any pharmacists out there?

[Jeri Lynn]

Is anyone out there a pharmacist?

I am very concerned about my younger sister. I think she is on too much medication. Back in May she broke out with hives twice, total body and had to go to the hospital for IV's to get them under control. In both cases they were gone the next morning. They gave her an epi pen just in case.

Since then she has broken out with hives, here and there and is convinced that they are from her work as a hairdresser. She has never had any sort of chemical reaction from her products before. She also started to break out wearing anything with spandex. She has had allergy testing and nothing was overly high on the scale. She is convinced it's hair color, and it may be contributing to the hives, but she does not always break out when she is working with the product, sometimes she does, sometimes she doesn't. Either way she is constantly looking in the mirror and even one little red bump she considers a hive.

She is also a very nervous person and is prone to depression. She is seeing a therapist right now.

Before this all happened she was very sick for one week in April. The doctor gave her an upper GI test and it showed she had an ulcer. They recently tested her for H-Pyloria and the test was negative.

So she is taking boatloads of medicine, and I believe she is overmedicated. She looks drugged out when you see her.

She has seen an allergist in Boston who supposedly knows and has put her on different medicines.

I have tried to get her to just stop taking everything except what her primary care gave her for the ulcer and her anti-depressant. I have told her the last thing she needs on top over what she is going through with her depression is a drug problem.

She is very small, last time I saw her weight it was 115lbs and she is probably smaller now. She is 5'6.

My Aunt saw her today and said she just looks blank.

I know she takes zyrtec, fexofenadine, which I believe is Allegra, Clariton, Celexa and some sort of anti anxiety pill. I've begged her to ask the pharmacist about this combination but I think she is scared to death not to take them.

Is anyone familiar with these drugs, should they be taken together?? Is it possible to take too much antihistamine....

Her DH is at the end of his rope. I know she is depressed but I don't think all these allergy drugs are helping the case, how can she even think without a clear head.

TIA....:(

[Goofy4TheWorld]

My wife has lived and is still living the misery your sister is going through right now. The short story is that when doctors are trying to get hives under control without the use of steroids, they will prescribe enough pills to make you dizzy. At her worst, my wife was taking 27 pills a day, most all of which were various versions of antihistamines such as the ones you named. The doctors wanted her to take anxiety pills at that same time, but she declined, even though the doctors said it would be okay. My wife also carries an Epi-Pen, although she has finally gained enough control of her hives to not really need it anymore.

So being told to take that many pills is not unusual from our experience. For my wife, that look of being out of it was from the overwhelming sense of doom that had entered her life. My wife could not sleep for the chronic itching, not that she wanted to anyway, because of the fear of her throat swelling shut while she was asleep, and given the prognosis for her hives ever going away was so so slim, it should be understandable why someone would seem so out of it, I know my wife was. I should mention that my wife also has nervous tendencies, and doctors always wanted her to take anti-depressants as a part of the overall strategy.

The bright spot for my wife, and hopefully your sister one day, is that she found her almost-miracle drug after about 4 months or so. That drug was Zyrtec. She got near-immediate relief from Zyrtec, and has eventually gotten down to only one 10mG Zyrtec a day. That keeps her hives down to only a very limited bump-or-four-or-five, and maybe swollen lips for a few hours once or twice a week. But from where she came from, that was a God sent miracle for us. Your sister just has to keep trying new things, and one will stand out above the rest. I feel for her fear of trying to stop taking any of the drugs, as my wife never stopped taking anything until it was obvious that the addition of Zyrtec to her bag of pills made such a big difference.

One more babble about my wife. Even when my wife was at her worst, her hives always went away the week she was menstruating. When it came time to get pregnant, she went off of Zyrtec ahead of time and managed by only using Benadryl. We got pregnant quickly, and by the end of her 1st trimester, her hives (along with her IBS) were completely gone. Her hives started coming back about 6-8 weeks postpartum, and she went back on Zyrtec. We have concluded beyond any doubt that her hives and her IBS are an over-reaction to some hormone in her body, but as of yet, have not really gotten much support from any doctor on pursuing that idea. Through all the testing, her only diagnosis has been microscopic colitis, which is the beginning stages of an ulcer in the colon.

