Can meds cause hypersensitivity (allergies?)

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Loopy Lou

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Over the last year or two i've become sensitive to, or allergic to numerous things including but not limited to

-cats
-fur in general
-certain cleaning products
-eggs
-bird feathers/dust (especially my cockatiel but there's no way i'm giving him up!)
-a lot of beauty/skin products
-Some medication (ie contraception for hormonal reasons) which did not bother me before.

Considering i did vet science at college and i'm in the market for a job again now this isn't great.

I'm on Keppra and Tegretol, are either of these known for causing sensitivity to things? When i got bitten by the cat at work i even felt like my chest was really tight and i could hardly breathe, and i come out in big itchy hives everywhere. Yick.
 
Perhaps i should point out that there is a history in my family of developing severe allergies but that normally doesn't happen until much later on in life, and mine seem to be milder or more like sensitivities.
 
Adult-onset allergies are pretty common (and getting more so), so you might not be able to pin this specifically on the meds. One possible connection is that allergies can develop if you are exposed to the allergens when your immune system is weakened -- and some of the meds can do just that. Ever since I started anti-seizure meds, I've had sub-normal White Blood Cell counts. Have you had that reaction on the Keppra and/or Tegretol?


Cat saliva contains a protein that's known to cause allergy. Most folks who are allergic can react just from patting the dried saliva on the cat fur. So that nasty cat bite gave you an extra-big does of allergen.

Unfortunately, for most dander & dust-related allergies, they best "treatment" is avoiding the allergens. You may need to minimize contact with the animals, so it might limit your job options a bit. Many of the allergy meds can lower seizure threshold, so that's not the safest route to go.
 
Nak - yeah it was only since i got bitten by that cat that i've had a reaction to every cat since, my doc did a test and said it was the saliva (also found on the fur from licking themselves), but i've been bitten and scratched by all sorts of animals before and not had a problem til recently.

Same with birds, i've kept them since i was 16 and it just seems to be the cockatiels dander as they have a lot of small downy feathers.

Endless - i don't think i'm allergic to the epilepsy meds themselves though my experience with the contraceptive one was truly awful. I vomited and felt truly awful for days after i stopped it.

I'll have a look now at my meds inserts. If it is my epilepsy meds causing it, whats the odds of it being the tegretol lol?
 
Reminds me of my Mom when I was a child -- she had 5 of us in about 7 years -- and when we all got to the age of between about 5 to 12, we were just a lot to handle, think we were driving her batty. Anyway, she started having a lot of hives, and it turned out that she was allergic to lots of stuff she'd eaten all her life with no problem -- tomatoes, clams, etc. And of course, dust (who isn't allergic to dust?)

So...she had this allergy thing come on when she was in her late 30's, I guess. As long as she went to the chiropracter every day, it was ok -- I guess that had to do with relaxing and easing stress. Anyway, once the oldest of us grew up and headed off to college the hives went away, and she went back to eating everything.
 
Google allergies / probiotics

Gut health is important.
 
I've checked my meds and it doesn't seem to be them, maybe it is a stress thing, i've been bogged down with work stress for a while now (no longer, my last shift is on thursday lol)

I guess i'll have to just see if it improves. I mostly rely on eye drops and a cream if i come up in hives as my doc said i can't take anti-histamines.

RobinN - thanks for that, i've just had a quick look but the sites that have come up so far seem to be advertising a product underneath all the blurb, but i'll definitely check it out later when i have time for some scientific articles :)

I have my E review in a few weeks, perhaps i'll bring it up then.
 
I'm becoming more interested in the whole issue of auto-immune disease (and, if I understand it correctly, allergies are a type of auto-immune response) and epilepsy -- especially with intractible epilepsy.

It seems that inflammations of one type or another goes hand in hand with auto-immune issues, and we know that inflammation (at least in the brain, and perhaps also sinuses and other nearby areas) plays a role in seizures.

And, I agree with Robin about gut issues. For one thing, in severe gut problems, like Celiac, if the proper nutrients aren't absorbed, this can cause brain calcifications and seizures. But even if not that severe, absorbtion issues can inhibit metabolism of meds and also skew the Ketogenic diet.

