Singing the Praises of Claritin-D

[Sumocat]

This has to be the strangest 'other drug' to bring up, but I've got to give props to Claritin-D. It does the job when nothing else will. What's weird is regular Claritin doesn't do jack for me...and the same generic decongestant doesn't do jack....but when you bring the two ingredients together, its magical.

[ZodiacKiller]

What, exactly, does it do for you?


ZK

[Sumocat]

Well, its almost like a 'cure all 'sometimes. When I've got a cold, or just environmental allergies that aren't responding to anything else, Claritin seems to knock the crap out of it all. I can literally go from feeling run over to feeling 110% with it.

Of course, the 'D' part of the equation gives me a little buzz, too. I've felt pleasantly speedy since I took it (about 4 hours ago).

[ZodiacKiller]

Ok, that was the part I was curious about: I didn't know if you were getting anything recreational from it or what. I have a multitude of allergies, and asthma, and Claritin helps me tremendously---and now that it's OTC I can actually afford the shit.



ZK

[Seedy]

Well, its almost like a 'cure all 'sometimes. When I've got a cold, or just environmental allergies that aren't responding to anything else, Claritin seems to knock the crap out of it all. I can literally go from feeling run over to feeling 110% with it.

Of course, the 'D' part of the equation gives me a little buzz, too. I've felt pleasantly speedy since I took it (about 4 hours ago).

What is this added "d"?

[chemboy7]

Claritin-D is a combination of 5mg of Loratadine (which is the sole active ingredient in regular Claritin) and 120mg of Psuedoephedrine in extended release form. I can't speak for the Loratadine, as I have never taken it, but Pseudoephedrine is an excellent decongestant... it really does dry you out. It is also a minor stimulant. Before all the meth hype when you could buy Sudafed with realitive ease I used to use them to help me be more attentive when studying/doing homework. It worked well for this purpose because it was never enough to actually get me high and didn't have the crash that most stimulants do... cause I certainly didn't need that the next day in class. It's really a shame that Pseudoephedrine is being demonized so, it is actually a very effective drug... much more so than that fucking Phenylephrine that they are trying to phase it out with (i.e. Sudafed PE). Being that the pills you are talking about are XR if you crushed them you would most likely get all your dose at once and really get a stimulant effect out of it, I am unsure if they have a special matrix to them to prevent this or not... it is possible that they tried to formulate it to thwart meth chemist but I doubt that they would try to make it abuse-proof. Who knows with those assholes though.

[chemboy7]

What is this added "d"?

Psuedoephedrine. I am assuming that the D stands for decongestant.

[cronosaegis]

Claritin-D is a combination of 5mg of Loratadine (which is the sole active ingredient in regular Claritin) and 120mg of Psuedoephedrine in extended release form. I can't speak for the Loratadine, as I have never taken it, but Pseudoephedrine is an excellent decongestant... it really does dry you out. It is also a minor stimulant. Before all the meth hype when you could buy Sudafed with realitive ease I used to use them to help me be more attentive when studying/doing homework. It worked well for this purpose because it was never enough to actually get me high and didn't have the crash that most stimulants do... cause I certainly didn't need that the next day in class. It's really a shame that Pseudoephedrine is being demonized so, it is actually a very effective drug... much more so than that fucking Phenylephrine that they are trying to phase it out with (i.e. Sudafed PE). Being that the pills you are talking about are XR if you crushed them you would most likely get all your dose at once and really get a stimulant effect out of it, I am unsure if they have a special matrix to them to prevent this or not... it is possible that they tried to formulate it to thwart meth chemist but I doubt that they would try to make it abuse-proof. Who knows with those assholes though.

As best as I remember, you can crush and get the full effect. I don't do that, though.

[Seedy]

Ahh psuedoephedrine. I remember when I was a young alkie popping a few psuedoephedrine pills for a bit of extra zing. Quite a strange buzz. Feels to me like a bit of bad acid physical sensation wihtout the tripping.

[Sumocat]

Yes, I guess you could call the pseudoephedrine buzz somewhat recreational. Personally, I don't take allergy meds recreationally, but that side effect *is* enjoyable.

One thing I find really interesting about it is the way it reacts with caffeine (at least in me). There's some potentiation, of course, since that's two stimulants together...but it also seems to level out...I have the same exact level of buzz for hours on end. It doesn't increase or decrease.

Plus, if I'm feeling really crummy before I take it, then the way I feel afterwards is almost euphoric. When I went out last night, I had almost the same feeling as I get out of vicodin in terms of alert/relaxed, elevated mood....only thing missing was the opiate 'warmth'.

[flipside]

It definately can be helfull in stopping the watery eyes and runny nose that come with WD's Of couse so can triaminic or Benadryl.