Over at the ear nose and throat office, the doctor stuck a tube inside my nose and sprayed each nostril with this numbing cream, which ran down my throat and tasted absolutely AWFUL. The cream started to numb my throat as well and I ended up snorting in disgust. egads, who invented that stuff anyway? I asked him if it was ok to swallow it, since it was running down my throat and he laughed... before I realized that what I SAID was not what I MEANT.. geesh.
ahem. you know, that numbing cream would be a great uh, diet remedy. Everytime you feel like snacking, you'd spray the stuff on your tongue and you'd lose all taste of flavor. I wonder why they haven't come up it yet.
Well anyway, after it took effect, he stuck a long scope inside my right nostril so he could see what was back there. I'd tell you but it's snot nice. The left nostril was all clear, however, and it turns out I have a slightly deviated septum, which is too far to the right and wrecks havoc on my sinuses.
He prescribed Allegra and Nasonex and recommended surgery in the future if that didn't bring any relief.
Problem is, the side effects from Allegra make me feel extremely sleepy. I started Allegra on Tuesday. Came home around noon on Wednesday and ended up falling into deep sleep. (No dreams, however. dammm). The Nasonex is giving me a sore throat and major headache.
I looked up the alternatives online and found that Flonase and Claritin don't seem to cause these symptoms. Claritin hasn't worked very well for me in the past. Hub takes Flonase on a daily basis with no apparent side effects other than Male Pattern Refrigerator Blindness, which seems to only be relieved by hollering for me to come and rescue him when he can't find the sandwich meat. I've got to stop being such an enabler.
I've decided to give the meds one more day to see if I'm still getting the same side effects.
Do any of you take these meds, and if so, have you had similar side effects? Will the drowsiness, headache and sore throat go away after using it for awhile? I haven't filled the prescription yet, because he gave me so many Allegra and Nasonex samples. That'll give me time to decide before I order the prescription.
On the plus side, I woke up this morning without a headache OR stuffiness.
hehehehe.
My wife has allergies, and for her stuffiness she takes... er... damn, something that's not one of the meds you listed. She tried all of those and didn't like them. The new one worked much better.
I left her a message. She'll call back and tell me what the pill is and I'll be back.
Posted by: Maine | August 11, 2005 at 09:11 AM
I take clarinex for right nose snot. doesn't help at all. Maybe you should continue the samples to see if the side effects abate. Or you could call and see if there is a substitute for the nasonex. look up the side effect of the stuff on the web.
Posted by: mom | August 11, 2005 at 10:04 AM
Flonase is the best...I've used it for years. Of all the antihistamines I've tried, Zyrtec is the only one that works for me. Good luck!
Posted by: poopie | August 11, 2005 at 12:46 PM
Can't comment on the meds, but glad they found the cause.
Posted by: steelcowboy | August 11, 2005 at 01:43 PM
I would prescribe the same thing. Give it some time, 2-3 weeks and see how it is working. If there is a problem call the office. Also, be careful about cyber-medicine. It's very human to read the side effects and have the symptoms. Who hasn't? BTW - I use BOTH myself. But, we are all different.
Aren't allergies a pain in the ' ?
Posted by: Mike | August 11, 2005 at 03:55 PM
Maine! i'm still waiting!! tell her to hurry! ;) j/k
Mike, yep.. I'll be sticking to my Dr.'s advice, of course, but just wanted to hear from others what their experience has been. I haven't had any symtoms today, other than a mild headache and increased thirst.
and yep, allergies are a pain in the question mark! ;)
Posted by: Laura | August 11, 2005 at 05:28 PM
I don't even own aspirin (I've never had a headache), so I have no idea about any kind of meds. All I know is since this spider bit me I have ingested more pills in a week than my body has had in its lifetime. No more, thank you very much. Ack!
Posted by: FTS | August 12, 2005 at 01:21 AM
My oldest son is entering the 4th grade. He has seasonal allergies and takes some of the same meds that you are taking in addition to weekly allergy shots. Some of the side effects that I've noticed are frequent temper tantrums, addiction to video games, a know it all attitude and a very superficial dislike for girls. Hopefully this helps.
Posted by: DrG | August 12, 2005 at 07:49 AM
I am so terribly boring. I have nothing in my house that is a prescription and only some left over winter cold medicine and tylenol in the over the counter variety. however my mother could stock a pharmacy and give you advice on every drug available especially allergy meds.
I hope you keep feeling better.
Posted by: Angie | August 12, 2005 at 08:21 AM
DrG, thank you very much, that helps immensely. There is hope for you, however. The dislike of girls will go away by the 6th grade. Unfortunately it will be replaced by an intense LIKE of girls, and uh... the other three symptoms will likely hang around for years to come.
(except for the tantrums. hmmm,you want I should send Vito and Vinny out there to deal with them? they haven't yet been caught by the DCF...) (g)
;)
Posted by: Laura | August 12, 2005 at 08:27 AM
Sorry, I don't suffer, so I can't provide any help. My dad was a doctor though, so in my professional opinion, I would recommend continuing with the samples to see if your body adjusts.
Posted by: InterstellarLass | August 12, 2005 at 10:14 AM
Cingulair.
Posted by: Maine | August 12, 2005 at 10:58 AM
I have no help for you. I am just waiting for the day they tell me the side effects of chocolate.
Posted by: Old Horsetail Snake | August 12, 2005 at 07:28 PM
I haven't... but I wanted to offer my sympathy to ya. The Coffeehusband has sinuses that do NOT like living in the southern portion of our USA. When/if we get to Florida or Alabama as we are hoping we do actually wonder what he'll do about that.
I'll just keep watching your experience with the meds and use that as trial and error for future reference! LOL.
Posted by: meritt | August 13, 2005 at 10:02 AM
update... I forgot to take both the nasonex and the allegra for the past day or so. I'm bad enough about remembering to take vitamins, and i'm just not that into pills. My sinues have responded angrily and with a venegance.
I went back on the meds this morning. stay tuned!
Maine, thanks for the tip, i'll check it out.
Posted by: Laura | August 13, 2005 at 12:33 PM