This is one issue we've had with Jon for years -- chronic diarrhea, which was helped by the Ketogenic diet (probably because gluten taken out), but still hasn't completely cleared up. And the addition of Zonegran has certainly not helped. Chronic bowel problems can sometimes be caused by auto-immune illnesses such as Krohns disease or Ulcerative Colitis. And bowel inflammation can lead to more seizures
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14748873

But then there's other allergic symptoms, like breathing issues, hives, itchy nose, watery eyes -- perhaps from food or from pollen or other environmental toxins, and perhaps from the meds. And, yes, Allergic Rhinitis can sometimes cause seizures:
http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=675793

We've noticed in the past month of so, since Jon has had a recent flare-up of seizures, that his nose is red (but usually not running), and he's wiping it constantly, and occasionally sneezing and sometimes his eyes are runny. And at night he's snoring a lot, and seems to have a lot of trouble breathing right before a seizure. Not sure what's causing these symptoms -- have already eliminated gluten and nightshades -- the only remaining food items that are common allergens are eggs, fish, and cheese, and I really hope it isn't any of those, because we're running out of protein options (he's refusing to eat meat since starting Zonegran. But of course it might be something environmental.

Anyway, I think that with some people, if auto-immune issues can be brought under control, seizure control may follow.
 
I would take out all dairy for a trial period of at the least 3 months. Dairy is directly linked with sinus issues and many allergists are recommending eliminating dairy. Replace with coconut milk products. Once the symptoms go away you can then do a trial of goat cheeses. But for the initial test eliminate it all.
 
Have you tried quinoa recipes? A great protein source and a way to hide some veggies too
 
You can develop allergies at any age and if you're already allergic to stuff before, you can always develop new one's. I developed mine at 14 and over the years developed more and wasn't allergic to any meds until 3 years ago, well almost 3 years. I imagine you probably already were allergic to those things and possibly the meds brought it out more & maybe even have some reaction to the meds themselves, don't know. I do know some meds will tell you not to be in direct sunlight while taking the medicine.
 
Yes, Angel, our daughter was allergic to eggs (and dairy and peanuts), and couldn't get her MMR shot.

Robin, my husband and I eat quinoa and Job's Tears, and those kinds of foods, but the ratio of carb to protein in quinoa is about 7:1, so by the time he gets a beneficial amount of protein, the carb level is way too high for Keto diet. Fortunately, we don't need to hide veggies -- Jon loves them!

The only dairy in his diet right now is cheese and butter -- he doesn't drink milk (too many carbs), and we've eliminated cream because I was having a hard time finding pure cream (without additives), plus even cream is a bit high in carbs.

But, think I will give the dairy free regime a try for a few days -- especially since his older sister did have a dairy allergy (but she had an immediate anaphalatic reaction -- hives around her mouth, throat closing up).

But as I said, Jon's only protein sources right now are cheese, eggs, and fish -- all of which are foods that tend to cause allergies. There's a lot of protein in certain veggies like spinach and other greens, but it's not a complete protein.

I suppose I could cook meat and then blend it, and maybe he'd eat it that way. He never had any problem until started the Zonegran.
 
I don't really have much dairy in my diet except for in cups of tea, where i have a tiny little drop - I like my tea good and strong :D

I already eat a lot of veg so no need to hide any.

Tried quinoa once, reeeaaaalllllyyyyy didn't like it. There's an awful lot of foodstuffs that i don't like/don't eat. Quite possibly the fussiest person ever which explains why i hardly ever have takeaways and NEVER eat microwave meals. I could really do with not cutting even more foods out of my diet.

Stuff i don't like includes but is not limited to - any kind of seafood, fish, quinoa, quorn, peppers (any sort), black/white pepper, celery, beans, anything even slightly spicy, bacon, lamb, gammon, rabbit, lentils, most oils. Add that to the stuff that recently makes me come out in hives/disturbs my stomach and it doesn't leave an awful lot. :ponder:

I basically live on potatoes, pasta, pork, chicken and blander veg in various combinations with differing herbs etc. Good thing i know my way around a herb rack lol! :banana:
 
i understand lamotorin can cause skin problems that can be very nasty for children
 
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