ATARAX Reviews (HYDROXYZINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 3.3 (147 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare ATARAX with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Date added. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
More on ATARAX: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ATARAX | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 5 | Anxiety, PTSD | Drowsiness | I honestly cannot much difference between this drug and Valium, Klonopin or Xanax. I have to take a lot of it (up to 100 mgs 4x a day) but it works well. I am not that bothered by the drowsiness and I welcome it over climbing the walls.I took benzodiazepines off and on for 25 years. After my 5th withdrawal experience, I have vowed never to go on them again. God willing, I will not. Atarax saved me. I have read that it is not meant for long-term (more than 4 months) use and it may lose effectiveness after that time, but I have taken it off and on for 4 years and it still works. A word about the weight gain claims- I really think it is impossible for an antihistamine to make you fat. There is absolutely no literature to support this. | F | 40 | 4 years | 7/5/2008 | 5 | Chronic hives/uticaria & hay fever | When I first started taking it I was very groggy and had dry mouth for a couple weeks. It does take a while for your body to adjust. Now I occassionally experience grogginess only if I take a higher dose than usual for a few hours the next morning. | I couldn't get by without this medication. It took over a year for doctors to figure out what would work for me. Now I only need to take one 25mg dose before bed and that's it. If I forget by late afternoon the next day I start getting the itching and hayfever symptoms. I have to take it every day and use generic. I'm glad to hear no one is experiencing any long term effects. | F | 46 | 23 years | 6/27/2008 | 3 | anxiety, panic attacks | I didn't even think it was the atarax until I started reading other feedback, but I have gained about 6 lbs in three months. Also, I experienced the dry mouth and heart flutters the first week, but that went away. | I haven't had a panic attack in over a month now and that is a big deal since I used to have at least 3 or 4 a week. It is working, but I am not thrilled about the weight gain. Maybe I will see how I do without it for a while and if the panic attacks return I will restart. I am also on Zoloft and Trazodone for OCD, Depression, and Insomnia. | F | 28 | 3 months | 6/3/2008 | 5 | Severe hayfever/ anxiety | When I increase my dosage at the beginning of the allergy season I feel a bit more sleepy, but then my body adjusts and I am just fine. | My allergist started me on Hydroxyzine for my severe allergies during a time of extreme crisis in my life. I took 50mg 4x/day. Now I take 50mg as needed for sleep and clear breathing at night and take 4x/day during the allergy season. I love that it has no "discontinuation" issues and not at all addictive. This drug has been around for decades and has been shown to have no permanent side effects. | F | 53 | 17 years | 4/20/2008 | 4 | chronic hives | very tired and grogy in the morning, increased appetite, deep sleep, anxiety relief as well even at 10 mgs helped with the hives for now. | M | 49 | 2 days | 3/30/2008 | 1 | Pediatric Dentist | This drug made my daughter CRAZY. | My 3 year old daughter was prescibed Atarax and was ask to take this drug an hour before her dentist appointment to calm her. This drug had a total opposite effect. We were not warned by her dentist of the side effects. It made her crazy and scared. We only gave her half of the dosage prescribed and her adverse reaction lasted for hours. I will not be returning to this dentist and I do not think this drug should be prescibed to anyone. | F | 40 | 1 times | 3/12/2008 | 5 | Chronic hives | nothing now, but at first it was drawsiness | I started with 250mg daily and withing 2 wks reduced the dosage to half of a 25 mg per day. I have been using the generic pill (Hydroxine HCL) for 30 years. I have experimented with other pills, but nothing worked as well as this one. My allergy comes like a clockwork and I know when to take the pill. You need to reduce the dosage until you find what works for you. That way, the drwsiness will go away. | M | 55 | 30 years | 3/3/2008 | 4 | Chronic hives/dermagraphism | Knocks me out, tired even the next day, very hungry leads to weight gain | All this aside, it's the only medication that works on my hives. I've stopped taking it daily and now cut the 25mg pill in half and take when I start to itch, which helps with the drowsiness so I can function, but still very tired. Will ask my dr. if I can get a lower dosage on refill. Taking it twice a day did not help frequency or severity of outbreaks, so I now take only at first sign of itching. I have not found it to prevent hives, only satiate them. | F | 37 | 3 years | 2/6/2008 | 3 | Eczema - Severe Itching | So Sleepy. | In the words of Denis Leary, "Don't make any f***ing plans..." Too tired to care whether the itching had stopped - maybe that's the point. | M | 44 | 3 days | 2/1/2008 | 5 | Took it for a severe case of hives | I had NO side effects at all. Only benefits | I had severe hives all over my body for a full month..not an inch that wasn't welted. No idea of why and not allergic to things. Finally I was given Atarax and with one pill within 24 hrs they were 95% gone (what relief)!! I took one more and I was fine. It did make me sleepy but it like a