Hi Kat,
It has been a long time since I have been on here.
I started Ketotifen a year ago. I also take 6 vials of cromolyn a day and 40 mg of Pepcid 2x a day. I take alprazolam as needed as I do not tolerate Benedryl.
I find it interesting that you get tired on the Keto (most do) and you feel more irritable. I actually get hyper from it and feel calmer than I even have in my life.
For some reason I have not been able to tolerate any other H1, and believe me, I have tried them all. I have compounded them with every safe thing I know and yet no results. Because the Keto has a strong H1 in it, it has helped me with itching, burning sensations, stabbing pain and my brain fog! But when I flare even a little, I get super dizzy on it and have to premed with my cromolyn and alprazolam before I can take it.
I have found that if I back off of it when I start to flare, it seems to help. I increase some of my other meds to 'balance' things out. At first Pepcid seemed to be mostly for my stomach pain, but now it will shut down a reaction as well.
This is such a complex disease!! I too seem to have more trouble with foods while being on this. I have tried to add to my 6-8 safe foods and I can tolerate about a teaspoon of some new things and that is it. But after the second day, I start to react when I eat them. It's almost as if they build up in my system and are just to much for my body to handle.
Dr. Afrin recommended that I take up to 4 mg 3x a day if I needed to. I would be crawling out of my skin, but it is good to know I can increase my dose if I am in trouble.
The one thing I have noticed the most since being on it, is that my instant recall (memory) has improved a lot! Also a lot of vocabulary that I lost is coming back. But there again, when I add a new food or do too much in a day, the fog comes right back.
I don't know if my response is helpful or not. I worked outside all day and the 'fog' is kind of bad tonight.
I hope this finds you doing well. Take care. Lynda
ohhh Have you emailed your order in? Clark's will send you a list of questions, (I keep it in my medical file). I just list my name, address, dosage, etc and receive it a few days later.