Anti-histamine

Hello all,

I recently started to take anti-histamines for allergic rhinitis and I have been really dizzy, does anyone have any experience of these being a trigger? They are non drowsy ones, but they don’t list caffeine as an ingredient.

Thanks.

I Modwolf- what kind of antihistamine are you taking? I use 2 kinds of antihistamines: 5mg. oral Zyrtec/certirizine and a nasal antihistamine spray/Astepro at night only. Some antihistamines make me dizzy (Allegra) and also the the nasal spray which is why I would only take it at night. There are dozens to try so switching to another brand and/or cutting the dose may solve your problem. Also check out the inactive ingredients listed since some of those may be triggers for you: allegra pediatric dissolvables and claritin dissolvables both contain aspartame, etc which are triggers for some migraine sufferers.
Gail

I find phenergan/promethazine very helpful for sleep, anxiety and dizziness. I take 12.5 mg at bedtime.
Kelley

Modwolf - I had another thought. Another ‘old school’ antihistamine that is really good for migraines and dizziness is periactin. It is quite potent, comes in low doses, and is great for sleep. However, it can put a few pounds on at higher doses. I took it for a very short while and can attest to its potency. It is available by prescription only here in the U.S.
Gail

i have horrible allergies but mostly head pressure swelling eyes and dizziness are my symptoms so i have taken steroid nose sprays and antihistimines for years but nothing has really controlled it.

I’m sick of it. i feel awful now and it’s gonna be 70 degrees from now until next week at this time and windy so i’m gonna be suffering big time. barely made it through work today. i’m gonna have to work at home a lot next week i think. i always get super sick this time of year.

i hope you find something to help you that doesn’t make you dizzier!

chris

Thanks everybody. The one I am taking is Loratadine.
To be honest my allergies don’t feel any better and I would rather not take any medication at all, so I think I am just going to stop taking it and see how I feel.

Modwolf - that’s not a bad idea. I can’t take loratadine because it also makes me dizzy. I take as little as I can get by with. If I’m not congested or sneezing then I limit it all… However, I was tested by my allergist this past week and she boldy refuted the expert neurologists that claim allergic reactions from environmental allergens will not make you dizzy - she says she sees it all the time in her practice and her patients have had good luck with meds and/or shots. I dunno… I guess if you have MAV then I can see how allergy treatment would not make a difference.
Gail

i’ve had my allergists tell me that allergies can’t make you dizzy but i don’t believe that because I’ve been my worst during allergy seasons for 30 years - missing 3-4 weeks of work or just being miserable at work or working at home always the worst in the spring and fall but now summer pollution gets me too. i’ve read online that allergies can make you dizzy so who do you believe? even my neurotologist said it could be allergies that are making me dizzy.

ah so many medical issues folks have that can’t be fixed. I’m frustrated as heck today about all this cuz i don’t have a normal life.

I take meds but i’m still sick

chris

I’ll sometime take good old benadryl for my allergies and I’ll notice I’ll confuse the drowsiness with the dizziness and that it all starts to mesh together into one and then I just got to bed.

Chris, I think that your allergist may be technically right, in that allergy per se won’t make us dizzy, BUT swollen sinuses &c. can do it to us. Maybe even the stress of breathing through a clogged schnozz. Possibly it’s similar to what my neurologist warned me about vis-a-vis swimming (quite correctly, I discovered)–that too-tight goggles can overstress my system.