"Atopy" comes from an ancient Greek term meaning "out of place." How appropriate.
Yesterday, I got nothing done. And it's all because of allergies. I hate allergies. Of all the things that my body does to make my life more, er, interesting, allergies are the worst. I started having slight asthma symptoms at the beginning of the week, but since I was having a fairly laidback week it wasn't anything I couldn't ignore. And then yesterday, the mucous membranes got into the act. In a bid to stop the constant flow and sneezing, I was taking antihistimines every two hours. Everything I took was supposed to work a minimum of four hours, and some for twelve. But faced with my immune system's insistence on working overtime, Claritin, Drixoral, Zyrtec, and Benedryl merely tuck tail and run. So, in exchange for minimal relief from the incapacitating symptoms, I got the side effects of lethargy and heaviness and mind-racing panic from the antihistimines. It's always a toss-up as to which is worse.
I had decided I'd go to the clinic today for steroids if I wasn't better, but fortunately the big storm we had seems to have given me a reprieve. I'm grateful, because I could see I was headed fast to a full-fledged general atopic collapse.
Posts
3 comments:
My allergist said you can add claritin to zyrtec without any problems. Claritin doesn't have a lot of side effects if you take too much. Just be careful if you take Benadryl and regular Zyrtec together (don't overdope yourself). There have been times when I've had to take 2 Benadryl together, rendering me unconscious but helped slow everything down for a few days. Cromylyn sodium nose spray and antihistamine eye drops (optometrist) can also help take the edge off, though when they're that bad, sometimes all you can do is go through kleenex after kleenex.
Mine usually kick in during early to mid September, not looking forward to it.
Hope the misery improves for you quickly. Have been there many times, it's awful. Chew gum if you have to talk much, it will temporarily stem the flow a little.
Two benedryl make you unconscious? I've been told to take four when things are out of hand. (Mind you, I'm one of the few people I know who can drink old-fashioned Nyquil and still be awake.) I can't do the nasal spray; it makes my nose bleed. And the antihistimine eye drops sting so bad that most of the time, they aren't worth the effort. After all, the point of the eye drops is supposed to be to stop the swelling, not add to it!
I do feel better today. We had a gully washer that cleared the air a bit. I'm a bit concerned that I may have developed an allergy to elm, which is pollenating now. Maybe I'd better just go ahead and get the steroid prescriptions, in anticipation of the elm being joined by the ragweed.
Good to know that Claritin and Zyrtec together are OK, since I generally find myself taking more than one antihistimine at a time.
Two Benadryl have rendered me to the point where I physically can't stay awake even if I want to and where other people have difficulty waking me. I guess I'm a little more susceptible to meds, or maybe the allergies poop me out.
Rain can definitely help wash things out of the air for a bit. The allergy drops do sting and these days I just resort to the theratears. I try to wear sunglasses a lot to keep pollen out of my eyes, though the wind still gets me.
Ragweed's what I'm dreading, too, though for some reason it's been better for me the past few years (allergy shots maybe actually worked some?--I don't still take them). I like cooler weather, hate the ragweed.
Post a Comment