Allergies, sneezing, stuffed up, nose, sinus - antihistamines and what to use for allergy relief

[ShiningLight]

I've tried neti and neilmed but the level of leaning they required seemed to make my ears too full. This device is a bit more pricey, but it arrived today and I love it! I don't have the ear fullness and it felt very soothing, easy to use, and natural (as natural as sticking a wand up your nose can feel!) 😄.

 

SinuPulse Elite for sale at Amazon and Target online

[Junglechicken]

On 6/9/2011 at 6:03 AM, Punarbhava said:

 

I just saw this thread and thought I'd share my experiences.

 

 

I blame all of my sinus problems on WD. I've had blocked sinuses, pain in the sinuses, tons of sneezing, stuffed up feeling. Also itchy eyes. Allergy like reactions. These symptoms are definitely WD induced.

 

 

 

Things are alowly improving but despite the improvements I can get hit with hours and/or days of bad flare ups.

 

 

 

Histamine is a neurotransmitter.

 

 

 

Many ADs have antihistamine properties but Paxil and some of the TCA (especially the sedating ones) have a more powerful antihistamine effect.

 

 

Consequently, when we WD from such, we experience a histamine rebound effect.

 

 

Also, our immune systems are affected by WD and thus, can be compromised in ways that can cause us to become temporarily more suseptible to allergens whether it be from diet, environment etc. which in turn can cause the problems discussed in this thread.

 

 

You may wish to do a search to obtain a list of foods that can create/produce histamine effects within the body and thus, experiment in way of eliminating such foods and see if there are any improvement.

 

 

If you improve for an extended period of time and would like to reintroduce those foods, do so ONE at a time to see how you react. Give it a couple of weeks and if you're okay then introduce another and so on.

 

By reintroducing one food at a time you may be able to determine IF one particular food is causing more of a negative effect than the others that have already been introduced. But also keep in mind, the cumulative effect factor.

 

Dairy products can aggravate throat, nasal passages etc. by thickening mucous membranes (if I remember correctly).

 

Vitamin C can have antihistamine effects and can help improve the situation or, at the very least keep the immune system stronger. It's also a stress vitamin......good for the CNS.

 

 

With that said, Vitamin C has not eliminated my sinus problems but who knows, I may have been every worse had I not taken it on a daily basis. I also take zinc to keep the immune system strong. Zinc and Vit. C work together.

 

 

I did run out of zinc for awhile and couldn't get out to pick up more and my allergy reactions to certain chemicals became extreme. Once I got out to pick up another bottle of zinc and reintroduced, this particular sytem settled back down to a more manageable level within a couple of days.

 

Finally, stress has the ability to compromise immune functioning and thus, it's advisable to manage one's stress levels.

 

 

Hope this is of some help.

 

 

Punar

 

I've suffered from hay fever my whole life (genetic), and have had to take anti-histamines as a result.

 

Since my last dose of AD in April 2018, I have noticed my waves have been a combination of GI issues and headaches (right sided sinus).

 

Now, beginning of this year, I hit a major wave where the histamine intolerance has massively ramped up (I think).

 

Intolerance to certain foods triggering hay fever-like symptoms (sneezing, watery eyes, throat), and as an added bonus, awful sinus headaches/migraines and issues (blocked ears, head pressure, tinnitus).

 

Once the sinuses eventually drain, morning and evening, when I'm brushing my teeth, I spit out thick mucus; which my GP tells me is from post nasal drip.  Yuck!  I did see yellow and green in there on occasion, so they have been infected too.

 

I am also well into my peri-menopausal years, had the coil fitted early Aug 2019 and think that this is the "perfect storm", in that my hormones have been adversely affected by the coil, and thus, my gut has become hyper-sensitive to foods with high histamine levels.

 

Just to add, I NEVER had sinus issues until I started taking ADs.