I hope she finds her solution, but in the meantime, be supportive of the fact that drugs are the only way your sister will have any chance of staying sane. As long as she is trying something different (new or fewer meds) from time to time, just keep supporting her, because believe me, she needs it, and her husband needs support to.

If you want more, just ask me.

[kakn7294]

Is she taking all that at the same time? She definately could be taking too many meds and should seek the counsil of her doctor and / or pharmacist. If she won't go, you can check with your pharmacist then present the information to her. Good luck!

[Jeri Lynn]

What scares me is she is driving to work with this medication in her. She takes 7 pills a day. I know she starts her morning off with a half of anxiety pill, a zyrtec and perhaps her anti-depressant celexa.

She does not get the hives on a daily basis and they are not itchy. I believe alot of them are caused by her nerves. She has told me that her hands break out when she leaves her therapist appt on Monday mornings. She does not work on Monday's so it is not related to the hair products on this particular day.

The allergist she is seeing in Boston is planning to keep her on this medicine until she is hive free for 30 days. I don't see this happening anytime soon.

I'm scared because she is in a depressed state and it is beginning to really affect her. She's happier being alone. I talk to her on a daily basis, not always on the phone but by computer, we talk at least twice per day. I guess I am her "go to" person, which is fine, I've got some big shoulders for her, but I am scared that she is harming her body with all these drugs.

[SBETigg]

I'm not a pharmacist, but I am very allergic. I don't think she should be taking Claritin and Zyrtec at the same time, as they are both for the same kind of thing. I would think you would take one or the other, not both. Whichever one works best for her. But I have no professional idea.

I would be wary if she is taking anything extra to help her sleep at night with that mix. Has she been tested for a latex allergy? Hairdressers use gloves when they do color treatments, so it just occurs to me that it could be an issue. All allergies seem to be exacerbated by stress. I know mine are. Otherwise, her allergist and her primary care physician should be working together and each should know what the other is prescribing to keep from mixing. Maybe you could share your concerns with her doctor? He can't tell you anything about her treatment, but he could review her meds with her. Best wishes that she feels better soon.

[kakn7294]

After reading your second post, she definately sounds very depressed and perhaps needs more help than her therapist is offering. I don't want to diagnose, but it sounds as if the Celexa either isn't helping or with the drug combo isn't working. I'm going to suggest that you or another reliable family member offer to go to the doctor with her and have her bring all her medications so they can see exactly what she's been taking. She needs someone who can objectively talk to the doctor with her so she can explain what she's been feeling and they can explain what the rest of you are seeing. I'm going to throw in a little hyperallergenic :pixie: because I think you all need it.

[krose78]

My wife has lived and is still living the misery your sister is going through right now. The short story is that when doctors are trying to get hives under control without the use of steroids, they will prescribe enough pills to make you dizzy. At her worst, my wife was taking 27 pills a day, most all of which were various versions of antihistamines such as the ones you named. The doctors wanted her to take anxiety pills at that same time, but she declined, even though the doctors said it would be okay. My wife also carries an Epi-Pen, although she has finally gained enough control of her hives to not really need it anymore.

So being told to take that many pills is not unusual from our experience. For my wife, that look of being out of it was from the overwhelming sense of doom that had entered her life. My wife could not sleep for the chronic itching, not that she wanted to anyway, because of the fear of her throat swelling shut while she was asleep, and given the prognosis for her hives ever going away was so so slim, it should be understandable why someone would seem so out of it, I know my wife was. I should mention that my wife also has nervous tendencies, and doctors always wanted her to take anti-depressants as a part of the overall strategy.

