Apparently I've had allergies for a while. Taking a Zyrtec daily helped but when I took a few days off I'd get sinus/throat infections.
I finally went to the doctor, they tested to see what I was allergic to, and I have my consultation/results/feedback on Thursday. They mentioned having to get shots maybe weekly.
Just wondering if anyone else can give me some insight, other than what the doctor is telling me. I'd like to do what's best and inexpensive as possible.
PharmD here, with allergies.
---Disclaimer, this is intentend on being general information and my general opinion. Don't take it as specific medical advice. Talk to your doc and pharmacist first. I don't know you or your health background---
So I'm assuming you had a blood test done- which takes a few days to process. There are also skin prick tests that can have immediate results (and is cheaper). I assume you had the blood test because you cannot stop taking antihistamines?
Hopefully you and your allergist also worked on figuring out temporal causes of the allgergies- spring only, fall only, year round, w/certain foods, pets, etc, which can help narrow down potential allergens.
In the meantime, Zyrtec/cetirizine and Allegra/fexophenadine are your best bet at minimal/non-drowsy antihistamines. Both are equally effective overall. That said people individually respond differently to each. Keep an eye out for 12hr vs 24hr variations. Claritin/loratadine is not one of my favorites and has poor clinical data to back it up.
If those don't work, you always have dirt generation antihistamines like Benadryl. It's cheap and effective. Problem is they are for most very sedating and generally have to be taken in multiple doses times daily.
Oral Anti-H'a take time to build up in your system, so be patient and take them religiously.
As others mentioned, Flonase/fluticazone is amazing and now OTC. If the antihistamine. It's fairly expensive, I reccomend finding a generic version as it's cheaper and should be just as effective. I have and others also found the brand name Flonase to clog easily and not provide anywhere near the advertise number of sprays. The generics have a better atomizer in terms of distribution too IMO.
There's a common "brand name generic" of Flonaze called Clarispray, made by Claritin (Bayer Pharma). It's fluticasone sold under the Claritin name... it otherwise has nothing to do with the actual drug Claritin/loratidine. It's cheaper than Flonase, better spray mechanism- currently my personal favorite.
Nasocourt is another option. I haven't used it, I'm sure it's fine. I generally like Flonaze as it's generally been the preferred drug over the years. Flonaze says it helps with itchy eyes while Nasocourt does not. Nasocourt is scent free, Flonaze is not- if that matters to you.
The nasal sprays only work locally for the most part. So taking an oral medication in your case is still reccomended for the systemic effects. Don't use Afrin... it's on my list of drugs that shouldn't exist.
Once your doc identifues your allergies he will likely reccomend immunotherapy- aka allergy shots. They're generally expensive but probably worth it considering how sick you get due to your allergies.
Allergy shots usually start off with a once weekly injection of the allergen in a very small dose. Over time the dose increases. Eventually you'll go every other week, then monthly, then yearly. Essentially you're teaching your body to tolerate the allergen. Unfortunately, after every shot you must wait 30min in the doctor's office to ensure you don't have an anaphylactic reaction.
I did this years ago. The first year after was slightly better. Two years after it was great. Three-Four-Five years later I have some mild allergy symptoms but can easily be managed with Flonaze.
There is now oral allergy shots on the market, basically a dropper bottle where every day you drop a prescribed amount of allergen under the tongue. This is FAR more convenient then routine trips to the doc and waiting 30min. I'd reccomend this route if your insurance covers it. At the time mine did not, but this is quickly being picked up.
There's some other prescription grade drugs to treat allergies your doctor might talk about such as Singulair/montelukast which is somewhat popular. It works differently than an antihistamine. I'm not a fan, poor clinical data, expensive. Works for some though.
Pretty much all of the drugs mentioned here were RX at one point. Once the patent is up and they go generic the creator will then push to make it OTC (over the counter) which then increases their sales. So don't think just because it's OTC it won't work.
If you have other symptoms related to your allergies, like allergy induced asthma, your doc will probably prescribe some inhaled drugs to deal with that. But that's a whole additional and complex discussion.
Again, talk to your doc or pharmacist before starting anything different.
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Also, for the cost issue: Generics here usually work just the same. Go with the brand name if you're more comfortable with that.
As others suggested Costco is a great place to buy drugs. Amazon is very good too. Avoid big pharmacy chains like CVS, Walgreen, Rite-Aid, etc - wayyyyyyyy overpriced. Mom and pops tend to be expensive too. Big Box store like Target, Walmart often have good prices. Targets pharmacy just got bought by CVS, so I'm not sure if that's influenced their OTC pricing or not.
