Drug Ratings for ZYRTECAverage Rating: 2.1 (1498 Ratings)
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Results are sorted by length of time drug was taken from longest to shortest 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 |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ZYRTEC | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
  | F M | | | | |||
| 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 | 1 | Allergies | My daughter was given this for her allergies and congestion. Her behavior was "off the charts" crazy. I became so afraid of the way she was acting last night that I almost called the after hours emergency line. She was very jittery and thirsty but mostly just very strange, agressive, angry behavior. She was throwing stuff, yelling, screaming, mumbling strange things to herself. It was like she suddenly became another child. It was very scary. I couldn't get her to go to sleep despite the fact that she had skipped her nap and she was exhausted. She is still in bed this morning after finally falling asleep around midnight. Hoping she will be back to herself when she gets up... we will certainly not be using this again for her allergies. That was horrifying. | I personally take Zyrtec for my allergies and it works great for me. Little or no side effects and really drys up my congestion. I cannot believe the difference in side effects for children taking this medication. I have two other friends who also give this to their children regulary (and have done so for years) and do not experience these same effects. So I personally think that it can vary quite a bit from child to child. I personally will not give it to my daughter again. | F | 3 | 1 days | 12/21/2006 | 1 | Severe Chronic Hives & Allergies | Extreme drowiness, dry mouth, fatigue, weight gain, unable to concentrate | I hate this medicine with a passion! So, it gets rid of my hives and allergies, but it is not worth it. I hate walking around all day lot a zombie. And it is not safe to drive at all. | F | 29 | 1 days | 5/30/2006 | 1 | baby measles | My 2 1/2 year old son was given this medication by his Doctor for any itching that was associated with the rash he had from the baby measles (Roseola). I gave him 1/2 tsp one time. It literally turned into the devil. He screamed and cried for no reason. He had violent outbursts where he would try to hit at us. I couldn't believe that my toddler was acting like this. That this medicine could actually change his behavior in such a way the it scared the crap out of me. He would just start 'freaking out' and then he would be saying 'Hey Momma' and smile at me. Does anyone remember the 'EXORCIST'??? | I do not recommend this drug for children of this age. I will stick with Benadryl. | M | 2 | 1 days | 6/10/2005 | 1 | son's cold/allergies | Within an hour of giving our 20 month old 1/2 tsp Zyrtec as the doctor prescribed, our son woke up screaming desperately. For the next 3 hours, he could not be consoled, running around, trembling and screaming as though terrorized. Occasionally he would fall asleep for a short while, only to wake up screaming again. It was really painful to watch. We were about to take him to the emergency room, but the doctor on call said to wait a while longer. He has never ever behaved like this, and he had not eaten/done anything else different, so we know it was the drug. This drug should NEVER be prescribed to children! | M | 1.5 | 1 days | 10/14/2006 | 1 | Allergies | I ran out of my Allegra and took Zyrtec once. I became disoriented, confused, and could not remember a significant part of the evening. It was enough that my doctor is now making me get an MRI to make sure there wasn't another cause for the memory loss. | F | 37 | 1 days | 10/24/2008 | 1 | Seasonal Allegies | Almost caused a major accident while driving!!! Difficulty focusing, irritable, lethargic, unable to feel joy in my activities. Very confused and very, very hungry. | Watch out. I'm going back to Loratadine (generic Claritin). Works much better esp. in conjuction with a prescription nasal spray. What a yucky day. | F | 30 | 1 days | 10/16/2008 | 1 | Allergy | My wife experienced an extreme mood swing. | We woke up this morning and my wife was complaining about her allergies and asked me to go the store and buy some zyrtec. So I did and when I got back home I gave them to her and she took one right away. I made the family some breakfast, set the table and served everyone. We were having a nice conversation with our daughter and everything was fine and we finish breakfast. My wife asks me to get the laptop to figure out where we should live since we're moving soon and so I bring it over to the table. After setting it down I say "well let me put the dishes away real quick first." She