Fitter, happier, and other fantasies of modern life

Re:Fitter, happier, and other fantasies of modern life by wutbrodo on Sunday March 11, 2018 @06:34PM (#16565099)

I have unusually sensitive sleep, which I haven't yet addressed, but there were a couple of physical things that were combining with that to make it so that I pretty much never got a restful night. I apparently have GERD, as well as bad enough allergies that my nasal passages weren't open enough. So I started using H2 blockers and nasal strips and the immediate improvement in my quality of life is insane. It manifested in a pretty unintuitive way: the fact that I had to exert a certain amount of pressure to continue breathing through my nose was apparently enough that my body would keep me from ever resting very well. At its worst, I would spend 11 hours in bed and still feel way less rested than _5 hours_ makes me feel now.

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Re:Fitter, happier, and other fantasies of modern life by nvarsj on Monday March 12, 2018 @05:06AM (#16566898)

I concur, nasal strips improved my sleep substantially, after struggling for years with very dry mouth at night (causing me to wake up multiple times a night). My family has issues breathing through our noses for some reason, something genetic. I even got a septoplasty and turbinoid reduction to try and fix it (very pushy ENT surgeon), but this didn't really help much at all.

Only drawbacks I've noticed to long time use (4 years): they are expensive, at least in the UK. And I think it has slightly altered the appearance of my nose (making it look puffier where the strips pull up) - but this is hard to know for sure, as I don't have pictures to compare as a baseline. I've tried to minimize any physical effect by using as small strips as possible.

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Re:Fitter, happier, and other fantasies of modern life by graeme on Sunday March 11, 2018 @10:08PM (#16565782)

Interesting. What were the GERD symptoms, and what did the H2 blockers do?

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Re:Fitter, happier, and other fantasies of modern life by wutbrodo on Monday March 12, 2018 @12:56AM (#16566295)

The main symptom would be that I've had a low grade cough my entire life, which was also the main issue when sleeping. I'd also always have a mildly sore throat I was constantly having to clear. More recently, even mild triggers (one or two alcoholic drinks, not eating until late in the day) would give me some pretty horrible heartburn for hours, which is what made me see a doctor about GERD. She directed me to an OTC medicine (Zantac) and I've been taking it once or twice a day for a few weeks. I'm at the pt now where I only take it if I'm going to eat a trigger (alcohol, caffeine, spicy food). My mom has actually had GERD and taken Zantac for about a decade, so I probably should've thought of this earlier.

H2 blockers lower your stomach's response to histamine. I believe antihistamine allergy medicines are H1 blockers: they work slightly differently but have roughly the same mechanism of action.

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Re:Fitter, happier, and other fantasies of modern life by Nomentatus on Monday March 12, 2018 @01:41AM (#16566392)

Right, H2 blockers also mimic the effects of H1 blockers (antihistamines). Thus, they will reduce swelling, including in the nasal passages by blocking histamines.

Amongst other side effects - antihistamines inhibit/block tanning.

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Re:Fitter, happier, and other fantasies of modern life by achompas on Sunday March 11, 2018 @11:30PM (#16566038)

Thanks for sharing. My wife (a medical professional) has commented that I seemingly have trouble breathing through my nose. I'll give strips a shot.

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Re:Fitter, happier, and other fantasies of modern life by wutbrodo on Monday March 12, 2018 @12:59AM (#16566303)

Honestly, they're incredible. I had a weird home environment as a kid and it turns out there were a few medical problems I've been dealing with my whole life as a result; I've been addressing these recently and am mildly uncomfortable with having a drug regimen, as pretty much every drug has the possibility or certainty of side effects, in either the short or long term.

Nasal strips, by contrast, are literally just holding your nose open. The worst I can imagine is that my skin might get irritated from regular contact with the adhesive, but so far that hasn't happened. They also work insanely well for me: Occasionally when I'm trying to get back to sleep, I remember that I can now take full breaths and I do it, and I IMMEDIATELY feel my brain sinking into sleep mode.

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Re:Fitter, happier, and other fantasies of modern life by cgag on Monday March 12, 2018 @01:54AM (#16566427)

I'm fairly certain I have gerd and bad sleep and will have to try these things, thanks.

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Re:Fitter, happier, and other fantasies of modern life by wutbrodo on Monday March 12, 2018 @03:19AM (#16566634)

If you live in a dry area, try a humidifier too. Before I figured out the GERD, I started using a humidifier and it helped a bit (mainly by making the GERD and allergic symptoms less severe).

Sleep is SUPER important, and these things are all inexpensive and basically risk-free from a health perspective. (Though I would probably at least ask your doctor about reflux before deciding to take H2 blockers regularly. It's just prudent when deciding to take a new drug regularly).

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