Should I get allergy shots?

[DarkForceRising]

What allergy meds? Have you tried Claritin? It's so cheap now that it is OTC, it's worth a shot. Saved me from allergy hell. Only one tab per day.

[ElaineMonster]

My meds are Claritin (OTC from Costco), Flonaise, and Albuterol.

Zyrtec worked VERY WELL but I couldn't handle the drowsiness. I even tried a half dose and still too drowsy.

Singulair does NOTHING for me.

I use my Albuterol inhaler 2-4 times a week depending on how active and stressed out I am.

[Madtown]

Elaine,

I've had pretty ridiculous allergies all my life. I remember in 8th or 9th grade, when they last did that test where they prick your back with allergens to see how strongly you react. A normal "positive" reaction to an allergen looks like a mosquito bump. A negative result (meaning no allergy) doesn't react at all. They said I had 3-4 reactions the size of a QUARTER, and several more the size of a nickel and dime. It was ri-gotdamn-diculous.

I had shots for 3-4 years, but when I came to college I lived in the dorms. Without a car, I needed to take a bus, and the only place that was remotely accessible was only doing shots during the day. Basically, to go get the shots, I'd have had to skip most/all classes once a week. So I stopped.

My allergies were worst when I was little, around 3rd and 4th grade. Then again, the tests would indicate my allergies actually got WORSE over the next 4-5 years, contrary to my symptoms. Now I just regularly take the medication starting around July until the first couple frosts of winter and I'm fine.

FWIW, I take Patanol eyedrops, Rhinocort nosespray, and some daily pills (I THINK they were heavy doses of Allegra), plus an Albuterol inhaler as needed.

Re: the shots -- I think they're worth it if you're going to be able to keep up with them through the end. The thing that always made me nervous was that self-administered shot of adrenaline they made you carry, in case you had a bad reaction to a shot within an hour after. That really, really freaked me out, the idea of having to jab myself with adrenaline.

[jokerthief]

[ QUOTE ]
there is an old time steroid type injection called kenalog. it works for most everyone. doctors wont tell you about it as it costs only 20 bucks for a shot and lasts most of the summer or longer.
over the years i have told quite a few about it and each time they say no way. the ones that try it always come back to thank me. p.m. john ho if you need to about it.

the immiumization shots are worse than the disese. i have done it all and then found out about the kenalog. i get a shot once a year in june and have little problems for years. i use to use almost a box of tissues a day and sneeze easily a hundred times a day. you wont believe it either as it seems so simple. but good luck.

[/ QUOTE ]

Do you get kenalog administered by a normal doctor? How do you get it, do you just ask your doctor for it?

[posnera]

[ QUOTE ]
My meds are Claritin (OTC from Costco), Flonaise, and Albuterol.

Zyrtec worked VERY WELL but I couldn't handle the drowsiness. I even tried a half dose and still too drowsy.

Singulair does NOTHING for me.

I use my Albuterol inhaler 2-4 times a week depending on how active and stressed out I am.

[/ QUOTE ]

I never prescribe Singulair as the only maintenance medication for asthma. I find (like you) that it rarely works. Sometimes, it can help to reduce the dose of other medications, but it, in my opinion, is useless as monotherapy.

2-4x/week is borderline for adding another medication - which should be an inhaled coricosteroid (like flonase, but for the lungs). One thing you could try is to use your albuterol before you get into a situation where you know your asthma will flare up, if you can. This is also the treatment for exercise induced asthma (which occurs at the end of exercise, usually not during). Take 2 puffs of albuterol before exercise and often you can prevent the attack that comes afterwards.

You hit it on the head with Zyrtec. It crosses the blood-brain barrier better than the others. It works better, but causes more drowsiness. You could try increasing the claritin dose, it may work better. At higher doses, claritin causes the same drowsiness as Zyrtec, but there may be a good middle ground for you.

[*TT*]

I keep having my meds switched, nothing works perfectly. Rhinocourt and Allegra D is the current mix, my problem is a chronic cough from post nasal drip.

Allegra seems to work rather well, but there is the side effect of a stuffed up nose when I use it. Rhinocourt makes it very easy to breath, but then post nasal drip becomes really bad, flooding my lungs with fluid. My doc wants me to have surgery (no way!), he thinks if he fixes my deviated septum it might get better (I tend to get sinusitis related issues that stem from the allergy). Apparently there is a new procedure that reduces the inflamed tissue in the nasal walls through cauterization (laser I assume, I don't recall). Its an out patient surgery that requires 2-5 days of "mild discomfort" - which really means pain.

As a side note, my allergies are really bad when I'm in desert air. I must look like a total drunk in Vegas, I am always slowly sipping on scotch all day long because it keeps my lungs from coughing every waking minute in the recycled air of casinos.

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

[Clarkmeister]

I'm violently allergic to cats and fairly allergic to dust mites and various "green" things (pollen, cut grass, etc) and Chlor-Trimeton is the only thing that's ever really worked well for me.

[Clarkmeister]

[ QUOTE ]
I also proved allergic to fire ant bites

[/ QUOTE ]

I might be allergic to them too, but hopefully I never find out.

[GambleGamble]

I has SERIOUS allergies as a child til I was about 10 or so, it restricted my diet (yes I was once bone skinny) and limited a lot of crap (not boy in plastic bubble type) and I used to get them weekly then biweekly til I was early in HS...

...they dont help instantly...I think its more a constant barrage to help...all my food allergies are completly gone...I still have the standard hayfever type allergies, and cats drive me nuts...dogs not so much...

...so I recommend them but wouldnt expect dramatic results...but a much better handling of said allergies over time

[*TT*]

I didn't know I have allergies until last year. My breathing/nasal discharge problems my early 30's. My doctor thinks its just late onset, I probably always had them but they just got worse over time. Anyone else with a similar scenario?

TT [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]