So, your doctor ruled out cardiac issues and Epstein-Barr-related illnesses?

Have you had your Vitamin D levels tested? What about thyroid?

DH has allergies and I have tree and grass pollen allergies that have gotten worse with age. He can only use the brand name Allegra and not the generic. I know it makes no sense, but the generic do not seem to work. This was always a point of argument with my insurance back when Allegra was prescription. Now that it is OTC we just buy it and it is much cheaper than my copays. Allegra does not make us either wired or tired. When I tried Zyrtec in the past it made me too tired in the evenings.

Hope your doc ordered labs of your blood.?? My suggestion is to not go in thinking (saying) it may be allergies. Let the doctors (science) give you the results they find.

hope you feel better soon.

How about Lyme disease?

My GF had a lot of sinus issues, had surgery to clean out her sinuses and dr found a fungal infection that was causing her issues.

ipink, have you had a thorough physical with bloodwork? does your dr suspect allergies or is that your thoughts? I have had allergies much of my life, but have been desensitized to everything (allergy shots) except mold. I occassionally get run down feeling when mold rates are very high. But never what you are feeling. When I was having sinus infections, I would feel extremely tired. I have a wonderful ent and allergist both who will not prescribe an antibiotic without confirming an infection. My dr does a head CT (most allergist/ent will have a machine in their office). IMHO, if you are taking and antibiotic and do not have an infection, you are just making things worse for your body. I hope you get some answers!! Keep us posted.

What kind of doctors have you seen for this condition?

Last year I was experiencing a dry cough that interfered with sleep following a bad upper respiratory infection. I was feeling fine and then bam - unrelenting vertigo started! Long story short, I was diagnosed with vestibular neuritis due to a sinus infection (that I was completely unaware of and found on a CT scan) in the sephinoid sinuses. Between antibiotics, meclizine, anti-nausea drugs and a few weeks of physical therapy, I was finally better. I am now on a daily routine of flonase and allergy meds and so far so good. No colds, sinus infections or anything in over a year thanks to my new ENT and allergy specialists.

If I were you, I would want them to rule out any type of sinus infection that could be causing your issues. I have experienced sinus infections my whole lif and had no idea I had one when the vertigo started. No fun.

Take care and I hope you feel better soon!

Pink, the same thing happened to me for the first time a little over a month ago! I do have allergies but when I have an attack it lasts only a few hours and I don't have allergy attacks ver often.

I sleep with a window open right above my head, even when it's below freezing. We have thick curtains that stops any breeze if I get cold. Outside the window is part of the drive way with a row of cedar trees lining it. I woke up one morning and I couldn't breathe through my nose, it was also too stopped up to blow, and when I finally did blow, the birds stopped singing. I kid you not. lol

Generally I don't take antihistimines but I did that time and felt great. A week later the same thing happened, took an antihistimine and felt fatigued all day long. Day after day, even when I wasn't sneezing. I looked up OK.'s allergy index and cedar trees were high in pollen, along with mold. That's the culprit.

I remember walking around the house telling DH how tired I was, even though allergies weren't bothering me. I too thought of Covid. I lived in my bedroom for almost a week it was that bad.

Then I googled something about allergies making me tired and bingo, I hit the jackpot. Allergy fatigue. I had no idea. One of the suggestions was to use Flonase. That's something I always have but neglect to use. DS suffers really bad in the fall and he told me I must use Flonase every day to keep attacks away. It takes a day or two to really kick in, and I haven't had an attack since.

Good luck!

So very many possibilities but the first thing that comes to mind is anemia. It would hit a lot of your symptoms although not the allergy sounding ones.

My mom had a fungal infection, and my niece has Epstein Barr Mono. Both had similar symptoms to yours. I hope you find the cause and a treatment that works.

Are you sure it’s allergies? Five years ago I lost my energy and was pretty much laying on the couch all day. I had an elevated white blood count with no explanation for a few months so primary care dr sent me to a hematologist. After tests, it was determined I had a severe iron deficiency and ended up having two infusions and they restored my energy level. They never figured out the cause of the elevated blood count but after six months levels returned to normal.

