My Experience with Clarinex-D and Veramyst Nasal Spray

After suffering with one of the worst allergies I've ever had, I sought some help, both from my physician and from the Internet. I have allergies in the late summer and fall of the year and blame ragweed for the problem. However, this year, my allergies have been far more troublesome than before.

I did some reading on the Internet and found that ragweed is the most common culprit this time of year, but one thing that can make it even more troublesome is when there is any kind of construction, roadwork or general development. Anything that disturbs the ground can cause an increase in ragweed growth.

That certainly could explain the severity of my own allergies right now. Just across the cornfield from our house, the City is busily building a new Middle School. All summer long, they have dutifully been "disturbing" the soil in order to lay the foundation for the new school. I cringe to think about how much more pollen has been floating around in the air.

All of this has caused my sinuses to be on overload. My eyes are red and watery, my ears are so full of pressure that they ache, and I've lost about half of my hearing. I also have a scratchy throat, raspy voice and a hacky cough.

I talked things over with my doctor, who prescribed Clarinex-D and Veramyst. The Clarinex-D comes in two forms, a 24-hour tablet and a 12-hour tablet. My doctor gave me samples of both tablets as well as a sample bottle of Veramyst. I was so miserable that I started off by taking one of the 24-hour tablets. I would have swallowed dynamite if I thought it would help without blowing off my head.

After taking the Clarinex-D, 24 hour tablet, within 30 minutes I could tell a difference in my stuffiness and the pressure in my ears. I could almost hear again. I really felt like this was going to work. Then when bedtime rolled around, it was a totally different story. Instead of being able to sleep, one of the worst cases of insomnia set in. My legs were restless, I experienced alternating bouts of chills and sweats, and was generally, very miserable.

In the end, I did not sleep at all that night. The next day, I completely avoided taking any form of Clarinex-D. As a result, my head was just as stuffy as before, the ringing in my ears was back and my hearing was again very bad. My throat was raspy and hoarse and I was miserable. Of course, this all happened on the weekend, so there is no way to contact my doctor, since it did not qualify as an emergency.

On Sunday morning, I decided to try the Clarinex-D 12-hour tablet. I was fully prepared to experience much the same side effects as the 24-hour tablet. However, it took a full 5 hours before I had any relief from my allergy symptoms. This tablet clearly did not do the job for me and when bedtime approached, I once again experienced a bout of insomnia and restless legs. The trouble did not last nearly as long and I was finally able to sleep.

According to the literature on Clarinex-D, not everyone experiences the problems I had with this medication; however, insomnia, restless legs, chills and sweats were listed as some of the most common side effects.

On Monday morning, I expected I would need to call my doctor once again in order to get some relief. Instead, it seems that the Veramyst has begun to make some difference, so I'm going to continue using that. Veramyst is a steroid nasal spray. I have used other steroid sprays in the past and they usually work well.

In the end, I decided the best thing I can do is remember to start using a steroid nasal spray earlier in the summer in order to prevent this kind of allergic reaction in the future. There are many brands of steroid sprays that are very effective and need to be used only as long as the pollen season lasts. Once we have a good frost in this area, the ragweed pollen will be gone and I, for one, will be able to breathe again.

Here you can find the Ragweed Pollen Season Trends in your area of the country.

Sources:

http://www.healthcentral.com/allergy/c/3989/35283/allergy-ragweed/

http://www.veramyst.com/

http://www.clarinexd.com/