Are there any types/makes of antihistamine that work better with CH or do they all work in the same way?

Hmmm....good question. I don't know.

I do know this: Neither Allegra nor Zyrtec give me any relief at all. I generally take 25 mg of Benadryl at bed along with my melatonin. I also use Benadryl during the day when certain tree pollen levels are high. Works well, but damn the drowsiness.

Not sure about other types, but I take benadryl too.  The melatonin/benadryl combo helps me quite a bit.  

The benadryl completely cures the runny nose and watery eye from a hit.  It's just a small win, but I'll take what I can get.

Brew wrote on Jun 3^rd, 2009 at 10:56am:

I do know this: Neither Allegra nor Zyrtec give me any relief at all.

That makes sense: the 'non-drowsy' antihistamines do not cross the BBB into the brain (or do so to a limited degree).  One theory of mine is that thalamic mast cells (migratory cells that secrete histamine) are overactive in the hypothalamus and tied into the clocks there ... if so, antihistamines that don't make it into the brain wouldn't be as effective (although they may reduce things somewhat around the trigeminal nerve or in the sinuses.  I remember reading a package insert for one of the non-drowsy anthistamines a decade or so ago, and it said in fine print that the medicine reduced symptoms of histamine by about 20% - not very strong at all.  

Most of the research has been on mirtazapine, which is an unusual antihistamine (prescription only, I believe).  Another interesting one is Flunarizine, which is both an antihistamine and calcium channel blocker.

The common antihistamines are H1 blockers.  I prefer chlorpheniramine (the ingredient in the original Chlor-Trimeton) - it is longer acting (half life of 21 hours, vs ~4 hours for diphenhydramine/benadryl).  Benadryl and Clortrimeton are both SSRIs to boot, so regular use might help with anxiety/depression and other mood issues ... but they should not be taken if one is on a SSRI.

Some recent research showing that stimulating H3 receptors may be useful in migraine.  Not sure if there are any drugs that stimulate H3 without pushing the H1 at the same time.

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Interesting stuff.
The ones I have are Boots own brand that contain the same antihistamine as the Benydryl 24 Hour tablets available in the UK but half the price!

They both contain Cetrizine Hydrochloride, how does this rank, as here it states that they are the same as Zyrtec and they are one of the 'drousy' ones?
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but then of course here it says they are not  ::)START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

It looks like in the UK the ones that contain chlorpheniramine as you prefer go by the brand name Piriton START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE, but the 24 hour version of the same thing contain the cetirizine instead.

              I have been ch episodic for the 6 years and have taken antihistamines to abort my attacks and they work. The problem is only certain 1st generation AH pills work which benadryl has the worst side effects. The others i use are Atarax 25mg and Polaramine . I normally become Resistant to The particular AH Brand every 2 Phases so i mix them around. Last CH Bout i had the past 5 weeks just got of it i used atarax 1/2 pill 2 hours before each attack to abort. Only 2 clusters passed through them which i aborted with red bull. I was lucky to be diagnosed with ch by a very good ENT doctor who prescribed me on AH and solved my CH Attacks. Then I discovered this site and learnt a lot  about my condition. If u need any tips regarding Antihistamines i am more than willing to help

Karl

Yes yes yes.....pls see my post of August 10.  Pharmacist recommended Phenergan 25ml (promethazine hydrachloride)  1 an hour before expected onset and 1 at usual time of onset ie:2 in a 2 hour period.  5 nights now pain free.......feeling optimistic  :-)

Okay, first of all... The best antihistamine is the one that works for you! None help my CH, and I'm on a crapload to keep my immune system from going crazy and trying to kill me.

Cetrizine is Zyrtec.

George had posted before that chlorpheniramine helped his shadows.

Phenergan / Promethazine is something else I've used, on the OUCH page of non-prescription help, someone mentioned that during hits they would let one dissolve in their mouth and it helped with it. (I tried this, my mouth wound up feeling burnt...)

Here's y'all a list of histamine blockers.

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The best one for me is not listed there, it's Ketotifen. It isn't available in the US, but it keeps me alive and has given my life back.

It has the strength of 15 Zyrtec. 150mg. No, I'm not kidding, my allergist shit when he found out that I had to take that many to keep my throat from closing up when I ran out of Ketotifen. The highest they have papers wrote on is 50mg. He said they now knew that you couldn't OD on it at least...  :D

I'm also on Vistaril/Atarax, Hydroxyzine is another name for it. It's another good one. I also didn't see Cyproheptadine mentioned, but it's on the medical info page as a treatment for CH.

AND... One herb that helps some with cluster headaches, skullcap... One form of it, Chinese skullcap, is an antihistamine.

Done rambling now.

PFDAN,
Mystina

Alright, so, I had a lumbar shunt put in on the 23th. My neurosurgeon's resident, who was awesome, also has CH but is in remission.

So my Mom asked her what brought her out of it. She couldn't remember the NAME of the medication, but she saw the same allergist as me... And whatever he put her on for her hay fever stopped her cycle.

Just figured I'd share this.

I take 1 zyrtec at night before bed.  This along with my other "herbals" seems to be working for me.

I do think that as previously stated each person is different, you will need to discover what works best for you.

Good Luck!  :)

This may be common knowledge, but I just learned it today from my hubby's CH doc.  He said to never take Sudafed b/c it can increase the intensity/prolong the CH attack.  For some reason, he also said not to take Claritin and recommended Allergra instead.