My son has always suffered from allergies, got the shot series as a kid but still suffered into adulthood. Colds would last forever and would drag him down. His wife finally made him see an ENT. Sparing all the gory details, he had sinus surgery and has been a new man since. He breathes better, colds are just normal colds, and he still suffers from allergies, especially ragweed, but OTC meds do the trick now.

I hope your dr can get go the bottom of it. Having no energy is miserable.

First, I have been to my doctor. She is a GP. I live in a poor rural area, there are no allergists or much in the way of testing facilities other than the basics, for at least 40 miles. Second, I am a woman with modest means, I can't pay for a lot of tests fishing around for a diagnosis. I guess eventually if this does not get better I will have to see if i can get a referral. I will have to probably travel at least an hour to find a good doctor. That is not unheard of around here. I have had extensive blood work in the past, iron test, diabetes test and I get a thyroid level test every six months and take thyroid hormone. This is different. Also, I take vit. D and I'm not paying for the test. There's a lot involved with vit. D including absorption issues. I'm not against tests, but it would have to be very clear that the test was going to give a useful answer that could not be found in another way, for me to justify the expense. We are barely hanging on financially. No, my doctor did not test me for a bacterial infection before she prescribed the antibiotics. Not sure why but I was hesitant to just take an anti biotic but my doctor said I hadn't taken any in five years so I wasn't particularly at risk for resistance. Since I had been sick like this for six weeks, I was willing to try it. But so far it has been ineffective.

I haven't been tested for Epstien Barr but I don't think that's the go-to diagnosis at this point. Not saying at no point in the future. I have no indications for heart disease but again, could be. This sinus and head pressure and ear ringing and post nasal drip and cough, heart issue again are usually not the go-to. Could be going on simultaneously causing the tiredness. I have never had any indications for it but it does happen. Not much family history with heart disease until much older. Never had irregular heart beat issues.

I'm a scientist, biologist in fact, I have no trouble using science and also understanding it. As well as statistics.

Sciencechick, you are the third person I know who swears that the generic doesn't work and the brand name does. It doesn't make sense to me, if the active ingredient is the same and the dosage is the same. I have always assumed placebo, but it is apparently a phenomenon out there. I could try the brand names, but will probably first try a different antihistamine.

I'm hesitant about the flonase due to it being a steroid. I usually don't do well with them. I've been prescribed them in the past for coughs and allergies, the oral ones, and they made me sicker than the cough. Worsened the symptoms rather than improved them. But I am game for trying the flonase after the run of antibiotics. I have a bottle waiting on my dresser.

I haven't thought about Lyme, but I suppose it could be a co-condition. I have been in high risk areas in the past.

The fatigue has been going on for so long, I'm just trying to think of a regime to get my energy back. if this sinus issue is fungal or viral, it's going to be very difficult to beat. My work colleagues mother died from a massive fungal infection in her sinuses. It looks like I may have to search out a good and correct doctor in the near future. What is an ent? Would an allergist be a good place to start? I can ask my doctor and maybe others who have had sinus issues if I can find them, for a referral.

Pink - An ENT is an Ear, Nose and Throat doctor. I sympathize with what you are going through and I hope that you'll find a solution. I too have occasional flat-out exhaustion, although nothing like what you have, and am down for the count for no apparent reason other than allergies and sinus.

Allergies are interesting. Our son had horrid migraines...affected him to the point of numbness in his arms and legs..a squirt of nasocort blasts it all away. He is sensitive to molds and mildew mostly..but noticed symptoms to other air borne allergens too. When he began with it, it was prescription only. Now it is over the counter. Recently my youngest daughter said she spend the summer with a kleenex in her pocket almost non stop nasal drip..working in a lab it is ANNOYING to say the least...she started herself of nasocort and VOILA no more kleenex needed!! Your fatigue makes me wonder about Lyme disease....sounds like your doc is treating you as you lead...perhaps a new doc, fresh look is in order?