miracle!!! Never got that again, TG. I could have kissed that doctor who gave it to me. I was so full of scratches & sores from the unbearable itch, it was horrible and nothing gave me relief till the Atarax. | F | 55 | 2 days | 1/17/2008 | 4 | bad chronic hives/dermatographism | For the most part, my hives behave on Atarax. I am Extremely tired and difficult to wake up in the morning. Feel like only doing 1/2 of what I used to do....but there is nothing else that will stop me from the hives :( | This has been the only drug that has taken care of the hives. I tried Zyrtec, doxepin, and a combo of a bunch of different allergy meds. Only when I was on atarax did I find that I didnt have hives, itch, and have huge red marks from something touching my body. Unfortunately, I cant get back to the energy level I was before all this started. | F | 27 | 10 months | 11/25/2007 | 5 | Severe itching (skin) | Initially I was given too high a dose, and very briefly experienced some confusion; but once the optimum dose for me was found (about 30-50 mg per day) there was some drowsiness and occasional dryness in the mouth. | It was highly effective in countering previously intense itching. The physician who prescribed Atarax (in hospital) very soon found an effective dose that suppressed the itching without causing confusion. | M | 62 | 52 days | 10/13/2007 | 3 | contact dermatitis (itchy skin) | mild drowsiness, dry mouth, hoarseness | I have tried atarax(20-30 gms/day)on and off for several years for a contact dermatitis condition of unknown cause, which causes severe itchy skin. When it has worked it reduces itchiness to a more bearable level. It does not make the itchiness completely go away. Sometimes I have tried it with no success at all. Dry mouth and hoarseness are some of the side effects. The only way I have found of reducing these side effects is to stop taking the atarax. | M | 62 | 3 years | 9/12/2007 | 5 | Eczema | Barely any - It doesn't even make me sleepy... prehaps a little pleasantly light-headed, but I can function at 120%. | What an amazing solution to Eczema. Since I regularly use Atarax for my skin condition, it seems that the hayfever, which I used to get and soothe with over-the-counter antihistamines, is now a thing of the past given a side-effect of Eczema is that you get a package-deal that silences ALL your mild allergies. | M | 28 | 3 years | 8/15/2007 | 3 | shingles/post shingle pain | taken at about 9pm,I was still drowsy in the morning.It has a more potent effect with a can or two of beer.I would not dare to drive after taking it,and have cut down to a quarter of a tablet and will try tonight to do without anything to see if it helps me not to be dizzy,and head-aches,in the morning. I take prednisolone for asthma,and if I am on a high dose the drug helps me to sleep. | I think anybody being prescribed this drug,should be prepared to go to bed,in case it has adverse effects | M | 70 | 4 years | 7/18/2007 | 5 | Eczema | Puts me to sleep. No other side effects. | I've been taking this drug for eczema for a long time on and off. When I have an episode with the eczema its worst at night, so the atarax helps me sleep without all the itching. I don't take it everynight. Only as needed. I was very miserable before I started taking it. Its been a Godsend for me. | F | 43 | 2 years | 6/22/2007 | 1 | Experienced a bad food allergy | After about an hour, my heart went into tachycardia and I swelled up like a giant, plump tomato. My skin was extremely hot to the touch, especially my face and the tops of my legs. Had to get to the ER and get IV steroids and Benadryl to counteract. This stuff is dangerous! | I would not recommend taking this without some liquid Benadryl on hand. | F | 35 | 1 days | 5/29/2007 | 3 | General anxiety | None, except possibly some tiredness. No 14 hour nights like some people describe though (thankfully). | Barely helped me at all. I started with 25mg when needed, didn't help, neither did 37.5mg. I then got the advice to take it at regular intervals, 25mg every four hours, that didn't help noticably either. I hear that it's great for others stuff (like hives), though. | M | 20 | 2 weeks | 5/20/2007 | 5 | Anxiety and to help me sleep | No side effects apart from a little sleepy. | I have taken Atarax one 20 mg in the evening one hour before bedtime,to help me sleep, as I was suffering with anxiety. Having a bout of panic attacks and anxiety again at the moment, so I take my 20 mg a little earlier about tea time to calm me down, as the anxiety tightens my chest, which in turn knocks my balance and I become giddy and I hypoventilate. To relieve my bouts of anxiety, (and years ago I did get it anxiety bad, and had trouble going out, dont want to go there again), I get plenty of rest (with the help of Atarax, exercise, lavender baths, talking to somebody, try to reduce worry, let problems go over your head, or laugh at them! | F | 38 | 2 years | 3/19/2007 | 2 | Itching / hives | Extreme sleepiness and grogginess, even up to 48 hours after taking this junk | It made me like a drunk driver! If I take it at bedtime on Sunday night, ALL of Monday is likely to be shot, and possibly some or even all of Tuesday! I was also very prone to lots of mistakes and memory loss, even at age 20! These effects got WORSE over the years and then took two years to get it out of my brain after I stopped taking it! It do well, however, for the itching and hives. Due to screwing up my brain, it (Atarax) can just SIT IN THE FIRE! | M | 39 | 5 years | 2/27/2007 |