Am an RN.

1. When you elevate the head of your bed (In this case to help the fluid drain out of your head / sinuses), don’t put the extra pillows under your head, put them under the mattress. you’ll fall to the side as the pillow pile collapses too much to be useful while you’re half awake, but if the whole head is up you just gotta wiggle your way back up if you wake up congested. You can also stuff extra blankets and stuffed animals or whatever else you have under there for extra lift (although at a certain point if you don’t have a footboard the mattress will start sliding down. You could also try sleeping in a recliner chair if you have one.

2. All fluid used in a neti-pot MUST be sterile, or you’ll get brain worms / amoebas. You can get sterile saline from the wound care / bandage aisle in the pharmacy, or you can make it at home but make sure you let the solution cool so that it is NOT boiling before putting it in the neti pot.

3. Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat with slippery elm is the GOAT for sore and scratchy throats, which can happen as the fluid drains.

Also did you take real sudafed or fake sudafed? Phenylephrine is literally a placebo. Pseudoephedrine is the stuff you want but you may need to show ID for it because it can be used to make meth.