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regentrude
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Can the hive help?

Fall allergies are here, and it's bad. When I had a bout of allergy symptoms in the spring, I took Zyrtec (ceterizine). Made me extremely sleepy and listless and depressed, until I finally stopped because the depression was worse than not being able to breathe through my nose. Tried Loratadine (ETA: that's the active ingredient in Claritin) a few years ago, depressive symptoms were much worse that with zyrtec.

What else is out there that does NOT make me tired? I have so much work to do, I can't afford to spend the weekend half asleep, and I don't want that horrid feeling back.

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For Western medicine antihistamines, loratadine is about as anit-sleepy as you can get.

 

I would try herbal or Chinese medicine instead.

 

Maybe stinging nettles and eyebright?  I would talk to an herbalist and see what they suggest.  A neti pot will help a lot to rinse the mold spores (most common offender in fall) out of the nasal passages and make sure to take a shower before bed to keep pollen/spores out of your bed.  Keep you bedroom window closed and close your bedroom door during the day if you open other windows.  It won't stop the issue, but it can really help to minimize nighttime symptoms. 

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I am allergic to grass pollen.  We have a bumper crop of blue gramma seeds this year. It's not a perfect solution, but I use Pseudoephedrine plus Acetaminophen if I also have a headache.  Pseudoephedrin does interact with some prescription drugs so I'd suggest you check on that aspect.  We live in a dry climate, so I sometimes have to add saline nose spray and eye drops. 

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Have you tried a steroid nasal spray? In the late summer/early fall, I can take all the antihistamines I want (and I do take Zyrtec), but I still can't breathe without a steroid. The nasal sprays aren't systemic but provide a great amount of relief for your nasal passages. Most are prescription but one, Nasacort, just came out OTC.

 

Start with one spray per day on each side and give it a few days. Ideally, if it works and you'd like to use it in future years, they recommend that you start using it a couple weeks before allergies typically get bad.

 

And as others said, lots of hand and face washing, shower before bed or whenever you're "in" and settled for the day. Good luck. :)

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Definitely let your doctor know about the depression side effect you've experienced. I once took a medicine for a sinus infection that caused severe depression. It was so bad all I could do was curl up alone on the kitchen floor. DS was about 3 and I couldn't care for him, couldn't stop crying--it was very scary. The symptoms went away immediately after stopping the meds, thank goodness. I'm so glad I managed to call my doctor. But I'm sure to mention it every year, so a mistake is never made. Doctors take depression very, very seriously.

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Can the hive help?

Fall allergies are here, and it's bad. When I had a bout of allergy symptoms in the spring, I took Zyrtec (ceterizine). Made me extremely sleepy and listless and depressed, until I finally stopped because the depression was worse than not being able to breathe through my nose. Tried Loratadine a few years ago, depressive symptoms were much worse that with zyrtec.

What else is out there that does NOT make me tired? I have so much work to do, I can't afford to spend the weekend half asleep, and I don't want that horrid feeling back.

I take Allegra D, and then use something like OTC Nasacort spray together. This time of year I really suffer with ragweed allergies. This combo does not make me sleepy and keeps me functioning.

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I think the recommendation for a nasal spray is right on. Systemic antihistamines like zyrtec/allegra/claritin are great at addressing the itchiness part of allergies, but they aren't as effective in dealing with nasal drippiness/congestion/etc.  I'd try a corticosteroid nasal spray---nasacort just came on the market OTC, and zaditor (also OTC) if you have any eye issues.

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I take two capsules per day of Nature's Way nettles when my allergies are bad. Nettles are anti-inflammatory but you should read about interactions and possible side effects if you are considering them.

 

My allergies are only bad when my life is too busy and stressful.

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Thanks for all the suggestions. Claritin is the brand name for Loratadine which I can't take. I'll try Allegra and/or nasal spray will report back. Has to be OTC - it's weekend and I need something NOW.

 

I would suggest that you talk to the pharmacist, as he/she may be able to make a good recommendation. Some of the allergy medications have ingredients that can cause side effects. For example, Allegra D (the D is for decongestant) can cause heart palpitations and/or feelings of stress/nervousness. It's the ingredient for the decongestant part that does this. I make sure I take just Allegra non-drowsy. 

