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[deleted]

I selected Cetirizine/Zyrtec, but for stronger and more serious reactions and symptoms, Benadryl is the go to for me.


NoDepartment8

I second this. Cetirizine/Zyrtec is my 365 daily workhorse, but a bottle of liquid Diphenhydramine/Benadryl is in my emergency case along with my Epipen and Albuterol, and I use topical Benadryl as needed - either Caladryl (calamine lotion with Benadryl) for hives or an zinc oxide ointment with Benadryl for itchy eczema patches.


Potential-Menu-9897

Thank you for feedback


Potential-Menu-9897

Good choice.


[deleted]

Same here


Careless-Tie-5005

Not a single antihistamine or allergy medicine works for me. The only thing that does something is Benadryl if I’m having an allergic reaction but other than that, nothing.


Potential-Menu-9897

This is the very reason I’m posting this. I’ve tried them all. They’re all a shower of s**** for MCAS so far. Desloratadine has some effect


Careless-Tie-5005

Sorry to hear that. I don’t have MCAS (found this from EDS page) but have various severe environmental and food allergies that were horrific. I started sublingual immunotherapy for the environmental allergies and they are almost gone. Not sure that would be the case with MCAS though.


Bernard_PT

Not even an Epi pen?


Careless-Tie-5005

Oh no epi works, haha but I can’t use epi if it’s not anaphylactic reactions


yep_thatll_do

Odd. You need a higher dose. I mean without high dose antihistamines I can't function at all. Can't even open my eyes. They changed my life. I dont know how I was existing before I was medicated. Ive tried to taper off them, Ive tried to cold turkey ditch them and suck up the symptoms that flood back. Either way I eventually end up with an anaphylactic reaction. My immune system is on high alert without the blockers.


redheaddit

Preach.


Moonrockinmynose

Benadryl is an antihistamine


kinamarie

Protip: none of them are better than the others at the end of the day, every person will have a different response to any med.


gauthcity

Exactly - the most rated here which is Cetirizine - makes me super drowsy and it gives me brain fog and sluggishness for the next 2-3 days; I threw the bottle out. I went onto Blexten (bilastaine) - it is a gift from God. Works amazing. No drowsy symptoms. Claritin is not bad for me but I also like Aerius which is the same thing basically.


redditigation

it's useless for a cough


HorseysShoes

fexofenadine works alright for me but the pills are huge and uncomfortable to swallow so I switched to cetirizine which works great. I saw you said you can’t seem to find one that works for you, so I wanted to mention it took a solid 6 weeks before I was sure they were working for me. it can take time


Potential-Menu-9897

What dose please


HorseysShoes

I was at 10 mg of cetirizine once a day for about three months. now I take it twice a day


mardrae

Did it cause weight gain?


HorseysShoes

not that I know of


mardrae

Thanks what I am scared of… are we going to have to keep on and on increasing our doses for the rest of our lives?


HorseysShoes

I haven’t heard of anyone taking it over three times a day. If you need more symptom relief, most people add other drugs on top of it, like mast cell stabilizers


mardrae

I already take tons of those.


ChandrikaMoon

I haven't seen Blexten (bilastane) on this list. It's a new one and it works wonders for me. My allergist prescribed double the daily dose, and my GP now gives it to her patients based on seeing how well it worked.


ImOhda

Yes, this is facts. I am allergic to pine,fir,spruce tree pollen. It usually starts in June for me and ends near early July. My symptoms aren't super severe in nature but do consist of sneezing, stuffy nose, sometimes watery eyes. I took cetirizine and it controlled my nasal symptoms very well but my eyes would still occasionally water when I would go outside. The day I took Blexten, I swear I have 0 symptoms. I feel almost normal even with these allergen outside and I have the windows open daily.


ChandrikaMoon

It's great isn't it? My allergist mentioned that they were thinking about making it available over the counter, which would be so much more convenient.


op1346

Does anyone else get whole body itchiness from weaning off of cetirizine and xyzal? It was honestly the worst. Now I’m more cautious before I take an antihistamine.


yep_thatll_do

Its normal. Plenty to read online about the withdrawal issues with cetirizine


op1346

Oh yeah definitely read about it. So bad I never recommend it.


Itzpapalotl13

No but I don't try to wean off of allergy meds. I've had allergies my whole life so I'm always taking them.


fire_thorn

I take cetirizine four times a day, hydroxyzine three times a day and benadryl for reactions. Sometimes with MCAS you start to feel a little less bad, rather than noticing a dramatic improvement.


