Allergies/Hay fever will be the death of me.. HELP! (1 Viewer)

[John Harrison]

Entex-LA isn't an anti-histamine. It's a mucous thinner with a decongestant, so it can be used along with Claritin with no ill effects.

NickSo: Why don't you go and see an allergist? That would go a long way towards solving your problems quickly.

 

[NickSo]

I dont know of any allergists... Ill prolly have to get a recommendation or something from my family doctor...

 

[ThomasC]

Wait, so do Flonase and Rhinocort and the other nasal sprays help with the eyes too?

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

I heartily reccomend Chromolyn. It is available at Shopper's Drug Mart here in Ontario, without prescription. It's available in both a nasal mist, which I use, and eyedrops.

I've been through a large number of other allergy medications, and this is the only one that has worked with any kind of consistency. I am a totally new man. I can easily tell when I forget to take it in the morning, though.

By the way, despite the severity of my allergies, I use something like 1/3 the recommended dosage and it works fantastically. (I use one spray in each nostril in the morning and one in each again at night.)

Good luck!

 

[Max Leung]

Aaron, thanks for the tip! A google search for Cromolyn (notice the lack of an 'h' ) came up with this nice FAQ:

http://www.cromolyn.ca/FAQ.asp

Hmmm, I hope it is available in Calgary drugstores. I want to try it out!

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Heh, yep, it's Cromolyn. I have a bottle of it here at the store and I didn't even look.

 

[Max Leung]

It's $20 here in Calgary. However, I went to a mediclinic next to the pharmacy, and both the pharmacist and the doctor said Flonase is superior to Cromolyn, which makes sense when you consider how strong Flonase is compared to the more mild effects of an OTC like Cromolyn.

So, I got a bottle of Flonase for the time being, only cost me $9 because of my workplace health plan. I may try Cromolyn in the future though, but at $20 I'm not holding my breath!

Oh, there is also a new generic antihistamine pill, called Alexeuris or something ridiculous-sounding. Active ingredient is desloratadine. So, it is the generic of Clarinex, a varient of the original Claritin. I may try that one day too. In Canada it is available OTC, but not in the U.S. AFAIK.

 

[NickSo]

I found some Chromolyn at London Drugs, picked it up. lets see how well it works. I cant get used to these nasal sprays (i hvent used them before). When i use it, first my nose gets all runny, then it tickles my sinuses causing me to sneeze uncontrollably for a couple minutes.

I picked up some Allegra as well (hearing great recommendation from my friend), and right now my eyes feel better than they have been for the last week.

 

[ThomasC]

When i use it, first my nose gets all runny, then it tickles my sinuses causing me to sneeze uncontrollably for a couple minutes.

That's what's supposed to happen every time. It's getting rid of the icky stuff. Read the text in and on the box!

 

[Lee L]

That is another reason I like the Rhinocort instead of FLonase. I don't have any issues with sneezing with it. Also, it only takes one spray per nostril instead of 2.

Damn, I sound like I'm pimping Rhinocort pretty hard. I don;t mean to but it is great stuff.

 

[Aaron Reynolds]

Yeah, I tear up and my nose runs for a couple of minutes immediately after I take it. My wife says that after two years I've stopped making the horrible face I used to make whenever I used the stuff. Yay!

It's worth it.

 

[Frederick]

Ugh ... I just got over a cold, and my allergies kicked in right after it. I was on Allegra last year. Stuff worked great, but it ain't cheap, and my insurance didn't cover it. I'm going to the Dr. tomorrow to get a new perscription. Maybe I'll try some of the things you guys suggested, but I'm not a fan of shooting things in my nose ...


Freddy C.

 

[Max Leung]

Actually, Flonase was the only nasal mist I've tried that didn't give me immediate running nose. It's those awful decongestants that do, like the horrible Dristan and Otrivin pieces of garbage that have all the unnecessary side-effects!

Nick, why didn't you ask your parents to get a prescription of Cromolyn or Flonase etc.? I assume they are on a health plan, and that would have saved you 50-80% off the price!

 

[Ryan Wright]

I've got a problem that will fit into this thread. I've been taking Allegra for several years. Works really good when I first take it, but wears off within 8-10 hours. I can take a second one when the first wears off, but it rarely does any good. (If my allergies are really bad late at night, a couple of NyQuill liquid-caps stop everything!)

