I used Flonase daily for a few years from my early teens through my early twenties. I also used the generic fluticasone when it became available in early 2006. Flonase at least for me worked pretty well at relieving my sinus and nasal symptoms and I could feel it working within a few days of using it.
Personally, Flonase seemed to work right after I took it as well as working over time to relieve my symptoms. I used it once daily, two sprays in each nostril which is a common dosing for this medication.
I had tried other nasal spray medications such as Nasonex, but for me Flonase seemed to work the best. The primary downside to Flonase was the price, those without insurance may pay close to a hundred dollars for one bottle of Flonase. Fortunately the generic is more then half that price and is FDA approved as a generic for Flonase.
I often suffered from clogged sinus and nasal passages and so a nasal spray was one of the best options for me at the time. I was able to quickly and easily use the spray bottle as prescribed and felt relief in less then 20 minutes in most cases. An important thing to note is that with nasal spray medications, using it regularly may be key to getting the most benefit out of the medication.
I didn’t experience any bad side effects from Flonase like I did with pills such as Clarinex, although occasionally I did get a sore throat. I also have post nasal drip so it is possible that the Flonase had nothing to do with my sore throat issues.
I also didn’t experience much nasal dryness or headaches as a result of using Flonase, in fact it did wonders in relieving my headaches caused by sinus and nasal problems.
I’ll admit that it takes a little getting used to when using any nasal spray, the sensation of a blast of the spray into your nasal passages can feel weird at first and can give you a brief stinging sensation in your head. I also sometimes got an aftertaste in my mouth due to some of the spray occasionally leaving my nasal passages and going down into my throat. But the pros outweigh the cons for this nasal spray, at least for me.
Currently I only use the generic from time to time, lately I have been using saline rinse solutions with a neti pot to clear my nasal passages and relieve symptoms. This has been an inexpensive and natural way to treat and clean my nasal and sinus passages although sometimes I do go back and use Flonase when I don’t have time to use a neti pot or my symptoms are really bad.
