I had a rough patch during my second trimester. Just when I thought I'd feel better after all the nausea, I entered the stage of "Allergies and Sinuses". I read a few articles online that say it is common for pregnant women to have swollen sinuses and congestion and that it would only get worse. This was not good news to me, as it was getting in the way of my sleep.

I have always suffered of allergies and have had some trouble sleeping in the past because of it, but I was always able to take medication and get through it. My midwife recommended a neti pot or some Claritin. I didn't opt for the Claritin for two main reasons:  1) I was not allowed to take Claritin D and I was congested. Therefore, just plain Claritin would do nothing for my breathing problems, and 2) After much research, I came to the conclusion that while doctors say that Claritin hasn't been proven to hurt the fetus, it also hasn't been proven that it won't hurt the fetus. So in other words, "go ahead and try it and let us know what happens". I decided against the guinea pig option.

I tried the neti pot instead, and of course, it didn't really work. There were times when it definitely opened up my sinuses right away, but then all went back to complete closure once I lied down. And there were times when not a single drop of water would come out the other end. I tried the sleeping propped up and the vaporizer and the vapor rub... nothing worked. Sometimes, I'd be up for 2-3 hours, walking around and drinking water to get some sort of relief, only to fall asleep about 30 minutes before my alarm went off. 

Eventually, after about 2 1/2 months, I finally was able to sleep through the night again! I was so happy! So what changed? There were a couple of factors that may have contributed:

1. I currently live in Los Angeles and took a trip to Kansas City, MO to visit my fiancé's family for the holidays. We drove across the country, taking the northern route and while you may think the change in environment may have helped, I'll say that I felt exactly the same the entire way there and even the first few days in KC. Perhaps it took a few days to get the allergies out of my system? Maybe.

2. We see a nutritionist in KC who is an expert in NAET (Natural Allergy Elimination Technique). He has always been able to help with my allergies in the past and he asked that I bottle up some water for a few days in my office and apartment (I moved a pan with water around from my bedroom to the rest of the apartment). This would allow the water to collect any allergens I may be reacting to. Once I was able to see him, he said I was highly allergic to whatever my environment collected, but especially, dust. He did his treatment on me and sent me on my way. I was not able to sleep that night or the night after and figured the treatment had not worked this time. However, on the third night, and every night since then, I have been able to breathe and sleep through the night without any trouble!

So, what really helped? Was it the change in environment? The NAET? Both? Regardless of what it was, I couldn't be happier to be able to breathe and feel rested, without all of the sinus pressure headaches!