The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Content within the patient forum is user-generated and has not been reviewed by medical professionals. Other sections of the Melanoma Research Foundation website include information that has been reviewed by medical professionals as appropriate. All medical decisions should be made in consultation with your doctor or other qualified medical professional.

Allergies

Forums General Melanoma Community Allergies

  • Post
    jennunicorn
    Participant

      I need some advice about some allergy medications,,,

      When I started this whole immunotherapy journey, I didn't have "seasonal allergies" or any kind of allergy. But right after my first infusion ever of Ipi.. in December 2015.. my nose was all runny and plugged up for a day. This happened after every infusion, and now a year and a half later and on Nivo, my newfound allergies have become difficult to control. I was taking Claritin every morning and that was helping a lot. I recently switched to Zyrtec because it seemed the Claritin stopped doing its job. But, I'm continuing to have at least 2 days a week of full on allergy attacks.. going through 2 boxes of tissue in a day!

      So, if anyone else who has dealt with major "seasonal" allergies has any recommendations for OTC meds to try or if I should see an allergy specialist.. please let me know.. I'm getting reaaaaallllllyyyy tired of blowing my nose!

      Thanks guys 🙂

    Viewing 4 reply threads
    • Replies
        Jamie1960
        Participant

          Try the Claritin D 24 hour (generic is fine); taken daily, it's really worked for me and may for you as well.

            TP35
            Participant
              How about bilastine? It is a second generation antihistamine drug.
              jennunicorn
              Participant

                Unfortunately that is not approved in the U.S., so I can't try it 

                jennunicorn
                Participant

                  That is what I was taking for about a year and it worked great, but recently doesn't want to work every day which is why I tried Zyrtec.. but seems to be about the same results.. some days I'm ok and others I'm face deep in tissues. Picked up some nasal spray today, hoping that along with Claritin or Zyrtec will do the trick.

                Scooby123
                Participant

                  Hi Jenn,

                  since ippi I have had blocked nose constant, been worse last six months. I swim and that also makes it worse too. I did eventually go to my GP gave me a nose spray and said it would take 3 months to start working. Seems to be working at present. If you go to your chemist see if they do a sea salt natural spray for allergies that's a good one for what you are dealing with right now .

                  Scooby

                    jennunicorn
                    Participant

                      Just picked up a nasal spray today, I am hoping it will help, thank you!

                      DocPain
                      Participant

                        I've had ongoing seasonal allergies for years now. They can leave you absolute miserable. I gave myself high blood pressure using way too much extra strength Mucinex D. I've had two ipi/novo treatments with a third scheduled next week. In the last two years I have had incredible response using a Neti pot every morning. Now, I use Flonase when needed and a general allergy pill when juniper is high. It flushes out the sinuses with a saline packet and distilled water. It DOES take getting used to, but I love it.

                        jennunicorn
                        Participant

                          I've been curious about the Neti pot, I may give that a go. I'm game to try anything at this point.

                          momof4boys
                          Participant
                            My son has severe allergies and actually takes immunotherapy for it. But i can tell you he takes singulair, claritin and flonase daily. The netipot type things are highly recommended by allergists but follow directions. The only other thing is maybe benadryl at night. Hope something helps!
                            jennunicorn
                            Participant

                              Thank you!

                            UBContributor
                            Participant

                              I would also consider that fact that usually with age the allergy gets worse and more frequent, so may not be necessarily connected with cancer treatments.  

                              betsyl
                              Participant

                                Hi Jenn,

                                I have a fancy hepa filter air cleaner I can give you. It needs some new replacement filters, but otherwise it's almost new. It worked really well for me when I had pets, but I don't have pets anymore.

                                Happy for it to have a good home. If I remember correctly, I believe we both live in the Bay Area, so we should be able to arrange a handoff. Let me know if you're interested or would like more information about the filter.

                                -Betsy

                                  jennunicorn
                                  Participant

                                    Thank you so much Betsy, that would be wonderful!

                                    You can email me at jennroutt@ gmail.com and we can arrange something 🙂

                                  Aloha14
                                  Participant

                                    I use Allegra D 24, it's been OTC for awhile now but I have a prescription so I can get 30 pills all at once each month. The decongestant ingredient is restricted and the over the counter boxes only come with a maximum of 20 pills and you can't purchase more than one at a time plus the pharmcy takes down your ID & DL info. I also use nasal sprays, Astepro and Veramyst which are prescription but work well. Right now seems like the worst for seasonal allergies so I'm staying inside especially on windy days.

                                Viewing 4 reply threads
                                • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
                                About the MRF Patient Forum

                                The MRF Patient Forum is the oldest and largest online community of people affected by melanoma. It is designed to provide peer support and information to caregivers, patients, family and friends. There is no better place to discuss different parts of your journey with this cancer and find the friends and support resources to make that journey more bearable.

                                The information on the forum is open and accessible to everyone. To add a new topic or to post a reply, you must be a registered user. Please note that you will be able to post both topics and replies anonymously even though you are logged in. All posts must abide by MRF posting policies.

                                Popular Topics