ZYRTEC Reviews (CETIRIZINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.0 (1816 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 | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR ZYRTEC | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 1 | allergies | My child went immediately from a happy, sweet child to a wild raging monster. She has never been one to throw temper tantrums and she was nearly unrecognizable as the same child. She seemed distraught and unable to control her emotions. | I would not recommend this for anyone who has experienced sensitivity to antihistamines. | F | 3 | 4 days | 3/1/2005 | 5 | allergies | none | F | 30 | 7 days | 2/26/2005 | 3 | hives | I | | 2/26/2005 | 3 | allergies | tiredness | F | 26 | 6 months | 2/22/2005 | 1 | sinusitis | My 8-year-old daughter was given zyrtec for 2 weeks to treat sinusitis first and then sinus infection. She became moody, started displaying extreme anger and irritability. It culminated into a terrible, violent temper tantrum on day 12, in which she was screaming, scratching her face and kicking everything around her. This is totally uncharacteristic for her. As a toddler she threw a few tantrums, but never as violent as this. It didn't occur to me it was the medication until then. She's now off of it for 3 days. Lingering effects on her mood continue but to a lesser degree. | I had been reading on this site about similar effects on adults and children who took Claritin and other loratadine brands. She had taken Claritin for a week two months back, for similar sinus-related complains. After the violent tantrum, I checked for Zyrtec effects, and was surprised to find the same. Our pediatrician never warned us of such side effects. All my research on the web didn't bring up anything like that, until I FOUND THIS SITE. It's the only place where this information is available. THANKS. | F | 9 | 12 days | 2/22/2005 | 1 | Chronic Allergies | Severe moodiness, mood swings, easily aggitated, groggy, cloudy headed, extremely tired. | I am 5 months pregnant and my allergies worsened so I was put on Zyrtec. Talk about mood swings.. and hormones surges. I cannot believe that my doctor did not warn me about this. After 9 days and two horrible fights with my husband I took myself off of it. I would rather suffer through the allergies than experience these side effects. | F | 35 | 9 days | 2/14/2005 | 1 | Spring allergies | I developed dermographism; became extremely depressed; easily agitated; developed hives when trying to stop taking zyrtec. | When trying to STOP taking zyrtec my hands and tops of feet would become itchy...enough to drive you crazy.I would develop huge hives on my abdomen..I had to stay on Zrytec until I found something else to take. My doctors didn't believe me when I told them I'm worse trying to get off zyrtec then for the reason I went on it! Funny thing...my husband, (on zyrtec for pet allergies), ran out of zyrtec when travelling for business and was up all night itching like crazy head to toe!He had to take Benedryl to stop it.Our dog & dander was not in his hotel room . I strongly believe there is some kind of addictive quality to this drug...it is like the histamines don't have anywhere to go once you try to stop taking it.You have to stay on it to stop the hives and itching it causes when you stop taking it! This is a nasty drug...I had to take Clariton(OTC) to get off Zyrtec. | F | 43 | 3 years | 2/11/2005 | 3 | severe allergies | took it for 4 years or so and did great on it for a while. recently i've been suffering from depression, pretty severe fatigue and weight gain/increased appetite (anyone else with increased appetite?) | it wasn't until a very recent appointment with a psychiatrist that i started putting some of the pieces together. at first the zyrtec (and allergy shots) really helped with my severe allergies (including grass, trees, pollen, dust, cats and dogs and i have one of each). the allergies were so bad, i couldn't breathe and had serious sneezing attacks. i'm down to once a month allergy shots and was doing once every other night of zyrtec, but after doing some additional research and talking to some other people (includng the shrink), i've stopped cold turkey. i've been battling the fatigue, depression and weight gain for about 8 months now (so it took a good 3+ years of daily zyrtec for me to get these symptoms) and until now, never realized that my recurring excema and hives that i've been suffering with for about 8 months on and off is likely due to the zyrtec as well. | F | 31 | 4 years | 2/9/2005 | 1 | Sinus issues | Sleepy, moody, mean to others, sore throat, very very very hungry!!!! I am glad to see other had increased hunger. I cannot stop eating!!! | I works ok, allegra-d was lots better for me! | F | 27 | 1 months | 1/20/2005 | 4 | dermatographia | some drowsyness at first, but i took it before bed and eventually i became immune to its soporific content, and very mild depression and mood swings, but they have faded. now im hearing that zyrtec can cause short term memory loss? this is just a rumor, has anyone else heard this? | ive had dermatographia for a year, and zyrtec extremely reduced the histamine reaction and the itchyness, although it didnt