Allergy Medication Shenanigans

My allergies have been going haywire this year. Like, bad. Worse than they've ever been. So, when they get bad, like they do at this time every single year, I double down on the allergy meds, take multiple showers every day to flush out the allergens and the gross, and go about my days until I don't have to take meds anymore. Or, likely as not, I just stop taking them because I get sick of it and I hate taking meds. (Snort. This coming from the person who literally downs six pills before leaving the house every morning...but they're vitamins, so I feel like it's more justifiable!)

I've always taken Claritin. It has worked for me since I started taking allergy meds, and it has provided much relief over the years.

Also, my heart rate is historically high. This is relevant, I promise. The resting heart rate of an average person is between 70 and 90 beats per minute, and I range on the high end of that - like mid 80s. I always have. When I'm sick or have allergies, it ranges from 85-95. It doesn't feel like my heart is pounding out of my chest or anything, but it's high.

Right.

So, I started taking Claritin about two weeks ago, or four weeks into the elimination diet. See also: When I started reincorporating stuff.

Right. I started feeling worse IMMEDIATELY. But, because there was so much going on with my diet, I assumed it was what I was reincorporating. Also, my heart rate was high. Like, HIGH. Like, "checked it randomly and it was 120" kind of high. I couldn't figure it out, so I cut out eggs again. At that point, I was starting to feel resigned to eating this way permanently, because every effort I had made up to that point was a disaster. Could I really be intolerant to everything I cut out? It sucked pretty bad. Also, I continued to feel like shit.

Then one day (after I hadn't eaten eggs or peanuts for three days), it dawned on me: the only other change was in my allergy meds. I immediately stopped taking them and then all of a sudden, my average heart rate returned to normal and I felt better within a day or two. So, even though I've been suffering quite a bit, it was well worth it because I had at least a little more energy and felt much better overall. After I had been off of allergy meds for a couple of days, I reincorporated eggs again and it was fine. PHEW. I also reincorporated red meat at the same time, and that went fine too, and continues to. I actually have a pretty good energy level at this point, and I'm still feeling GREAT in spite of having murdery allergies.

Then, I talked to a coworker today who has celiac disease (and has been SUPER helpful in this diet change for me because she went through something remarkably similar to my experience), and she told me something alarming:

SHE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM WITH ALLERGY MEDS BECAUSE CLARITIN HAS GLUTEN IN IT.

GLUTEN.

IN MY EFFING ALLERGY MEDS.

UGH.

It explains EVERYTHING. The difficulty sleeping, the fatigue, the high heart rate, the foggy brain, the digestive issues, the perpetually sour stomach, the beginnings of vitamin malabsorption (just trust me on that one - you don't need to know how I can tell), just all of it. But, this same coworker told me that she takes Zyrtec with no problem, so I'm going to try that starting tomorrow and see if it helps.

So, I think it goes without saying that I'm probably not going to reincorporate gluten at this point. Next up is soy on Thursday, so we'll see how that goes. I'm REALLY digging how I'm feeling so far, and I'm hoping that the rest of the reincorporation goes smoothly. Five types of food to go! It's also worth warning that if I have a reaction to dairy, you may want to watch for any reported maimings in the news in either the area in which I work or the area in which I live. I would kick a baby for some coffee oreo ice cream right now. (Not really. But if the option presented itself, I'd consider it.) If given the choice between some dairy-based ice cream and having a week's vacation without having to take any of my earned time, I'd have to think about it and I would probably choose the ice cream. Giving up gluten for the long term will be no problem whatsoever for me. Dairy is OUT OF THE QUESTION. If I'm lactose intolerant, I'm just going to live with it.

Oh, this day is coming. I can feel it.