[Junglechicken]

On 1/13/2015 at 9:01 PM, Chemistry said:

Hey guys, 

 

I know this is a little bit gross but im just wondering, i'm pretty sure i started to get this constant post nasal drip (feeling of trickling mucus in the back of my throat, having to clear my throat a lot, spitting, etc) at some point after coming off these meds over 2 years ago. I dont remember really having it before. It has gotten worse over time and its so annoying and gross and  i often get a bad taste in my mouth along with bad breath. It's really embarrassing actually and it drives me nuts when its really bad. I could just sit all day trying to clear my throat but no matter what it never goes away. Sorry if this was TMI. 

 

Could this be a symptom of withdrawal? Could it go away on its own? 

 

there are others on the internet who have the same problem for years, sometimes decades and most people find diets and figuring out any allergies they have can help. But if this is mostly caused by withdrawal, then i dont know. I just really hope it'll eventually go away. 

 

I developed EXACTLY this set of symptoms in January.

 

This must be a new phase for me in protracted WD.

 

My GP confirmed that it was post-nasal drip yesterday.

[ten0275]

Everyone, hello.

 

@Altostrata asked me to post an update here at some point, so here I am.

 

Last May, I had an ear infection that resulted in a perforated eardrum - my eardrum essentially exploded from the pressure behind it. I lost all hearing in that ear for over a month. It affected my center of balance and my ability to converse normally. It healed on it's own, but in the course of going to a doctor who did some minor procedures to clear the healed eardrum of some scabbing, I was told it would be a good idea to take some Zyrtec for the allergy season. I was told it was over-the-counter and not subject to dependence, drowsiness, or withdrawal.

 

Fast forward to last fall and I attempted to go off the Zyrtec after using it for approximately 4 months. I was overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety, insomnia, restless legs, itching, wheezing, nausea, and generally feeling unwell. Ironically, many of the symptoms that I had while tapering from Mirtazapine. My best guess is that my histamine receptors have been compromised by years of Mirtazapine use and the Zyrtec basically aggravated a still healing histamine system. I awakened a beast. (I know, I know, I see you tsk tsk'ing as you shake your head side to side, "you should have known Dave, you should have known" 🙂)

 

So, two lessons learned here.

 

1 - After withdrawing from all medications, we are obviously still sensitive and must be absolutely vigilant in terms of what we are putting into our bodies - particularly if the things we are ingesting are going to affect systems that were hindered by our psychotropic drug use and or withdrawal.

 

2 - The way I was able to save myself from this particular fire was to re-instate the Zyrtec at a much lower dose than what I jumped from - stabilize - and then cut. I didn't have to follow the 10% every 30 days trajectory, I found that 10% every 14 days was sufficient - I held if symptoms seem extra aggravated and felt I needed more time. Fortunately here in the U.S. at least, they make a children's formula of Zyrtec - grape flavor - 1mg = 1ml suspension. I tapered it just as I'd tapered off the Remeron.

 

So yes, all that to say, I used the tools of tapering I learned on this site to get off the Mirtazapine and reapplied it to tapering the Zyrtec. I have been off Zyrtec for over a month now. I am currently following a low histamine diet as this is a bad time of year for histamine in general. But I was able to extract myself from the depths once again. I do believe I have learned well and properly this time.

 

I hope this may be useful to someone else who may find themselves in a similar predicament, or perhaps someone will think twice before reaching for the Zyrtec or other allergy medications. They are not without risk.

 

Hang in there all, these are difficult times for everyone. Be strong.

Dave

Edited June 15, 2020 by ten0275

[ChessieCat]

Thanks ten/Dave, I've added a link to your post in Post #1 in this topic.

[Altostrata]

Thanks, @ten0275

 

It is known that after you take Zyrtec for a while, going off abruptly can cause rebound itching. You did the right thing to taper.

 

Too bad doctors don't tell their patients this when they prescribe Zyrtec.

[Colonial]

 "Non-steroidal nasal spray such as azelastine."

 

Has anyone who has tried this  found that it made anxiety worse?

