Allergy Med Advice Needed Bad :~

[duck411]

First off, I have horrible allergies - I used to get 4 allergy shots a week as a child and take 2 pills a day and use a nose spray and eye drops to help get me thru my day before becoming pregnant. Well, now that I'm breastfeeding, I've been told that I basically can't take anything (I took benadryl when pregnant to get me thru). My LLL Leader told me to tough it out best I could but that if I had 2, benadryl was safe - just stay extra hydrated and take it at night. Well, I haven't been able to sleep, even if baby is, because my throat is itchy and raw, along with my eyes & ears. I'm having to wipe/blow my nose about every 5 minutes or else i drown in my own snot I gave in and took a benadryl the other night before bed - then the following morning after our wake-up feeding - DD slept for hours! She never sleeps during the day for more than 30 minutes usually. My guess is the benadryl? ya think? Anyhoo - so that makes me nervous about taking anymore - but I can't handle this throat/ear/eye deal - not to mention not getting any sleep.... PLEASE HELP! TIA!

[tessa1002]

No advice really, just hugs.

[cupcakewright]

I don't think she got enough Benadryl to make her sleepy, Benadryls half life is 2-8 hours so if had been over 4 hours from the time you took it, most of it was already gone from your milk, I would think.

Anyway, you can also do Tylenol products, to Tylenol Sinus might help.

I to am dieing this season! I have found allergy eye drops help.

Hopefully it will get hot soon and everything will DIE! haha

[daisyterp]

Be careful taking any "sinus" meds- they can dry you out. Benadryl and other antihistamines won't dry you out.
Check kellymom- I took zyrtec and it helped me. I think that Zyrtec and Claritin are OK. Sudafed will dry up your milk though- and anything w/ the active ingredient of Sudafed.
You can take mucinex too.

[teachermama]

I feel your pain on the allergies and shots and med's and nasal sprays and EVERYTHING!!! Allergies are just no fun and you are probably miserable so for you.... I have ALWAYS taken med's during pregnancy and breastfeeding and never had any issues. All the med's I am on were checked and double-checked by both my allergist and OB and were declared safe for use. Most of what I am taking is nasal sprays for the allergies, but you would need a prescription. I am currently using Rhinocort and Astelin nasap sprays for the allergies, but their are many other steroid nasal sprays that would work as well. I LOVE the Astelin because it will work right away to stop your drippy nose and other symptoms. The Rhinocort will feel nice, but it needs several days to reach it's full potential. Also I would totally recommend the Claritin or Zyrtec like a pp said...they just weren't strong enough for me so I never was able to successfully use them. You might look into to a saline spray just to keep everything moist and flushed out and also try to make your home as allergen free as possible so at least you might be able to get some relief indoors. (HEPA filter, vacuuming and sweeping regularly, keeping any pets well groomed...etc.) You could also look into getting a prescription for Allegra (antihistimine without the drowsiness of Benadryl). Honestly, if it were me, I would make an appt. to be seen by an Allergist and skip the Sudafed/Benadryl altogether.

[GraceDancer]

I have bad hayfever-type allergies. My midwife has had me take Standard Process brand Antronex and I have had relief with those. I've taken up to 4 with each meal and at bedtime before when my symptoms are really bad. You might look into finding a natural health care provider who sells Standard Process supplements.

[Shainamom]

My DH has really bad allergies and we buy LOCAL honey and he no longer suffers at all. About 2 summers ago he was living on benadryl (taking max dosage and still not really working plus living in the benadryl fog) and we heard somewhere about local honey working. He started replacing sugar with honey and even eating it by the spoonful. It has to be the local honey though. And the best part is no yucky side effects. Let me know if you want more info.

[mommyofnoah]

I've heard benadryl will dry you up. I've been taking zyrtec and now am switching to claritin because the zyrtec was making me very tired. claritin has been working good so far. for your throat, you could try some honey & lemon hot water. You fill the bottom of the coffee mug with honey (local honey would be best), then about 5-6 capfuls of lemon juice and then fill rest of cup with water. Warm in microwave to melt the honey and mix things together. drink. do this about 3-4 times a day when you start feeling scratchy. My mom told me about it and it works great (plus you are getting extra fluids this way too) hope you find some relief

to the pp: thanks for the tip about sudaphed drying you up. I've taken one tablet a few days this week and didn't know it would do that. I appreciate the heads up!

[frogandtoad]

Maybe Zyrtec? It's pretty safe. I use Hyland's Sinus (I believe they also have allergy remedies). Of course, the doc will tell you nothing is 100% "safe", which is true. But if you're just miserable, you're not going to be a very good mama - so you gotta weigh risks vs benefits IMO.