I remember being scared of stuffy nose as well. My mask was so tight for the first 5 weeks that I could not breathe thru my mouth while it was on. Doc gave me flonaze, which I used out of fear more than need. Afterwards, I found that Afrin works well but listen to your docs. Afrin can have rebound congestion issues that might make it worse. Be careful, a simple cold, or worse the flu, will make things more difficult and stressful. Lord know, more stress is not something we all needed at that time.