Antihistamine alternatives

[julie1224]

Hello all,

Doing my research for blue sways. I'm concerned about my allergies and the antihistamine drying out my CM. How long in advance should I stop the Benadryl and are there any alternatives? My allergies are pretty bad. I want to be able to chart for several month before TTC with good CM readings. I will do the Mucinex the month of TTC. Slowly changing my diet.

I'll try the Neti Pot, but my main symptos are itchy eyes. I am using eye drops/false tears. Another question....Folic Acid. There is 400 Mcg in the prenatals. Do I just buy Folic Acid by itself to meet the 2000 mcg? Thanks in advance!

[Pearl327]

Hi Julie,

I am not sure about this one but I just wanted to give you some hope. I work with a woman who is constantly on Antihistamines too due to bad allergies. She has 3 boys. Not sure if she used preseed or anything like that to help compinsate for the CM but I know that at least in work she has a very boy friendly diet.

On the folic acid. Yes buy 400mg folic acid on its own and take 4 more of these spread out throughout the day.

[julie1224]

Thank you so much!

[Adia]

I have had horrible allergies in this large state we moved to.

I stumbled upon some raw, unfiltered honey. It says on the back of the bottle to take 1 tablespoon everyday for allergy relief.

I started taking the recommended amount and what a difference! The bees that make the honey are local so they have the pollen, etc from local trees, etc.

I have occasionally forgotten to take it for a few days and I pay a price. Just miserable with allergy symptoms.

A lot of blue swayers take bee pollen as a supplement but I feel better taking the honey as it has true benefits where I need them. I haven't seen any impact on my CM.
HTH!!!

I just noticed that you are a fellow Texan! The honey I take is Nature Nate's Honey. Made in Dallas!!! GL!

[julie1224]

Thanks! I think I'll jump on Facebook to find local honey.

[atomic sagebrush]

If you need them for allergies then you should take them and rely on other things to sway. Lots of pink swayers get opposites while taking them, they can't be a magic bullet!!

You could also ttc at a different time of year from when you have allergies, if yours are seasonal.

[julie1224]

My allergies are year round. :( I think I will try the Neti Pot, honey, saline sprays and some eye drops that my cousin recommends. Thank you!

[dreamsofxy2013]

I am having similar issues with seasonal allergies. I usually start taking Claritin daily around this time of year, but have been avoiding it due to swaying for blue. Does anyone know if all antihistamines act do dry up CM? and why does it dry up CM, since its not a decongestant?

[atomic sagebrush]

yes, all antihistamines dry up cervical mucus. As their name suggests, they block histamines which serve various functions in the body and a side effect of this is that they dry up ALL mucus and secretions. Saliva, mucus, breastmilk, tears, even stomach acid (some of the acid reflux drugs are actually histamine-blockers) all get less when you take antihistamines. Cervical mucus among them. So while they stop the production of too much histamines and stop your allergy attack, they also inhibit what the histamines are supposed to do.

Decongestants work differenty, they shrink blood vessels in your nose and throat and this makes you feel less stuffed up. Side effect is that they also can dry up secretions. Two ways of doing the same thing.

[atomic sagebrush]

yes, all antihistamines dry up cervical mucus. As their name suggests, they block histamines which serve various functions in the body and a side effect of this is that they dry up ALL mucus and secretions. Saliva, mucus, breastmilk, tears, even stomach acid (some of the acid reflux drugs are actually histamine-blockers) all get less when you take antihistamines. Cervical mucus among them. So while they stop the production of too much histamines and stop your allergy attack, they also inhibit what the histamines are supposed to do.

Decongestants work differenty, they shrink blood vessels in your nose and throat and this makes you feel less stuffed up. Side effect is that they also can dry up secretions. Two ways of doing the same thing.

Avoid both for TTC a boy, if you can. But if you can't, there are still plenty of opposites among pink swayers using the antihistamines.

[dreamsofxy2013]

Thanks for the clarification, atomic sagebrush! I get very abundant EWCM every month, so I don't want to do anything that could potentially mess what that...I'll try the saline nasal rinses to help control the allergies instead. Unless it gets really bad and I may have to resort back to Claritin.