Allergy medicine help.

KG · 05-02-2009, 10:43 AM

My allergies ( hay fever ) are the worst they've ever been. I keep trying different meds, but each has a side effect I hate.

Benedryl, works, but maked me sleepy
Sudafed, gets me speedy.
Claritin, makes me queasy.

I'm going broke trying to find the right one. Does anyone have any advice?

orangesoda · 05-02-2009, 10:51 AM

I would use a saline wash from the pharmacies. They really help alleviate the symptoms.

Cognitive_Canine · 05-02-2009, 10:53 AM

I have never found a medicine that works without just completely knocking me out.

However, I used to live in the north, and I came to the south for school. My allergies used to be horrible. Barely able to see, staying up all night, waking myself up with my own loud congested snoring....it'd go on like this for weeks and weeks.

Moving to the south, I haven't had a single case of allergies except for when one of my classrooms got new carpeting. I sneezed for 2 weeks straight whenever I was in there. But, eventually they cleaned the carpet.

Are you allergic to pollen, mold, dustmites? Have you ever been properly tested?

Almost all of my friends have had success with claritin. Do you take it with food or by itself? Taking it with food will probably take away the queasiness.

Crazyaboutdogs · 05-02-2009, 10:59 AM

I find Allegra works for me. Claritin never worked for me and Benadryl makes me feel completely disconnected from the world..I just fall flat on my face. The trees are starting to bud and bloom so my allergies have kicked in. Haven't had to take anything yet.

Victoria66 · 05-02-2009, 11:06 AM

Yup, Allegra.....Benedryl really works but you are asleep in no time. My mom takes Aerus.......I think.......am not sure. She used to get it by perscription. My son takes Benedryl in the summer cause his eyes swell shut his allergies are so bad.

lavenderdove · 05-02-2009, 11:56 AM

Zyrtec is the best. It's a once a day pill. I didn't like Claritin either, but Zyrtec works great.

Zyrtec is one of the few ones approved for both indoor and outdoor allergies (i.e., dust, pet dander, pollen, mold). So it works for whatever kind you have.

I take it once a day before going to bed and it doesn't make me sleepy.

It used to be prescription only but they just made it over the counter so you can buy it at any pharmacy/drugstore/grocery store.

KG · 05-02-2009, 12:23 PM

Thanks all...I'll try the Zyrtec first, Allegra for backup!

Daligal83 · 05-02-2009, 01:01 PM

I can't do over the counter meds anymore. I've been on just about everything and nasal sprays tend to give me migraines. I do use a nasal spray Astepro when I need it. The best pill right now for me is XYZAL. I love it. It made last summer so much more bearable, especially when combined with the Astepro. It's not cheap because it's new, but my doctor gave me this card for up to $100 off and I only use it during the summer.

lavenderdove · 05-02-2009, 01:13 PM

I'd be careful with some of the nasal sprays right now that have cortisone in them.

The swine flu infects via nasal and lung membranes, and if you are suppressing the immune system in the nose with cortisone, it might make you more suspectible to getting nasal infections (one warning shown for some of the nasal sprays so read the warnings).

Things like Zyrtec work by suppressing the immune system response that makes people uncomfortable, but it doesn't lower the immunity and stop the response related to infection. But cortisone is different and can make a bacterial or viral infection must worse or easier.

catfeeder · 05-02-2009, 01:44 PM

I keep Allegra for prevention and Allegra-D in case I'm too late for just an antihistamine and get hit with a head-stuffing fit, as the 'd' is a decongestant. These are the only things that work for me without making me sleepy.

05-02-2009, 10:43 AM	#1
KG Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: 2 miles east of Hicksville Gender: Male Posts: 4,905	Allergy medicine help. My allergies ( hay fever ) are the worst they've ever been. I keep trying different meds, but each has a side effect I hate. Benedryl, works, but maked me sleepy Sudafed, gets me speedy. Claritin, makes me queasy. I'm going broke trying to find the right one. Does anyone have any advice? __________________ Life is just a word until you go through it. I've got the scars to prove it.

