Dear Bobby Baccala,
Many of these anti-allergies perform one or more of the following: 1) Inhibit formation of histamines 2) Breakdown histamines already produced 3) Inhibit inflammation 4) Agonizes with one's adrenergic receptors.
Sudafed (active ingredient: pseudo-ephedrine) peforms number 4 only and should not interfere with muscle growth in any way. In fact, pseudo-ephedrine can be considered the watered-down, castrated cousin of ephedrine and I do know some people who take Sudafed prior to working out.
Function 3, the inhibition of inflammation is perhaps contraindicative to muscle growth because as the HST FAQ explains, the damage and what can be said to be the accompanied cellular inflammation is what facilitates the growth of muscle.
Functions 1 and 2 are perhaps, wildcards in that unless we are absolutely sure that only histamines are being broken down and inhibited, we just be compromising the synthesis of other proteins, proteins that just might well be favourable for the purposes of muscle growth.
If you wish to clarify your personal picnic of OTC drugs, try doing a search on
www.rxlist.com which will give you comprehensive information on your drug. A pity very little, if at all, of these drugs are tested for their effects on muscle growth and much of their effects on muscle must be infered from what is readily available.
When in doubt, stick with Sudafed.
Godspeed, and happy HSTing
