Just stop it. Really.
For years I was under the impression, provided by my mother, that you were my friends. “No, of course you don’t have any allergies. They don’t run in the family,” she would say. And yet you turned on me. year after year, from age 16 to 27, I would go in each spring to the doctor: “Well, it LOOKS like you have bronchitis. . AND strep. But you don’t actually have either. . . are you allergic to anything?” “No, of course not. it doesn’t run in my family.” Finally, the impatient, sane doctor: “Here, take these anyway and call me in a week. We’ll see.” Aha! So at least years 27-30 were near-treatable with Claritin.
Now, previously, as a kid, I’d always considered allergies to be a character issue-- of course I didn’t have allergies-- the people that did were the weak mama’s boys and hysterical hypochondriacs with inhalers that didn’t want to play warball. I was a healthy person, damnit. Well, now.
Now, I see allergies as striking in two forms: A) the sneezing and watery eyes sort. Maybe some burning sinuses. and; B) oh my God oh my GOD why won’t this terrible cold/flu go away? Headache, eyes, nose, sinuses, and a bad respiratory infection-like symptom that gives me laryngitis and terrible painful hacking cough and dizzy weakness and fatigue. I wake up in the middle of the night totally unable to breathe without using Cloriseptic and an inhaler or something. In the morning I painfully cough up horrible things that I shan’t describe (for the sake of the gentle reader) for a half hour. Now I feel sorry for all the other mama’s boys. I had only been aware of type ‘A’, which is probably why it took years to figure out why I was a walking throat and lung disorder.
Now finally this year the pollen has been so bad that for 2 weeks my usual Claritin has not helped. Adding to this problem is that I have odd reactions to some drugs-- benadryl makes me crawl up the walls AND feel stupid. . . like, I’d explain the spiders crawling on my skin which are making me so jumpy but I feel too inarticulate to get my point across. Sudafed-type things make me feel more awful than if I were just sick. Over the last week I have tried everything available to me (including the things that makes me feel funky) and nothing has helped so it feels like having a flu that you know that no amount of rest will cure, and will only retreat when you, my friends, the tree pollens, fucking mellow out and stop your delightful Spring dance. And it’s unfair to feel THIS crappy, and not even be able to explain that I’m ‘legitimately’ sick. “You look horrible. What happened to your voice? Do you have a flu?” “No. . I think it’s allergies.” “Oh. Why don’t you take a Sudafed?”
Sigh. I suppose I should go see a doc again.
I’ve been one of those mama’s boys since I was 14. So I know where you are coming from. It SUCKS.
Also, I have tried nearly every script allergy drug that is available and the one that helps me the most is Allegra-D. When I took Claritin or Zyrtek (sp?) it didn’t help me at all, it just made the pollen angrier and more spiteful.
Seldane RULED
Unfortunatly it was killing people so they took it off the market.
Then they took Hisminal off the market also… :mad:
Ah, Seldane–I do so miss it! Not quite enough to risk my life for it, but sometimes when those sweet spring breezes blow that green haze of pollen in my face I rethink that.
I’ve tried out everything they make–scrip and non. What works makes me sleepy and if it doesn’t, I eventually build up a tolerance to it and it stops working. Right now I’m part of a research study to test out different dosages of existing medications. I did a trial of Clarinex and it worked really well for me. Guess I’ll give it a go and see how long it helps. Even the shots I get only seem to reduce and not eliminate my symptoms 
The other day I picked a large daffodil and gave it to my girlfriend. We were on the bus and I was at this point holding the daffy. I rubbed my finger around the stamen until I had a load of pollen covering the last segment of my finger, when I decided to snort it like it was cukaine or something, just to see if there was any hayfever in me. NOTHING, not a sneeze, not an itchy eye, NOTHING. The way I see it, if the flowers ever rise up against mankind I am in as good a position as anyone to KICK THEIR ARSES!
I used to eat the petals too but I refrained this time.
All I can say is they better watch out, if I was walking through a field and they started to attack my girl, well I would break all their necks like twigs. RAAARGH!!
You may or may not know this…but because Claritin is OTC…many insurance companies will not cover Clarinex (which is pretty much the same thing as Claritin).
You can buy generic loratadine now though (the active ingredient in Claritin)
Thanks for the info, beagledave! I used to be on Claritin but it stopped working for me. I’m fortunate that I have a doctor who understands my crappy prescription plan and gives me free samples of the meds so I don’t have to purchase them. I guess I’ll just do that till the Clarinex stops working, too.
It may not be that pollens have turned on you as much as they’ve been dramatically increased in recent years due to our current landscaping practices.
I understand, I live in the Ohio Valley, specifically the “bluegrass region,” which has the highest allergen count in the world. I long for the day I can leave this godforsaken place and know what it is to live without pain on a regular basis. Looks like three more years. <sniffle, groan>