Allergy drug comparison - discussion requested

[goddessfarmer]

I have a free "office sample" of Clarinex (5mg desloratadine). I have Claritin (10 mg loratadine). Claritin works pretty close to not at all for me. Clarinex works really well. It was my (albeit limited) understanding that desloratadine was one of the isomers of loratadine, and therefore the 10mg of loratadine should contain 5mg of the desloratadine. If that is true, I really don't have a good enough biochem basis to figure why isolating the active isomer makes quite so much of a difference. Discussion?

Comments

[tamidon.livejournal.com]

Mark uses the stuff constantly,I'll claim on his behalf

[tamidon.livejournal.com]

oh,I didn't get what the post was,sorry,and I have no biochem knowledge to contribute

[unclebooboo.livejournal.com]

I've read that the difference between Claritin is a little more complex than that- take a look at the Wikipedia pages on desloratadine and loratadine to see the small difference. I think you're getting only the right handed version of the molecule, with an additional attached group that normally gets added by your metabolic processes. Apparently, the body quickly converts loratadine to desloratadine, so the results should be the same.

My own experience was that I switched from Claritin to Clarinex (because my insurance wouldn't cover the generic) and then back to the generic Loratadine when my insurance also stopped paying for the Clarinex. I never noticed any difference between them, though neither one really works very well.

Could it be that you got a lousy or stale batch of Loratadine?

[goddessfarmer.livejournal.com]

I tried Loratadine when it first came out, and several times since then, it never has worked for me, not the Rx, not the OTC, over multiple batches. The Dedloratadine works very, very well. It could be my particular metabolism.

I actually haven't needed allergy drugs since I quit milk about 12 years ago, but I think that having my asthma 'under control' with Advair is making me more airborne-allergy sensitive. Of course, there are probably a lot of factors, including but not limited to poor eating choices, higher pollen count, more stress....

[ariesd.livejournal.com]

not sure on the efficacy of those just that Fexofenadine works pretty well for Shaz and myself. It does come in XR versions as well and has a generic so is pretty cheap now.

[mathhobbit.livejournal.com]

I think Claritin worked well for you when you first started using it?

I've found that everything I've tried to relieve congestion eventually stops working over time. (I haven't been able to completely give up dairy. Dairy makes me happy.)

Oddly enough, yoga has done more to clear my sinuses lately than any combination of sudafed, flonase and benadryl.

[goddessfarmer.livejournal.com]

nope. Claritin NEVER worked for me.