Allergies can be miserable. For me, sometimes the allergy meds are nearly as problematic as the allergies themselves. Even the ones that say they are non-drowsy. They dry up my nose but often make me feel dopey and out of it.

Before I got a handle on my allergies I occasionally received steroid shots to blunt all my responses. I know the risks but I was so miserable that they were worth it.

I use a HEPA filter at night in the bedroom which helps a great deal. I never, ever sleep with the windows open, as lovely as that is. I think if you give your body a clean space at night, it calms down your immune responses.

I agree that you need to see a specialist - an allergist or ENT.

Pink, I am so sorry you are dealing with all this. As I mentioned before, I have dealt with allergies since a child. I am a firm believer in desensitizing, simply because it has worked for me. Currently I take an allergy shot every 2-4 weeks for mold. They are not able to desensitize me, but for some reason, taking the shots helps keep things under control. My maintenance dose is every 4 weeks, but during high mold periods, I do every 2 weeks. Allergies can make you feel flat out awful, but with treatment, I believe it can be overcome. I also had sinus surgery a few years back, I had an extra sinus cavity and I had a blocked area, etc. Allergies had helped to keep the areas irritated and I had taken antibiotics repeatedly (also steroids) and my ENT told me flat out that was no way to live life. The surgery was a good choice. I've had one minor infection (that cleared quickly) in the years since the surgery. I understand your feelings on steroids, I hate them too and can only take a certain dose. That was a deciding factor in my surgery. I am one who does whatever I can to keep from taking medicines. I take very little, thankfully. I do not use an antihistimine if I can keep from it, which is most of the time. I DO use flonase and it is something you need to be consistent with. It does not give me any problems like oral steroid or steroid injections. I sometimes use a "sinus blend" of essential oils which I diffuse if I'm stuffy. It seems to help. I have no carpet in my house, keep things dusted, floors clean, etc. No open window, and a special allergy AC filter. You might even try one of the air purifier machines in the room you sleep in.

My allergist and ENT worked together to help me, but if I were you, I would start with an ENT. I understand not wanting to spend alot on tests, but if it were me, I would do a sinus CT. It can show so much. Perhaps you have a co-pay on this where it's not too expensive? Infection can actually be seen, as can blockages, etc. If the ENT feels it is related to allergies, they can refer you to an allergist. It sounds like you have had a good bit of blood work, so you may not need any more than that. I can't think of any other tests, unless they wanted to do a chest x-ray, which I'm assuming you may have already had with your issues and I now have a peak-flow breathing test thingy (can't think of the name) yearly as I have had some asthma symptoms in the past, but do not have asthma.

I wish you all the best!

Flonase does have steroids in it but don't compare it to oral steroids. Taking oral steroids does a number on us which is why they prescribe it for only a few days. Flonase is nothing like that and I have no side effects at all.

From Cleveland Clinic, one of the most respected medical websites:

" Intranasal steroid sprays are safe for long-term use, and there is little evidence to indicate they cause significant systemic side effects. However, patients with chronic rhinitis who might use them for long periods should be advised to use them only intermittently and at the lowest dose that controls their symptoms."

I was first introduced to Flonase because I got this gigantic nasal polyp. Flonase shrunk it. Try Flonase for a few days and see if it helps. I don't know if it was a coicidence or not, but by the 2nd day on Flonase I was close to feeling normal. I'm going to continue using it until the tree pollen goes down, then stop.

I do think the antihistimines may contribute to your fatigue though. My fatigue set in right after I took an antihistimine, the same antihistimine I always take. There has to be a connection.

