I've got an appointment in a couple hours with my PCM for a different reason, but while I'm there I wanted to address my allergy issues with her. I'm currently on 140 mg/day Allegra (fexofenadine) and it is NOT cutting it. It only lasts about 10-12 hours instead of 24 and still leaves my eyes kind of watery/itchy during the day. Before I go, does anybody have any recommendations for other meds, or are there higher dosages of Allegra available that I can ask for? What about allergy shots - how bad do things have to be for that? If I weren't on the Allegra I'd be close to non-functional, so I don't want to complain. But I want to see what my other options are, and thought I'd get educated about it before I go. Thanks!

I have pretty good luck with Claritin although it seems to have stopped working for my wife. She just switched over to Zyrtek which I think is working for her. Many years ago I used Sudafed but I became desensitized to it and had to switch.

I've found, over the years, that I have to switch brands every so often or they stop working.

You may want to get allergy testing to see if it is a pollen thing or something that you could be avoiding. Of course, you're in heavy pollen season right now so that never helps.

For those that aren't familiar with North Georgia, the EPA classifies anything above about 80 ppm as extreme but in Georgia the numbers run 10 times that. I had more allergic reactions to pollen in Atlanta than anywhere else I've ever been.

Oh yeah I'm definitely a pollen girl - mostly tree pollen, like March-May. It's a short time period but I can be pretty close to miserable sometimes. I'll have to ask about Zyrtec because that's not loratadine, it's totally different. Or I wonder if just eye drops in combo with what I already have would be better?

Allie---ask for a referral to see the ENT!! I just got home a minute ago from my first allergy shots.
I was tested a few weeks ago--you'd be surprised at what really is triggering your reactions. I have always been under the impression that I was highly allergic to mold and mildew....not so much when placed in my body. But I am highly allergic to just about every kind of grass there is--this I did not know! Go figure.

The testing isn't so bad. Just rows of *****s on your forearms, followed by 30-100 in your upper arm--depending on what shows up in your forearms. I had only 35.
So today, I had just 2 shots. One for all of the grasses and weeds and one for the trees. I am to go in weekly for the next year. We start out with a low dose of the allergens and work our way up to a 50% solution of the stuff. The goal is to get me to a point where I don't react nearly as bad and don't need to have massive amounts of meds to control everything AND reduce the number of sinus infections.
In some cases, you can eliminate the allergy altogether! That would be very cool in my case.

The shots aren't so bad---and I've got serious issues with needles! But it wasn't hardly anything----better than getting regular shots that's for sure. They use tiny, tiny needles....I was surprised.

Thanks BAW. I just don't know if they'll do shots for JUST seasonal allergies. But I'm definitely going to ask her about shots and/or Zyrtec. I like this lady, she's a PA and very good about listening and giving referrals, meds, etc. as necessary. Off I go! Thanks to both of you!

ABC, they should be able to do allergy shots for seasonal allergies. I tried every pill that they had when I had allergies before. The alegra actually went through me..yes it never disolved. weird fact huh.

I had to start getting shots but just one at the end of summer and then one at the end of winter so that I was prepared for the spring and fall. Other wise NO pills would work.

Once I got pregnant with Bug I could no longer have the shot for many reasons of course. So they put me on zyrtec, the FIRST allergy pill to ever work. I can't tell you if it was my pregnancy or the pills that worked because since then I no longer have allergies. Well nothing more than an eye itch every now and then. I stopped taking the zyrtec a few months into my pregnancy with Bug because I felt bad but then realized that I was not having issues.

I go back and forth between claritin and zyrtec. Depends on which one the pharmacy on base carries.

My doc did tell me that you can take sudafed on top of zyrtec or claritin.

Good luck with the allergies. Mine are going crazy this Spring.


Sgt Mom

Well, my doctor wouldn't talk to me about my allergies because I didn't see my dr, evidently you don't see drs when you are just going for a referral here anymore. SOOOOO I guess I'm going to go to the store and pick up some Zyrtec and see how it works, then make another appt to ask about the shots. Thanks!

I can't stand Zyrtec because it makes you drowsy and fuzzy....I stick with Claritin and Sudafed combo. I don't take any prescription meds--that's why I'm taking the allergy shots. Every week I'm injected with a bit of what I'm allergic to. The goal is to get me less sensitive to what I'm allergic to.