05-02-2009, 11:06 AM	#5
Victoria66 Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: for now where the CF sends us Gender: Female Age: 43 Posts: 4,600	Yup, Allegra.....Benedryl really works but you are asleep in no time. My mom takes Aerus.......I think.......am not sure. She used to get it by perscription. My son takes Benedryl in the summer cause his eyes swell shut his allergies are so bad. __________________ ADHD= Attention Dialed into a Higher Dimension. For my Indigo son. Know how to suffer and how to laugh. Mother Teresa If you judge people you have no time to love them. Mother Teresa Run amok empath= the end of little miss nice girl. Tomorrow IS another day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EM7FaOc3Zk What Child Is This.

05-02-2009, 12:23 PM	#7
KG Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: 2 miles east of Hicksville Gender: Male Posts: 4,905	Thanks all...I'll try the Zyrtec first, Allegra for backup! __________________ Life is just a word until you go through it. I've got the scars to prove it.

05-02-2009, 01:01 PM	#8
Daligal83 Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Gender: Female Age: 26 Posts: 3,033	I can't do over the counter meds anymore. I've been on just about everything and nasal sprays tend to give me migraines. I do use a nasal spray Astepro when I need it. The best pill right now for me is XYZAL. I love it. It made last summer so much more bearable, especially when combined with the Astepro. It's not cheap because it's new, but my doctor gave me this card for up to $100 off and I only use it during the summer. __________________ Have no fear of perfection, you'll never reach it. ~Salvador Dali~ "If you can't trust, then you can't be trusted" -Ben Folds

05-02-2009, 10:51 AM	#2
orangesoda Online Platinum Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1,094	I would use a saline wash from the pharmacies. They really help alleviate the symptoms.

05-02-2009, 10:53 AM	#3
Cognitive_Canine Online Platinum Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Somewhere over the rainbow Gender: Female Posts: 11,352	I have never found a medicine that works without just completely knocking me out. However, I used to live in the north, and I came to the south for school. My allergies used to be horrible. Barely able to see, staying up all night, waking myself up with my own loud congested snoring....it'd go on like this for weeks and weeks. Moving to the south, I haven't had a single case of allergies except for when one of my classrooms got new carpeting. I sneezed for 2 weeks straight whenever I was in there. But, eventually they cleaned the carpet. Are you allergic to pollen, mold, dustmites? Have you ever been properly tested? Almost all of my friends have had success with claritin. Do you take it with food or by itself? Taking it with food will probably take away the queasiness.

05-02-2009, 10:59 AM	#4
Crazyaboutdogs Offline Platinum Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Canada Gender: Female Age: 46 Posts: 15,631	I find Allegra works for me. Claritin never worked for me and Benadryl makes me feel completely disconnected from the world..I just fall flat on my face. The trees are starting to bud and bloom so my allergies have kicked in. Haven't had to take anything yet.

05-02-2009, 11:56 AM	#6
lavenderdove Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 1,512	Zyrtec is the best. It's a once a day pill. I didn't like Claritin either, but Zyrtec works great. Zyrtec is one of the few ones approved for both indoor and outdoor allergies (i.e., dust, pet dander, pollen, mold). So it works for whatever kind you have. I take it once a day before going to bed and it doesn't make me sleepy. It used to be prescription only but they just made it over the counter so you can buy it at any pharmacy/drugstore/grocery store.

05-02-2009, 01:13 PM	#9
lavenderdove Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 1,512	I'd be careful with some of the nasal sprays right now that have cortisone in them. The swine flu infects via nasal and lung membranes, and if you are suppressing the immune system in the nose with cortisone, it might make you more suspectible to getting nasal infections (one warning shown for some of the nasal sprays so read the warnings). Things like Zyrtec work by suppressing the immune system response that makes people uncomfortable, but it doesn't lower the immunity and stop the response related to infection. But cortisone is different and can make a bacterial or viral infection must worse or easier.

05-02-2009, 01:44 PM	#10
catfeeder Offline Platinum Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Northern New Jersey Gender: Female Posts: 2,541	I keep Allegra for prevention and Allegra-D in case I'm too late for just an antihistamine and get hit with a head-stuffing fit, as the 'd' is a decongestant. These are the only things that work for me without making me sleepy.