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 |
| 1 | Allergies | Heed my words: STAY AWAY FROM ZYRTEC! I discovered Zyrtec in May, 2010. Totally cleared up my allergies and I was sold. I used it off and on, whenever I had bad days. I started using it more consistently every other day in mid December. I also started to get dizzy when I tried to sleep on my sides - or try to sleep in general. What made this worse is it was making me extremely tired. Thought it might be BPPV or something more catastrophic. Went to the dr. and he prescribed me Trazodone - said the feelings must be sleep related. Didn't take them as I could tell he didn't quite know what it was and Trazodone's top side effect was dizziness. | Stopped a week ago after exhausting searches on the internet about anything related to dizziness. Zyrtec and this site finally popped up. I also learned through further reading it is an ototoxic medicine (great to know now since I'm a MUSICIAN/COMPOSER), quit and after about 4 days started to feel like myself again. It's been a week and I'm almost fully recovered but have some new humming in my ears. Everything else is normal again fortunately. Thanks for the new tinnitus, terrible brain fog, depression, misery, and terrible dizziness Zyrtec! Time to flush this deceiving drug down the crapper. | M | 33 | 5 months 10MG 1X AN | 1/24/2011 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | Strange dreams and thoughts of suicide. Panic attacks and depression. Loss of ability to focus or remember simple daily tasks. Headaches & stomach aches. Extreme paranoia. Facial hives and jaw pain. Dry mouth occurs and libido decreases. | At first the medication helps with allergy symptoms but it needs to be regularly taken and after that additional symptoms of panic attacks and depression begin to occur. | M | 33 | 8 days 10 mg 1X day | 4/19/2010 | 1 | allergies | I took this as well as my 3.5 year old daughter, I took this med. at night and the next day I was so exhausted. Could have slept all day. No energy to do anything. Felt very grumpy, and hungry all day. Couldn't stop eating. My daughter also was very grumpy, hitting things, and hungry all the time that day. I will not take this medication again. My daughter is normally very happy, never hits anything. | F | 33 | 1 days 5mg 1X day | 4/13/2010 | 1 | Allergies | My 8 yr old son was on zyrtec for about a week for allergies but when the allergies eased up i stopped the zyrtec because i figure why take meds when you dont need them. Anyways his allergies are acting up again and so are his sisters so the doc told me yesterday to give her the zyrtec now also. For some reason I had a hunch to look it up on the internet and I came across this site..OH MY GOODNESS I am so thankful I found this page. Needless to say the Zyrtec went bye-byes and they both had benadryl before they went to bed last night. I will NOT give my kids zyrtec if the side effects are that bad. I had no clue because my son had only taken it for a week before i took him off it the first time. I wouldnt have noticed any side effects in that short amount of time.. THANK you to everyone on here for sharing your horrible stories. Now my kids wont have to go through hell! | F | 33 | 7 days | 4/26/2007 | 1 | hives daily | sore joints, I wake up in the night with panic attacks, severe depression I feel like i have lost myself | I am so glad I found this web page I was totaly to a point that I just want to lay down and die. No pills worked on my hives, and I thought this was it when zyrtec worked, but the side effects are not worth it I don't get out of bed because I am so tired and depressed when i do interact with my children I am usually screaming and irritable. Befor zyrtec I was not this way and was starting to think I was loosing my mind I didn't take one today and I don't plan on it either I would rather itch and swell up everywhere | F | 33 | 8 months | 2/7/2008 | 1 | Runny nose, sneezing | My son has been on Zyrtec since November 2007. He has bitten serverly at school, having terrible behavioral problems. He wasn't doing this before taking the medication. His teacher had informed me of episodes with her own children who were taking this drug. It hasn't helped my son with his allergy that much, but I kept giving it to him because his pediatrician said so. How stupid could I have been. I have stopped this medicine immediately. | The FDA surely missed this one. Now it's an over the counter drug. How many more children will experience these horrible side effects????????? | F | 33 | 4 days | 2/20/2008 | 1 | Sesonal Allergies | Fatigue, Lack of motivation and concentration, muscle fatigue, heart adding a beat off and on, and nervousness feeling. | I have been taking zyrtec for about 7 years and have taken it off and on each year for allergies. I have never put two and two together before, but I have always lost my energy and motivation after taking zyrtec. I always thought my lack of energy was from the allergies. Its been getting worse and worse year after year, so i finally did research and look what i found; looks like i am not the only person with this side effect. I have stopped using zyrtec for a week now and still am not feeling myself and am wondering how long it took before people felt like it was totally out of their system. I am stopping zyrtec all together and I hope my allergy shots will be enough to get me through the