"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:j4Isc.57787

I'm apparently violently allergic to this tree pollen.

Hey Jay,

I'll give you my PIREP on three allergy meds I tried. My doc is a pilot
and understood completely when I said any medications must be 'pilot
friendly.'

Clarinex -- worked pretty much the same as Claritin. Did a great job on
my problems with pollen, dust, and cat dander. Claritin is now over the
counter -- and expensive. Clarinex is covered mostly by my health insurance
minus copay.
Allegra -- seemed to work slightly better than Clarinex. But you
already know about this one.
Zyrtec -- Best of the three for me during the trials described below.

My doc gave me a week of samples of each of the above. To test them, I
stopped taking anything for one week. Then I took one daily, starting with
Clarinex, and kept notes. In between each brand I laid off for six to seven
days. I settled on Allegra in the end because it had the most severe trial.
During the Allegra period we spent four days living in an RV at a primitive
camp smack in the middle of a cattle ranch in SoCal in April surrounded by
beef cattle on open range. The wind blew every day, the wildflowers were in
full bloom along with the cottonwoods and oaks, and the grasses were knee
deep.
Two weeks later, I was at home in the desert doing the Zyrtec which while
my notes said it was better didn't have the same environment as the Allegra.

Good luck, pal,

Casey