New Patients

We thank you for visiting our site. If you are ready to make an appointment to see Dr. Vivek Rao, or if you are still undecided and have questions for us, please give us a call at (432) 333-3300.

When scheduling your appointment, please have your insurance card handy. We will need your group number and policy number.

If you are interested in having allergy testing done, please note that certain medications (such as antihistamines) may interfere with testing. In order for testing to be done, you will need to stop antihistamines at least 5 days prior to your appointment. These include Alavert, Allegra, Astelin, Astepro, Azelastine, Benadryl, Chlorpheniramine, Chlortrimeton, Clarinex, Claritin, Dymista, Fexofenadine, Levocetirizine, Loratadine, Olopatadine, Pataday, Patanol, Pazeo, Promethazine (found in certain cough and nausea medications), Xyzal, Zyrtec, and some types of pain medications that also treat allergy and cold symptoms (Advil Allergy, Advil PM, Tylenol Allergy, Tylenol PM, etc.).

If you have received steroid injections or taken oral steroids (prednisone, methylprednisolone, Medrol, etc.) within the past 28 days, please check with us, as they may also affect test results. 

Let us know if you are taking a beta blocker, as this can sometimes make it unsafe to do allergy testing. Beta blockers are blood pressure medications that slow the heart rate down; they can also sometimes be used to treat migraines, tremors, and glaucoma. Examples of beta blockers include Atenolol, Carvedilol, Metoprolol, Propranolol, and Timolol. If you are on a beta blocker, you will need to get permission from the prescribing physician to stop it 3 days prior to testing. 

If you are taking an older acid reflux medication such as Cimetidine, Famotidine, Pepcid, Ranitidine, Tagamet, or Zantac, it will need to be stopped 2 days prior to allergy testing. Proton pump inhibitors like Nexium, Omeprazole, and Prilosec are OK to take.

There are a few other medications that can also affect testing. In particular, certain types of antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications can affect results. However, these medications cannot be stopped suddenly. Call us with the name of the medication in question, and we can let you know if it will interfere with testing.

Keep in mind that we will not be able to do allergy testing in individuals with poorly controlled asthma (we likely would  postpone testing until the asthma is first brought under control). All asthma inhalers (even steroid inhalers) are OK to take and therefore should not be stopped. Singulair (Montelukast) is also OK to take prior to testing. 

If you would like allergy testing during your initial visit, please call and let the staff know prior to your visit. Please do not stop any of your prescription medications or daily over-the-counter medications without getting permission from the healthcare provider who told you to take them. Also, feel free to give us a list of your medications beforehand if you would like to make sure none of them will affect allergy testing.