Dr Miner initially had me do a 2 week trial of Allegra and it really made a difference. Then I went off of it for awhile (I later regretted that decision) and did fairly well.

Then I had my EGD and endoscopy and got much, much worse and didn't get better. I restarted the Allegra at that time but didn't improve. And then I got the results from the pathology report and started taking Gastrocrom as well-still with little improvement.

And then yesterday I read the label on the generic "Allegra" I bought at WalMart several weeks ago and discovered that it contains mannitol. This morning I went to Walgreens and read the labels for their store brand and some of the packages also listed mannitol while others list lactose.

Both lactose and mannitol give me intense bloating, abdominal pain, and loose stools and I have been dosing myself with this stuff since before Christmas!

Fortunately, the real Allegra contains neither, so I bought and started it today. And guess what? I'm already feeling better. I didn't have abdominal pain after eating and have had very little bloating. My tongue also feels dry, just like it did when I started Allegra the first time (the two week trial was the real stuff), which makes me think that the generic isn't as effective for me, either.

I couldn't understand why restarting the "allegra" didn't make me feel better like it did the first time. Now I know why.

Thought I'd post this just in case someone else can't handle mannitol and lactose. It pays to read every label every time!

Hope,
Doesn't the regular Allegra contain lactose monohydrate or anhydrous lactose? These are two huge triggers for me.  I haven't been able to take either Allegra or Zyrtec because of the "fillers". Did u know prescription prednizone has lactose monohydrate in it?  I ended up in the ER after taking that one.  It seems rather counter-productive for those of us that need to take them because we r so reactive in the first place!

Interesting info...glad u figured it out!!  thanks!