frigging flips out saying I'm obviously just trying to establish my dominance by ignoring her and doing whatever I want. She proceeds the flipping out and throws my clothes on the ground and yells at me to get out and she's had enough of me and a couple other expletives. I'm a little disturbed but I know my wife and she isn't like this. I decide to leave and let things calm down. Thank god I made the connection right away and found this website. It's now posted as a link on my facebook account to warn others about this possible side effect. | F | 36 | 1 days 10 1X D | 2/26/2011 | 1 | seasonal allergies | I had a bad case of hives from spring seasonal allergies. I had tried Benadryl (worked, but made me very tired) and Claritin (the 24 hour dosage only lasted about 12 hours). I gave Zyrtec a try. One five milligram pill at 6 am and I was completely wiped out for the rest of the day. I felt like I had taken an entire bottle of Percocet. The next day, I was about 50% better, but still not myself. The Zyrtec did help with the itching, but I couldn't believe how awful I felt after a single dose of an over the counter medicine. I got a shot of Solu-Medrol at the doctor's office and threw away the remaining Zyrtec. | F | 40 | 1 days 5 mg 1X D | 10/1/2010 | 1 | seasonal allergies | Vivid, strange dreams, unable to wake up all of next day, dizzy, jumbled thoughts, afraid to drive in this condition | Totally disfuctional today. I am not usually over reactive to any drugs. I am on an anti-depressent (in case that info helps someone see a pattern and/or protect others or themselves). I tried this today because Claratin didn't do anything for me last season. | F | 47 | 1 days 1 pill 1X D | 5/3/2011 | 1 | Year round allergies | I have taken generic Tavist for many years. It became hard to find and I thought I'd try the newer wonder drug, Zyrtec. I took 1 pill last night, along with other meds I normally take. I've been extremely drowsy all day. It isn't wearing off. I will not take it again. | I thought this was one that did not (generally) cause drowsiness. For me it is currently debilitating. I am waiting for it to wear off after 20 hours the drowsiness is increasing if anything. I napped this afternoon! I don't plan to try this again. I have taken antihistamines my whole life but rarely been this drowsy from any of them. Oh, it worked - no allergies today - but it's not worth it. I'm afraid to try again, although might try the lower dose at some point. | F | 62 | 1 days 10 mg 1X D | 5/20/2011 | 1 | 2yr old taking for seasonal allergy | Was going to give my daughter Zyrtec tonight. Her doctor prescribed this for seasonal allergies. She was taking Claritin before given this and from what I am reading ,the Claritin was giving my daughter the same side effects: Mood changes, not eating, not sleeping, just not my same baby! She was very beside herself. After reading these reviews I will NOT be giving Zyrtec to her either. It is awful that young children have to go through such side effects for something that is supposed to be helpful. | F | 2 | 1 days 1 MG 1X D | 4/8/2011 | 1 | Allergies | I took just half a pill of Zyrtec and it caused some of the worst asthma I have had from a drug (probably due to the potent antihistamine in it). This lasted for an hour and I was wondering if I would make it. I decided to never take it again after this incident. | Caused asthma (just half a pill) for about an hour. I decided to never take it again. | M | 49 | 1 days 5 MG 1X D | 10/25/2011 | 1 | Allergies | Sleepy but I couldn't stay asleep for very long. Once I woke up I felt really weird. I felt like I was gonna have a panic attack or cry. A few hours latter I was sweating a lot and I became very cold. I also felt disoriented. Later that night I became very sick and thought I might even have to go to the hospital. It's two days latter and I'm still under the weather just not as sick. If I had taken any more whose to say I wouldn't have been dead. | I only took one I didn't need another one to increase the negative side effects. I had to go to work the day I took it for the first time only to find out several people had similar side effects. Also only to find out they were still taking it but said they took it at night. This is not candy if you are experiencing these type of side effects don't play Russian roulette stop taking it. I would never recommend taking this pill there are other pills on the market or you could get allergy shots. | F | 34 | 1 days 10 mg 1X D | 5/9/2010 | 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 D | 4/30/2010 | 1 | allergies | took zyrtec at about 10:30 in the morning..was at work and started feeling really tired and dizzy. At about 2pm I felt like I had the flu, my throat hurt so bad i couldn't swallow and it