seasons. I am not using any other medicines - only saline nose spray and the occasional IBprofin. | M | 33 | 7 years | 3/18/2008 | 1 | Allergies | Extreme fatigue and drowsiness | VERY effective, but side effect of fatigue was not worth it. Used twice and I will not use this again. | F | 33 | 3 days | 4/19/2008 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | Excessive Weight gain, lethargy, depression, sadness, mood swings | It only occured to me this morning that my allergy medicine migh be the cause of my 10-15 lb. inexplicable weight gain over the last 6 months. It was a stretch, in my mind, but worth a google search, nevertheless. I was amazed that so many others had the same symptoms. I have had multiple blood tests for anything that can explain my ballooning weight and sudden onset of depression, fatigue and uncurable bad mood. One dr thought it was a thyroid problem. Another thought it was my birth control pill. Maybe I am just crazy and fat and looking for something to blame it on, but I can't wait to see if going off zyrtec will help. I mean, I run marathons for Christ's sake. I don't eat junk as a rule. I have never gained more than a few lbs since I was 15. God, I hope it's the zyrtec. | F | 33 | 6 months | 11/17/2008 | 1 | allergies | confusion, disorientation, fainting, irregular heartbeat | My husband just took this medicine today for the first time - 10 mg. Now he's asleep and he came home from work and told me he almost wrecked his truck, because he passed out. He said his heart felt funny and it was beating too fast and that his heartbeat was irregular. He's been very sorry that he took it this FIRST time. This is a bad drug, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'm speaking from the point of view of someone who has watched her husband being scared all evening from taking it. He won't be taking it again, I can guarantee that. I wish he hadn't taken it to begin with. Right now, I don't know whether to go to bed or force him to go to the hospital, because I'm worried sick. Do not use this bad drug. | F | 33 | 1 days | 9/26/2004 | 5 | annual allergies | NONE | I could not live a life wothout this drug. When I turned 30 I became allergic to everything..mold, trees, pollen, dogs, grasses, you name it!! I take this at night before I go to bed because it actually works better during the next day if I don't have to wake up allergic and then try to stop it. Actually suppresses it. I find that I don't get as many colds during the year now that allergies are under control. | F | 34 | 5 years | 5/2/2006 | 5 | Allergies | Just very tired all the time. I take it at night. When I miss 2 doses I get very itchy and my hands and feet burn. It's bad enough to wake me up at night. I am trying to wean myself off of it. | I'm glad to hear that others have the same effect when they stop taking it...I'm not crazy!! I'll have to clue my doctor in. | F | 34 | 2 years | 5/20/2005 | 5 | Lots & lots of allergies | Dry mouth, dry sinuses, mild dizziness | I'm allergic to just about everything in NC (where I live) and Zyrtec, along with allergy shots, helps me feel almost normal! After 4 years, however, it is losing potency and I'm going to have to switch to something else, but it really has helped me a great deal, with mild side effects. | F | 34 | 4 years | 10/16/2005 | 5 | severe eczema | none. claritan didn't work and benedryl made me too sleepy. it helped with severe intense itching, pruitis and fissures in skin. my Son had the same from 3 months old (3/4 tsp once a day) and it was a God send due to severe food and environmental allergies. no personality changes or visible side effects and so my kids have taken it. | I will note I am extremely sensitive to medication and side effects. many effective medications for others, have extremely negative side effects for me. the reaction my be biochemical and genetic in nature. | F | 34 | 3 years 20 1X day | 8/12/2013 | 3 | Itchy skin | Nightmares, bad quality sleep, drowsiness | M | 34 | 3 months 30mg 1X W | 3/4/2018 | 3 | Hives and allergies | Weight Gain, vivid dreams with fitful sleep, dizziness, lack of conentration, lethergy | I have gained 12 pounds in the six months I have taken zyrtec. I eat well and exercise regulary and couldn't figure out why I keep gaining weight. After reading other comments here I am pretty sure that my weight gain is a result of the zyrtec. I also have vivid dreams all night long that keep me waking up on and off throughout the night and ultimately leave me exhausted in the morning. I lack focus and concertration at work. Like others, I have tried to stop taking Zyrtec and break out in hives ( the reason I began taking it to begin with) and feel itchy all over, especially at night. I'm at a point where the weight gain lack of sleep, and concentration problems have me seriously considering stopping the medication. The side effects I am experiencing are just as bad, if not worse than my hive out breaks and allergies! | F | 34 | 6 months | 1/9/2007 | 3 | chronic hives/ dermatographism | Uncontollable/binge eating, constant hunger, difficulty waking in the morning, inability to concentrate, social withdrawal, excessive daytime sleepiness and marked increase in allergic symptoms. When I have to stop taking the drug, I quickly develop a head to toe stinging, burning rash just as others describe and insomnia which I have never had. I hope this will pass. Anyone