BiPolar (BP) and allergy medications

[miles2go]

Can anyone comment what allergy medications are better/safer for my BiPolar (BP) difficult child on abilify? I am afraid to try Claritin since many say it interferes with sleep, and would eventually like to get him through a course of acupuncture, but would like to help him out for the moment -- his head and his sleep are messed up much of the time by some pollen-type allergy.

Me, married dad
difficult child, 8y.o. boy, ablify 7mg
More kids, wife etc

 

[BusynMember]

I have BiPolar (BP) and take as few extra medications as possible, including allergy medications. A lot of them mess with my bipolar. I'd rather sniff, wheeze, and cough

 

[klmno]

Just based on my difficult child's experience and what I've heard from a couple of other parents around where we live- 1) Be cautious of abilify- especially if no other mood stabilizer is being used; and 2) the ONLY allergy medication that helps my son's allergies a little WITHOUT completely scr**ing up the moods is the nasal spray Astelin. The dr said it has a different chemical make-up than the other nasal sprays. It has to be used for several days or a week, every day whether exhibiting symtpoms or not, before seeing improvement and ny son had to use it continuously throughout allergy seasons, but it did do the trick. He has to stay away from the steroids the dr used to rx. Zyrtec worked miracles on allergies but royally messed up the moods and sleep routine.

I agree that if he can live with the allergy symptoms it's better to do without the medications. But my son gets swollen eyes and bronchitis and potentially can get asthmatic wheezing again, so not dealing with them is not an option.

 

[Jena]

i have no suggestions, just wanted to jump in and say i hope you find the right one and i hope he feels better soon.

 

[miles2go]

Thanks all.
1. He certainly can live with his allergy and wants no medications for it. But most of the year he is not breathing through his nose and is obviously spaced out by the allergy effect (I have none so it's hard for me to imagine). Also, his occasional blow outs come when he's particularly tired and allergy increases this fatigue, so I'd like to help him with sleep (seems to need about 11 hours) and clear up his head.
2. Abilify alone bad how? It was the first thing that truly got him to normal. He is never depressed or anxious but had without the medications what I call "overclocking", like his brain was running too fast, talking movie lines to self, touching everything, trying to control everyone, and sometimes a meltdown when all that goes to a manic extreme. We are seeing our psychiatrist soon, I'll bring ms up with him.

 

[klmno]

Abilify alone bad how?

If he's been on this a while and doing well then you probably won't have a problem. If he starts to appear "out of kelter" you might want to bring up a mood stabilzer or switching it out to the psychiatrist, but if it works now, shoot, I wouldn't chnage it. Some parents I've talked to in my area said their kids had horrible reactions and my son was one. Both my son and another boy I know about pulled knives on their moms (me being one) 3 days after starting abilify. It can increase mood lability and anxiety. It can make the kid flip out, so to speak.

If I were you, I would asked your difficult child's dr about Astelin though. No pills- that mmight make it look better! We don't like nasal sprays but the dr showed my son how to use it without it feeling like it was blowing acid into your head. LOL! You point the nozzle toward the outside of the nostril, then squirt. Apparently it doesn't sting that way and enters the body slower but is still effective.

 

[gcvmom]

My difficult child 2 does okay on Allegra. He actually takes the generic form, but as far as I can tell, no issues with it affecting his mood either way. Claritin really didn't do much for his allergies and neither did Zyrtec.

 

[totoro]

Most Allergy medications make me Hypo or borderline Manic.
Astelin is good for me and K and we take completely different medications.
She also uses nasonex. It seems OK for her, but the Astelin is the best for her, like klmno said. It is a nasal application.

Our Allergist discounted our concerns when we asked about the medications destabilizing K... but I have it happen to me and have had it happen to me since I was very young and K has it happen to her.
So I don't really care what he thinks. LOL

 

[miles2go]

Thanks all; I'll give Astelin a try.

 

[tessaturtle]

we always consult with the dr. prior to treating difficult child with any allergy or cold medicine (one of the medications he is on advises you to do this). THey okayed most cold medicines and allergy medications. THe best allergy medication for him has been Zyrtec. We only give it to him if his allergies flare up, and at his age he will usually request it if he feels like he needs it. If we don't give it to him, his allergies seem to really affect him at school - too lethargic, too disoriented, less tolerance.

For our difficult child, he has been tried on nearly everything for BiPolar, the best results are with his current combo, but particularly the Abilify. He was on Abilify only when he was younger (around 8 or 9), did well, and then they added Lithium and he went completely psychotic and had some physical problems as well(hallucinations, hearing voices, suicidal, incontinence, etc). They discontinued both in favor of other medication trials. He went back on Abilify 1 yr and a half ago and (with the combo) has been in a pretty good space with it.

All kids are different