was swollen. My fever spiked up to 100.5 (i usually run about 97.9) and it was horrible. I barely slept all night, woke up about every 20 minutes with a jolt. still feeling flu-like the next day. I really hope it gets out of my system soon. | I really don't recommend this drug to anyone. I took it once and will never ever take it again. | F | 23 | 1 days 10mg 1X D | 5/24/2010 | 1 | allergy symptoms | It made me beyond exhausted, and it did the same thing to my boyfriend. For about an entire day, all I wanted to do was sleep. However, I felt tired no matter how much I slept; sleep didn't make me feel rested. While awake, I felt anxious and my ability to concentrate was squashed. Meanwhile, my allergy symptoms were still pretty bad! The medicine only helped a little bit. I'm never taking a medicine with cetirizine hydrochloride again. It felt as if I hadn't slept for days, and couldn't get any relief. | I took Target's generic version, but it's the same as Zyrtec and even says to compare the two on the box. | F | 25 | 1 days 1X D | 5/16/2010 | 1 | allergies | After only taking this medicine once, I expericed stomach pains,sore throat, runny nose, pressure build-up in my nose,and inability to sleep through out the night. | F | 12 | 1 days 10mg 1X D | 5/19/2010 | 1 | seasonal allergies | bloated, sleepy, weak, moody, lightheaded | After taking it the night before, I was relieved that my allergy dissipates a little bit but the next day, I had a hard time getting out of bed and my stomach was bloated like never before. I can't work the whole day because I felt weak and sleepy and my head feels so light. | M | 38 | 1 days 10mg 1X D | 3/22/2010 | 1 | My 1 year old daughter was having allergy problems so I took her to the doctor and they prescribe this to her also. I gave it to her that next morning. Within just a few hours, she started getting tired. Which i just figured it was nap time. She woke up about a hour later. Her eyes were so swollen and blood shot, coughing and sneezing worse than before, tired, weak, couldn't eat and even when she would try, she couldn't keep the food down. So i automatically figured it was the med. So, i threw it away and never gave it to her since and never will. Since then, she's been the normal, sweet little girl. | I recommend this product TO NO ONE!!! | F | 20 | 1 days 1X D | 3/24/2010 | 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 D | 4/13/2010 | 1 | allergies | foggy and exhausted | I can't find an allergy medicine that doesn't cause me to want to sleep all day. | F | 36 | 1 days 10 mg 1X D | 4/15/2010 | 1 | Allergies | Sleepiness, being in a dream like state, memory lapses | I took one table for severe seasonal allergies and Zyrtec did relieve my congestion however the following morning I overslept, and awoke feeling like I was in a dream. The entire day was a blur and when I came home I was so exhausted I took a nap. This may work for some people but I won't be taking it again. Ever. | M | 50 | 1 days 1 tablet 1X D | 4/15/2010 | 1 | Allergies | Horrible over the top anger about things that do not matter. I went into a rage at a drugstore because the sale price was not ringing up properly three hours after I took one single dose. So not at all like me. Horribly scary. I really understand how people can do horrible violent thing while taking this. | This is a terrible drug. It should not be sold to adults or children as in instantly creates deep dark strange anger. It also exhausted me for days afterward. I feel as if I took poison. It makes me very afraid that I bought this the day it was recalled and it was still on shelves at Walmart. I would rather sneeze 60 times in a row than want to harm people and be a raving lunatic. | F | 37 | 1 days 1X D | 5/5/2010 | 1 | allergies | Dizzy,foggy,"bubble guts"flatulence,nausea,etc,lips felt odd they burnt and tingled,back pain,wired and exhausted at same time. | Got zyrtec for seasonal allergies,im not a big pill person maybe once or twice a year I need anything but my face felt like it was going to split from tree pollen so I went to the store and caved on some OTC zyrtec.One measly pill in and I can breathe! Wonderful right? Well yeah and no,breathing is great racking your brain for two hours because you cannot remember the word for banana not so great.All in all im not impressed by the new generation of allergy relief that little blister pack brags about.At least one thing on the little demon pills is correct,it really does last 24 hours.....yay. | F | 34 | 1 days 10mg 1X D | 4/19/2010 | 1 | allergies | Took Zyrtec one time and it made me psychotic. I became very suspicious, paranoid and angry. I basically went crazy and ended up punching a friend in the stomach. I later found out that my nephew had taken it once and it made him