Depressed with allergies

[Janeway]

I have been feeling quite down lately. I wake up with a head ache and sinuses throbbing. I sneeze and blow my nose all day long. I go back and lay in bed. I had all these ideas of things we would do this summer but now, we are getting to almost four weeks of summer break and cannot really do anything. It is only 9:15am and I have already had to go back to bed once due to my throbbing head and sinuses. I have been taking allergy medicines, but other than making me more tired, they have not helped. I am going to head to the doctor today, again. But I am certain she will just say allergies again and pick up more allergy medicine. 

 

Any suggestions to help me? I am finally starting to crack emotionally over how miserable I feel all the time.

Edited June 17, 2019 by Janeway

[Pippen]

It's possible your allergies have caused a sinus infection. Hopefully your doctor will help get you back on track. 

Have you had allergy testing done?  By the time I was a young adult I had days when my allergies were so bad I'd spend the day in bed.  It wasn't a quick fix, but allergy shots, meds--and eventually sinus surgery  to give the sinus tissue a fresh start--changed my life. 

[TravelingChris]

And they have found so much more about allergies and there are so many new treatments.

[EKS]

Have you tried Flonase?

[sweet2ndchance]

Sounds like your allergy medicine needs to change or possibly the dosage.

I take 10mg citrizine (24 hour Zyrtec) daily but I take one additional pill per day as needed according to my allergist if I have an unusually bad seasonal allergy day or if I suspect I may have come in contact with tomatoes (my main food allergen).

I had been taking Claritin before the switch to Zyrtec but I managed to build up a resistance to it and it stopped working well enough to be even worth taking it, which sounds like the boat you are in. If your doctor is just sending you out the door because it is "just allergies" and nothing is helping, request to be sent to an allergist. "Just allergies" should not render you bed ridden all day when there are so many options out there to relieve your allergies.

[regentrude]

Are you aware that Zyrtec and Loratadine both have depression as side effects? I cannot take either of them for that reason.

Allegra helps some, and the real breakthrough was Flonase.

[PrincessMommy]

did you get any help from the doctors?  I would recommend a different OTC allergy meds as well as doing the neti pot once a day.   

[G5052]

Also the NeilMed sinus rinse kit. Yes, it's unpleasant, but it works very well for many. It did away with my post-nasal drip entirely and improved my asthma some.

 

[Janeway]

3 hours ago, regentrude said:

Are you aware that Zyrtec and Loratadine both have depression as side effects? I cannot take either of them for that reason.

Allegra helps some, and the real breakthrough was Flonase.

It is Zyrtec that I have been taking. I went to the doctor and I have a sinus infection too so I have antibiotics now. I will look for Allegra at the store? You recommend that? I do not like Flonase only because I cannot stand liquid up my nose. Thank you!

[regentrude]

27 minutes ago, Janeway said:

It is Zyrtec that I have been taking. I went to the doctor and I have a sinus infection too so I have antibiotics now. I will look for Allegra at the store? You recommend that? I do not like Flonase only because I cannot stand liquid up my nose. Thank you!

The Flonase is much more effective than the oral pills because it works systemically. It's really not a lot of "liquid up your nose" - not like a neti pot or stuff like that. One spray up each nostril every day, that's it. 

Allegra is over the counter. Allegra is the brand name; I always get generic fexofenadine because it is cheaper.

[sweet2ndchance]

I tried Flonase when we were trying out different meds to find something that worked when Claritin stopped working. I could not do it. The scent that it left in my nose for hours afterwards made me nauseous and having to spray something up my nose everyday worsened my anxiety. But I have known sensory issues so it wasn't surprising that I could not do it.

I've been taking Zyrtec for 5 years or so now, the longest I've ever been able to stick with an allergy med and have it still work. Sometimes I have to take it twice a day when allergy season is at its height in my area. I've never had a problem with depression related to the allergy med, but different meds affect different people in different ways I suppose.

I'm sorry you have a sinus infection OP. Those really do drain you of life for a while, or at least they do for me. Hopefully after the antibiotics have a chance to work you will notice a big change. *hugs*

[athena1277]

I used to use Flonase and Zyrtec.  When I was pregnant/nursing my doctor told me I could use nasocort (sp?).  It was a game changer.  My allergies always included a lot of post nasal drip.  I could wake up at 2am and feel the post nasal drip starting to cause a sore throat.  I would use the Nasocort, go back to sleep, and wake up with it all dried up.  Flonase doesn’t do squat in comparison.

[domestic_engineer]

You could try massaging your sinuses like in this video:  

 

[6packofun]

Have you tried any of the seasonal allergy support supplements?  They DO work.  D-Hist is the best, but there is a generic with the exact same ingredients (De-Hist on Amazon, lol) and it costs less and probably works just as well.   https://www.amazon.com/Ortho-Molecular-Product-Natural-D-Hist/dp/B0006ON6D8/ 

*Edited to add that my dd takes this and if she needs an actual allergy medication she will take it as well on a really bad day without any issues.

Edited June 18, 2019 by 6packofun

[Pippen]

6 hours ago, Janeway said:

It is Zyrtec that I have been taking. I went to the doctor and I have a sinus infection too so I have antibiotics now. I will look for Allegra at the store? You recommend that? I do not like Flonase only because I cannot stand liquid up my nose. Thank you!

Allergra-D is my drug of choice for allergies.

[Chris in VA]

Do you know what you are allergic to? When it is allergy season, I shower before bed to catch any pollen, use an air filter in my house (one by the TV, one in my bedroom), and change my pillowcase as much as every night.

Also you could be allergic to dust mites, or they could be exacerbating your seasonal allergies. Buy new pillows, encase your mattress, etc. 

I'm sure the sinus infection is the major dealio at the moment, this is just free advice for the future 😊.

[geodob]

Perhaps you could try something, that might seem absurd?   Which is 'humming'?
Back in 1995, it was identified that the tissue lining the Sinuses.   Produces 'Nitric Oxide'.
Which dilates the blood vessels, and will also kill off types of bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Their has been considerable research into this, over the past 24 years.  Where it was found, that 'humming' caused a 15 fold increase in the production of Nitric Oxide.
Numerous studies, have shown that humming can overcome Sinusitis.

So perhaps you might like to try it, and see if it is effective for you?
I'll add a link, which provides a simple explanation of the humming.
https://www.consciousbreathing.com/blogposts/humming-can-eliminate-sinusitis/

 

[catz]

Flonase was helpful to me for a number of years.

As someone who has been treated for depression and my allergies really peaked when I was going through that, I think there is a lot main stream medicine doesn't know about gut health and how it ties to the rest of the body.  I will say my whole body runs better when I eat a very clean whole foods based balanced diet and get some exercise.  Avoid white carbs/sugar.  I just saw an article about this from a main stream news source in the past couple weeks.  I will try and find it but you could do some googling too.  

[Janeway]

I bought Flonase last night as well as Claritan so I will try it today.

[1GirlTwinBoys]

On 6/17/2019 at 7:33 PM, sweet2ndchance said:

I tried Flonase when we were trying out different meds to find something that worked when Claritin stopped working. I could not do it. The scent that it left in my nose for hours afterwards made me nauseous and having to spray something up my nose everyday worsened my anxiety. But I have known sensory issues so it wasn't surprising that I could not do it.

 

There is the sensi mist which is unscented.  The regular one has a terrible scent for sure! I personally can't do Flonase because it gives me bad headaches which I don't normally ever get.  I have to use Nasacort instead.  But the Nasacort gives my DH bad headaches and he had to switch to Flonase.