I have allergies to pollens, as does my dog. But I have never heard of using an epipen for pollen allergies.

Forgive my ignorance, but it just seems to me that using an epipen for allergies is over the top. So it causes me to wonder: what exactly happens to you when you're exposed to pollens?

~~~~~~~~~My dog takes a new veterinary drug called Apoquel. What a game changer for her. I've been tempted to take it myself [there's no human equivalent].

Epipens can be used to treat allergies. It is not over the top if the patient is suffering from severe allergies to pollen. thank GOD we have doctors to treat us. Make sure you talk to your doctor about you condition because there are no doctors on this forum and our RA case is different that yours and they don't have the complications that you have. It may seem over the top for someone else but because they don't have your RA they can't say that your treatment is too much. Your RA is specific to you only - so make sure you don't alter your treatment plan because of someone's opinion on this forum. We are fellow patients only - so don't go questioning your treatment just because someone on here never heard of it or tried it or they didn't need it for THEIR condition.

Best wishes and please talk to your doctor about your treatment plan and concerns. that's my best advice to you.

Since it is a holiday weekend...and you are having a terrible time with this maybe you could call your doctor/doctor on call and ask that question. Or call the ER dept in the local hospital and see what they might say. This sounds serious so go asked the right people and get the best answer you can to your questions.

Yeah, having the epipen isn't over the top at all. I have other allergies that have caused anaphylactic shock (my throat swelled shut and I would have died without the epipen). This one is new but the symptoms feel very similar.

I saw my PCP yesterday (that's how I got the extra epipens). She prescribed Allegra but my insurance wouldn't pay for it. The receptionists at her office weren't able to get it together before the end of the day and help me get a prescription for something else. So, I did try seeing a doctor and it wasn't much help. Im just trying to get through weekend before I can see a different doctor...

Allegra and it's generic forms are over the counter in the USA. The generic is $22 for 45-90 pills depending on where you go. Walmart is the cheapest.
I take it daily.
Xyzal is now prescription and it's an augmented Zyrtec (hence the z) that is less sedating than Zyrtec. Zyrtec is over the counter and decent.
Benadryl is the old faithful. I take it at night. It helps my immune system quiet down. When I'm really bad, I take it during the day and deal with being groggy.

Lastly, if you aren't getting relief, a steroid shot for allergies will also calm your RA. Or a low dose of prednisone can help daily. It's an added benefit that it knocks out both issues.
There are several steroids to choose from if you get a shot. It might just be what you need for the current season....which is miserable!

I fear I'm going to get a lot of flack for my answer but I'm going to post it as you are playing with fire and I won't sit by and watch you possibly kill yourself.

The drug inside the Epi-Pen is epinepherine...a synthetic form of adrenaline...the fight or flight hormone our body makes. No, it will not loose it's effectiveness over time but it may kill you instead.

"Epi", as they call it, is used in life threatening situations. When you use an Epi-Pen you are supposed to go to an ER immediately for cardiac monitoring...it is that dangerous. Several years ago I had to use the ER for a bad reaction, possibly anaphylaxis and ended up getting "lectured" by the ER doc as he was prohibited from giving epi after accidentally killing a patient. A young woman, similar to me a that time, came in saying she was going into anaphylactic shock and needed epi. The doc figured she knew what she was talking about and without taking a history or checking her vital signs, gave her epi. An hour later she was dead from a massive stroke brought on by epi.

Epi is used in anaphylaxis to reverse potentially fatal cardiac problems that can arise with severe allergies......not for hives or sneezing or swelling or the feeling that you can't breathe...but cardiac shock. In true anaphylaxis, the pulse goes up and up as the BP falls and falls, eventually putting the heart into a quivering state....and then it goes into arrest. Epi makes the BP rise. And it can rise so much, it can cause life threatening strokes.

In the case of the young lady who died, she had already used her Epi-Pen but not told the doc and he didn't check to see how high her BP was and gave her more epi, sending her into such high BP, she died of a massive brain hemmorhage(stroke).

I learned to take epi VERY seriously. My last 2 bouts with anaphylaxis were both in my allergist's office from getting my allergy shots. In both cases, I got my shots within 24 hours of getting my Orencia infusion. Doc hadn't seen or heard of any kind of reaction like this so my problem was going to hit the journals as a possibly new cross-reaction. I kept Orencia and stopped my allergy shots.

But both times it took 4-5 injections of epi to bring my BP back up and stay up. I am one of the unlucky people who doesn't get symptoms like itching or rashes or wheezing or anything when I go into anaphylaxis....my heart rate goes way up and my BP crashes...usually within 10 minutes of my encountering anything highly allergic. I will die without epi. And yet I fear it too as I've had multiple strokes.

You NEVER manage allergies with an Epi-Pen. If they are that bad then call your PCP and get script for prednisone...it will help you far more than epi. Pred is the strongest anti-inflammatory and allergic responses are just that....another form of inflammation.

And if you insist on having an Epi-Pen, you should also have a home BP monitor and be checking your BP and pulse every few minutes to see if your BP is falling while pulse is rising and then and only then should you use your pen. And you should go to the ER as soon as you use it. Your systolic BP goes over 200 and you are in stroke territory and epi can do that with ease.

This drug is a killer and way too many people think that it must be fairly harmless or why would they give to the "lay person". They do because there are people who will die within minutes without it. And I know...for sure...that the box Epi-Pens come in and the instructions from the pharmacy and the prescribing doc all tell you to go immediately to the ER after using your pen. It can save you at the time but kill you after the fact.

Stop using your Epi-pen to control a pollen allergy before you accidentally kill yourself.

Okay...now go ahead and yell at me.

Jen

Forgot to add.....the doc in the ER who was prohibited from using epinephrine was prohibited by his malpractice insurance company....not the medical society or any other medical enforcement body. But he was sued and he admitted that he was at fault. He told me that he assumed this young woman knew when to use and Epi-Pen and when not to and was very wrong. That was when he made it his mission to inform those of us who use Epi-Pens, how and when to use them and that they can kill you.

Hence the lecture I got. But he got through to me. Then I had my own close calls...that is enough to make me as fearful of Epi-Pens as this poor guy was.

Jen