evil. | F | 23 | 1 days | 9/12/2005 | 1 | Sudden Onset Of Hayfever | No waiting to find out. Had a similar experience of loss of creativity and motivation when taking VIOX and found out 3 month's later that it was BAD! I will try to minimise exposure to pollen instead. | heavily advertised on Australian TV. First thing recommended by pharmacist when I went for help as the runny nose just wouldn't stop. Never had hayfever before. Suspect the cause in in processed food!! | M | 47 | 1 days | 10/23/2005 | 1 | Allergies | My 6 yr old son was prescribed zyrtec syrup for seasonal allergies with nasal congestion. One hour after the first recommended dose of 1 tsp. he began trembling, complaining of severe stomach pain & dizziness and began throwing up. Quite a sudden change from a healthy (just congested) little boy who had previously been running through the house like he was trying out for the Olympics. | Proceed with caution. I think this stuff is a bit too strong for children in my opinion. If you have a small child, I would consider cutting the first dose in half. We were recommended to give this medication another try after waiting a few days...but we will not be doing that. We are done with Zyrtec here. | M | 6 | 1 days | 11/23/2005 | 1 | seasonal allergies | dry mouth, sore throat, EXTREME irritability | I have suffered my whole life with seasonal allergies. I have tried many otc allergy medicines. Most do nothing but make me sleepy. Upon trying this medicine, I thought I finally found the one! I have had no allergy problems at all. Unfortunately, it did make me extremely thirsty and give me a sore throat. Those are side effects I could deal with. However, I noticed that I was not my normal cheerful self. I am a very happy person, but today, I was so negative about everything. The only change was the medicine. Everything made me so mad, even the littlest things. I teach elementary school and feel so bad about the way I treated my students today. I snapped at them for every little thing, even things they could not control. I will NEVER take this medicine again. I would rather go through months of being drowsy from Benadryl than dealing with these side effects. | F | 38 | 1 days 10 1X D | 4/2/2013 | 1 | Took to help with severe allergies | Had mood changes and tiredness. Like experiencing pms x100. Woke up to fingers convulsing. Scared had or was about to have seizure. Going back to taking plain benadryl. Ill take the sleepy side effect over this bs any day. | F | 26 | 1 days 30 mg | 11/4/2012 | 1 | sinus headache/ pressure | Very rapid heart rate & palplitations....thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest...& that was while I was laying down watching tv (nothing exciting). And worse, it did nothing for my symptoms! | F | 39 | 1 days 10mg | 3/11/2012 | 1 | Allergies | My doctor had prescribed this for me to help with my allergies. Shortly after I developed a hacking cough that I've had for 4 days straight. The cough is making me not want to eat as well and I have a weird taste in my mouth. | Never taking this again!!!!! | M | 30 | 1 days 20mg 1X D | 3/17/2012 | 1 | seasonal allergies | brain fog, extreme fatigue, muscle aches, drowsiness, heavy eye feeling, irritable and irrational mood changes, dry nose, stuffed nose, irritating cough. | It was awful! I took one tablet, for one day. I took it at night time and immediately felt that something was wrong. I woke up several times throughout the night, but still felt extremely tired, as though I couldn't ever wake up. When I finally woke up, extreme headache, fogginess. Felt drowsy and weak. No energy, completely lethargic all day long. I will NEVER take this medicine again, and I wouldn't advise anyone else to take it. I've never felt so out of control ever. I knew it had to be the medicine that I took for me to feel this way, but then finding this site and reading all of the other side effects, I linked my anger and irritability with it as well. SHOCKING that this is an OTC allergy med. 2 Thumbs WAAAY DOWN! | F | 25 | 1 days 10 1X D | 3/17/2012 | 1 | Allergies | Massive vomiting. Dizzy and weird heart beat. Was in bed for 10 hours sick. Never again | F | 44 | 1 days | 4/24/2012 | 1 | allergy sinus pressure and pain | stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, fatigue. 