Geeze, Deb, that´s an interesting issue.   It could be psychological in that by knowing that you are taking less, you could have gotten anxious about it and that began the triggering.    

I can see how we can easily get psychologically addicted to our antihistamines!!  We become conditioned knowing that if we don´t take them in time, we´re going to take a beating!  How many times anybody out there forgot their dose and then about the time you realized it your body was already giving you hints that you were about to lose it!!!

Yet, I have noticed, however, that if I´ve missed a dose, then when I go to take my regular dose, I´ve gotten on the snowball express and need to take extra to stop the snowballing, which is exactly what I think happened with you.  


So, my question is, WHY DO YOU WANT TO PULL BACK?    Deb, if you are on a set dosage of meds which have got you stable, why would you mess with that?   I wouldn't, even if it meant saving money.   Whether I like it or not, taking my masto meds has become NECESSARY to my well being.  PERIOD.   It's like thyroid medication, I must not stop for my body NEEDS that medication in order to function properly.   It's a fact of life.


Now, for whatever reason you feel it's necessary to stop, that is the proper way to reduce your dose, by halving it or even quartering it and going slowly, perhaps only one dose a day instead of two.   However, it seems to me that your body noticed that right away and that it was not a coincidence, especially if you were at home and it was a quiet day.  

If you want to confirm it, and to see if it was not just a mere coincidence, you must choose another stress free day where you are again home all day long and try to repeat this experiment.   Only then will you know if your body is unable to handle taking lower doses of antihistamines.   If you give the very same kind of reacting, or in other words, if you show any sign of increased activity, then you know that you are at your baseline of medications and can't go any lower without causing yourself trouble.   In some ways, this is a good experiment for then you know exactly what your body's needs are as far as meds are concerned, and what your very minimum levels of meds are that you must have to function properly.

Be careful, please!!   Go very slowly for the last thing you want to do is to  give that snowball the extra push and then this triggers an avalanche along side of the growing snowball!!


Hugs

Lisa

  Your symptoms sound like the beginning of anaphylaxis.  I quit Zantac about 3 weeks ago (cold turkey) and switched entirely to Pepcid.  I was taking 150 mg. Zantac in the morning and 20 mg. of Pepcid at night.  So now I'm taking 20 mg. Pepcid a.m. and p.m., and it seems fine so far (knock on wood!).  Given the choice, I would always take a pre-made lower dose than cut a pill in half. 

  Pepcid comes in 40 mg. tablets (Rx only), which my allergist prescribed in case I need more.  I'm sure 2- 20s would do the same thing, but I like getting Rx meds because my insurance covers all but a small copay.  I do notice a big difference in effectiveness of the 40 mg. vs. the 20 mg.

  If Pepcid doesn't work, cimetidine (Tagamet) is another H2 blocker, but I don't know how effective it is.  I think I might try it and see.

  The half-life of Zantac is only 2-3 hours, but it inhibits acid production for a lot longer (8 or more hours).  Some days it's apparent fairly quickly that I forgot to take either antihistamine, but other days it seems not to matter as much.  Don't know why.

  Wondering if Gastrocrom could be stabilizing enough to substitute for Zantac.  It's not enough for me, but it might be for others.  Isn't Ketotifen both an antihistamine and mast cell stabilizer?

  Just looked on Wikipedia [Histamine Antagonists]and found a list of H2 antihistamines that includes more than Zantac, Pepcid, and Tagamet.  I noticed it also lists experimental H3 and H4 antihistamines.  Will be reading more on that and will report back later!

well Ms. Deb....I am glad that you are putting this off for awhile..I know that you are like myself in some ways...you shock...and boy that is not a fun thing...
be safe so that you can enjoy your family during this busy time
redbird

Okay Ladies;
Two questions-
1.) How long have you been on the Zantac (before it started to affect your hair)?
2.) Deb- have you been on the Biotin long enough for it to help ?
3.) Okay I forgot one: Joan- what do you mean by Zantac's "half Life" ?
I've upped my Zantac to 2-3 times a day, havent noticed thinning hair yet but it sure does get gray fast these days !!!  
lori

It could be Zantac:  http://gerd.emedtv.com/zantac/zantac-and-hair-loss.html

(I already added this to another post, but I will added it here too since it is relavent.)  It could also be Cromolyn if you are taking that:  http://www.ehealthme.com/ds/cromolyn+sodium/loss+of+hair

I just wanted to mention that when you stop this kind of med I'm pretty sure you get a "rebound" effect. I stopped the Zantac two or three months ago and I seem to be fine without it.  When I get my follow up endoscopy I'll know for sure.  It just creeped me out to take something that messed with my digestion and could cause so many other problems.  Hopefully I won't regret it some day.  I haven't so far.
Good luck.