ZYRTEC Reviews (CETIRIZINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.0 (1816 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ZYRTEC with similar:
Type: Over-the-counter Drug
|
Results are sorted by Age from youngest to oldest (reviews with no age reported listed first). Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 |
More on ZYRTEC: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ZYRTEC | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 3 | Nasal allergies | Weight Gain... 20 pounds in 4 months. I just saw the link and I'm horrified. I didn't change anything else in the 4 months except starting to take Zyrtec everyday. | It worked really well for my allergies... but the weight gain is too much! | F | 24 | 4 months | 7/20/2009 | 2 | seasonal allergies | Depression, anxiety, Always irritated and lost pounds of hair becoming almost bald, appetite loss and very very sleepy!!!! Worked only if i took 2 tables a day. | Man i had no clue my depression and anxiety were because of zyrtec, i took zyrtec last year for the allergies OTC i tried it for 3 months and i took it regularly for almost 3 months, though my nasal symptoms have subsided i started having eczema and irritated eyes. During that period i had the hardest time in my life i was always depressed not at all interested to speak with anybody and had anxiety related issues.... i seriously thought it was my job search making me that way but now after going through this site i have realized it is the medicine and i even went to the doctor who could not even make out why i had anxiety issues as i never had these problems in my entire life ..... the worst part was once you i stopped taking this medicine i starting scratching a lot and lost so so much hair i thought i was going bald, thought i have recovered all that hair now and as the season has just started i was considering some allergy medicines and came across this site. Thank you guys so much i would not have none ZYRTEC WAS CAUSING DEPRESSION!!! I will meet an allergist and find out if i can get some other medicine. | M | 24 | 4 months | 4/28/2009 | 2 | Allergies | At first Allergy relief, now nothing. | It seems to have stopped working for me after about 9 months of taking it religiously | F | 24 | 9 months 10 1X day | 5/29/2011 | 2 | severe allergies/sinuses | Totally lethargic - I could not get through the day without having to take a two hour nap; decreased sex drive; increased irritability | Not worth all the added side effects- I'll stick with Claritin | F | 24 | 2 months | 3/16/2007 | 1 | Severe allergies | Mood swings, weight gain, dizzyness, lightheaded, disconnected, upset stomach, tired all the time, lack of motivation. | I will never take this again! I was on it because Claritin wasn't working anymore. Once I stopped taking it I started getting eczema all over my neck and lower part of my face. I have never had eczema. My personality and moods did a complete 360 on this medication and I didn't realize it was the Zyrtec until my fiance ask me to stop taking it for a week. | F | 24 | 1 months | 4/17/2007 | 1 | Allergies | Drowsy all day long, Lethargic, Headaches, sick, depressed, shaky at times, irregular heartbeat, | I could not figure out why i was feeling so tired and completely exhausted all day long. I was talking Zyrtec at night but in the morning it was impossible to wake up. Then all day long I would feel tired and depressed. After reading this website I immediatley stopped taking zyrtec. However since i was talking it for two months it felt like my body was going through withdrawl from it. I would feel sick and at night could not sleep at all. This drug is the most HORRIBLE drug on the market and I would not reccommend this product to my own worst enemy. This product can completely ruin your body mentally, physically, and emotionaly. I would rather suffer from allergies all day long. I give it 100 thumbs down | M | 24 | 2 months | 10/27/2006 | 1 | allergies, sinusitis | I have been on Zyrtec for 2 months. The past 3 weeks I have been put on medical leave from work due to fatigue, inability to concentrate, dizziness, and nausea. I have spend hundreds of dollars on tests and Dr. visits b/c my doctor thought I had a serious problem. So far all tests are normal which made me feel like I was "going crazy". Then I found this site, and am quitting Zyrtec immediately. There is no doubt in my mind that it is the reason I have missed the past month of my life. | DO NOT TAKE...I work in the healthcare field and actually thought I had suddenly developed depression and anxiety over night. Has anyone else felt very nervous on this medication??? I would love to hear other responses. | F | 24 | 2 months | 1/14/2007 | 1 | Hives/cough/runny nose/red eyes | Intense mood swings, aggressive behavior, loss of appetite, fearfulness, broken sleep, diarhea, and spitting up. | My 15 month old has been on it for 10 days now. He was a very calm, even-tempered child. Quick to laugh- an angel. He has become seemingly possessed. He changed overnight- he is now hitting, biting, yelling/screaming and crying, then laughing again. He is pinching, waking up screaming at night and inconsolable. He is fearful, even of things he loved before. He went from never missing a meal to barely eating. After it took me two hours to get him to bed tonight, with him screaming hysterically the entire time, I looked online to find potential side effects of zyrtec (which I did before I gave it to him in the first place but I didn't find anything then). I am so relieved to have found this site and see other parents experiencing the same problems with the drug. I feel so bad that I gave it to him! I will never give him zyrtec again, and I will be sure to tell everyone I know not to take it or give it to their children. Though the drug did relieve his hives and lessen the runny nose/red | F | 24 | 10 days | 10/6/2006 | 1 | allergies | I have gained weight around my middle where I have been previously thin my entire life. I originally attributed this to stress. When I try to go off Zyrtec, I experience itching all over my entire body. I have only been able to go off of it for five days before I cant take the itching and begin to take it again. | The withdrawal from this drug makes it not worth taking in the first place. | F | 24 | 1 years 10 mg 1X day | 4/4/2011 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | I tried samples of zyrtec when it first came out to control my really extreme seasonal allergies. After only 2 doses I became extremely moody and aggressive and immediately discontinued use. I now use raw, local honey to control my seasonal allergies and have been symptom free for two years. | F | 24 | 2 days 15 1X day | 5/4/2010 | 1 | Allergies | Rapid heart beat, feeling jittery, inability to concentrate, anger, anxiety, emotional downfall. | I originally started taking Zyrtec when I was 16-17 years old for seasonal allergies. I was not the same person. I was tired, moody, and generally felt "out of it". I stopped taking it after a couple of months and was fine after that. Since then I have just suffered with allergies because althought Zyrtec works the best- the side affects weren't worth it to me. Fast forward to 8 years later, yesterday I figured I would try it again as my allergies were getting really bad, and thought maybe something had changed in the last few years. After about an hour I started getting a rapid/fluttery heart beat, felt jittery, but also out of it at the same time. Could not focus on my work, and later when I met my mom, step dad, and boyfriend at a casino for dinner I got so anxious and irritated that I was holding back tears and anger the whole time. I was not the bubbly, funny, happy, goofy person I normally am. | F | 24 | 1 days 1 tablet 1X day | 4/30/2010 | 1 | allergies | I felt drowsy and hyper at the same time. Dry mouth,very weak, foggy minded, sweats, nauseous, light headed and dizzy | Was counting down the hours until the medication wore off. Do not recommend for anyone, especially young children. I have very bad allergies during springtime, but would rather deal with the allergy symptoms than zyrtec side effects. | F | 24 | 1 days | 4/28/2009 | 1 | seasonal allergies | skin rash, itching/burning skin. | I initially began taking for seasonal hay fever about 7 yrs ago. When the season was coming to a close I stopped taking it, then I had terrible skin rashes and uncontrollable itching. I went to the urgent care center - they couldn't find anything wrong. On a whim I decided to try a zyrtec pill to see if that would work - it made the symptoms go away, so I've been taking it ever since. A co-worker told me about the zyrtec withdrawal effects, so I stopped taking it - cold turkey. It took about 2 weeks for the insane itching to stop, I FORCED myself not to scratch anything - mind over matter. Now I'm "clean" | F | 24 | 7 years | 8/25/2008 | 1 | allergies | This is the worst antihistamine I have ever tried! I had extreme anxiety. Very groggy all day and couldnt sleep at night. It also gave me tachycardia and palpitations. Also very dry nose and throat. Some mood change.. I was cranky. | In my opinion this really didnt work as effectively as Claritin, although claritin also had side effects, this was much worse! I will NEVER take this again. It made me feel 20 years older and awful! Save your $$$ | F | 24 | 4 weeks | 3/13/2009 | 1 | seasonal allergies | I took Zyrtec two years ago when it was still being prescribed by doctors, and it seemed to help. I did take it after I got a steroid pack to calm my symptoms down. I stated taking it this year. I've been taking it for about 3 months now. Two weeks ago I felt very dizzy and actually had to cancel a trip because of it. I thought I took two pill within a few hours, I couldnt remember. Since then I've been being very careful, and I woke up yesterday feeling very dizzy and nauseous. I know it wasn't because I took too much. This scares me and after reading all of this, I am not taking it anymore, I didn't take it yesterday and I would NOT recommend this. | I have never felt this kind of dizziness before. I also felt very tired lately and thought it was just my allergies, but it might be the medicine. I am curious to see how I feel after a few weeks without being on it. | F | 24 | 3 months | 9/13/2009 | 5 | Allergies | None. Ever. In 10+ years of taking the medicine, from brand name to generic Kirkland and Equate versions when it came off-patent. | You people are nuts. Part of the human experience explains many of the "symptoms" that are being stated here. We all have our up and down days, but guaranteed if you kept a log of what happened and when in relation to your taking medicine (of course over a relatively long period of time), you'd unlikely find any trend suggesting that the drug creates these symptoms. I still get headaches when there are large atmospheric pressure changes, and get a little bit of a runny nose in the winter. Zyrtec helps me day to day, but in the heaviest of allergens (or even unknown events) benadryl or sudafed are the way to go. There are no panaceas for any disease. I know you all believe that the big corporations are lying to you as part of some crazy mind-control scheme, but perhaps you should take a venture into reading the literature on the drug. Just google "uspi_zyrtec.pdf" for the data sheet. The data sheet states "Most adverse reactions reported during therapy with ZYRTEC were mild or moderate. In placebo-controlled trials, the incidence of discontinuations due to adverse reactions in patients receiving ZYRTEC 5 or 10 mg was not significantly different from placebo (2.9% vs. 2.4%, respectively)." That means that there were NO patients in all 6000 patients who felt uncomfortable or experienced uncomfortable enough symptoms to stop treatment that could have been explained by more than random chance. | M | 25 | 10 years 10mg 1X day | 5/24/2010 | 5 | SAR | None | Great Stuff! | M | 25 | 2 years | 5/22/2004 | 5 | allergies (mostly animal) | none that i notice. i take it right before bed every night. | i LOVE it! i live with cats, and am VERY allergic, and Claritin wasn't working. i switched to Zyrtec a few years ago and haven't had any problems since. If i don't take it, the eyes start itching and running almost right away. it's a lifesaver. | F | 25 | 4 years | 2/28/2006 | 5 | Enviromental & pet allergies | I was drowsy the first few weeks I took Zyrtec but that went away once my body adjusted to the medication. | I have suffered from year-round allergies & asthma most of my life. As I have gotten older, my symptoms have worsened to include skin rashes and chronic sinus infections in addition to itchy eyes, congestion, and a sore throat. After allergy testing, my Doctor recomended Zyrtec because it is better for pet allergies & skin reactions then other allergy meds. I take Zyrtec twice a day, every day. I also take Singular every night for my asthma but it has a great side-effect of also helping with the allergies. During the spring and summer months, I subliment the Zyrtec with Flonase which is working out great because it really helps my eyes and nose from going crazy when seasonal allergies are high. Although taking all these meds may sound expenisive, I am probably saving money since I don't get sick as often and need to see the doctor or take time off of work. | F | 25 | 3 years | 8/20/2005 | 4 | Extreme tree pollen allergies | While this medicine makes me a bit drowsy,it's far better than suffering with my very extreme pollen allergies. Claritin does nothing for me. Zyrtec is the only thing that makes spring bearable. The people who are complaining in this forum of side effects probably do not have the level of allergy that really necessitates a drug like this. Make sure you see a good allergist who can give you a prescription that suits you! | I've been taking the drug for the last two springs, on a daily basis throughout the season. I also occasionally take allegra or a nasal spray with it, as needed. | F | 25 | 2 years | 4/16/2007 |