12 hours after taking the medicine I feel horrible and lethargic. Parts of my body have a strange, tingling feeling. I feel like I'm someone else. Strange. | I would never,ever take this medication again, even though it stopped my sinus pressure and pain. | F | 56 | 1 days 10 mg 1X D | 4/9/2012 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies while hiking | I just started suffering from a non stop runny nose while hiking in the local mountains. I first tried Clariton which stopped the runny nose but I noticed I felt wobbly while hiking at altitude which is not safe so I tried Zytek hoping for and improvement. Not only was the 24 hour pill WORSE it could have killed me. I was leading a hike up a mountain I had conquered many times before and the Zytek made me nauseous, severely weak, tachcardic AND dizzy. I was unable to finish the hike on a very hot day and risked dying going by myself to the car. Even the down hill was an extreme challenge. It is going in the trash! | F | 44 | 1 days 10 mg 1X D | 6/2/2012 | 1 | Allergies | Irritability, aggressive behavior, loss of appetite. After a couple of days on the drug, we had to take our son in for extreme drunk-like behavior. He walked around with a limp all day and was slurring his speech. At the time, I was thinking the worst, like a brain tumor or something. At the recommendation of his pediatrician, we took him off it for two days then started him back on it at half the original dose. He was walking and talking better, but we still definitely noticed increased irritability and moodiness, as well as having problems getting along with his friends, and he would cry at the drop of a hat. I felt like I was always disciplining him over his behavior, when all along it was the effects of this drug. Then we took him off it completely for about 3 days, and he got a rash all over his body, but his temperment was back to normal--we got our sweet, calm son back! | DO NOT PUT YOUR CHILDREN ON THIS DRUG!!! | M | 3 | 1 days | 3/5/2007 | 1 | Allergies | After being extremely congested and Claritin not working my doctor prescribed Zyrtec. I took 2 doses on one day, woke up the next morning feeling very dizzy and lightheaded, my head feels huge and just disconnected. It's been 3 days and I'm still not feeling 100% normal, still nauseous and a little lightheaded, I have NOT taken Zyrtec since that first day and will NEVER take it again. The side effects are absolutely HORRIBLE, not worth it at all!!! | Please Please be careful when you take this drug, with just 2 doses my whole life has been turned upside down, I feel horrible and can't wait for this drug to get out of my system for good. | F | 32 | 1 days | 4/2/2007 | 1 | seasonal allergies | My now 3 year old son has been on and off Zyrtec for over a year. He first began taking Zyrtec at age 2. At the time we thought that he was going through the terrible two's. Hitting, biting, temper-tantrums. Just an over all inability to control his emotions. We took him off for 2 months over the summer, we noticed how much more in control he was. We just attributed this to that fact that we was a year older and more mature. 6 days ago we started him back on the Zyrtec and within 24 hours we saw a total deterioration of his mood and behavior. He was crying uncontrollably, throwing temper-tantrums, unable to nap, and back to hitting and biting. | M | 3 | 1 days | 9/24/2005 | 1 | allergies | About an hour after taking noticed EXTREME fatigue. Allergy symptoms same. | F | 49 | 1 days | 10/2/2009 | 1 | allergies/sinus | extreme sluggishness, some tightness in my chest | I felt very clear and lucid at first...then it hit. 15 later and I still can't get it together. This medicine is horrible. Not taking anymore. So gald I found this. Other people were telling me to just hang in there and take it a few more times. | F | 44 | 1 days | 11/2/2009 | 1 | cholestasis of pregnancy | extreme grumpiness and anger, tiredness, confusion | I took one tablet for the first time last night and will NEVER take another. I have not felt this disgusting for years. I am feeling extremely angry and disgusting, as if I have a massive hangover and very jumpy. It should not be on the market | F | 35 | 1 days | 4/21/2009 | 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 | allergies | extreme drowsiness | I took Zyrtec in the evening and woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and with no allergy symptoms. However, approximately 14 hours after taking it, while I was at work, I had the odd sensation that my hands and feet were not connected to my body. Thank god I had the sense to cancel all my appointments for the day and not get behind the wheel of a car, because about a half hour later I felt so tired that it was painful to even try to type. I remember I started crying when I had to reach for the number keys on my keyboard, they seemed so far away! I spent the next 4 hours at my desk, a complete zombie, unable to move. I'd advise anyone taking this product for the first time to avoid driving for at least 24 hours. | F | 42 | 1 days | 5/15/2009 | 1 | Chronic Sinusitis | Took 1 Zyrtec 10 mg at 1 AM and woke up at 4 AM with tremors and shaking and very high blood pressure 155/85. I immediately stopped taking it. Had insomnia