 

When you know exactly what symptoms you have, why you have them, and what you want to treat, it can really help to talk to an expert.

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FWIW, one of my ds11s has had much better luck with the steroid nasal spray (fluticasone) than with Allegra or Claritin.  Zyrtec makes him cranky.  The fluticasone seems to work better than Nasonex worked, though it has been quite some time since he used Nasonex.

 

I saw Nasacort OTC in Costco the other day.

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I've been using Aerius (desloratadine) for several years now. No drowsiness, no psych symptoms.

I think desloraratadine is similar but a bit different from loratadine so it might be worth trying.

I do drink coffee, black tea & occasionally a cola. Have you tried adding some caffeine to see if it counteracts the drowsiness/fatigue?


Last time I was at my eye doc she also gave me a rx for pataday drops but I didn't fill it as my eye symptoms have not been too bad. There was a year when my eyes were very red & teary so she gave the rx & told me to just hang on to it & fill it if things got bad.... so if you're having primarily eye symptoms, I'd try that.

Also neti pot with salt solution helps me.

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the -D component of all of those meds is just sudafed. If you want to make -D components to your meds yourself much more inexpensively, buy generics of both.

 

My understanding of the strength of the rx nasal sprays (and this has been our experience) is that fluticasone/Flonase>Nasonex/mometasone>rhinocort/budesonide.  The best studies on taking allergy drugs during pregnancy was done on rhinocort (swedish study a couple of decades old) and that's one of the few reasons it's still prescribed.  I haven't tried Omnaris or Veramyst, but my understanding is that chemically they are much the same; they just use different preservatives and some people find certain preservatives irritating or their bodies react differently.

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I also have the best relief with the rx nasal steroid. And I must be using it wrong because I don't use it daily or start before I have symptoms, but on a night when I can't sleep because I can't get enough air through my nose I use it and can breathe again within 20 minutes.

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 I want a systemic medication (i.e. pill) rather than a nasal spray because my symptoms are not just a stuffed nose - more bothersome is that my throat hurts and I feel generally icky like coming down with the flu, which tells me my immune system is in overdrive fighting something (in this case, harmless pollen).

I am certain I am not actually sick, because DD has the exact same thing and gotten relief from allergy meds.

 

I might add a spray if stuffed nose is a problem at night... right now the other stuff bugs me more

 

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I do drink coffee, black tea & occasionally a cola. Have you tried adding some caffeine to see if it counteracts the drowsiness/fatigue?

 

 

Thanks, I did. I increased my caffeine intake when I had that bout in spring. It helped a tiny bit with acute tiredness, but did not alleviate the general feeling of fatigue and hopelessness. I don't want to feel like that again. It took me a week to figure out what was causing the mood issues because, in the midst of it, it did not even feel as if I could do anything about it and there might be an external cause, YKWIM? I felt like a newborn person when I came off zyrtec.

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 I want a systemic medication (i.e. pill) rather than a nasal spray because my symptoms are not just a stuffed nose - more bothersome is that my throat hurts and I feel generally icky like coming down with the flu, which tells me my immune system is in overdrive fighting something (in this case, harmless pollen).

I am certain I am not actually sick, because DD has the exact same thing and gotten relief from allergy meds.

 

I might add a spray if stuffed nose is a problem at night... right now the other stuff bugs me more

The spray helps with postnasal drip and throat issues for me, too.  I would check out singulair or claritin without the sudafed added.  A doctor can probably help you find one that helps. I'm not sure about taking benadryl too often, but it might at least be a temporary help.

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I have terrible seasonal allergies that last from April through August. Every medication I've taken works for a few days and then not at all. This year after trying a few new ones, I did bee pollen and the allergies were gone within a week and stayed gone. I'm continuing to take it as I read that taking it everyday even during non-allergy season prevents the allergy symptoms from beginning. I'm not promising it'll work, but might be worth a try. I take a tbsp first thing in the morning with a spoonful of honey. Both are from a local beekeeper.

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