A Fog That Won't Lift

Memorial Day Weekend was GREAT!! The Pool Party Saturday was just the start... All three days were full-to-the-brim with exercising, bbqing, playing and also some yard working.

So it was understandable that when Monday evening came, Cindy and I were good 'n' tired, thoroughly exhausted from our three day weekend. And when Tuesday's alarm went off (remember, on Tuesdays I get up at 4:30 to play racketball) I was so completely zombified that I could barely even reach up and turn off the alarm to go back to sleep. When the second alarm went off (at 5:55) I still could barely force my eyes to open, and Cindy felt the same. We did eventually get up, but were unbelievably tired all day... Decided that we'd need to get to bed on time that night. And we pretty much did!

But then yesterday morning, the same thing happened. I had a hard time believing that I was still recovering from a very full weekend, because generally when I'm that active, it INCREASES my energy, rather than sucking it away completely. Yesterday at work, I fought to keep my eyes open, couldn't stop yawning during a meeting with the boss, and when I finally got home, the LAST thing I wanted to do was cook dinner. So Cindy and I told the kids to have a "make your own dinner night" and we went out to eat. Turns out she was also still tired to the point of barely functioning. (Dinner was yummy, we split a Pizza at Bella Nina's)

As we were walking out to the car, an idea forced its way past the fog, into the conscious part of my brain... But first, a little back story:

I have HORRIBLE allergies. Back in the old days, I had to take two Dimetapp pills per day from April to August, or else I paid dearly. Even with that, there was generally one day per summer (far too often, on July 4th) when I would be completely decommissioned by a hay fever attack. My nose would run like a faucet - literally like a faucet, never stopping for 24 hours or so... Over the course of that day I'd rub all the skin off the end of my nose, usually couldn't sleep, it was completely miserable. I had tried some of the fancy new prescription allergy medications available, but nothing worked as well as my beloved Dimetapp. And if things got REALLY bad, I'd just take an Actifed or Benadryl and it would clear up my nose, but also knock me unconscious so I couldn't appreciate the lack of symptoms. One day I mentioned this to my doctor, and he informed me that the new generation of meds should be taken every day, whether you need them or not, so they build up in your system to prevent attacks before they start. Ohhhhhhh, I get it! I'd been treating Claritin, Allegra and Seldane as if they were "take on demand" meds, which is why they didn't work. So for the last several years, I've taken a Claritin a day, and for the most part, have been freed from the allergy prison of my youth. As an added bonus, Claritin was truly Non Drowsy, which had always been an issue with effective treatment before.

Last week I noticed that my Claritin supply was down to less than five, so it was time to get more. We needed to go to Costco for BBQ supplies anyway, so we headed down the allergy aisle, looking for their "Aller-Clear" generic version. What did I see next to it? A new, over the counter, generic version of Zyrtec! I'd never actually tried Zyrtec, but its proud claims of protecting against Indoor as well as Outdoor allergens was intriguing. Plus, it has a Z in the name! (I'm ALMOST embarrassed to say that was a factor, but come on... be honest... A brand name bold enough to use not just a Z, but a Z followed by a Y is COOL!!!) It cost a few bucks more than the Claritin, but the exciting letters in the name convinced us to go for it. Plus, in case Cindy's new guinea pig started to shed, it would be good to have protection against that.

Monday morning I left a few Claritins in the bottle and entered the bold new day of Zyrtec!

And Monday was the first day that I really felt exhausted. But did I see a connection? NO! I was exhausted because of all the physical exertion I'd exerted over the past three days!

Tuesday's daily routine included Zyrtec #2, and I think I mentioned above how that day went. (I'm PRETTY sure I did, but I'm too tired to go look and see)

Wednesday (which I think was yesterday) I took it again, and I KNOW I mentioned that, because it ended with Cindy and me going out to dinner.

So as we're walking to the car, this realization of what was different in my life that coincided with being so completely tired all the time came to me. And thus, I did say to my beloved wife, "I wonder if Zyrtec causes drowsiness?" She agreed that there was compelling evidence to suggest that it did, so when we got home I grabbed the bottle and there it was: "May Cause Drowsiness," followed by the even more forboding "Do not operate a motor vehicle or other equipment while taking this medication."

Well, well, well... That's quite a price to pay for protection against Indoor Allergens. Especially since I haven't even really had any issues with Indoor Allergens.

So this morning, Cindy and I took the last two Claritins, and she's going to go attempt to return the Zyrtec (along with its sexy name) and get another bottle of Claritin. I still feel groggy, but I took yesterday's Zyrtec at 10am, so hopefully it'll wear off in another hour or so. I certainly got enough sleep last night, we crashed - and I do mean CRASHED - at about 8:30... and I slept through another morning of racketball.

Finally, a question to my fellow allergy-sufferers: Have any of you encountered the wrath of Zyrtec? Is there anything on the over-the-counter market to topple Claritin from its throne of excellence and non-drowsiness? (And by "Claritin," I really mean "Loratadine," its active ingredient... so no fair citing Alavert, Aller-Clear, Wal-itin or any of the hundreds of other generic forms)

Let me know! Hopefully I'll be awake enough to coherently read the comments!