To be clear, I didn't mean to say steroids weren't "safe." I put safe in quotes because "steroids" is a general term, there are many, many types of steroids, (Such as Oakely's example of oral vs. inhaled vs in a skin cream like cortisol), and because "safe" is an "it depends" word. Depends on the conditions and assumptions. What I was saying is that based on past experience, I have not done well with steroids, they have not helped me and have made me feel sicker. The five times I have tried them they haven't worked, twice orally and twice in a cream and one inhaler, Advair. That does not mean I'm not willing to try them again. "It depends." I am well aware that for many folks, steroids are a life saver. I also know a few folks who have had life-threatening results from long term use. One example is my friend who was misdiagnosed with asthma for ten years and taking them. She has a rare condition of scarring developing on her esophagus. That is one example of how the "scientists" in the medical profession can get it profoundly wrong. Many doctors my friend saw just went along with the asthma diagnosis. Then since "nothing worked" they were giving her physical therapy for a vocal chord inflammation problem, and thank God for the physical therapist who actually looked at my friend's x-ray and said, "I don't see any evidence that you have the condition you've been referred to me for." This was my friend's second round of PT for breathing. By the time she did get the accurate diagnosis, her esophagus' opening was the size of an 8 month old baby, and my friend is 6 ft. For ten years they were looking everywhere in her respiratory tract except where this rare problem was brewing. Meanwhile her bones were weakened by the long-term steroid use. So I'm not against the medical field, just cautious in my faith in its ability to effectively treat patients. But that doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, I'm not saying that. I'm not a black and white thinker, but one who analyzes many options and tests and questions things. My friend's case illustrates how difficult it is sometimes to get an accurate diagnosis.

I could have several conditions going on at the same time. I could have a fungal infection in my ears, an infected tooth, allergies and lyme disease all at the same time! I'm bummed thinking about all the money it would take to diagnose and clear up all those conditions! I haven't had a chest x-ray. They are very expensive. Last time I had x-rays (I had insurance then) for a pinched nerve (which x-rays tell you nothing about, btw but the doctor wanted to rule out a physical cause for the pain, which went away after a round of tramadol) they did seven x-rays. I asked why so many, the response was, "that's how many we do." It was 800 dollars! Back then I had Cadillac health insurance and I was in so much pain I didn't question anything that might have help stop it, no matter how remote the possibiity. Now I am self employed and have expensive, almost useless health insurance which I only get so that if i get a serious, terminal disease I won't lose my home and everything in it like my friend who got breast cancer on top of an MS diagnosis and poor health insurance.

This mold issue really raises a red flag for me. I've worked outside all my life and not had allergy problems. But I know they can develop in older age. However, both my husband and I noticed increased coughing, sneezing, clearing throat, respiratory distress after we moved into my parents' house. It has lots of carpet which we haven't had the time or money to replace, although we vacuum often. We have forced air heat, which I also do not like, but we use the high grade filters and have had the ducts cleaned, so not much more we can do on that. There are no signs of mold even in the crawl space, but we live on a river. I sure notice a lot of fungus issues in my garden that gets watered with creek water . . . Both my parents suffered from allergies when living here, but my Mom had lots of problems before they moved here and my Dad had developed copd and he had been a smoker, so a connection to the house was not made while they lived here. Hubs and I are gradually trying to redo many of the problematic issues in the house, the carpet is one, but cannot be on the top of the priority list right now unfortunately due to other more pressing issues and limited resources. For example, the deck is rotting and has mold issues due to a rubber tile product my dad put on it when they lived here to cover up the problems. Once we get done with this big garden project we are working on, hubs is going to tear that off and redo the deck.

Thanks for all the tips! Guess I just have to keep trying to figure this out. Right now I am finishing up with the antibiotics. One treatment at a time for this gal. Taking an acidopholus pill every day trying to keep the antibiotic from kicking my immune system's butt! I feel like stopping before the time is us because so far, it has done zippo to clear anything up . . . I'm on day seven of ten.