 

[gn11]

I am having a lot of sinus inflammation after I eat and later during the digestive process. I've had histamine issue for over 4 years since  withdrawing from Celexa. Here lately I have had increase of symptoms that seem to be related to gut issues. I am trying different things but I wonder if anyone has suggestions on what to do about sinus inflammation. I.  do a low histamine diet and lately I am doing a low FODMAP. I am seeing a Naturopath and see if I can find out whether is SIBO or SIFO related. I am trying some Quercetin but in very small quantities. I am usually better in the earlier time of day.

[HopeFloats]

Hi there -

 

I am not sure if I am positing this in the right spot so I apologize in advance if I am doing it wrong.

 

I have been taking Claritin for close to two years now and am thinking of switching to Zyrtec. Do antihistamines need to be tapered as well or is it safe for me to switch from Claritin to Zyrtec? 
 

HopeFloats

[Altostrata]

Claritin (loratadine) does not have to be tapered but Zyrtec does, or you may experience rebound itching.

[manymoretodays]

I am adding this members account of withdrawing from Allegra here.

Allegra is a 2nd generation histamine h1 antagonist.

 

This may be of interest to others with similar tapers or histories.

  

55 minutes ago, FeralCatman said:

@KiasofiaSo, here is an update on my final course of withdrawal from Allegra. I am posting all of this because there may be other patients who run into the same problems. If not addressed as possible withdrawal they could get misdiagnosed and treated for something else which could cause even more problems.

 

___________

___________

As previously posted I have been tapering the Allegra now that things are frozen and snow covered and allergens are buried.

I first switched from 24 hour Allegra once a day to 12 hour Allegra twice a day. The effect on mood and anxiety was profound but short lived for about 3 and a half days. I am having the waking anxiety again from 3-7 am every day. I also started having to pee constantly which is still happening.

The next week I cut the morning dose in half and the symptoms flared up and I started having GI issues as well. I am still taking Nexium daily.

This past Sunday I eliminated the morning dose and the same thing happened. I haven't been able to leave the house for 2 days now due to the GI issues and Urinary Issues. Today is a bit better but still shaky.

My BP's are still okay so I will cut the night dose in half this Sunday and then stop altogether the following Sunday so I can get my Allergy testing done in February.

In my write up I stated it took 27 rounds of withdrawal to get off the Seroquel. I am counting this as part of the process so that number will go up to 32.

Nothing should surprise me at this point but I have to admit it is surprising me how much trouble coming down off of an OTC antihistamine is causing me. I assume it is because I am still very sensitive to histamine levels from having been on the Seroquel for 16 years and that histamine overload is what is causing the problems. If you look up Histamine intolerance all of these symptoms are listed. I am also having trouble with episodes of blurry vision that come and go. I thought it was dry eye but eye drops do not help. It just kind of comes and goes randomly. I have also had a flare up of systemic inflammation that has caused my spine to swell. This started a few days after I cut the morning dose in half.

More lessons in the power of Histamine and that messing with it is a bad idea.

Hopefully things will level out once I am off of it completely

 

 

[FeralCatman]

I am continuing to add my Allegra experiences on my introductions page. It is still an ongoing process.

[Lindseyb]

I am in protracted withdrawal from antidepressants. Ive been on multiple antihistamines since I was 13 (im 30). I have been on 40mg zyrtec for about 4 years. I have always had severe allergies, I also get allergy shots. Should I wait to dose down on the zyrtec? I am about to start a benzo taper and ppi taper.

[DazzlingCold]

So in reading about antihistamines as I taper off antidepressants, I am wanting to quit antihistamines as well. Would it be best to taper from antidepressants ( which will take me about 6 years) and then start with the antihistamines?

[Shep]

On 5/14/2022 at 8:51 PM, DazzlingCold said:

So in reading about antihistamines as I taper off antidepressants, I am wanting to quit antihistamines as well. Would it be best to taper from antidepressants ( which will take me about 6 years) and then start with the antihistamines?

