Comments on: Zyrtec vs. Claritin vs. Allegra

By: Muriel

Muriel — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 02:54:04 +0000

I grew up on Long Island, and I sneezed and gasped my childhood away. No place else has ever been as bad for me — even Atlanta where I now live. I’ve been through the allergy tests and found I was allergic to everything but the placebo. I went through two years of shots which did zilch. The best thing I’ve ever found for the hay fever is Allegra. I had to give it up 2 years ago because I couldn’t afford it any more. So I switched to the generic zyrtec. I’d used zyrtec before for the itchy allergies and it was okay, but the generic turns me into a zombie. So I switched to the generic loratadine. I’m taking that now. It is helpful, but nothing like Allegra. I’ve had chronic asthma my whole life. I tried the Advair disc which worked wonders, but I am apparently allergic to the serevent in it which spaces me out. The miracle cure for asthma has been Symbicort which totally wipes it out. But it is too expensive … one month without insurance costs over $600. So now I use a rescue inhaler 6 or 7 times a day unless my doctor can rustle up a free sample of Symbicort. Then I parcel it out so I am good for the daytime, and I just weather out the night with albuterol. If you aren’t rich, you gotta choose whether to eat or breathe. Good luck to the rest of you allergy sufferers.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sun, 30 May 2010 21:47:03 +0000

Regarding allergy meds~ I’ve tried OTC loratadine products, but absolutely no relief with those. Currently I’m taking my husband’s Allegra D and it’s the only quasi-alleviation from symptoms right now until I can get to an allergist.

I’m from Mississippi and I’ve had severe hay fever my whole life. Allergy shots as a kid, steriod nasal sprays, Benadryl etc. seemed to placate me and make things okay. When I moved to Maryland in 2008, I noticed little to no reduction in hayfever, although I hoped for a merciful reprieve. Beginning in January of this year, I’ve been suffering from SEVERE indoor allergies and now I am suffering from incredibly debilitating allergy rhinitis symptoms this spring/summer. I’ve never felt this poorly before in my life; I’m so miserable right now. It’s Memorial Day weekend and I can’t move.

My dilemma of the moment is this: I have an appointment with an allergist on June 3rd but I’m supposed to stop taking all antihistamines four days before the visit. Today is the first day without any meds and I can’t function. I’ve gone through a box of tissues, my face/eyes are puffy red, bloody mucus, constantly sneezing and coughing. I wonder if I can even make it without my meds until the appointment. I feel like I’m wasting away….What a life to live!!

By: sami

sami — Thu, 27 May 2010 23:35:28 +0000

nasal sprays can cause wicked sinus infections. i started nasonex with allegra last year, after i went to the doc all congested. i ended up with a severe sinus infection which ended up sitting in my lungs and causing a slight case of walking pnemonia. i will never touch it again! i’m trying to figure out if i can take 2 clartin a day as opposed to 1. my allegras almost out, and i really dont feel like dishing out the cash for the doc to perscribe me the perscibtion, and then having to pay for the pills. can anyone answer that? will 2 work?

By: Alicia

Alicia — Thu, 20 May 2010 01:05:22 +0000

Generic loratadine works but you should drink alot of liquids with it to stop drying out. Also if you put vaseline inside the ends of your nostrils. it catches the pollen. Lastly, I know how miserable allergies are because I have them but my grandmother used to say ( because she was Catholic Christian to ” offer it up ” for someone or something and the graces will really help that person or resolve a situation. I tried it and asked God to help a friend quit smoking and he did.

By: cherie smith

cherie smith — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:12:09 +0000

WOW! Some of you good folks really have it bad!! So sympathetic to read of your hassles with allergans. I live in Missouri, but anywhere that about half the women you run into are either on allergy drugs or wishing they had something that works–is the allergy capitol of the nation; face it: there are no areas where it’s allergy-free for everybody. Sigh. So, how many of you are doing what I am, and simply going to the store and, after looking at the ingredients, merely choosing something we’ve not tried recently? I appreciate several of you saying that the generics are not as effective as the name-brand drugs. Thanks. I am having success with taking small bites off pills like benedryl and chlorotrimenton – together- so I’m mixing some otc kinds. This has been effective so far this year, for me. Anyone else trying small amounts of 2, every few hours? I side-step both the dryness and drowsiness that way.

By: sandy

sandy — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:26:50 +0000

Has anyone experienced lightheadedness/dizziness with allergies? When I get up in the morning my equillibrium is off and during the night if I change positions I get a woozy feeling in the head. Very scary. I’m thinking that it’s the inner ear since allergies also affect the ears. Went to the doctor yesterday and he said that this is the worst allergy season he’s seen in 10 years (I live in the California central valley; allergy capital of the world). He prescribed Allergra for me; I took one and saw an immediate difference but had bad insomnia last night. Thinking of taking some Zyrtec so I can at least sleep at night. Any comments?

Thanks.

By: ASM

ASM — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:04:22 +0000

Hellllooo MIGRAINES…. anybody else get allergy-induced migraines? I haven’t been to a doctor yet, but that might change. I really didn’t have allergies that bad until I moved to ATL (as a couple of other people mentioned already), but now pretty much every spring I can count on migraines as soon as the pollen comes out. This year I got one pre-pollen as I’m finding out that I get them with a drastic weather change (for example from cold to warm). I flew to Tampa in December and got one, then a few months later we had a super Indian Summer-like day in the winter and I got another one. I’ve taken all the OTC stuff….. Zyrtec seems to work for awhile, then it feels like it doesn’t work anymore, so I switch to Clairitin, etc etc etc…. i have tried bee pollen and the like, but I don’t think it works for my allergies such as grass, and trees.. well and atmospheric pressure or whatever I get these migraines from…… Any thoughts anyone?

By: jch

jch — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:30:54 +0000

Just thought I should mention a couple warnings. If you’re taking Claritin or Zyrtec “D” (for Decongestant), don’t stay on it long-term. The Psuedoephedrine in it can do super bad things over a period of time. I went to see an ENT a few years ago & the first thing he did was take me off of Claritin-D. Apparently it can cause heart palpitations, increase blood pressure (that doesn’t necessarily drop once you’re off the medication), insomnia, and a bunch of other nasty things.

Also, if you’re prone to nose bleeds, it’s a good idea to stay away from most of the nasal spray (Flonase, etc), because the side effects for most of them are nose bleeds. Actually, I’ve yet to try one that didn’t give me a nose bleed. Singulair can help with the allergic rhinitis & other sinus problems, if you’re insurance company covers it.

By: rmd

rmd — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 12:51:01 +0000

zyrtec works, because it makes me so sleepy that you dont go anywhere except to bed. That way you arent exposed to anything. Allegra is for me.

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:05:48 +0000

I have severe indoor allergies. I find Zyrtec and Claritin work for a couple days, then they don’t anymore. The one thing that always works for me is Benadryl. This is unfortunate, because as we all know, it is highly sedating. This isn’t bad at night, but I would never drive on the stuff.