I checked out Epstein Barr Virus. I haven't really done much to expose myself to catching it. I have spent a lot of time around college students, teaching and supervising them, but we haven't shared bodily fluids, even a drinking glass . . . Your body can harbor a lot of vague viruses unfortunately. That's why I try and keep my immune system healthy, but it is an uphill battle and it doesn't seem to respond very vigorously.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with all this. It's overwhelming when you know something's wrong, but you don't know what it is. After reading what you've written, I have some general thoughts, in no particular order.

I would research allergies and carpets, and consider professional carpet cleaning (specific to allergies) and the humidity levels in your home, especially since you're spending more time indoors.

Speaking of that, in the past few months, it appears you have drastically reduced your activity, don't get outside as much, have probably very limited social interactions due to the pandemic, are grappling with physical symptoms, are having financial concerns, are experimenting with different pharmaceuticals and supplements, and are probably dealing with a host of other issues going on in this world right now. You're a prime candidate for depression, which itself can be a factor in fatigue.

One of my kids suffers from seasonal allergies. His doctor indicated that when trying allergy meds, we had to give them several weeks to kick in. It seems like you're trying many different concoctions, and perhaps your body isn't keeping up with all these new introductions.

Anecdotally, I've heard good things about Flonase.

A pharmacist once explained to me that there can be big differences in the quality control of some generic drugs that are farmed out to different manufacturing facilities. There can be minute changes in processes that actually impact the generic drugs. Brand names, he said, tend to have better quality control. I'm not a doctor or a scientist, but he recommended I research drugs before accepting a generic substitute.

I understand wanting to limit tests without more cause. It seems you have a perfect storm going on, and perhaps going back to some basics might help. Drink a glass of water, and take a walk outside. Your body is trying to tell you something.

Thanks Feathers! The reason it seems like I'm quickly trying random concoctions is that this has been ongoing for three months as acute and months and months as low grade and for a few years now as recurring, and I summarized. I give a treatment at least a month before I abandon it. Perhaps shorter if it is making me very ill.

So if your sinuses are inflamed, it could be allergies or it could be bacterial, viral or fungal infection, or a physiological condition, to name few possibilities. So for starters, cheap and easy and relatively low risk is to try an over the counter antihistamine. But if it doesn't work, then: 1. You didn't take it long enough, 2. It was poor quality control and the active ingredient wasn't, or 3. You didn't take it in high enough dose, 4. That particular antihistamine doesn't work with your body chemistry. Lather rinse repeat for a whole spectrum of antihistamines on the market. But 5. It isn't allergies.

So now, if it isn't allergies, you can try to figure out if it is bacterial, viral or fungal. Your and your doctor can use some observable and easy indications to try and figure that out, like is the mucus yellow. But your mucus could by atypical or it's not yellow enough to notice, etc. So do you try a test? How reliable is the test? What's the cost. For example, my thyroid test costs $120.00. If it's negative, what then? With our without a positive test, you try antibiotics. 1. That particular antibiotic isn't a good fit for your bacteria. 2. The bacteria are resistant. 3. You didn't take it in high enough dose. 4. You didn't take it long enough. 5. You don't have a bacterial infection. 6. You have a bacterial infection but it is not causing your inflammation. You could have to try several antibiotics, each with their own 1-6.

So now, on to the viral route. But now you're in much hotter water, since viruses are difficult to treat since they live in your cells and can go dormant and hide out. Or you go the fungus route, and oral fungicides can have serious side effects on the liver . . . and on we go. On the physical side, you have a scan, which is very expensive. Everything looks normal but you are out 500 dollars and that's on top of the test fees and medicines you've bought.

One gets cautious if one has been down this route before with another type of chronic inflammation. I seem to be prone to them. I had chronic migraines for 30 years and I have chronic cystitis. Also IBS, which is intermittent.