 

I think it depends on the antihistamine. Does it cause drowsiness? If so, if you're is taking it at night and it helps with sleep, than you may want to stay on it until you're off the antidepressant, especially if it's an SSRI that's stimulating. Also, are there any drug interactions with the antihistamine and the antidepressant?

 

It really depends on the type of antihistamine and the other drugs in your cocktail. It also depends on your allergies - if they're seasonal for certain things, you'll find it easier to discontinue during the season when that allergy is less problematic. And then you can work on non-drug ways of handling allergy issues.

 

If you have questions about your specific drugs, please follow up in your intro topic.

 

[Heath]

On 9/7/2019 at 10:18 PM, ShiningLight said:

I've tried neti and neilmed but the level of leaning they required seemed to make my ears too full. This device is a bit more pricey, but it arrived today and I love it! I don't have the ear fullness and it felt very soothing, easy to use, and natural (as natural as sticking a wand up your nose can feel!) 😄.

 

SinuPulse Elite for sale at Amazon and Target online

Do you still like the SinuPulse ?

[Pepms]

On 6/15/2020 at 4:30 PM, ten0275 said:

Everyone, hello.

 

@Altostrata asked me to post an update here at some point, so here I am.

 

Last May, I had an ear infection that resulted in a perforated eardrum - my eardrum essentially exploded from the pressure behind it. I lost all hearing in that ear for over a month. It affected my center of balance and my ability to converse normally. It healed on it's own, but in the course of going to a doctor who did some minor procedures to clear the healed eardrum of some scabbing, I was told it would be a good idea to take some Zyrtec for the allergy season. I was told it was over-the-counter and not subject to dependence, drowsiness, or withdrawal.

 

Fast forward to last fall and I attempted to go off the Zyrtec after using it for approximately 4 months. I was overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety, insomnia, restless legs, itching, wheezing, nausea, and generally feeling unwell. Ironically, many of the symptoms that I had while tapering from Mirtazapine. My best guess is that my histamine receptors have been compromised by years of Mirtazapine use and the Zyrtec basically aggravated a still healing histamine system. I awakened a beast. (I know, I know, I see you tsk tsk'ing as you shake your head side to side, "you should have known Dave, you should have known" 🙂)

 

So, two lessons learned here.

 

1 - After withdrawing from all medications, we are obviously still sensitive and must be absolutely vigilant in terms of what we are putting into our bodies - particularly if the things we are ingesting are going to affect systems that were hindered by our psychotropic drug use and or withdrawal.

 

2 - The way I was able to save myself from this particular fire was to re-instate the Zyrtec at a much lower dose than what I jumped from - stabilize - and then cut. I didn't have to follow the 10% every 30 days trajectory, I found that 10% every 14 days was sufficient - I held if symptoms seem extra aggravated and felt I needed more time. Fortunately here in the U.S. at least, they make a children's formula of Zyrtec - grape flavor - 1mg = 1ml suspension. I tapered it just as I'd tapered off the Remeron.

 

So yes, all that to say, I used the tools of tapering I learned on this site to get off the Mirtazapine and reapplied it to tapering the Zyrtec. I have been off Zyrtec for over a month now. I am currently following a low histamine diet as this is a bad time of year for histamine in general. But I was able to extract myself from the depths once again. I do believe I have learned well and properly this time.

 

I hope this may be useful to someone else who may find themselves in a similar predicament, or perhaps someone will think twice before reaching for the Zyrtec or other allergy medications. They are not without risk.

 

Hang in there all, these are difficult times for everyone. Be strong.

Dave

Hi @ten0275,  did your Zyrtec symptoms resolve after the tapering ? I took Zyrtec for about 5 days and coincidentally some withdrawal symptoms were better, trying to decide if I should keep taking it ,Thanks !!

[ten0275]

@Pepms

 

Yes, after tapering the Zyrtec as I'd indicated in that post (with the liquid children's formula), the withdrawal symptoms from that medication resolved. It was annoying to have to taper that after tapering the Mirtazapine for as long as I did. But just like any other taper, I went slow and made my way off of it.

