Do Any Usa Doctors Prescribe Oral Ketotifen?

[Laura Wesson]

Ketotifen is a good systemic mast cell stabilizer and antihistamine that in oral form apparently works well for food allergies.  I have many, many food allergies, not the kind that show up on skin or blood tests.  And too many foods are off limits for me now.  So I'm looking at medications that might enable me to eat foods I couldn't eat otherwise. 

I know that cromolyn helps to reduce the food reaction.  But I heard that ketotifen is better. 

But in oral form, ketotifen isn't available in the USA, except from some compounding pharmacies.  To get it from a compounding pharmacy, I probably need a doctor's prescription. 

You can buy ketotifen online, but I've only see the tablets, which have ingredients like corn starch and lactose that I'm allergic to.

So are there doctors in the USA who will prescribe it?  Or would I have to see a doctor in Canada? 

[foam]

You are better off just importing it. It's not available in Australia either so I by it from Japan, it's cheap and arrives quickly, 100 capsules is like 30 dollars. I found it to have massively good antihistamine effects. Normally I'm doing 10mg Zyrtec and 20mg claratyne daily. But Ketotifen at 1mg three times a day was much more effective as an antihistamine. It wasn't as effective as an eosinophil blocker which is the only reason I changed back to to the zyrtec/claratyne mix. If I only had a leaky gut and not other problems as well I'd use the Ketotifen for sure.

 

I'm starting on Pemirolast potassium next week which is a little known mast cell blocker among other properties which might be more suitable for me, probably I'll mix it with claratyne.

 

You can buy your Ketotifen here in a capsule Open Original Shared Link

 

Just remember it WILL make you very sleepy for a few days until you build tolerance, then you will feel amazing.

[stri8ed]

Yes, there are. My doctor (in Chicago) prescribed it for me, though I had to explicitly ask him to, as he was not very familiar with it. Given that Ketotifen has a Open Original Shared Link in the treatment of food allergies, I see no reason why a doctor would not be willing prescribe it.

 

Unfortunately for me, I did not tolerate Ketotifen well, so I dropped it after a few weeks. I still have tons left over. Right now im experimenting with different doses of Cromolyn, to try and get a working situation.

 

I seem to have a similar situation like yourself, where I have dozens of food allergies (almost immediate onset), which don't show up in prick-tests. I have been able to prevent new allergies by following a low-protein rotation diet, however I have become so sensitive to even traces of any of my existing allergens, that I pretty much have reactions (albeit milder) after eating any meals. I have an appointment soon with an expert immunologist, and I am hoping he can bring some new ideas to the table.

 

Something I have been reading up on recently is xolair (Omalizumab). Its essentially an injectable antibody that binds to the IGE antibodies in human serum, thus preventing those antibodies from binding to mast cells, which in turn leads to diminished allergic reactions. It has some pretty impressive results in clinical studies, though it has most been mostly used for asthmatics. Interestingly, it has been proven to be effective Open Original Shared Link where the immune problems where not IGE mediated. The downside is, the treatment is crazy expensive, and relatively new, and not much studies have been done with food allergies. 

[foam]

Xolair will get rid of high IgE levels for sure but it's expensive and it's not a permanent fix. Food Allergy Herbal formula 2 (FAHF-2) also drops IgE levels. There's ongoing studies in the States about that, it's seems to work very well in all the studies so far.

 

Cetirizine will drop IgE levels also, if you don't have an immune system disorder that's always making IgE like me then I think Zyrtec alone will do the job within a few months. In one study I read it only took about 3 months to drop the typical asthmatics IgE levels from ~1000 back to a reference range of sub 200.

 

I'm trying Vitamin D3 at 10,000 units a day currently. Last year I managed to drop from IgE levels from 4200 to 2000 but it's stalled at 2000, I'm not sure why I can't get it under 2000 but I was taking a lot of vitamin D last year so I'm back on that now.

 

Ketotifen worked like a charm to make me symptomless for all my problems, I could eat what I wanted and had no itching etc. It just didn't do what I wanted it to do. I still have lots left so perhaps I should try it mixed with other antihistamines and see what it does longer term. It was a good couple of months after I took it for three weeks for any pain to return to my gut and I'm still pretty good now but it's been a year since I ate corn and most other grains now and that's helping. But yes no doubt Ketotifen is very effective in lowering the reactions.

