think it helps.

I am not sure where to go from here so really interested in tips ideas and shared experiences. I am slightly worried as I doubt my insurance will cover this because I had the septoplasty when I was a kid and it will probably be regarded as a pre-existing condition.

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