 

Hang in there,

Dave

[Pepms]

18 minutes ago, ten0275 said:

@Pepms

 

Yes, after tapering the Zyrtec as I'd indicated in that post (with the liquid children's formula), the withdrawal symptoms from that medication resolved. It was annoying to have to taper that after tapering the Mirtazapine for as long as I did. But just like any other taper, I went slow and made my way off of it.

 

Hang in there,

Dave

Thanks, im trying to decide wether to take the med or not, i took it for 5 or 6 days for a mild flu, and i dont know if it was coincidental but it took some other withdrawal symptoms away

[Heath]

On 6/10/2022 at 11:19 PM, ChessieCat said:

Petroleum jelly in the nostrils!!!

 
If this has been posted here already, I want to post it again.
 

This really does help keep dust and pollen from getting way up in sinuses! 

If you are struggling in the pollinating season and you still have to work in it this will bring the suffering way down. 

Don’t knock it till you try it! 

[Erin9]

Hi, 

 

I've been reading this thread about allergy symptoms and antihistamines because for the past few weeks I've developed very bad allergy-like symptoms and I'm wondering if they're caused by/exacerbated by WD. I've always had mild issues with frequent runny nose, to the point where I just got so used to it I didn't really bother treating it. But in the past few weeks, particularly since my run in with mirtazapine, I've experienced bad sinus pressure, headaches, clear runny nose, ear ringing and nausea every day. This morning has been particularly bad which is why I'm on here seeking answers. I was considering going to buy some OTC antihistamines (cetirizine is the most common one here I think), but of course I'm worried that it'll exacerbate my symptoms. Should I tough it out or would taking an antihistamine be such a bad thing?

 

I never used to get headaches or any sort of sinus pressure unless I had a cold, but I heard that mirtazapine is a strong antihistamine so even though I only took it for 5 days I feel it may have triggered something. Every morning like clockwork I wake up, am fine for about 5 minutes and then the symptoms start. 

[Heath]

@Erin9 yes you should be ok taking antihistamine. BUT us caution start with lowest dose. AND Altostrata has mentioned somewhere to not use one brand I think it was zyrtec she said not to use. Research what Alto says about Zyrtec. I use Allegra 180. And saline spray. And flush .  I have allergies for 3 seasons. 
 

And yes the symptoms you listed are worsened by/from side effects AND withdrawals of SSRIS. 

I am not a doctor or moderator this is just what I have researched and my experience. 

 

Edited September 19, 2022 by Heath

[Heath]

For the south eastern US folks this week is high ragweed count so be prepared. 
 

pollen.com has an app to help you. 
 

https://www.pollen.com/

 

[Frogie]

On 7/19/2021 at 5:37 PM, Altostrata said:

Claritin (loratadine) does not have to be tapered but Zyrtec does, or you may experience rebound itching.

This is what Altostrata says about Zyrtec.

[Heath]

Decongestants 

 

some cause nervous anxiety and some do not. 
 

pseudoephedrine and phenylephrine can cause anxiety. 
These never bothered me before tapering down on ssri. But now they do. 
 

Recently I had Covid and about 2 days in I started NyQuil for 3 nights .very desperate . Slept better but started noticing morning nervousness like the wd morning cortisol issue. NyQuil contains Phenylephrine.

I never would have thought NyQuil would start a bad wave but I believe it did. And yes Covid could have caused this wave also. I may never know.  
 

Dr and pharmacy says the decongestant Coricidin will not cause nervous anxiety. I haven’t tried it. 

I like the natural flushing myself. But overwhelmed with the flu or the Covid getting in chest etc. are there safe medical options? 
 

If anyone or any mods know if the dr is telling me correct on what decongestant will not cause nervousness anxiety?? Please reply. 
 

This is just my experience and I hope it will help prevent someone from a wave. 
Read read read ingredients. 

