Allergy Meds
#181797 - 05/28/05 05:28 PM
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beacon1961
Reged: 02/28/05
Posts: 62
Loc: Marlton, NJ
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Has anyone with IBS-C experienced problems taking allergy meds. I started taking claritin to deal with the pollen and terrible allergy season this spring. It has been working great and I feel so much better. But now I have been C all week and feel miserable. Just curious if anyone has had similar experiences.
Mary
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It only takes a few committed people to change the world!
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Antihistamines, including Claritin usually makes me feel drier, so it may make your IBS-C definitely worse. Have you tried halfing Claritin(this generally works for me)?
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Thanks-I'll give it a try.
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It only takes a few committed people to change the world!
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yes, all do this to me (C), including 'good ole' benadryl. as a result, i have had to give up on any & all allergy meds. or, for that matter, using benadryl for insomia. the ones with decongestants added are a big no-no for insomnia. even worse (just for the record), people with bipolar illness should never take the decongestant type or they risk being thrown into a mania.
i'm a die-hard homebody, so the outside bit is not too much of a problem, even in 'sinus valley' sw ohio. i do get the only relief i can indoors by changing my super-duper allergens helping furnace filters weekly, instead of monthly, during the worst months.
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Pulse
#182111 - 05/31/05 06:42 AM
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BL
Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 3522
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I noticed you mentioned the effects of decongestants on people with bipolar. Do you have bipolar? I do---and anything with a "D" on the end of it make me feel like I've had a 100 cups of coffee! Benadryl (what's in Tylenol PM) keeps me up all night. Sudafed is the worst. I got into serious trouble taking it during allergy season about 5 years ago.
The ob/gyn has me taking progestrone pills to straighten out my periods---and last night when I went to bed, my heart was pounding. Gosh, I just wish something would make me sleepy!
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Re: Pulse
#182212 - 05/31/05 11:41 AM
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pulse
Reged: 05/24/05
Posts: 69
Loc: sw ohio
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no, i have major depressive disorder, recurrent. have had it since a child or perhaps born with it, being that, like bipolar, it's genetic. i know alot about bipolar, tho, for several reasons:
i was misdiagnosed with bipolar for 10 yrs. as you may know, this is the 'opposite' of what usually happens. then, i had a classic bipolar I s.o. for 5 yrs. also, i have briefly run or co-run 2 affective (mood) disorders support groups. i do well working with those with depression or bipolar - no problem. 'working' with those with comorbid personality disorders were and are another story!
when i was misdiagnosed with bipolar, my psychiatrist warned me re: no 'd' allergy meds ever - for the gazillion-cups-of-coffee-effect you describe. and, further, the very real risk of them causing full-blown mania to emerge.
btw, my therapist of many yrs says she has never met one single person with mdd who does not also have ibs. i know my own mother had it, but the d variety, where i have the c. i did not know those with bipolar can have ibs, but, of course, it does 'makes sense.' so, thanks to you, i have learned something new.
managing these co-occuring illnesses can seem like a full-time job. some days are better than others.
best regards, pulse
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bipolar folks have to deal with this all the time. very tough! even i have it happen once in a very rare while. i agree that sudafed is the very worst. i had another bipolar friend (cocaine user) who used it to get high, when attempting to stay 'clean.' i am clean off coke myself now, going on 8 yrs. my coke use had alot (not all) to do with why i was misdiagnosed with bipolar, as it's use 'mimics' mania.
you didn't state here, are you ibs c or d? for insomnia, if you are NOT c, i'd suggest neurontin for insomnia (and, as an add-on for mood stabilization.) OR, even better, if you do not have GERD, as I do (more fun!), shrinks seem to be using low dose seroquel for sleep alot these days. low dose 7.5 mg remeron is GREAT for me for sleep (other than the huge weight gain it causes in most everyone & that i am no longer willing to accept), but for you, being as remeron IS an antidepressant, you would risk hypomania or mania, if you did not have enough mood stabilizer/s 'on board.'
if enough folks here are ever interested, perhaps we could start a psych meds (and related) section(?)
good luck in your continued quest! ~ pulse
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Thanks for the reply. It is nice to "talk" to someone who speaks my language! I am IBS C (but sometimes D, especially if I eat a high fat meal at a restaurant.)
Yep, I had the opposite experience as you. I was diagnosed as just plain ole' depressive during a horrible depression, put on an AD, and ended up so manic that I almost ended my life. My dad's sister (as well as others in the family tree), unfortunately, took that course of action! The family history, coupled with the fact that every med that normally makes people sleepy made me sky high, made for a diagnosis of bp.
I have tried many meds, discontinuing a lot because of the weight gains. I tried Seroquel but had to stop it because of a weird side effect, but I've never tried Remeron. Right now, I'm on Trileptal but it's becoming less and less effective. A recent try of Geodon caused some problems too, so I stopped it.
Yes, I'd love to chat with other BP patients.
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the shrinks here in sw ohio are all ga-ga on trileptal for bipolar, or even for depression. i was afraid of it only because if a med has nausea as a side-effect, i can almost always count on getting it, and, then, it very often never abates over time - especially with a stabilizer, since it's not a build-up-in-your-system-to-work med (at least for depressives), compared to an antidepressant. sorry to hear it seems to be losing some of it's efficacy for you.
i'm down to only one antidepressant i can still tolerate GI-wise (other than 'fat'-med remeron)... and that is prozac. a scary position to be in! i recently withdrew very slowly from klonopin (due to narcotics anonymous-generated panic - even tho i haven't attended their meetings in over 5 yrs!) - over my prior substance abuse history. and, even tho, of the 2 yrs i'd taken klonopin, i'd never abused it, and always took less than was prescribed (a small amount to begin with.) unbeknowst to me prior, it then became QUITE apparent that klonopin is key to my not having extreme ibs bloating, pain, and general all-around GI nasties.
just a guess, but perhaps the reason i never abuse klonopin is that it is not in the same group as my drug of choice (stimulants). i never did drink.
there has only been one suicide in my family of which i am aware. it was put forth as a 'hunting accident.' sorry to hear that you've had more, as that can feel like permission to follow in those same footsteps. glad you're still around!
i am amazed at how much stigma there still is re: our illnesses. for cripes sake, it's 2005!
moderators: i realize this has gone off topic, so if you might want to give us a new thread, i understand.
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