Welcome to Connect @cniebler38. Chronic itching, especially at night, is just awful. I went through a period of that myself and admit I’d rather have pain than itching! Mine was brought on by chemo and a host of meds so eventually it has disappeared. But you have my sympathy!
I did a little research this morning to see what antihistamines are safe to use if someone has kidney disease and found several articles from credible sources.
They all seem to concur that antihistamines are generally safe for patients with kidney disease and pose no issues. The exception being long term heavy use. However, antihistamines can interfere/interact with some medications so it’s important to check with your doctor/pharmacist first to see if it’s ok.
Most antihistamines such as Benadryl (can cause drowsiness), Claritin, Allegra and Zyrtec are mentioned as being safe for CKD. However, it’s important to avoid products with decongestants such as Claritin-D, Allegra-D and Zyrtec-D along with any product containing pseudoephedrine such as Sudafed.
Since there were quite a few sources, I picked these two to post for you:
From Kidney.org
https://www.kidney.org/blog/ask-doctor/what-antihistamines-andor-decongestants-can-i-take-ckd
~~~
University of Michigan’s nephrology dept:
https://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/Nephrology/OTCMedsForCDK.pdf
There’s also a list of meds to avoid if you have kidney disease
Meds to avoid with kidney disease:
https://www.kidney.org/atoz/content/5-drugs-you-may-need-to-avoid-or-adjust-if-you-have-kidney-disease
Do you have any other underlying medical conditions that are causing your histamine reaction? Have you tried taking an antihistamine?
Thank you. I am taking 2 Zyrtec and Claritin recommended by allergist 2 years ago. Another OTC that histamine intolerance researchers recommend is Quercetin which I have been trying for the past week at 1 tablet of 500mg. Recommended dosage not to exceed 1G daily. There are cautionary notes about its affect on the kidneys in higher dosage and that it might not be good for people with kidney disease. My GFR is 51. My goal is to reduce the late night itching caused by a late night histamine release. Have had some relief but will try one more week . Nighttime is worst.