My problem, I need a prescription for Allegra again, and the stupid doctor won't write it. They claim I have to come in for a check-up. WTF is up with that? Why should I have to pay $70+ for a check-up (I have insurance, but it will all be applied to the deductable so I'll have to pay 100%)? I already know what's wrong with me, just write me my damn prescription. Jerks.

I'm wondering if some of these other products wouldn't work better for me. I suppose I should see if I can find an allergist, too. Bet there aren't any around here. :frowning:

 

[Max Leung]

Ryan, sounds like you're building a tolerance for Allegra! What allergy medications in the U.S. don't require a prescription anymore? Maybe you can temporarily try those, see if they make an improvement. Unless your goal is to save costs by using your medical plan to cover it...

 

[Chris Souders]

Ryan,

No need to Dr. bash. There's a few things you can do. One, ask for the maximum number of refills when you get a new presecription...usually 5 or 6. Ask for a 3 month supply in the initial prescription. Switch to an over the counter medicine. Go to a doc-in-the-box clinic. Become a doc so you can write your own prescriptions (that was my choice).

Realize that whatever happens to you because of you takign a prescription your doctor can be held liable for. Much moreso if he never even saw you prior to writing that prescription. If it has been over a year since you saw him, I think it is a reasonable requirement to writing a prescription. How can one practice medicine if you can't see a patient? I know, you'll say it's only allergy medicine and not that big of a deal, but it's the principle that matters and I forget the name now, but some 6 or 7 years ago, some allergy medicines were taken off the market for bad cardiac effects.

Chris

 

[Ryan Wright]

If it has been over a year since you saw him, I think it is a reasonable requirement to writing a prescription. How can one practice medicine if you can't see a patient?

Right, but they can't do a thing when they see me that's going to help them with my allergies. I could understand if they took a blood sample and did an in-depth analysis to find out which medicines would work best for me. I'd be all over that and would go in every year! But they don't. They don't do anything for me that I can't do myself. They weigh me. They take my blood pressure. Then they say, "Ok, you're healthy. Here's your prescription." And I'm out $70+ and an hour of my time for it.

If I already know what's wrong with me and what I need to get better, they should just give it to me.

Even when I'm not healthy and don't know why, they still don't do anything to help me. It's always a wild guess and a prescription that either doesn't work or makes things worse. No testing or anything, just, "Oh, you might have this. Try this and come back if it doesn't help." I have little use for regular doctors; I'll go to the emergency room if I'm in bad enough shape. Otherwise, leave me alone; I'll get better on my own, thank you very much.

So I'm going to try to find this allergist doctor folks have mentioned. I didn't know they existed. I'd go see an allergist. Seems like they might actually do some real doctor work and give me an informed solution, rather than a wild guess.

 

[Lee L]

Ryan, definitely se an allergist, it is worth it. They should give you a complete allergy panel test where they use skin pricks all over your back and possibly arms to test for dozens of different allergens to see exactly which ones caus problems for you. The test is not as bad as it sounds, the guy I went to used a plastic device that did like 12 or so pricks at one time, yes it is slightly uncomfortable, but not unbearable. Expect the whole visit to take a couple of hours though.

Once you know exactly what allergens bother you the choice of mediceine is really easy and you can even use the info to keep yourself away from allergens when possible. For instance, if you are allergic to pine and not oak and are looking for houses and need to decide between two you like, see what kind of trees are around.

 

[Ryan Wright]

They should give you a complete allergy panel test

See, that's what I like to hear. An actual scientific test. Not a guess. OK, time to open up the yellow pages...

Thanks for the info.

Edit: Wow, we actually have a couple of allergists in this area. I've got an appointment in two weeks! Bad news: I can't touch any of my allergy medicine for a week prior to the appointment. :frowning: That's not going to be fun. But, end result will be worth it.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[IvanT]

Just wanted to add my experience here... The shots might be the way to go. I took them for a while a few years ago and my allergies are nowhere near as bad now as they used to be. I could barely get out during this time of year, now I only rarely get severe symptoms. Usually, I just take Clarityne every day.

But as everyone else says, you really need to see a doctor that specializes in allergies, they will find out exactly what substances you are allergic to.

I