Posted by Larry Hoover on March 15, 2009, at 6:27:35
In reply to Are there any tests available for drug allergies?, posted by betrayed on March 15, 2009, at 5:34:11
> I have recently had a serious allergic drug reaction to Celexa and was sent to an allergist whom informed me there was no such thing has drug allergy testing.
He's quite right. There isn't any such test. Even for common drug allergies such as to penicillin, the patients' experience is what guides the doctors' decision making. And that is avoidance. Avoiding exposure in the future.
Your reaction to Celexa may in fact be due to other substances in the pill, the so-called inerts or inactives, rather than to the citalopram itself. Celexa is available as an oral solution, without the other things in the pill form. So, if your allergist was willing, it would be possible to do an oral challenge in his office, to verify the sensitivity to citalopram.
> I did some research on the internet and found something called a RAST Test. Has anyone heard of this and if so where I can go to have it done. Need help! Thanks
RAST isn't going to help you. RAST determines the concentration of allergen-unique IgE antibodies in your blood, but it does so by incorporating common allergens in its test bed. No one will have a RAST panel for Celexa. This goes back to the "there is no test" part of what your allergist said.
It's probably a good idea for you to determine if your sensitivity is really due to citalopram, or instead, to the inactive components of the pill. If it's the latter, you could have future reactions to any number of medications, as those components are in many different products. True allergy to any of these components is very unlikely, but I never say never.
Lar
poster:Larry Hoover
thread:885429
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20090313/msgs/885433.html