I’ve been taking Claritin for the past few days. I’ve never felt better during allergy season. I can breathe. My eyes aren’t puffy, itchy and watering. My palate isn’t itchy. I’m not sneezing dozens of times in succession. I’m not worn out due to my seasonal allergy symptoms. Not to be overy dramatic, but Claritin has changed my life.
I’ve also never been hungrier. I’m famished all the time. I wake up thinking about food and I go to sleep thinking about food. In and of itself, this isn’t a big deal. The bad part is, I’ve been eating. Like a cow. Like a pregnant cow.
I called my doctor for advice and learned that increased appetite is, indeed, a side effect of loratadine, the active ingredient in Claritin. I asked if there was an appetite suppressant I could take while on Claritin–allergy season usually ends for me in late June and picks up again in the fall. She said no, as taking the two together would increase my blood pressure. She also said this is a potential side effect of any antihistamine.
Through careful portion control and pretty much not eating what I used to, I managed to get myself down to a loose size eight. I’ve been very happy with my progress and this increased appetite is, well, it’s devastating. I barely had enough will power to accomplish what I did. Now, this?
Bah. I didn’t realize it at the time, but last night I took my last Claritin. I’d rather deal with allergy symptoms than gain weight.
Eric Hoffer once said, “The real persuaders are our appetites, our fears and, above all, our vanity.” I mananged to get the appetites part under control. The fear and vanity, however, well, let’s just say like most people, I’m a work in progress.
alice_in_wonderland, when I’m congested, I can breathe through neither nostril. It’s pretty bad. The congestion can be managed with a decongestant ever four hours, though. I know the title of my thread indicates otherwise, but it’s really the other symptoms that can only be managed effectively by taking Claritin.
I can’t eat raw celery as I’m allergic to raw fruits, nuts, veggies and herbs. How do I eat bran? Won’t that make me, uh, go a lot?
The beauty of my eating plan was its simplicity; drink lots of water and eat one, small meal per day during the work week, usually dinner. It didn’t require bringing a lunch or calculating points or worrying about net carbs or any of that jazz. It really couldn’t have been any simpler, and it worked.
Try talking with your doctor about designing a diet/nutrition plan that takes your newly-increased appetite into account. And not to offer medical advice since I’m not a doctor, but eating one meal per day is not very healthy. Eating several small meals a day (along with exercise) is much better for you.
On a side note, how the hell is someone allergic to “raw fruits, nuts, veggies and herbs”? What the hell do you eat? Can you eat these things processed? What changes in the act of cooking that makes them suddenly edible for you, and can you, say, lightly steam things like brocolli, cooked enough to stop the allergic reaction but “raw” enough so that they have some crunch to them?
I didn’t know increased appetite was a side effect. I was already blessed with the appetite of a bear - I don’t need Claritin to give me the appetite of a grizzly bear.
Allergy shots have made me a great deal better. The only downside is the inconvenience. The upside is I have become a less allergic person, without any drugs (they are more like a vaccine or something, as they actually wear out your response somehow).
Also, stearoidal nasal sprays can help with rhinitis.
You can also put an air filter in your room. The kind with a fan and a filter, like allergystore.com sells (see the current Consumer Reports for what a waste of time the electronic ones are).
I just laughed so hard, I snorted! According to my husband, I’m allergic to life itself. I’m allergic to the things in that list when they’re fresh or raw. I can eat them all when they’re cooked. Someone, in a GQ thread a while ago, posted a link to a site that explains my specific allergy. I forgot what it’s called. The strange thing is this is an adult-onset allergy. I ate fresh fruits, veggies and nuts all throughout my childhood with nary a problem.
I’ll have to ask my doctor about the allergy shots. That’s a great idea.
teela brown, bear in mind it’s just a potential side effect. It’s listed as rare/uncommon. Lucky me, huh?
I wonder if this is one of those side effects that will wear off as I keep taking the drug. I remember Allegra used to make me drowsy when I first started taking it. That stopped happening after a couple of weeks, though. I think I’ll call my doctor back and ask.
I wasn’t diagnosed with it. But when you eat a bite of a freshly sliced avocado and seconds later your mouth and lips itch or your throat starts to close (that time was fun), you–well, at least I–don’t need a doc to tell you you’re experiencing an allergic reaction.
Allergies are a reaction to proteins. Cooking things break down these proteins.
I too, am allergic to lots of things, treated with weekly shots. Maybe you’ll get lucky and your allergies will be moderate enough that they can be treated with a yearly shot.
Have you tried any other antihistamine? Zyrtec works pretty well for me. Even if they’re the same class of drugs, it’s not rare for one to cause a side effect that another doesn’t. Worth a try, maybe.