 

Anyway the Pemirolast will be here tomorrow or the next day and that stuff seems like it will have no noticeable side effects and is likely the best mast cell stabilizer so I'm excited to try it.

 

I'm on a waiting list for human IVIg anyway so I'm just filling in time trialling these drugs before the serious stuff arrives.

[foam]

He guys, if any of you are still going down the mast cell stabiliser path?. I've been on the Pemirolast potassium for about 3 weeks now, from the very little information I could find about it, it seems to be the either the best mast cell stabiliser going or at least equally good to cromolyn . As far as I can tell it works like a boss. Zero side effects that I'm able to feel/tell. And I haven't had any discomfort in the gut at all while not been especailly careful with my food. Not sure what's going to happen long term as I'm using it for other problems aside from a dodgy gut. We will see. I plan to take it for several months and if my blood work is improving I'll take it for a year and see what happens. I had a blood test one week into the Pemirolast and it was the best result I've had in a few years but lets not count the chickens just yet. As far as food problems go, this seems good stuff.

 

I forgot something, I'm currently the heaviest I've ever been in my life (66kg clothed), this time last year I was 55kg. Very happy about that.

[StephanieL]

If these drugs are so promising for food ALLERGIES why are the most recent studies 20 some years old and very very small?  

[foam]

There are genetic factors at play in a lot of people with IBS/Leaky gut/ Too many mast cells etc 

 

There are heaps of recent studies by the way. 

 

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

 

I don't know if you are aware but Zyrtec is used by vets for gastro problems in animals especially in cats where it works like some kind of miracle drug. Just like there's a genetic link to celiac disease I'm sure the same can be said of hypersensitivity to foods and it's more than likely the best treatment other than not eating much for the rest of your life is a mast cell stabiliser. I tried the Ketotifen and it worked as far as making me feel good and gain weight but the drowsiness was a bit of a downer. The Pemirolast is better for me, but Ketoifen probably works great for some people and it's less expensive.

 

Worth reading this guys experiments too Open Original Shared Link and there's a mast cell disease forum that I often come across while searching for other stuff. They know a lot of things.

[stri8ed]

He guys, if any of you are still going down the mast cell stabiliser path?. I've been on the Pemirolast potassium for about 3 weeks now, from the very little information I could find about it, it seems to be the either the best mast cell stabiliser going or at least equally good to cromolyn . As far as I can tell it works like a boss. Zero side effects that I'm able to feel/tell. And I haven't had any discomfort in the gut at all while not been especailly careful with my food. Not sure what's going to happen long term as I'm using it for other problems aside from a dodgy gut. We will see. I plan to take it for several months and if my blood work is improving I'll take it for a year and see what happens. I had a blood test one week into the Pemirolast and it was the best result I've had in a few years but lets not count the chickens just yet. As far as food problems go, this seems good stuff.

 

I forgot something, I'm currently the heaviest I've ever been in my life (66kg clothed), this time last year I was 55kg. Very happy about that.

 

I have never heard of that before. Where did you purchase it from? Thus far, Ketotifen has failed me, and cromolyn is a bit of mixed bag. It does seem to partially relieve all my symptoms (which indicates my reactions stem from the GI tract), however I seem to react to it slightly, which gives me additional symptoms, and probably inhibits its full absorption and effectiveness. I am very interested in FAHF-2. The more I read about it, the more promising it seems. I may consider seeing Open Original Shared Link in her Open Original Shared Link in NY, and trying to get her to provide me with the formula, as it it may well take years until its on the market.

 

As I mentioned earlier, even after eliminating all my dozens of sensitivities/allergens from my diet, I still experience symptoms after eating. Hence, I really need something to work, simply so I can function properly on a day to day basis.

[foam]

I got it from mimaki pharmacy same place I get everything else. Open Original Shared Link

 

I ate a full block of chocolate 2 days ago just to see what would happen as it usually makes me sick. Didn't do anything. Not that I'm going to live a life of eating chocolate but good to know I can eat it without a problem