The bright spot for my wife, and hopefully your sister one day, is that she found her almost-miracle drug after about 4 months or so. That drug was Zyrtec. She got near-immediate relief from Zyrtec, and has eventually gotten down to only one 10mG Zyrtec a day. That keeps her hives down to only a very limited bump-or-four-or-five, and maybe swollen lips for a few hours once or twice a week. But from where she came from, that was a God sent miracle for us. Your sister just has to keep trying new things, and one will stand out above the rest. I feel for her fear of trying to stop taking any of the drugs, as my wife never stopped taking anything until it was obvious that the addition of Zyrtec to her bag of pills made such a big difference.

One more babble about my wife. Even when my wife was at her worst, her hives always went away the week she was menstruating. When it came time to get pregnant, she went off of Zyrtec ahead of time and managed by only using Benadryl. We got pregnant quickly, and by the end of her 1st trimester, her hives (along with her IBS) were completely gone. Her hives started coming back about 6-8 weeks postpartum, and she went back on Zyrtec. We have concluded beyond any doubt that her hives and her IBS are an over-reaction to some hormone in her body, but as of yet, have not really gotten much support from any doctor on pursuing that idea. Through all the testing, her only diagnosis has been microscopic colitis, which is the beginning stages of an ulcer in the colon.

I hope she finds her solution, but in the meantime, be supportive of the fact that drugs are the only way your sister will have any chance of staying sane. As long as she is trying something different (new or fewer meds) from time to time, just keep supporting her, because believe me, she needs it, and her husband needs support to.

If you want more, just ask me.

Just so you and your wife knows, if it is the one thing that helps, Zyrtec is ok while you are pregnant. I had a really bad asthma attack in my first trimester and they put me on Zyrtec and singular. Just in case she does get pregnant again.

As far as the OP alot of those pills sound a little redundant. I would check with her Dr. maybe go with her next time she goes.

[BigRedDad]

I am not sure, but you should get another doctors opinion and take all the medication with you. Make sure it is a doctor she has never seen before.

My grandmother was in a similar situation. Her doctor left and she got another doctor. My GM walked 15 miles a day and never took any medication. This "doctor" prescribed 20 different medications to her after seeing her for 5 minutes and told her she had to be bed ridden for the rest of her life, which turned out to be about 4 more months. My mother and her sister chose not to pursue a malpractice suit. This doctor receives about $50 per prescription he wrote. My GM's original doctor went after his license. My mom and aunt should have sued because the doctor wound up killing her from the prescriptions.

[BrerGnat]

There is a website you can enter in all the drugs you are taking and it will check for interactions for you. Just google "drug interactions checker" and you will find it.

I quickly entered in the drugs you listed (I put Xanax as the anti anxiety drug, although you did not specify) and nothing major or life threatening came up. The worst thing is basically what you are describing: decreased mental alertness, fatigue, being "out of it". But, really, nothing that is going to cause her really a lot of harm.

However, with that said, if she is doing a lot of driving or work that requires mental alertness, she COULD have an accident, so that is worth being worried about.

Just so you know, too, doctors don't always know about all the side effects of the drugs they prescribe. I recently had a BAD reaction to a sulfa antibiotic and the doctor that prescribed it (not my primary care doctor) was so clueless it was unreal. She kept blaming my symptoms on everything BUT the medication when it was clear as day that the medication was the reason for all of it. I mean, within days of stopping the medication, the symptoms VANISHED. But, according to her, I was just suffering from "fatigue". So, doctors are not always up to speed on everything that the medicines are capable of doing in terms of side effects. The best place to go is www.fda.gov for a COMPLETE list of side effects and interaction warnings.

It's great that you're looking out for your sister, and I hope she gets better soon. It sounds like a lot of her problem is mental, and that may take a lot of time to clear up. In the meantime, you are doing a great job supporting her. :hug:

[Here we go again...]

If she is taking Claritin, Zyrtec and Allegra something is wrong. Those meds all do the same thing.... they all work for allergies. The Zyrtec might make her sleepy, but the others usually do not.
Don't worry that your sister is becoming a "druggie", those meds are not addictive. But, she should be taking only 1. If 1 is not working, try another.

And, for someone that is depressed, it is common to take an anti-depressant and something for anxiety together.
It is also common for the anxiety to cause itching and a slight rash.