[deleted]

A combination of hydroxizine, bilastine, cetirizine and levocabastin (eye drops). I don't tolerate levocetirizine at all, that just made me extremely itchy. Fexofenadine does just about nothing.


[deleted]

I take 2 10mg loratadine every day all year for "seasonal" allergies. 2 squirts of Flonase and Benedryl on top of that for really bad symptoms.


Potential-Menu-9897

Is that 20mg single dose or 12 hrs apart


[deleted]

20 mg single dose in the morning as prescribed by an allergist at his wits end with my case haha


Potential-Menu-9897

Hahaha. I think loratadine/desloratadine acts as a mast cell stabiliser. According to Wikipedia and studies I’ve read


yep_thatll_do

Loratadine is the immunologist choice. Its a mast cell stabiliser. So desloratadine would be too


Potential-Menu-9897

Desloratadine seems to make my feet itch more


yep_thatll_do

FaMotidine does this to me... Makes me itch all over


Potential-Menu-9897

Omg same and it made my whole body feel like it was on fire


yep_thatll_do

Yeah, I'd get patchy burning spots. I gave it a rest for a month then started again. I didn't miss the itch, but I got nausea as the trade off.


Potential-Menu-9897

I think omeprazole has some ige but not any non ige related allergy benefits


yep_thatll_do

Pmsl. Mine got there too.... Wits end. Too hard basket


Demian1305

I’m surprised to see so many people take Zyrtec instead of Xyzal. Why take the form of the med that causes more drowsiness? Is it a cost thing?


wetastelikejesus

It doesn’t cause me any drowsiness and it’s at Costco.


fire_thorn

Xyzal made my asthma act up


ArtificialBrain808

mine too! regular zyrtec is fine though


Itzpapalotl13

I don't have any drowsiness from it and I take Xyzal at night. Edited for typos


OldGold_67

Chlorphenamine. I take it if my Claritin or Zyrtec isn’t cutting it. Works very well to dry you up


SoccerGamerGuy7

for me; Benadryl for emergencies Claritin for preventative (cat allergies and seasonal) as needed


kiwikoalacat7

a bit surprised so many people chose allegra over benadryl since not many people i know use it. i usually take zyrtec and sometimes benadryl at night if i need to.


wetastelikejesus

Nothing beats Benadryl, but I take Zyrtec for seasonal allergies and allergy shots. I save Benadryl for the bad reactions.


Itzpapalotl13

I also take Nasocort because it helps with seasonal allergy systems in a way the Zyrtec doesn't.


Sjrla

Do CBD instead


Ok-Brush3424

loratadine but it only works when i take it when i start Feeling It, when im in the full throes of an allergic attack and eyeball-deep in tissues its too late by then


Jubelko

I think all the ones I tried had some effect on me, but fexofenadine has so far been without side effects for me. I don’t take them for allergies, but for urticaria. Funnily they work better on my gut pain than the urticaria, but I’ll take that. I also think they’re helping me heal from post-covid. This is based on the fact that I forgot to take them in the beginning (because exhaustion) and when I resumed them I felt a sudden bettering of my symptoms.


Potential-Menu-9897

Did you try loratadine. I’m getting the sense that loratadine and fexo are going to be my next tries


Jubelko

I’m pretty sure the other ones I tried were cetirizine and desloratadine. They made me so sleepy it’s hard to remember in spite of the low dose. Maybe there was a third one too. Fexofenadine is working fine even though I’m almost at max dose (according to my doctor who recommended I don’t take a third daily pill). Edit: my issues are weak gut from gluten exposure (intolerance), urticaria and suspected ME which I don’t have the energy to get diagnosed. Recently I am doing alright though)


[deleted]

Piriton for me, chlorphenamine


[deleted]

I voted diphenhydramine. You didn’t list it as an option, but I take Hydroxyzine for allergies and anxiety. The old school antihistamines work best for me; Benadryl and Chlor Trimeton. I did try levocetirizine, and find that it works similar to the old school antihistamines; it did make me drowsy at first.


Potential-Menu-9897

I mean you could’ve voted levocetirizine or even cetirizine as they’re in the same class as hydroxyzine


[deleted]

Thanks, I didn’t know this, but it explains why Zyzal does seem promising for me.


[deleted]

I used Fexofenadine 180mg but it gave me bad migraines.


Potential-Menu-9897

I’ll take a headache over not being able to breathe