[North]

I suffer immensely from seasonal allergy. None of the antihistimamines seem to work for me. This situation repeats every year for me and I have learnt there is one thing that does help and that's antidepressants. I don't fully understand how it works that way but I imagine antidepressants and antihistamines somehow affect your nervous system? I have been off antidepressants for some months now and I won't be going back on them. But the allergy symptoms are really bad. I have tried so many antihistamines and supplements over the years but none seem to work very well. Anyone else experienced anything similar?

[Onmyway]

@North, before creating new topics, pls make sure that one does not already exist. We try to keep information together so as to make it easy for people to find it. Also existing threads may well answer your question. 

[Estman]

I reduced the clomipramine (TCA) to a low dose a week ago
The last two days I have had a very bad reaction: nausea, dizziness, sick feeling, watery and stinging eyes
The corners of the eyes are actually broken and stick together during the night.
The night before yesterday it was like some kind of allergy, the palm of my hand itched - allergy
Since there is also anxiety and sleep disorders and often headaches, could it also be related to histamine?
The concern is that they cannot tolerate normal allergy medicines because they make you drowsy and make you more confused
I've heard that there are some that don't make you drowsy and are also suitable during the day.
Can you recommend?
I have this problem every time I reduce my dose.

[Rob2]

Titled:  Problem with loartadine antihistamine

 

Hello all,

 

I originally joined this forum for support and to share my experience withdrawing from lithium, which that has been going well overall. But I have recently hit something of a bump in the road, and I would greatly appreciate some input on it, if you have any.

 

Towards the end of May, my seasonal allergies were so bad that I started to to take an antihistamine, loratadine (often sold as Claritin in the US) at 5mg, half the normal dose, which worked perfectly. I noticed a very slight sedating effect, but it was not a problem. There was also a noticeable mood-stabilizing effect, which was in fact a bit helpful.

 

Yet, towards mid-June when I stopped taking it, I got a very noticeable rebound, and for a week my mood was strangely elevated. The week after this, it got oddly low. But as things were finally starting to stabilize, suddenly my sleep deteriorated and things started to get worse and worse, and I began to fear a possible psychiatric episode.

 

At this point, I took time off work and went back on the loratadine. To stabilize myself I found that I needed to up the dose, and became stable again at 15mg a day. After a few days of rest on this dose, I felt totally normal. Immediately, I started to bring the dose down again so as not to get used to such a high one.

 

But after a three days at 10 mg, I started to get the same rebound effect that I had after quitting 5mg cold turkey. So now I am going back to 15mg, and things are ok. This has made me realize that I need to take withdrawing from this drug seriously. It is not lithium, or an antipsychotic, but it is having potentially dangerous withdraw symptoms for me.  

 

Nevertheless, it can be important to state that I did not have any of the normal loradatine withdrawal symptoms (headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, etc.), which means that my system is not physically addicted to it. My sense is that the issue is more that given a mood disorder I've had since a major psychiatric episode a year and a half ago, coming off any sedating/mood-stabilizing drug will likely create such difficulties. For context, I usually avoid anything that can get me excited (exercising intensely, listening to a lot of rock music, cafeine, etc.), as that can elevated my mood too much. I am currently hyper-sensitive in that respect (wasn't before the episode).

 

I would be very grateful for any insight that could be provided as to how I should try to taper down safely from this drug. My sense is that the cautious 10% per month is not necessary here as there is no physical addiction, and the drug is comparatively not very strong. But I am not sure how to determine a shorter safe length of tapering in such a situation. 

 

I at least now know that a 33% drop (15mg to 10mg) is too much, which makes sense as that is a lot. But once things have been stable for a few days again, should I try a 20% one? Or a 10% one? And repeat after a week if it went well? Or two weeks? I have a precision scale to help me get the dry cutting right.

 

Loratadine is quite sedating for me at 10mg and above, which is a problem for my work which requires high concentration, as well as my social life (I do seem and feel a bit "high," which is not great...). So ideally, I would like to get down to around 5mg and below as soon as I can – while being cautious, of course.

 

Thank you for any insight that you may provide on how to approach this the right way! 

 

Edited July 4, 2023 by manymoretodays
merged to related topic, title added

[manymoretodays]

@Rob2I merged your recent post/topic, to the related topic that we have that may answer your questions.

And then here is your Introduction topic too:  Rob2: lingering side effects after lithium carbonate

If you'd like to update there, or have further questions after going through this topic

 

[FeralCatman]

5 hours ago, Rob2 said:

Titled:  Problem with loartadine antihistamine

 

Hello all,

 

I originally joined this forum for support and to share my experience withdrawing from lithium, which that has been going well overall. But I have recently hit something of a bump in the road, and I would greatly appreciate some input on it, if you have any.

 

Towards the end of May, my seasonal allergies were so bad that I started to to take an antihistamine, loratadine (often sold as Claritin in the US) at 5mg, half the normal dose, which worked perfectly. I noticed a very slight sedating effect, but it was not a problem. There was also a noticeable mood-stabilizing effect, which was in fact a bit helpful.

 

Yet, towards mid-June when I stopped taking it, I got a very noticeable rebound, and for a week my mood was strangely elevated. The week after this, it got oddly low. But as things were finally starting to stabilize, suddenly my sleep deteriorated and things started to get worse and worse, and I began to fear a possible psychiatric episode.

 

At this point, I took time off work and went back on the loratadine. To stabilize myself I found that I needed to up the dose, and became stable again at 15mg a day. After a few days of rest on this dose, I felt totally normal. Immediately, I started to bring the dose down again so as not to get used to such a high one.

 

But after a three days at 10 mg, I started to get the same rebound effect that I had after quitting 5mg cold turkey. So now I am going back to 15mg, and things are ok. This has made me realize that I need to take withdrawing from this drug seriously. It is not lithium, or an antipsychotic, but it is having potentially dangerous withdraw symptoms for me.  

 

Nevertheless, it can be important to state that I did not have any of the normal loradatine withdrawal symptoms (headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, etc.), which means that my system is not physically addicted to it. My sense is that the issue is more that given a mood disorder I've had since a major psychiatric episode a year and a half ago, coming off any sedating/mood-stabilizing drug will likely create such difficulties. For context, I usually avoid anything that can get me excited (exercising intensely, listening to a lot of rock music, cafeine, etc.), as that can elevated my mood too much. I am currently hyper-sensitive in that respect (wasn't before the episode).

 

I would be very grateful for any insight that could be provided as to how I should try to taper down safely from this drug. My sense is that the cautious 10% per month is not necessary here as there is no physical addiction, and the drug is comparatively not very strong. But I am not sure how to determine a shorter safe length of tapering in such a situation. 

 

I at least now know that a 33% drop (15mg to 10mg) is too much, which makes sense as that is a lot. But once things have been stable for a few days again, should I try a 20% one? Or a 10% one? And repeat after a week if it went well? Or two weeks? I have a precision scale to help me get the dry cutting right.

 

Loratadine is quite sedating for me at 10mg and above, which is a problem for my work which requires high concentration, as well as my social life (I do seem and feel a bit "high," which is not great...). So ideally, I would like to get down to around 5mg and below as soon as I can – while being cautious, of course.

 

Thank you for any insight that you may provide on how to approach this the right way! 

 

I actually had the same problem with Allegra after I had jumped off the Seroquel so you must be having a problem with histamine dysregulation. Once your symptoms stabilize I would try a 10% reduction and see how it goes and if that goes okay you might be able to try it again in 2 weeks instead of 4 then try a 15% reduction and see how that goes. Starting slower would be better because histamine is a neurotransmitter and therefore anything that affects histamine could be considered a neuro active substance. Here's a Wikipedia link with the pharmacology information for loratadine.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loratadine

 

Here is a Wikipedia page that describes the function of histamine in the body.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histamine

[Rob2]

On 7/4/2023 at 9:20 PM, manymoretodays said:

@Rob2I merged your recent post/topic, to the related topic that we have that may answer your questions.