She does need to see another GP to get her allergy meds changed to only 1 that works.
But, she also needs a supportive family so her depression does not get worse.

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

I'm not sure, I would consult a doctor or pharmacist....however, my aunt was taking a bunch of allergy medications and it caused her to have difficulty swallowing and breathing and it was from overmedication....I wish you well

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Antihistamines are generally not addictive, and it is pretty hard to overdose on them as well, at least for the short-term. Taking multiple antihistamines, along with one or more anti-depressants, is a very common approach to treating chronic hives. There are actually two different kinds of antihistamines, H1 blockers and H2 blockers, and they attack the same problem through different areas of the body. With each of the two types of histamine blockers, there are a variety of different release times, so you may take one medicine several times a day for fast-acting release, while taking another medicine for a longer-acting release, and both of these pills may be effective only when taken together. While these medicines would never be mixed to treat simple seasonal allergies the average Joe may have one week out of the year, this is no simple allergy. Hives so serious that your throat may swell shut requires a different approach, and mixing all of these medicines would not be unusual for any doctor to recommend. They may seem to be "all the same thing" but are in fact slightly different for one reason or another, and that slight difference may make all the difference.

Treating hives, especially in the beginning, is nothing more than a guessing game of which pill will help (no such thing as a cure) and how much of it you need. It's not like your allergic to peanuts, and just avoid them. Your allergic to something that cannot be identified, or even worse, your body may be allergic to itself in some way. Stress most definitely can make hives worse, but at the same time, having chronic hives will make you depressed in a way you could never imagine without experiencing it for yourself.

But as far as the OP, checking for medicines which are contraindicated, taking a list of all medicines prescribed to a good doctor, or a good pharmacists, and saying "hey, can I take all of these at once?" should do the trick for checking for medicines that are toxic when taken together. But as far as the worry of long-term addiction or not treating the root cause of the hives, pills are often the only answer for the short to medium term, because even if the hives are caused by your sister's stress, the fact she is having the hives is making her way more stressed, so the hives need to be treated aggressively, at least in my experience with my wife.

My wife is a glass-half-full type of person, but when she was struck with hives, her outlook on life fell through he floor. She did not want to go to work, never went out to eat, and wanted to be left alone to be miserable. Even if your sister's hives do not itch or appear every day, it is still something that can really ruin you outlook on life. Our approach was to be aggressive, see every doctor we could, and eventually, my wife found relief. When your sister finds relief, I think things will turn around rapidly.

I am thinking of you and your sister every day, because I have no doubt that your feelings about all of this right now are heart-wrenching.

[Jeri Lynn]

Thank you every one for your messages. I will continue to watch over my sister and will encourage her to talk to her allergist again about all the different antihistamines she is taking. She is also taking Zantac for an ulcer, I had forgotten that one....it's 7 pills total every day.

Right now everything to her is negative. Sometimes she is miserable to talk to altogether, it can be wearing on my mood but I keep telling myself and her that she will get through this. Unfortunately her DH is at his wits end with the whole situation and the gloom and doom he faces everyday.

Any extra pixie dust would be appreciated.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

Just one last FYI, Zantac is actually an antihistamine (an H2 blocker) and can be used to treat hives, so that one has dual purposes for your sister.

[beksy]

I don't know that much about the allergies or those meds but from your last post it sounds to me like your sister is suffering from depression. If the therapist isn't working with her to change that medicine then I would suggest trying to get her to see someone else. It can take a lot of time to find the right medicine or combination of medicines to work with depression. I've been battling it since 6th grade and been on medication since 8th, plus hospitalized 3 times. Thankfully we've found a combination that works for me but it took years and I still have to be adjusted occassionally. I have 2 anti-depressants and one for anxiety that I have learned to take as I need it. The anxiety one is the only one that is addicting but it helps me leave get up and out of the house without holding someone's hand so I deal with. I do know that when I get extremely anxious about something or upset (like a test or when my grandad died) I will break out in hives under my right arm for a week or so but they leave on their own. Also, don't let a doctor tell you that your sister has to be on one specific medication. There are a lot out there. The last time I was hospitalized I was switched to Cymbalta for an anti-depressant. By the next day I couldn't even keep water down. After four days when I was finally able to keep liquids down without nausea medication, the doctor insisted that this drug would work and I had to take it. I told him there was no way I would ever take it again so to forget about it. Stand firm and do what you think is best. If you and your sister and like me and mine, you probably know her about as well as anyone so don't let anybody intimidate you into changing what you believe without proof. There's always second opinions! Sending pixie dust your way and if you need a shoulder, feel free to PM me! :pixie::pixie::hug:

[justooduckie]

Hopefully your sister and her doctors have figured out her problem by now, but I just saw the post and felt compelled to reply. It definitely sounds like a latex allergy to me. She probably is using latex gloves in the salon. Even if she isnt and other people are, they can still make her sick. Spandex is latex. Latex allergies can also cause anxiety and GI anaphalaxis. Hope this helps.

[J9]

Just one last FYI, Zantac is actually an antihistamine (an H2 blocker) and can be used to treat hives, so that one has dual purposes for your sister.


This is true. I had broken out in hives for months at a time for absolutely no reason (turned out I was allergic to nuts). The allergist tried everything to get them under control - IVs, steroids, you name it.

Now that it is finally under control, I have the epi-pen (which I've never had to use since it does not affect my throat, thank God), Zantac and something else I can't remember the name of. The Zantac does have a secondary antihistamine effect, which I was surprised to find out!!

Good luck to you and your sister. I hope everything works out! It sounds like she might have developed an allergy to a chemical in her products.

[Tinkermom]

This is true. I had broken out in hives for months at a time for absolutely no reason (turned out I was allergic to nuts). The allergist tried everything to get them under control - IVs, steroids, you name it.

Now that it is finally under control, I have the epi-pen (which I've never had to use since it does not affect my throat, thank God), Zantac and something else I can't remember the name of. The Zantac does have a secondary antihistamine effect, which I was surprised to find out!!

Good luck to you and your sister. I hope everything works out! It sounds like she might have developed an allergy to a chemical in her products.

Hi Janine,

I am sure your allergist has already told you this but you can develop an anaphlyactic reaction at any time. Even though your reaction currently to nuts is hives your body can at any time react with swelling of the mouth/throat.

I am a former RN and my son has a peanut allergy. I hate to read stories of people who did not have their epi-pens and ended up with a severe reaction resulting in death. Most people think, "well, I've never had a bad reaction before..." and then do not carry their epi-pen at all times. Please just always keep your epi-pen with you. Sounds like you know this already!:thumbsup:

[J9]

I am a former RN and my son has a peanut allergy. I hate to read stories of people who did not have their epi-pens and ended up with a severe reaction resulting in death. Most people think, "well, I've never had a bad reaction before..." and then do not carry their epi-pen at all times. Please just always keep your epi-pen with you. Sounds like you know this already!:thumbsup:

Thanks!

That's why the doctor gave it to me. He said I could never know when the big hit could come. I carry it with me 90% of the time even though it is the most annoying thing in the world - especially going through airport security! LOL!

Ugh, and the worst is trying to get hard ice cream (like at a Coldstone) because they use the same scooper as the butter pecan and such. You'd think they would know better!

[pandkx3]

If your sister is really stressed, that could be your answer also. Stress will cause hives as well. You can develop an alergy to anything at anytime. So, say, if your not allergic to peanut butter as a child, you can develop an allergy to peanutbutter latter in life.

[Tinkermom]

Thanks!

That's why the doctor gave it to me. He said I could never know when the big hit could come. I carry it with me 90% of the time even though it is the most annoying thing in the world - especially going through airport security! LOL!

Ugh, and the worst is trying to get hard ice cream (like at a Coldstone) because they use the same scooper as the butter pecan and such. You'd think they would know better!

I hear you! We can't go to Coldstone either for the same reason. :( We always have to be on the lookout for cross-contamination. Another biggie is Chinese restaurants. Another reason why we love WDW, it is one of the few places we feel really safe!:thumbsup: