Insane Allergies! Any Suggestions?

[Tuesday]

It's been a particularly rough allergy season all around, it seems, but I am absolutely at my wits' end. It's been over two months since I have been able to sleep through the night without waking up every hour or two coughing with my eyes watering. I feel like a zombie and I just want to scream.

I'm taking a daily allergy pill (started with Claritin then doc told me to try Zyrtec), two antihistamine nasal sprays (Astelin and Fluticasone), Coricidin decongestant, Benadryl at night and NyQuil to try to help me sleep through and still none of it is working.

I can't sleep for more than a couple of hours without waking myself up coughing. I keep Chloraseptic throat spray by the bed because it's the only thing that will work to numb my throat long enough for me to fall back asleep and get at least a couple of more hours of sleep before it wears off and the coughing starts all over again.

I'm literally going insane over this. My doctor doesn't know what else to try. Has anyone else got any suggestions?

[lejones1]

Have you ever tried an air purifier? I got one a few months ago and it's absolutely amazing. I think you can get large ones for the whole house or but I just have one for my bedroom. For me it's been amazing just to have a "clean" room to go to and to breathe clean air all night. I used to wake up with a lot of drainage and a cough or even wheezing in the morning - no more! Some brands, especially the ones meant for allergies, can be kind of expensive, a few hundred dollars or more, but it you're getting desperate it may be worth it (and I think a lot of the brands have 30 day money back guarantee things so you could at least see if it would work you)

Also have you discussed allergy shots with your doctor? I know those are also a last resort thing but sounds like you may be getting there!

[Hope]

Are you sleeping with the windows open? I get bad if the windows are open all night and it's always worse in the wee hours of the morning. I try not to open the windows until at least noon or after. And if I have to go out I use a face mask when the allergens are running high.

[margiebee]

At my house we vacuum daily in order to get all the allergens out for me. Luckily my mom is here to help out though, I don't know if I'd have the energy to keep up with that on my own. I also incorporate local honey into some foods that I make which seems to have helped over the long-term

[songcanary]

My husband has allergies like yours and is also on multiple meds. Recently he started showering before bed (at my suggestion, I read it somewhere) and he says it is helping. It is supposed to rinse the day's allergens away so you don't breathe them in all night.

[Dizzysillyak]

I just went through this here. I learned my lesson and keep the windows closed now if the pollen is up.

Taking 30 mg of zyrtec spread throughout the day + 180 mg allegra at night + 1 Childrens benadryl tablet throughout the day returned my sanity. I only had to take this much for a few days until things calmed down. Then I went back to my regular mast cell dosage of 30 mg zyrtec + 1 tsp childrens benadryl at night.

[Tuesday]

Thanks for the advice! We have wood floors so that helps some. Definitely keeping the windows closed and staying in as much as I can. I may have to look into an air purifier. If my doctor is open tomorrow I may go in and see if there's anything else they can try. I'm pretty sure it's not a sinus infection, but I'm afraid it might get there if it keeps up. I've been using a neti pot, too. I'm just about to tear my hair out!

About to go mix a little honey/whiskey cocktail to see if that helps

[blueskies]

like Song Canary's husband I find showering before bed helpful when I have the itchy skin, eyes, general hay-fever like allergy symptoms. I am aware that I have a problem with chlorine (can't swim in chlorinated pools because it will cause hives/rash) but seem to be able to handle showering in our chlorinated water -- I do use sorbolene cream instead of soap, especially in winter (Australia is in winter now), as soap dries out my skin making it itchy. I only use soap on my bum, and underarms for hygienic reasons but not sure if that is really necessary.

Often, washing my hair will help more, but in winter it means I'll have to blow dry it before getting into bed and I find it difficult at night to hold my arms up to do so.

I use the shower thing for migraines too and it often helps. Allergies and migraines are connected apparently but then migraines seem to be connected to just about everything.

blue.