Piriton, safe to take of I have PA?

[PhilAB]

Three months in to my injections, 2 months twice per week but now daily. I have been sleeping so much better, but still tired all the time. I stopped taking piriton because I thought it would have an effect on my recovery. Thoughts?

[deniseinmilden]

I think it's unlikely that Piriton will make much difference if you were OK with it before. We're all different so try coming off it for (ideally) a couple of weeks and see what the effect is. If you are still sleepy then you'll know it's not that causing the sleepiness and if you get an allergy flare you do need the antihistamine. If you don't need it, obviously don't take it unnecessarily. If the sleepiness lessens but the allergy flares then maybe try alternative antihistamines - there are quite a few - to see if something else suits you better.

It can be a long road to recovery and you may need additional vitamins and minerals to help repair all the damage caused by the deficiency. Shortages of other things can also cause foggyness and fatigue, and without the right balance of everything your B12 won't work optimally either.

You may well benefit from a broad spectrum multivitamin and mineral supplement (inexpensive supermarket ones are as good as any) and maybe extra folate, potassium, magnesium, iron and vitamin D - ideally from your diet but it's good to get tested for them to see if you need to actually use supplements for additional deficiencies too.

It can take quite a bit of cautious trialling to find out what's best for you but hopefully you'll get a good solution to it in the end.

Also allow plenty of time for sleep for healing - if you have been deficient for a while you are likely to have a lot of damage to repair - while keeping an open mind to other possible problems.

See how you get on and let us know how it goes. Good luck!

[PhilAB in reply to deniseinmilden]

Thanks for thoughtful and extensive reply. I am on lots of supplements, my other bloods came back fine. It seems just low b12. Although I am working hard on increasing my ferritin and folate trying to raise them to optimal level.

I don't have allergies I had sleep problems for years so used piriton to sleep.

[deniseinmilden in reply to PhilAB]

Ah... it may have been the B12 deficiency that was disrupting your sleep - your body was trying to tell you that you needed to "go get some B12" so that it could do its job of cell repair, etc, while you were asleep.

Now it's getting the B12 it needs it's going into overdrive sleep mode to repair itself. It sounds like you are on the case with all your nutrients and so it's probably just a matter of time.

The only additional thing that is at the back of my mind is that maybe your body isn't methylating properly... if you are still really struggling with fatigue in a few more weeks then it might be worth trying methylfolate. If you don't need it you will soon know as it gives you a smacking headache in excess! And some people need folinic acid instead, etc, so don't give up hope - there's usually a solution somewhere!

[Sallyann8486 in reply to deniseinmilden]

Are you taking folic acid 5mg daily?

[deniseinmilden in reply to Sallyann8486]

No - I don't think the "one size fits all" recommendation by some of the Facebook groups is correct and hope that I can use my knowledge of nutrition to supply my needs better.

I need to take varying amounts of methylfolate to balance my diet and absorption levels and only top up with folic acid if necessary - eg depletion due to antibiotics.

I use symptoms as my guide to getting my levels right.

[Showgem]

Hi, I take antihistamines for much of the year, not Piriton, just the supermarket ones. I'm 18 months in and am still tired most of the time, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia some years ago so not sure what is causing the tiredness. The antihistamines don't seem to make a difference to my tiredness. I hopeful that I just have healing still to do.

I would say if you need the antihistamines then take them, if you think they make you tired then change them.

[Foggyme Administrator in reply to Showgem]

Showgem. It's not usual to advise those with B12 deficiency to take an antihistamine as a routine matter of course... unless there is a known allergy...and even then, most just need them for whatever the season is for their particular allergy.

Many anti-histamine are known to cause drowsiness/tiredness, but there are some that don't.

Here's a link to a reliable website that gives more information about anti-histamines and includes details of which ones are less likely to cause drowsiness.

mayoclinic.org/diseases-con...

It might be worth considering whether whatever antihistamine you're taking is causing your ongoing tiredness and drowsiness...and also whether you need to take them for extended periods...or if at all.

Also worth noting that many here (and on other HU fora) report being misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia due to lack of investigation of other potential causes of ill health.

Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of exclusion... in other words, it should only be given when all other potential causes of ill health have been ruled out.

Worth bearing in mind if your poor health continues... it's also possible to develop an underlying health condition that gets ignored because of a fibromyalgia diagnosis.

Hope your diagnosis was appropriately applied and that other potential causes for symptoms have been investigated, with any new symptoms also monitored and investigated appropriately (if and where appropriate).

Good luck

[Showgem in reply to Foggyme]

Thank you for your comments.

I do only take the antihistamines on the non drowsy list and only when I need to. I get hayfever and have many other allergies that affect my breathing, eyes, skin etc and have prescribed creams and drops I often need to use as well. I also have asthma and sometimes have to take extra medication besides my inhalers so I found the link you gave very interesting.

I hoped that my fibromyalgia was a misdiagnosis and my symptoms certainly are much better, it's difficult to know what to blame!

Because of the Covid situation everything has been on hold regarding looking for other causes but I'm so much better than I was so can be patient for a little longer.

[Hidden]

I’ve never heard that antihistamines have a negative effect on P.A. and I’ve had allergies all my life. I’ve tried everything under the sun, including some that made me sleepy, and in the end I got some on prescription (fexofenadine I think, if you’re in the uk), and they work much better with fewer side effects, in my opinion. My allergies haven’t been too bad this year so I’ve managed on otc meds.