ZYRTEC Reviews (CETIRIZINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.0 (1820 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ZYRTEC with similar:
Type: Over-the-counter Drug
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Results are sorted by Date added. 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 | FDA Adverse Event Summary
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ZYRTEC | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | Allergies | Constant headache and extreme drowsiness. | I took zyrtec at night the first time and by morning I woke up with headache. I have been extra sleepy and need more sleep then I ever had. I didn't think that it could have affected me so quickly but it is the only medicinal change that I have made. The improvement to my allergies is not worth the headache (that doesn't go away with pain medicine) or extreme sleepiness. Hope this helps others who are struggling with headache side affects as main source of frustration. | F | 34 | 4 days 10 mg 1X day | 3/16/2011 | 1 | allergies | Severe rage, insomnia | 4 yr old DD would have bouts of SEVERE RAGE, couldn't sleep - not worth it... it only slightly helped her allergies | F | 4 | 3 weeks 1X day | 3/15/2011 | 2 | Indoor/outdoor allergies | Exhaustion, fatigue, hives, unable to lose weight, foggy brain, depression, anxiety. | I found this site because I have been taking this for quite some time and have not really looked into side effects. It helps with my allergies as far as sinuses and itchy eyes. I have broken out with hives on and off most of my life, so i'm not sure if the medication has anything to do with it although i have been EXTRA itchy lately. Spots on feet and hands. I have had a hard time losing weight, depression and anxiety issues also. Again I had these symptoms before starting zyrtec. I stopped taking it yesterday and went back to claratin because i don't want to take any chances. I will update if i notice a change in energy, mood or breakouts. | F | 31 | 5 months 10 mg 1X day | 3/3/2011 | 2 | Allergies | Like other posters mention, I freaked out. I would yell at my husband and feel no remorse over my actions until the Zyrtec wore off. It was scary. The allergies were at bay, except for the hives. I've learned how to manage my allergies by having my food allergies diagnosed which lessens my seasonal allergy symptoms. Considering the hives were not addressed and I was a psychotic soon to be divorced wife, I'm happy to report that now we're all happy again. And btw Weight Gain, check. | M | 43 | 60 days 1X day | 3/2/2011 | 2 | Seasonal allergies | fatigue, irrational thoughts, anxiety/paranoia | I took 1 pill 2 days ago, about 1 p.m. About 15 minutes later, my heart raced for a minute or 2, then a weird sleepy/calm/mellow took over. I felt better, but tired, the rest of the day. Yesterday and today (still!), I have been super exhausted and had oddly anxious and paranoid thoughts. I had to go to bed at 9 p.m. last night because I could not stay awake any longer. I will not be taking this again. | F | 33 | 1 days 10 mg 1X day | 3/2/2011 | 1 | runny nose, allergies, red eyes | fatigue, weight gain, bizarre dreams | I took Zyrtec for 3 months and it worked great in clearing up my runny nose and red eyes. Within that 3 months I gained 10 pounds and have no energy. I'm a very healthy eater and I've worked out daily for years so I couldn't figure out why I was putting on weight. Once I figured out the only change I've made to my lifestyle was Zyrtec, I got off it immediately. I've been off it 2 weeks now and my energy is slowly slowly coming back but I'm having a rough time losing the weight. | F | 47 | 3 months 1X day | 2/27/2011 | 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 day | 2/26/2011 | 1 | allergies | Night Sweats, fatigue | When I moved to Spain they switched me from using Xyzal to Zyrtec because they didn't carry Xyzal, and after the first few months I started noticing horrible night sweats. The sheets are wet, my clothes are soaked! I'm more tired than usual as well. It worked for the allergies but I'm losing sleep from being soaked half way through the night. | F | 30 | 90 days 10 mg 1X day | 2/24/2011 | 1 | allergies | aggression, hiting, biting others, hyperactivity, irritable, change in behaviors, change in personality and sleeplessness. These behaviors occurred gradually. | I was not warned by my allergist that these are possible side effects. My son started zyrtec the same time my daughter was born so I thought his behavior changes were due to the changes in our home. After taking him off zyrtec, I immediately noticed an improvement in his behavior. He wil not be taking zyrtec again. | M | 2.5 | 4 months 1/2 teas. 1X day | 2/23/2011 | 1 | allergies | Mood disturbance, severe withdrawal symptoms | My 9-year old son started taking Zyrtec in the fall for seasonal allergies. He also has food allergies and has taken Zyrtec on occasion, but never for an extended period before. After two months, we tried to stop, but he developed the itching many other posters have complained about. Our pediatrician told me not to read blogs and to keep him on 10mg/day and to see the allergist. The allergist's nurse said we could not come in unless he'd been off the Zyrtec for 5 days, but he could not stop the Zyrtec without the itching - a vicious cycle. Finally, after reading more online, I insisted on talking to the allergist, who got on the phone and confirmed that the itching is a withdrawal symptom. Basically, he said, your body gets used to the histamines being suppressed; when they flood