So I have allergies… A bunch of people have them, great…
Here’s my issue…
I took zertec for like 3 years and up until a few months ago it worked great. Well, it stopped worked, so I call my doc and say, hey doc… The zertec no work no mo!!!
Tells me to try over the counter stuff, so I do’s that too… The Clariton D seems to work, well “seemed” to work… Now it doesn’t work and they tell me that there isn’t really anything else they can give me… WTF!!! Now, before I go farther, this is what really p!sses me off… The “over the counter” Clariton D, yeah, you have to get it from the pharmasist, behind the counter oh… And, I can’t buy 3 packs of 10, they don’t make a 30 pack, I can buy a 10 and a 5 pack though, but not even 2 - 10 packs!!! I guess kids use this stuff to get high or something, I don’t know, but still… Don’t tell me it’s over the counter when really… It’s not over the counter. My other issue with this is I have very good insurance and a prescription plan, but Clariton D because it’s “over the counter” it isn’t covered, but cost me 2 times as much as the zertec…
Whewww… OK, now that I got that off my chest… Anyone else have allergy issues? What helps???
[quote]doogie wrote:
Just buy the generic psuedoephedrine. It’s probably behind the counter, but it works as well as anything else in the clinical trials I’ve seen.[/quote]
Psuedoephedrine is only a decongestant. We’re talking about antihistamines. It’s good to keep them separate though, since sometimes you have a runny nose, but it’s not stopped-up or visa versa.
The Claritin never lasted 24 hours for me; it always crapped-out after about 15 or 16.
I’ve taken prescription Singulair. It does well for asthma symptoms, but doesn’t help the itchy eyes, runny nose, and tickling/sneezing parts. Allegra D is a prescription that seems to work well, but I’m not sure how long it lasts.
Tavist D is a 12-hr anti-hist and seems to do the trick for me (and has continued to do so for some time). I take it only when I need it and not every day. CVS and Walgreens make their own versions for $4.99-5.99 for 16 tabs.
Stay away from benedryl, unless you like falling asleep at your desk and/or psychodelic dreams.
Right now I’m on a Claritin and Nasonex combo. The nasal problems were really the most disastrous of my issues, and Nasonex has helped a lot. My doctor gave me a prescription for Zyrtec as well, but I’ve not yet filled it. When I asked about other options he told me to move to the south or leave the planet.
I had been trying Sudafed, Claritin, and Allerest PE. I seemed to have better results cycling the different decongestants and antihistamines, but things were by no means under control. The fact that I feel better now could be because of the newest drug in the mix, or the rain, or some combination of both.
Once upon a time I got weekly desensitization allergy shots. In retrospect, my symptoms were pretty well under control back then.
The reason we cannot easily get pseudoephedrine products anymore (Sudafed and anything with a -D in it) is because it can be used to make methamphetamines. The PE products use a different decongestant.
A mixture between Allegra-D and Flonase did the trick for me. I went from not being able to breathe (literally) to being human again in a few days. Allegra-D has the tendency to jack up your heart rate, so if you take spike or any other stim just be careful.
[quote]Tim Schwab wrote:
A mixture between Allegra-D and Flonase did the trick for me. I went from not being able to breathe (literally) to being human again in a few days. Allegra-D has the tendency to jack up your heart rate, so if you take spike or any other stim just be careful.[/quote]
That’s actually why I take zyrtec-d. For me, zyrtec alone is a major sedative (the first time I took it I had to call in to work at noon and explain that I just woke up), but in combination w/ the decongestant it balances out. The allegra-d gets me wired (and I normally tolerate stimulants well).
But, I’ve finally run out of patience w/ this rollercoaster and I’ve made an appt. w/ my allergist to try the shots. I know they don’t work out for everyone, but at this point it’s worth trying.
First, I didn’t know they even made a zertec - D… I gotta call the Dr.
Here’s the thing, a few years ago I went and got tested for allergies and I’m allergic to dust, mold and grass… GREAT!! The allergist had me on all kinds of crap. Allegra D was one of them, well forget about sleeping… At least for me… It made me so jittery it was ridiculous, regular allegra did nothing for me…
Finally went back to the family doc, that’s when he put me on Zertec and it’s been fine up until a few weeks or so ago… This Clariton isn’t cutting it. A buddy of mine uses a spray, but I forget the name, it’s not flonase…
Thing that really pisses me off is that the doctor told me there really isn’t anything except zertec and allegra!!! COME ON!!! He’s normally pretty decent, well actually his secretary told me that, so who knows…
Thing that really pisses me off is that the doctor told me there really isn’t anything except zertec and allegra!!! COME ON!!! He’s normally pretty decent, well actually his secretary told me that, so who knows…
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You have my sympathies - my favorite allergist just handed me a paper bag full of samples, telling me when I found the one I liked to call him for a prescription. But, like you, I find that nothing keeps working for me forever. In addition to the ones mentioned, there’s clarinex, which is similar to claritin, but might be different enough to help you.
Someone suggested it and on webjunk they had a clip… I think they are messing with me…[/quote]
Well, maybe it could wash out some of allergens before your body had a chance to react to them. My only concern would be that it might end up drying out your nasal passages (I know that sounds like it would be a good thing) and if you’re sneezing a lot I’d think it might make you more prone to nosebleeds. That said, I have a cousin you uses one (she’s a yoga instructor, what can I say?) and she swears by it.
Years ago I got acupuncture for my allergies and they never really came back. I definitely noticed that clean eating reduced them before that too. And not just eating clean, but eating a lot of very high antioxidant and anti-inflammatory foods.
My coworker has always had just terrible allergies - really extremely bad. He’s seeing an ND who’s done acupuncture, gotten him on a short-term hypoallergenic diet, and prescribed some supps (a probiotic, fish oil, quercetin, liver support, maybe some other stuff). For the first time ever he’s not horribly ill during allergy season - in fact he seems totally fine.
[quote]simon-hecubus wrote:
Stay away from benedryl, unless you like falling asleep at your desk and/or psychodelic dreams.
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I’ll second that! Anything with diphenhydramine is bound to throw you for a loop. It’s no mistake this is also the active ingredient in most OTC sleep aids.