successfully get off this med? Do the withdrawal symptoms subside? | I am highly allergic to numerous foods and environmental triggers and this is the one drug that would control my chronic hives. However, my hives seem to have worsened considerably since beginning the drug - especially when I miss a dose or have to stay off for a few days. That burning, stinging head to toe rash everyone is talking about is nearly unbearable. I asked Dr. and he said this drug can make you "hypersensitive." I had to discontinue the drug briefly for further allergy testing and may not take this ever again. Very concerned about the side effects and the moral implications of an allergy drug that aggravates the symptoms so that you MUST continue taking the drug. | F | 34 | 6 years | 1/24/2007 | 3 | Cat allergy | Weight gain | Worked for my cat allergies but i gained about 10kg from it! My cat passed away and I stopped taking it hopefully now ill lose some weight! | F | 34 | 1 years 1 a day | 9/16/2016 | 3 | Severe Allergies | My 5 year old son has been taking zyrtec for 2 years for severe allergies (tactile, seasonal and severe life-threatening allergies). He isn't able to leave the house without allergy medicine due to his high sensitivity to animal dander and other allergens. Many of my son's classmates have pets at home and, as soon as he comes into contact with them or their clothing, his eyes swell up and become itchy and red. Hives & asthma can also accompany these symptoms. The zyrtec allowed my son to get out the door every day and function without these allergic reactions. His pediatric allergist suggested I give it to him every day and that is where it all began. The zyrtec did do the job it was intended to do, I just don't think it is good for long term use (like any drug, it has it's side effects). | I decided do a trial run of taking my son off of zyrtec after stumbling across many parents postings about irritability and mood changes they noticed while their child was taking zyrtec. Throughout my sons 2+ years of daily doses of zyrtec, his moods have swung from happy to sad within seconds. He also would have sudden screaming outbursts if he didn't like something we told him (something as simple as 'let's go to the park'). We're on Day 4 without zyrtec and my son (after 2 years of this roller coaster!) is starting to be much more reasonable and cooperative, and happy. He certainly still has his moments (let's remember, he's a 5 year old!) but we're noticing a huge difference already. I haven't heard one screaming outburst since we stopped zyrtec. Now we're focusing on the unbelievable itching he's experiencing at nighttime and trying to get through the next 2-3 weeks as his system is going through zyrtec withdrawal. We tried taking him off of zyrtec 6 months ago for allergy testing and we couldn't get through it due to the extreme itching. This time I'm determined to get past this phase and have been giving him a homeopathic allergy medicine every 4 hours throughout the night. I also give him a dose of the homeopathic allergy medicine in the morning before school and I'm happy to say he's done just fine with his allergies (he only has a 1/2 day of kindergarten so I'm fortunate I can monitor all this). We're taking it one day at a time but I have already decided | F | 34 | 2 years 10mg 1X day | 1/2/2014 | 2 | year-round nasal allergies | Zyrtec (not Zyrtec-D) worked great for my allergies for 5 years. I loved it and recommended it to several people. This is the only reason I gave it a 2 because now that I've become resistant, I've tried to stop (again) and I am having horrible withdrawal. Side effects were extreme sleepiness, confusion, inability to lose weight (despite major exercise and a restricted diet), crying at the drop of a hat, anxiety, irrational anger, irritability, and other mental issues. Allergy doc said there were A LOT of neural side-effects in some people. I am an insane zombie with major anger issues on this drug but I only vaguely realize how I'm behaving. Getting off is ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE. The itching starts in hands/feet if I miss a dose (I take it at night, itching by the next morning). I did not have this symptom before zyrtec. I've never made it more than 3 days before because it is unbearable. But now I think I may be allergic to Zyrtec. Took it this morning after being off for 3 da | May be fine for some people but definitely not good for others! There are a lot of reports on this and other sites about the side-effects of this drug (even in adults) and the HORRIBLE WITHDRAWAL. If you have mental symptoms and confusion while taking Zyrtec, it is hard to realize that you are having problems. I needed major coffee to stay awake while on this drug but still wasn't functioning well. This product can be addictive...I've had 2 doctors tell me that my symptoms were zytec withdrawal. Functioning at work has been severly impaired...hopefully not to the point to wreck me career but I've been on it for 8 years so I'm worried. I didn't realize all the problems it was causing until I started to get off it. Still wasn't back to normal but noticed the dramatic and sudden change an hour after taking the last dose (which will be my last dose). Will have to try to get through the ITCH (feels like ants walking around under my skin). I hear that it lasts 16 days to several mon | F | 34 | 8 years | 5/1/2008 |