Oh, and as for depression, I have to be very careful on meds for that, since migraine and IBS inflammation is a seritonin problem. In general I don't do well on antidepressants either. I have tried two (for over a month, I know they take a while) and they made me ill (headaches, sleep problems and the worst was the gut effects, triggers IBS). Put those three together and depression, even if i had it to the clinical level, was not as bad and my depression issues were not touched by any of the meds but getting into a better situation made them go away so in the two cases I tried anti depressants, it wasn't chronic, one was due to constant migraines and the doctor just probably went, "Here, let's try these anti-depressants since nothing else is working" (Note, chronic pain from headaches is depressing and zaps your energy). If the headaches go away, VOILA! so does the depression!!. Also note, taking a beta blocker might work for a while to fight headaches, but you develop tolerance and higher and higher doses provide minimal control and cause you to feel "blah" which can get misdiagnosed as "depression." The second time I tried an anti-depressant was for a situational crisis in my life. Not only did it not work for my mood, sleep and concentration issues, it made me feel worse in all three areas plus a new problem of nausea and gut pain. The crisis subsided after a long while, and so did any "depression." If the medicine does not affect the physical symptoms of depression and instead gives you a new set of symptoms and problems, it's not a good treatment.

Am I "depressed" abut being sick, yes, but I don't have severe pathological depression to warrant that pharmacological worm hole. Again, I would go there if I thought it was a likely path to feeling better. If they meds didn't do such a number on me I might try them for situational depression, but that's not me. A walk or listening to music or spending time in the garden is much more effective for me for situational depression. If I could muster the energy for any of those, I think my "depression" would abate. I have the desire.

Sigh.

Pink, did you take a nasal steroid? Stop the antihistamines & mark them off the list of remedies you tried that failed. Antihistamines cause so much fatigue, even when the package says they don't. I'm surprised you took an antihistamine while trying to get rid of fatigue.

Get the antihistamine out of your system. Flonase is over the counter and comes in generic form, and that's what I use and it works great. Fluticasone Propionate Allergy Relief Nasal Spray, 50mg.

This helps with inflamed sinuses because the spray goes directly to the source.

A lot of your symptoms remind me of how I felt in a home I once owned that had mold.

I am thinking it may be related to either mold or else third-hand smoke that is in the drywall and carpets. You mentioned you had your ducts cleaned. Also be sure to change your furnace filters either monthly or on whatever schedule is recommended.

Yes Terri!! Pink, you may want to check around and see about having your home tested. I believe someone told me you can get a test kit at Lowes or some such place, so hopefully that wouldn't be a big expense. We have never had mold in our home (although we did have our basement checked and water proofed), but I have been told you can carry mold spores in. The worst time of the year for me is late fall when the leaves are decaying, which is a major source of mold. Of course mold is high when humidity and temps are high also. You might want to ask your dr. about Singular which is an asthma medication sometimes used for mold allergies. I used to work with a professor who had great success with it, although it did pretty much nothing for me. I will warn you, some people have vivid dreams with it (I did) but I had no other side effects. I took it for at least a year before my allergist and I decided to discontinue. The newer antihistimines should not make you drowsy, but I think I mentioned above, I do not take an antihistimine. If I get pressure/pain, etc. I will do the occasional decongestant and/or mucinex, which I know you tried. Post nasal drip also goes along with mold allergies as does the need to clear your throat. I am sorry to sound like I'm preaching about mold, but some of your symptoms sound so familiar to those I've had in the past. Maybe you could call and get pricing from an ENT. I know a head CT would be expensive (I have a $300 co-pay for that) for it can show so much! The netti pot is a good thing, my surgeon had me use one after surgery and there is a saline spray called "saline in a can" - it is actually in a can and I used it quite a while after surgery. It will get the saline further up in your sinuses than the squeeze bottle kind. I'm glad you are getting the netti pot. Go easy with the stuff you mix in when you first start, because if your sinuses, inside of the nose, etc. are inflamed it is going to burn. Build up to full strength. I'm trying to think of anything else they told me. I'm pretty sure you said you take a multi vitamin, but I took an All B with C formula after surgery to help me build back up and heal. I had done about 6 weeks of antibiotics before/after surgery and my system was pretty wiped out. I hope some of this might help you. I'm just glad you are not diagnosing yourself on google! LOL

Ironically if we clear out a room enough to have the carpet professionally cleaned with an allergy treatment we might as well tear out the carpet and put down wood or other hard surface flooring! That IS on the list . . .