for three days. Vomitted several times. My heart was racing and had chest pains! A strange depression set in like the end of the world was about to happen (never had happened before in my life). I got a nosebleed a few days later, diarrhea, and a loss of appetite. Also a dry taste in my mouth and a feeling of ants crawling all over my skin. High anxiety, nervousness and panic attacks. Nausea and headaches! | It has been 4.5 days since I stopped taking it and I feel better and have less axniety. All of my symptoms have subsided to a minimum, still have high blood pressure from time to time. Does anyone know how long it takes to for blood pressure to come back to normal after getting off of Zyrtec? Post the answer if you can, thanks! | M | 25 | 1 days | 7/15/2009 | 1 | Allergies | My 8 yo daughter took Zyrtec once, ONCE and FAINTED at school the next day. A whole 5 mg of the stuff did it!! It was very unsettling to receive a call at work from the school nurse saying your daughter has fainted. She was eating cheese sticks for lunch and fell back as she lost consciousness. School staff were concerned she could have choked on food parts in her mouth or throat. The sad part of it all (as if the fainting was not enough) is the only reason we gave her Zyrtec was because the local pharmacy didn't have Benadryl strips when I went out on Sunday night to buy some. I'm back w/Benadryl. And will look into natural remedies as well. | Am now further convinced the FDA is really not on the ball, big pharma is out for profits ONLY. | F | 8 | 1 days | 9/16/2009 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | I just took it for the first and after it was absorbed I got a cold sweat and a headache. An hour later I got a foggy feeling and slight dizziness | It only relieved the symptoms slightly. It stopped the sneezing and itchy throat but the runny nose was still there. I haven't took an antihistimine in years. I wouldn't take this drug because of the side effects and it doesn't work | M | 43 | 1 days | 9/21/2008 | 1 | seasonal allergies | Apathy, sadness, depression, feeling detached from my family, very irritable, can barely keep my eyes open. | I took this drug for the first time last night, slept poorly and woke up an angry, sad, zombie. I literally went from being a happy stable person, to not caring about anything, literally overnight. I've never felt this way before. I knew I would be tired as I am very sensitive to antihistimines. The dry mouth is horrible--no amount of water seems to make it better. I couldn't imagine that all these disturbing symptoms could be from something so benign as an allergy med (I was on Claritin for awhile and it did nothing for my allergies, and I had no side effects that I am aware of). I take no other medications, so it can't be something else. My husband keeps asking "what's wrong?" and I keep saying that I have no idea. Thank God I thought to just check out others' experiences with Zyrtec. My son has been taking zyrtec off and on for a few months when he has problems with his allergies--I'll be taking both of us off this immediately. He's only 4 and I haven't seen any | F | 44 | 1 days | 8/23/2008 | 1 | Allergies, sinus congestion | Took at night as directed--had really disturbing dreams and a feeling of panic upon awakening. Also felt very sluggish...through process of elimination decided Zyrtec must be the culprit and discontinued, as there were no other medicines, foods or events in my life to cause this reaction. An ENT DR I saw soon afterwards said it crosses the blood/brain in about 1% of the population. My daughter-in-law and her mother reported that they had the same reaction to it. | I never experienced anything like this before with an antihistamine--drowsiness, yes, but not an overwhelming feeling of doom and panic. How can they make this an over the counter drug? It could send someone to the psych ward! | F | 59 | 1 days | 8/4/2008 | 1 | Sneezing & runny nose | About two hours after taking I have hives on both my hands. This is the second time I took it and this happened before but I thought I was mistaken about it being caused by Zyrtec. If it is doing this, what else is it doing inside? | F | 55 | 1 days | 8/11/2008 | 1 | relief from alergies | took one pill for the first time because it was recommended by lots of people. soon after i started getting very worried and a feeling of panic. very emotional. blurred vision! Do not take this drug. | M | 22 | 1 days | 6/3/2008 | 1 | Pollen allergies | Bad dizziness - unable to stand up - spacey - wanting to jump out of my skin - hyperactive - restless - bizarre/violent thoughts | I would never recommend this drug to anyone. | M | 45 | 1 days | 3/20/2009 | 3 | corn pollen / working in field | I've been OK in the past taking