Problems getting antihistamines

Hi! So I suffer from severe hay fever and asthma triggered by allergies, and take Benadryl Acrivastine antihistamines 3x a day... they are available over the counter but due to the cost of them, allergies being a big trigger for my asthma and the fact that I take them for most of the year, my GP prescribed them for me on repeat prescription. Last month when I went to collect them from my pharmacy I was only able to obtain half of them, followed by the other half the following week, however I've been back today to collect to be told I can only have 1 weeks supply as they are struggling to get them in!

I was just wondering if anyone else had had this issue with antihistamines? With eustachian tube dysfunction too, my antihistamines are literally my best friends!!

[Echoblue]

I take fexofenadine as my asthma is triggered by allergies and virus’. Have had no issues getting fexofenadine at the moment. So

Disappointing when pharmacists think they can ration you. Good luck

[Hidden in reply to Echoblue]

Thank you! Had a few people recommend fexofenadine to me, do you get any side effects? Yeah it's so frustrating, especially when it's something you've come to rely on x

[Echoblue in reply to Echoblue]

Hi, I haven’t had any side effects from fexofenadine. I can even double up if needed. Should be able to be dealt with over the phone. I hope they can get this resolved for you.

[Hidden in reply to Echoblue]

Thank you! X

[Tezwik]

I take Fexofenadine 180 which I can double to 360 as I have severe hay fever, I find them fine to get hold of, I also take a nasal inhaler and eye drops for my hay fever which I can also get fine. Maybe give your GP a call and explain the situation and see if they can switch you to another type, my GP usual does a call back for this rather than booking an appointment

[Hidden in reply to Tezwik]

Thank you! Do you get any side effects from the fexofenadine? I've had a few people recommend it to me, so I'm thinking of asking my GP to switch. Yeah, that sounds like our surgery, appointments are so hard to get, it can literally take months to get in especially with a GP of your choice, but they are pretty good at dealing with things over the phone X

[Tezwik in reply to Hidden]

No I don’t get any side effects from the fexofenadine at all, I’ve been on it for about 8 years now alternating the strength myself depending on my symptoms, it can make you drowsy but I don’t get that from it at all xx

[Hidden in reply to Tezwik]

Thank you for replying, definitely something to discuss with my GP, it sounds like it is very useful being able to adjust the strength yourself to fit symptoms x

[Chip_y2kuk in reply to Hidden]

I've been taking fexofenadine for about 3 years and had no side effects

[Hidden in reply to Chip_y2kuk]

Thank you x

[Chip_y2kuk in reply to Hidden]

Your welcome, have to be careful with GP's and fexofenadine though

A) they try not to prescribe antihistamines (although the weakest dose is far stronger than anything you can get over the counter)

B) fexofenadine comes in 60,120,180 tablets and some gp's will only let you take one a day... stating that's the maximum dose.... it's not my prescription is for 3 x 180 a day and I've heard of others with 4 x 180 a day (I usually get away with one or two a day)

[Hidden in reply to Chip_y2kuk]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply and for all your helpful advice! Will definitely take that in to consideration when I get to speak with my GP x

[Tezwik in reply to Hidden]

You may not be able to adjust the dose yourself to begin with, but as I’ve had it years and suffered 30+ years with allergies I can do it myself depending on the situation as I know when I’m having a flare up with an allergy. I don’t have to do it often to be fair but it is handy, saves me a trip to the GP every time I have a flare up to be told to take an extra dose

[Hidden in reply to Tezwik]

Thank you! X

[RM33]

Hi you can buy a year's supply for under a tenner from this website without prescription pharmacyfirst.co.uk/medicin...

[Hidden in reply to RM33]

Thank you, I switched to another pharmacy chain and since then I've had no issues with getting any of my meds since! Thanks for the link x