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 | reduced inching yes. Instigated ASTHMA attacks. did not help cat allergy! i am allergic to dust mites, oak, pine, ragweed, and cats. but ESPECIALLY CATS!! (that is really the entire reason i need an antihistamine) | I had been taking Allegra (and the generic) for about 9 years prior (claratin gave me dry mouth, drowsiness, and headaches). Allegra is GREAT!!! Zyrtec gave me no relief from my cat allergies, and actually induced an asthma attack. (I do not get asthma attacks often, maybe once every year or two) And after taking this I noticed it but thought that it was silly to think a pill could give me one. SO I took it two more times (in the presence of allergens of course) and sure enough both times I got an asthma attack that rapidly worsened - which is bad for someone with such rare asthma cause they don't carry an inhaler with them. | F | 23 | 3 days | 2/23/2007 | 4 | Nose and Eye allergies to pets | Iam tired if i take this medication in the morning.. So i take it at night. Sometimes i think its making me feel a little depressed or irritable. I went off the med for about a month and started taking it again for my horrible eye allergies. I guess the benefits out weight the side effects | F | 22 | 4 months | 2/15/2007 | 1 | Hives | Strong food cravings which caused weight gain, digestive problems and fatigue. | I do not recommend Zyrtec. I got stomach cramps and diarrhea. I had strong food cravings and therefore gained a lot of weight within only two weeks. I was also really tired during the day and had to take hour-long naps. I started taking Zyrtec together with Prednisone. After I stopped the Prednisone the side effects did not stop and acually got worse, plus the hives came back. After I stopped taking Zyrtec the sympoms dissappeared, but the hives were better than before I started taking any medication. My experience was that the hives were stress related and it has gotten a lot better since I accepted having the hives and do not have so much stress anymore. | F | 19 | 2 weeks | 2/13/2007 | 1 | seasonal allergies | incredible fatigue, inability to wake up in the morning, immediate weight gain | seems to work well for allergies, but side effects are dramatic. I was given 2 weeks of samples before getting a prescription filled. was finally able to sleep well at night (was on Allegra-D for 6 months prior and had difficulty sleeping more than 3 hrs at a time). However now i'm sleeping 10-12 hours and groggy and yawning all day long. Physically exhausted, not interested in exercise. In 2 weeks have gained enough weight so my pants no longer fit. I'd hate to see how much I would gain if I stayed on it. | M | 39 | 15 days | 2/9/2007 | 1 | Sinus Headaches | Heart beat is too strong and fast. Tired and Sleepy. I have been hungry all day. Just two days on this medicine and I already know I can't take it. Ringing in my ears. High pitch noises make me cringe. | Not worth taking it. There has got to be a better way to get rid of these sinus headaches! | F | 46 | 2 days | 2/7/2007 | 5 | Chronic allergies | The itching!!! As with others reported here, about 2-3 days without Zyrtec the itching starts. I thought I was nuts. After several times of purposely going off the medication, it was confirmed. The itching started and was unbearable. | I do get tremendous allergy relief, but I'm amazed nothing has been done to address the itching withdrawal condition. I take no other medications. | F | 41 | 2 years | 2/6/2007 | 2 | Severe Allergies | Extreme tiredness. Inability to wake up in the morning regardless of amount of sleep the night before. Horrible withdrawal like symptoms whenever I attempt to stop taking the pills. Weight gain due to never feeling full. | I have been taking Zyrtec off and on for 5 years(only in the winter), but I've gotten the end of the road. I have fought the constant tiredness, inability to wake up, and irritability, but can't anymore. I have been on every allergy drug out there, Claritin, alevert, allegra, Hismanal, tavist, flomax, cingular, rhinocort, etc... and Rhinocort and Zyrtec are the only ones that really work for me. During the winter, Rhinocort Aqua dries out my nasal passages too much giving me horrible nose bleeds, forcing me to use the Zyrtec. But I can't take the side affects anymore. Inability to wake up regardless of how much sleep I've gotten is the worst. I am a morning person three quarters of the year, until I take Zyrtec... Then I can't get out of bed. I am right now dealing with the nausea and headaches from the withdrawal I deal with every year when I discontinue use. To be honest the 4 to 5 day withdrawal going cold turkey is so bad that I generally wean myself off the drug. One every other d | M | 26 | 5 years | 2/6/2007 | 1 | sinusitis | I had the worst cast of hives after stopping the medicine after only taking it 4 days. Horrible welps on my arms, legs and torso. Dr. didn't think it was caused from Zyrtec but after reading other patients comments on this website, I was conviced. | Don't take - it is poison for your system - warn everyone you know. | F | 52 | 4 days | 2/6/2007 | 4 | mold, cat allergy | 6 yr old son - irritability, screaming at me, severe mood issues. When asked what was wrong, he would scream at me "I don't know". | My son also has asthma and has been taking zyrtec along with singulair and pulmicort. Works great for allergies. (I have another son on it as well) Originally taking every day then decreased to as needed w/cat & mold exposure. However, at the end began experiencing behavior/mood issues. When took him off of Zyrtec noticed a significant difference in his behavior. Switched allergy/pulmonolgist drs and he said not to give it to him. His behavior over all has improved drastically. My 3 year old doesn't seem to have "issues" because of zyrtec. | M | 6 | 3 years | 2/5/2007 | 5 | Hives | I didn't realize until today my confusion MUST be associated with taking zyrtec. I'm 40 and thought it a natural process with my family history. | I love this drug. It's done wonders for me. I got hives and was