if your symptoms are mild, i find nothing beats two benadryl taken at night -- i sleep like a baby, and it generally prevents the only mild symptoms i ever get (of course, i was completely unaware that i even had such symptoms until very recently -- i used to think i was just unlucky enough to always get a cold around now).
for more persistent stuff, i like claritin-D, esp. if you can find a big box o' generic. if you get the D variety, make sure you get the real stuff, i find the non-cookable replacement for pseudoephedrine completely useless.
obviously this is written from the perspective of someone who doesn't exactly "struggle" with the symptoms. your mileage may vary.