Question:
I have allergies and because I am pregnant I can no longer take my
normal medicine. Is anyone else in this predicament? What kind of medicine
did you get from your doctor and what do you think of it? Any suggestions?
Answer:
I'm taking Zyrtec. My primary allergic symptom is pruritis (chronic
itchy skin) and without any treatment I cannot function. I just
scratch myself till I bleed. Just a constant itch all over my body.
So going completely off medication was out of the question. Zyrtec is Category B. Any doc will tell you that you should not take
anything during pregnancy except for the very few Category A's out
there. And those should be in moderation only when necessary. It's
always a risk vs. benefit thing and the risks aren't known because
tests cannot be done on pregnant women.
Do your research though... previously I was on Hydroxyzine... and that
was moved from a Category B to a C and my doc didn't even know it.
Then my health insurance tried to say I had to try Allegra before
Zyrtec would be paid for.... Allegra is a Category D and should not be
taken during pregnancy (besides the fact that Allegra is not indicated
for pruritis, only sneezing and nasal symptoms)! Claritin didn't work
for me... and I can't recall it's category. Although one doctor told
me Benadryl (sp?) was safe. It didn't work for me either.
Do research on the pregnancy categories... there is a lot of info on
this great ole' internet! I was very emotional right after I found out
I was preggers because my doc told me to get off my medication and
suffer. I switched docs real quick... and when I went to see my new
doc (who I now love.... he actually listens!) I went with a folder full
of research. We chatted for about forty-five minutes, he left the room
to verify some of the data I had and then we both decided that Zyrtec
was my best option.
Good luck! And don't let a pushy doctor tell you that allergy
treatment is impossible during pregnancy! Allergy-free doctors
sometimes don't understand how debilitating a "simple" allergy can be,
especially if the allergen is unavoidable! 24-hour 7-day suffering on
the part of the mother won't do the baby any good.
I was just wondering about your pruritis. When I was pregnant with my last
child ( 8 years ago) I suffered from dreadful itchy skin and I too would
scratch myself until I bled.
When I spoke to my (then) doc about it he said it was due to a kidney
malfunction and there was nothing that could be done for it.
I did try bathing in pinetarsol and did away with all soaps and used natural
washing powders, but nothing helped. It almost drove me mad !
I have since mentioned it to my present doc and he was pretty confused about
what the previous doc had told me. He hadn't heard of that before.
The reason I am wondering is that I'm a bit worried I may suffer with this
new pregancy.
Last time it didn't start until i was in my third trimester, and at the
moment I am just on 15 weeks preggers so I still have some time to go yet.
How long have you had pruritis for and how did it start? I was worried about this, too. I have pollen, polution, cat, etc.
allergies plus I'm allergic to most raw fruits and vegetables.
Normally, I took Seldane. If I stopped taking it for an extended period
of time I'd get very congested, asthmatic and itchy. When asked my
doctor said that while he didn't think my medicine would do the baby
any harm the drug's manufacturer did not recommend taking it during
pregnancy.
He also told me that many women have a pronounced decrease in allergies
once they become pregnant. Apparently, one of the hormones makes them
go away or improve. I was very doubtful but it seems to have worked.
I'm still quite sniffly and if I sit next to a person who owns a cat
I'll start sneezing but I'm not itching and having only tiny reactions
to fruit and vegetables.
My advice would be to stop taking the medicine and see what happens.
Not every woman will have the same reaction I had, so take it carefully.