prescribed it and it took them away. I'm weaning myself to taking it once a day, at supper, every 3 days. I did notice I get especially tired at night, but that's ok, it's bedtime! I've been on it for 3 months now, and can't complain about my side effects. | F | 40 | 3 months | 1/30/2007 | 1 | Eczema | My son just turned 9, he started taking Zyrtec when he was 7, his teacher kept complaining about his behavior, he can't remember anything, he looked so lost in the school. He can't sit still, he can't focus on the classwork. His teacher suggested me to talk to the doctor because his behavior just like ADD, I made a research and found this website,I was so shock that Zyrtec will affect the child's behavior so much. I decided to reduce the medicine week by week, now my kid was very good in the school, he remember everything, He completed every sigle classwork/homework. I really think all of the doctors should give the parents warming before the children starts taking ZYRTEC. I feel so sorry for my son. | So many parents has no idea what will happen when their child start s taking this medicine, Please consider not to let the kid take this medicine........... | M | 9 | 2 years | 1/27/2007 | 5 | allergies | Our son was on this drug for a little over two years. His dosage continued to increase over the time period due to increase weight - he would eat all the time. That was the least of our problems. Our son was aggressive, moody, tired, I could go on forever!!! Jake was in preschool and having a difficult time focusing, getting along with others, and the teacher started to get concerned as well. I am a teacher and was going to ask the peds. for a full scale evalution, due to his behavior. To make a long story short, we had to find a new allergy dr, and he had us stop giving Jake the meds for his upcoming allergy tests. Within a few days we got our son back. He doesn't have the outbursts and other behaviors, Jake is that happy child he once was. We are grateful to have our son back, however, we feel cheated out of 2 years of his childhood. We were so grateful we found this site last year. | Would not recommend this medicine to anyone | 2 years | 1/25/2007 | 4 | adult onset allergies to everything | I take it at night before bed & it's really hard to get up in the morning. It really dries me out, lips, sinuses, mouth, etc. BUT if I forget to take it, all hell breaks loose & I feel like I'm going to die of a migraine or aneurysm. Mondo-Headache-Zilla! | I'm concerned that after 4 months I think I'm totally addicted to this drug because I go thru serious withdrawal if I miss a dose just for one day & I don't know if I really want to take this for the rest of my life. It does make me feel better, I get the best sleep of my life because it knocks me out, but it's so hard to get going in the morning. I find I need at least nine hours of sleep when I take it. Is it normal to have such a bad withdrawal syndrome from an antihistamine? And, will the morning lethargy get any better after a few more months of use? | F | 39 | 4 months | 1/24/2007 | 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 | 1 | Allergy/Runny Nose | Hives and aggressive mood, lots of biting. | My son started taking this stuff when he was 16 months old and with in 2 weeks of taking it I noticed him biting a lot more. The people at his day care said he was extremely aggressive to the other children. Now lately he has had hives. He is now 19 months and still has the runny nose. This medicine is not good. | M | 34 | 90 days | 1/24/2007 | 1 | allergies | My seven year old daughter became very emotional and irrational when her dose was increased to 10mg. She began taking 5mg when she was three and it worked well for several years, but it had started to be less effective (more drainage that interfered with sleep). My sweet girl became a moody, argumentative, mean girl. It was scary. | I stopped the zyrtec immediately after reading about similar side effects on this web site - thank you for making the connection for me. I had thought that maybe the higher dosage was interfering with her sleep and making her super grouchy. After stopping zyrtec, she was back to her normal self within about 10 days. She will never take it again. | F | 7 | 4 years | 1/23/2007 | 1 | Hives | Mood Swings, Aggresive, Socially cut off, Lack of concentration, severe drowsiness. | This is an addictive drug. I have been taking it for past 6 years (5mg everyday). Finally gathered a courage to stop taking it and its my 3rd day and i am feeling SO HORRIBLE. The hives appeared and they are worst than what i started taking this medicine for. I have not tried anything else other than this med. I am going to doctor tomorrow to find alternative medicine. | M | 31 | 6 years | 1/22/2007 | 3 | allergies | For first few years, it was wonderful. Recently I experience increased congestion; headaches, thickening of the post-nasal drip, and fatigue. Dr. suggested I stop the Zyrtec several days ago. The withdrawal has been difficult and was completely unexpected. I'm experiencing significant itching in all parts of my body. Had difficulty sleeping the last 2 nights. | I've been searching but can't find much information on typical withdrawal symptoms, much less methods to cope. | F | 37 | 5 years | 1/17/2007 | 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 | 5 | Hives | DEFINITELY A 1! DO NOT TAKE THIS MED~ After taking zyrtec for about 3 years now i have finally been able to put everything together. I am constantly sleepy and i dont enjoy participating in a lot of things b/c of this. I was just put on depression medicine about 4 months ago. Bloody nose, irritable, always taking naps in the middle of the afternoon, some weight gain, ALWAYS HUNGRY-NEVER SATISFIED. DO NOT TAKE THIS DRUG IT DOES NOT LET YOU QUIT. I HAVE NOT TAKEN IT NOW FOR 4 DAYS AND I FEEL LIKE HELL. THE ITCHING IS DRIVING ME TO TEARS. I DONT KNOW IF I WILL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE NOT USING IT B/C GETTING OFF OF IT IS SO HARD. | IT DID MAKE MY HIVES GO AWAY. BUT YOU PAY A HUGE PRICE. | F | 20 | 3 years | 1/11/2007 |