And then here is your Introduction topic too:  Rob2: lingering side effects after lithium carbonate

If you'd like to update there, or have further questions after going through this topic

 

Thank you very much!

[Rob2]

On 7/5/2023 at 12:05 AM, FeralCatman said:

I actually had the same problem with Allegra after I had jumped off the Seroquel so you must be having a problem with histamine dysregulation. Once your symptoms stabilize I would try a 10% reduction and see how it goes and if that goes okay you might be able to try it again in 2 weeks instead of 4 then try a 15% reduction and see how that goes. Starting slower would be better because histamine is a neurotransmitter and therefore anything that affects histamine could be considered a neuro active substance. Here's a Wikipedia link with the pharmacology information for loratadine.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loratadine

 

Here is a Wikipedia page that describes the function of histamine in the body.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histamine

 

Thank you for this helpful information! Your suggestion on tapering seems very reasonable, and I think that I will follow it. It is striking, also, that the same thing happened to you with Allegra. Can I ask how the situation resolved itself?

 

 

[FeralCatman]

4 hours ago, Rob2 said:

 

Thank you for this helpful information! Your suggestion on tapering seems very reasonable, and I think that I will follow it. It is striking, also, that the same thing happened to you with Allegra. Can I ask how the situation resolved itself?

 

 

@Rob2 I came across somebody else on the benzo buddies website who had the same issue after tapering down benzodiazepines and trying to withdraw from the Allegra actually tripped him into psychosis for about a month. I ran into somebody else online who was diagnosed with cholinergenic rebound from taking 50 to 100 mg nightly of Benadryl for sleep.

 

As far as where I am at with the Allegra I am still taking it twice a day. I decided to hold everything steady after getting off of statins and Nexium and just allow my body to stabilize and recover for a while. Now I am dealing with what is most likely medication induced hyponatremia so tapering the carbamazepine takes priority now so I'm just going to stay on the Allegra until I'm done with the psychiatric medications and then deal with it because it's the least harmful thing that I take.

[Rob2]

On 7/7/2023 at 12:02 AM, FeralCatman said:

@Rob2 I came across somebody else on the benzo buddies website who had the same issue after tapering down benzodiazepines and trying to withdraw from the Allegra actually tripped him into psychosis for about a month. I ran into somebody else online who was diagnosed with cholinergenic rebound from taking 50 to 100 mg nightly of Benadryl for sleep.

 

As far as where I am at with the Allegra I am still taking it twice a day. I decided to hold everything steady after getting off of statins and Nexium and just allow my body to stabilize and recover for a while. Now I am dealing with what is most likely medication induced hyponatremia so tapering the carbamazepine takes priority now so I'm just going to stay on the Allegra until I'm done with the psychiatric medications and then deal with it because it's the least harmful thing that I take.

 

Wow, thanks for this extra information. It's helpful in taking this fully seriously even though loratadine is usually a safe medication. I will do the first couple of dose reductions very slowly and conservatively, and judge from my reactions whether to accelerate things or not.

 

My sense is that I can probably eventually do something like 15% a week with no issues. The hypomania I got from the 33% reduction was really very mild, and I would have normally pushed through it had I not just been coming out of several weeks of mood instability. For now, though, I can happily say that the crisis portion seems over, and I will take things slowly to keep it that way.

 

I wonder if you have any thoughts as to whether this kind of acute sensitivity to drugs is caused by the withdrawal process (my system is still recovering from the lithium), or if it could be related to a pre-existing sensitivity. My intuitive answer would be "likely both," but my knowledge of psychopharmacology is virtually non-existent compared to that of many people on this forum. What I'm going through now reminds me of a bad reaction I had to a 5-htp supplement (serotonin precursor) that was prescribed to me about a month after my lithium withdrawal, and someone had mentioned that interference with other psychiatric drugs is usually the cause of that reaction.

[FeralCatman]

Everybody is different so it's hard to say but I know that I never had trouble with over-the-counter medications before the Post Acute withdrawal started. In my case it's definitely withdrawal related sensitivities not pre-existing.