cure the hot, red marks i get. if anyone has any suggestion to reduce the effects of dermatographia, please email me | F | 13 | 1 years | 1/19/2005 | 3 | allergies | although it did help my daughter's allergy symptoms, it was not worth the emotional side effects she seemed to experience -- sadness, irritability, fatigue, depressed. I took her off Zyrtec, and she is back to her happy, normal self. | F | 5 | 2 months | 1/12/2005 | 2 | seasonal allergies | When I first started taking Zyrtec 8 months ago it made me very tired. Now I can not sleep until I am exhausted. It definitely stopped the sneezing, runny nose, weepy and itching eyes. My doctor says to keep taking it because I can't hear out of one ear. After 8 months I am beginning to think the Zyrtec may be causing the hearing loss? I have been off it for two days and my blood pressure is up above 140 and I feel flushed. Would love to be able to sleep like a normal person again. | F | 53 | 8 months | 1/7/2005 | 3 | seasonal allergies | increasing drowsiness, fatigue and mild depression after two months | very effective in treating seasonal allergies and even irritable bowel symptoms but drowsiness and fatigue becoming more severe Will try a lower 5mg dosage and see what happens | M | 33 | 3 months | 12/22/2004 | 1 | Allergies (pet dander, seasonal) | Drowsiness, depression, mood swings | Seemed to work to control my allergies, but changed my behavior and made me tired all the time. Also, if I missed a dose, I would get a headache and feel nauseous until I took it again, kind of like a migraine. After I stopped taking it, people commented that my behavior had changed to what it had been a few years ago when I was not taking Zyrtec. I did get a free fleece blanket from Pfizer though, so now when I go into Zyrtec withdrawl, I'm not without comfort! I really think that these side-effects/dangers should be given to you by your doctor or pharmacy before you start taking the medication. The only way I was able to stop taking Zyrtec completely was to switch over to the CVS equivalent for a few months, then start taking that every other day, then eventually once every few days until I stopped getting headaches. I still have to keep a bottle of Zyrtec around because every once in a while I'll get sick and nothing else will make it go away. And also, my doctors assure me that it's not the Zyrtec, and perhaps I'm addicted to something else...whatever, I wouldn't take this if I could go back, Allegra would probably do the trick without the prolonged suffering. | M | 15 | 3 years | 11/26/2004 | 5 | hives | Been taking it for several years now. No side effects that I know of other than drowsiness. Solution = take it before bedtime. | If I miss 1 dose, I start itching. I havent let it go past that since I suffered from hives for years. This is the ONLY medicine that I've tried that works, and I've been prescribed all of them. I take 1 10mg pill every night. | M | 33 | 4 years | 11/21/2004 | 3 | seasonal allergies | drowsiness...the medicine worked well, though i started getting hives after i started it. and when I stopped taking it I was extremely miserable and felt as if I was in withdrawal, had hives, and was extremely itchy. | I have stopped taking it. | F | 22 | 4 years | 11/19/2004 | 3 | Nasal Congestion | Different from everyone else. Cannot sleep almost like a stimulant. Dizziness during light to moderate physical exertion. reduced flow during urination. | M | 45 | 15 days | 11/19/2004 | 4 | Asthma, Running Nose | lethargic (not drowsy), dry mouth - some dissociation in life, a kind of a non-excitement, low sex drive but I do not think I am depressed. | Solved (yes solved) my morning nose itch/sneeze - never have them and no asthma symptoms. I take 10mg at breakfast daily but if I don't, I start wheezing at night - and have to take resort to ventolin puffs. Seems ok – if only I can have my normal sex drive back! | M | 46 | 1 years | 11/10/2004 | 1 | Allergies / Hives | At first I didn’t notice any neg. side effects and enjoyed not suffering from allergies. But over the 3 months, I became lethargic and became more aggressiveness. Sounds conflicting, but I went from doing stuff when I got home from work, to just watching TV. At work and with friends, if someone annoyed me (which became easier over time), I’d let them know in no uncertain terms they should stop. Stopped using it 2 days ago and I am feeling a lot calmer. | Listen to your friends and family. It took my roommate pointing it out for me to notice. I remembered my brother-in-law saying something about stopping using Zyrtec because of mood side effects. So I stopped and feel much better now. I also found out my niece was almost expelled from school for disrptive behavior, but settled down after taking her off it. So becareful, the change can be subtle and build over time. | M | 26 | 3 months | 11/10/2004 | 1 | allergies | did not stop my sneezing, made me sleepy at first, but that subsided. Now I cannot stop taking it because I start itching, expecially in my palms and feet. It's enough to make me histerical. | I now have itchy skin whereas before I never itched too much, just sneezed. I'm trying to stop, and am on day 3 without it. I itch. | F | 39 | 4 years | 10/29/2004 |