back, some peoples' bodies overreact. He said prednizone would help and that the itching would go over in 2-5 days, but I didn't want to give my son steroids, and the itching persisted and was unbearable. I switched him to Benadryl (shorter-acting) and followed a step-down approach. A week at 3/4 of a 25 mg pill at bedtime; then a week at 1/2 a pill; then a week at 1/4; then a week at 1/8 (After cutting the 25 mg pink pills in half, I bought the children's 12.5 mg fast melt tablets and cut those in half, then in quarters). My son has now been off all antihistamines for 4 days and is still slightly itchy from time to time, but I think we're over the worst. His mood has also improved markedly. | M | 9 | 5 months 10 mg 1X day | 2/21/2011 | 1 | Allergies | extreme anxiety, extreme depression, rage, anger, violent dreams, hopelessness, sleeplessness, paranoia, fatigue, increased appetite, weight gain, mood changes, irritability, inability to concentrate, personality change, and suicidal thoughts. | I have been living in hell because of Zyrtec, it drained the life out of me and i had no idea what was going on, I have been off for about 12 days and have been so much more at peace, all the symptoms are slowly going away, within 48 hours no depression no anxiety, the only thing now is the itch that lasts for 2-3 weeks called zyrtec withdrawal | M | 30 | 7 years 10MG 1X day | 2/18/2011 | 4 | Year round allergies | Chronic fatigue and weight gain | I have been wondering lately why I've been gaining weight and I can never seem to get enough sleep. Zyrtec is the only medication I take so I decided to google it's side effects. I was shocked to see everyone's horror stories. I just bought another bottle today, but now I want to throw it in the trash. I'm worried about being able to quit the drug. The sad part is that it works great on my allergies. Good luck everyone in getting off of it. | F | 32 | 140 days 10 1X day | 2/15/2011 | 1 | Seasonal allergies | I began taking Zyrtec because the Claritin was not working for me. I noticed the allergy symptoms clearing very quickly. HOWEVER, by the 4th day a dark sad mood came over me - for no apparent reason. (I am a 44 year old woman that understands her body well - when I am hormonal, etc. This was not hormones.) By the 5th day, I was feeling suicidal and extremely concerned by the depression closing in on me. I was also very very tired, even though I had slept 8 hours the night before. | Then, I remembered that we had taken my 9 year old son off of Zyrtec because we thought it was affecting his moods. Apparently, we were right... his out look on life and his general mood changed drastically a couple of days after taking him off Zyrtec. For some reason, I thought I would be immune to the side effects. But, I was not. I would recommend NOT taking Zyrtec. | F | 44 | 5 days 10 mg 1X day | 2/10/2011 | 1 | Allergies | Started taking zytrec about 2 years ago as Allegra and Clariton werent working anymore. Doc suggested the change. Just this Dec. 2010 I started getting hives on my hands - went to the doctor who was "bewildered" since it was only there and my eyes kept swelling up, he said I must have alot of allergies and told me to keep taking zytrec and put me on preidsone for four days. The hives cleared up for the most part and I started wondering about the long term use of zytrec and looked it up on the internet - I decided to stop it cold turkey and recalled how I thought my allergies were getting worse in the fall of 2010 as if I went off the zytrec for a few days I would start feeling awful and once I started it again I felt better. However the hives on my hands started up while I was still taking zytrec. So I went cold turkey off it, I am currently on day 21 off this nasty drug. Its been tough, but Ive been drinking ginger tea and using apple cider vinegar on the hand hives and am s | F | 49 | 2 years 10 MG 1X day | 2/9/2011 | 1 | Vertigo related to allergies | Weight gain, fatigue | Discontinuing it effective today--despite what my ear/nose/throat doc might say. | F | 38 | 2 months 1X day | 2/7/2011 | 2 | Allergies | Every time I got in my car to drive, I felt an overwhelming sleepiness come over me. I could not understand why I was experiencing this change in my behavior.When I decided to discontinue taking Zyrtec, my sleepiness while driving stopped. | F | 55 | 40 days 1X day | 1/27/2011 | 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 | 3 | Cholinergic Urticaria | I felt cetirizine sufficiently suppressed my CU, whilst I was taking it. I only experienced an attack on the first day, after that none. Sadly, I had to stop taking it despite its efficacy as it was causing me to have severe chronic headaches, sinus pain,made me feel out of it, sleepy, made me need at least 10 hrs of sleep, and impaired my coordination and focus. It isn't a horrible drug as it has it's positives but I believe the negatives outweigh them for me. | M | 17 | 3 weeks 10 1X day | 1/20/2011 | 5 | Hives | Fatigue | Yes, Zyrtec makes me tired, but it is certainly better than being covered in hives! It has been extremely efficient at curing my itchy skin (but less effective for nasal allergies), and I am very happy with this drug. | F | 43 | 365 days 10 2X day | 1/18/2011 | 1 | Seasonal Allergies | Severe depression and anger. Every year we would warn my son's teachers about his behavior believing he was reacting to the discomfort from his allergies, never realizing it was the Zyrtec. Pediatricians should include behavioral changes in the list of side effects and symptoms. | M | 14 | 4 years 1X day | 1/9/2011 |