zyrtec--drowsiness and feeling stoned shortly after starting. But this time, pollination season has gone on longer, and I'm getting side effects that last even on days when I'm not in the field, and not taking the drug. The headache in my temples is the worst, and now repeatedly recurs as the drug wears off. Also histamine-like symptoms (stuffiness, sore throat) which I assume is just a rebound effect. I feel like my salivary glands are also confused / sore--again, probably a rebound effect. When I try to take a full dose (10 mg pill) I might as well be a zombie for a few hours afterwards. | That said, zyrtec is the ONLY allergy med I have found that works in extreme conditions. So long as I have to (basically) keep dumping corn pollen all over my face and body, I will continue to take zyrtec. I also take a couple when traveling in case of emergency, for similarly extreme circumstances. I would recommend this pill only for short-term use, and not more than half a pill every 12-18 hours (adult dose). In fact, I can feel the half pill wearing off at around 17-18 hours. When I start to itch, I take another half quickly, before I start to wheeze, snot up, get swollen eyelids. It is very effective, but IMHO, not really appropriate for long-term use, nor for "convenience" use. If you can deal with the situation by removing the allergen (or removing yourself to an allergen-free space) or by taking something weaker, do that. I wish they made a 5 mg version that I could split into two 2.5 mg doses (which might also be more appropriate for pediatric use). The take home: meds are not candy. They do things to your body. Treat them with respect, and don't use them unless you really HAVE to. In contrast, some other allergy meds score barely above placebo as far as effectiveness. They have fewer side effects--but they empty your wallet, and don't do much for your allergies. | F | 46 | 15 times 5 mg 2X D | 8/23/2012 | 3 | Allergies | I have been taking Zyrtec for 10 years or more. It does help my allergies, but I have been having pain in my right side around my gall bladder area. I have seen the doctor repeatedly for this pain. Many tests later, I found this web site. I have stopped the zyrtec 1 week ago and so far the pain is gone. | F | 45 | 10 times 10Mg 1X D | 2/23/2012 | 2 | Seasonal Allergies | My 4 year old son is allergic to almost everything under the sun having to do with outside and springtime. About a year and a half ago we took him to an allergist and he was tested and prescribed Zyrtec to treat his symptoms. He has been on and off of this since. About a 2 weeks ago he began to have allergy symptoms. So I administered the Zyrtec. About a week or so after that I noticed that he began to move his neck, clear his throat often, blink plenty and shrug his shoulders involuntarily. When I took him to his pediatrician she freaked me out by likening his symptom to a child with Tourettes said that they were repetitive tics and referred us to a neurologist. I lost my mind, but it wasn't until I began to read these ratings and came across one that talked about the involuntary tics that I made the connection and did some more research on the medication. | Do not let your pediatrician diagnose your child with a trumped up biased observation and call it "tourettes" when in actuality it may only be the medicine. This scared my husband and I to death. | M | 4 | 8 times | 4/18/2007 | 1 | asthma and allergies | behavioral changes to the worse drowsyness irritability weight gain extreme hunger ect. ect. | some symptoms may have been relived but not all and it was not worth the side effects | M | 18 | 2 times | 8/21/2006 | 1 | Seasonal allergy | Took 1 24-hour tablet. Instantly effective on symptoms, but 4 hours later I became very drowsy, had trouble remembering things, and felt like I was in a mental fog. | I will not take it again, and cannot recommend it to anyone. | M | 60 | 1 times | 4/7/2008 | 5 | CLARIFICATION | This post is to correct the post dated 12/4 that starts "EVERYONE PLEASE READ!!!" and goes on to say that there is a difference between the prescription and OTC brands, and further states that Pfizer makes the Prescription brand Zyrtec and the OTC brand is made by "a company contracted to make a cheap OFFBRAND of the real product." | This is categorically false. The prescription Zyrtec and the OTC Zyrtec are the exact same thing. McNeil has not been contracted to produce a "cheap offbrand" by any means. McNeil, a Johnson & Johnson Company, purchased Pfizer's OTC division, and thus purchased the Zyrtec brand when the FDA cleared it for non-prescription use. | M | 41 | | 12/9/2008 | 5 | annafilactive fits | None | M | 50 | | 12/31/2008 | 5 | please see website on zyrtec and psychiatric side effects:www.sidefxdrugs.com | | 1/17/2007 |