I have learned over time I've had to do a lot of my own research for my own health. One example: ironically once I was at a laundromat and casually reading a women's magazine that someone left there, and reading pop article on thyroid and found out that soy blocks thyroid hormone absorption. Had to stop putting soy milk in my morning coffee. I didn't give up all soy, just in the early AM when I take my thyroid supplement. The association is weak but it was an easy enough switch to half and half. Effects of soy protein

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/thyroid-issues-what-you-need-to-know-about-diet-and-supplements/

The more I think about it the more I think INDOOR allergens may be contributing to my malaise.

A. I have worked outside all my life, and this is the first time I have had such a serious problem.

B. The problem began well before spring pollen flush.

C. The problem did coincide with increased time indoors in my own home. I quit my job in Dec. and now have doubled my time at home (which was the purpose of quitting my job . . . ) but now have double the exposure to a heavily carpeted environment. My work office was all man made wood look floors or real wood.

D. My husband has also developed a more "phlegm" respiratory profile, just not as bad as mine nor associated with as much fatigue.

E. There is some history with mold allergy in my family. It is my brother's worst allergy, and he was never able to develop immunity to it. He had it for a while due to the shots, but it wore off. I favor more my father's side, which has no history of allergies in general but like I said, both my parents also suffered from more respiratory issues while living in my current house. They were aging so there was no clear correlation just as there isn't now, but a similar association.

F. The carpet is old, original to the 1997 house. I hate it. It's just labor and time intensive to replace and expensive. I have a small inheritance from my mother that I could use to have the work done, but it is a joint account with my father, and he is mentally ill and is controlling and obsessive about that account. He obsessed about it and I don't even ask or take any money out of it, I can only imagine how he would react if I did use such a substantial sum. Literally everything I do is horrible and wrong according to him so I try and involve him in things as little as possible. If I don't use that money, the floors may just have to wait, I don't want to dip into my retirement fund to do it and we may not stay here that long anyway. I would have no hesitation using Mom's money to redo the floors, it would add value to the house if we ever do sell, (unlike the 90's cornflower blue shag carpeting) so it's actually a reasonable and responsible use of the funds, they were left to us to pay for any expenses that would come up out of her estate. But my father's mind is totally illogical and I don't want additional stress and exposure to it.

I will just have to tackle one moldy bit at a time . . .

Edited to add G. Hub and I sometimes notice a round of coughing and throat clearing upon returning home after being gone for a while . . . .

Fexofenadine (Allegra) is my go-to for non-drowsy allergy relief. I'm sorry it isn't working for you. Cetirizine makes me exhausted. I took it when I was suffering from hives, but I could barely function. YMMV, of course.

I definitely see patterns for myself when winter rolls around and I'm indoors more and the weather is damper. And then with pollen in the spring, which usually manifests as fatigue rather than sneezing.

Pink, what sort of subfloor do you have? Could you remove the carpet in your bedroom at least? Maybe disinfect the floor and then add a very cheap wool area rug for now. I feel for you! I can’t do wall to wall carpet at all, especially the bedroom as I’m either trying to breath out of my nose or struggling with my mouth getting dry. Believe it or not it affects your teeth as well.

Subfloor plywood. If I had another option I would have ripped it out long ago! We vacuum several times a week and use an air filter in addition to the heavy duty filter on the furnace, etc.

When my folks bought the house, every single room except kitchen and two baths was the same wall to wall blue shag carpet. My folks replaced it in about 1/3 of the spaces with manufactured hard surface flooring. Bedrooms and dining room and den are still cornflower blue. Family room newish dirt-magnet cream berber. Less than five years old, I don't think that's the culprit. Ancient blue shag, my nemesis in more ways than one!