Itching Withdrawal From Cetirizine Or Zyrtec (Page 5) (Top voted first)

I want to know how many are suffering from withdrawal from this drug that causes itching all over the body. At the people's pharmacy there is an article about this very problem, yet Zyrtec doesn't list the information on their web site. This is my third attempt to get off of this med and I'm going crazy from the itching.

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Good luck Chet - I am almost to week 8 since my last tiny dose. Every once in a while I will start to itch in a random spot but sleep is no longer an issue at all. When I flare up a spot I just put some benedryl cream on and I am good to go. Still taking Natural D Hist but down to 2 tablets/twice a day. I ended up at my sons' allergist and he was not at all surprised to hear about my issues getting off Zyrtec. After testing, I started allergy shots.

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I slowly cut down to taking about a crumb of it a day. But now I have been completely off for about 3 weeks (March 8 2017)
Still suffering with waves of horrible itching.
Small doses of Benadryl helps

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Just wanted to share with anyone coming to read these for help--high doses of vitamin c work! My post is #541 "no more Zyrtec", and around 72 hrs (three days) after stopping cetirizine, the burning itching began to set in last night, in my palms, in my toes and soles of my feet, my ankles, and then my wrists. I'd had some various areas of mild itchiness in the day or two before, but not like this. I took 800mg of vitamin C and within about 15 mins the sensation subsided almost entirely. An 800mg dose of vitamin c was also the first thing I took after reading from these replies and so many others that the dizziness and nausea are also correlated to stopping Zyrtec, just 12 hours or so after I missed the last dose, and it helped remarkably, as well as magnesium supplements. I have read about quercetine which is a c-based antioxidant, I believe, and I order some and hope it will help with the symptoms. They are natural anti-histamines, and from all that I've was I get tre idea that all the reactions once stopping are a sudden flood of histamine to the system, which cetirizine had previously been suppressing. I'm inclined to blame the drug directly, but in the end what matters is that people are suffering when they stop taking it, greatly moreso than before they ever took it. These remedies do help!

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I am 21 days antihistamine-free and certainly not ‘normal,’ but no longer feel forced to take Zyrtec. I wanted to share my story in the hope that it might help someone else.

I have seen all the advice about tapering down, but I am more of a “rip off the bandaid” kind of girl. I would rather suffer a short amount of significant pain to a long-term shallower pain with continued self-poisoning, so I stopped cold-turkey with my last dose the night of May 24, 2017. I also tend to think that those who have found some solution to completely get rid of the itching had some nutritional deficiencies that were addressed. Maybe we could all regulate our histamine somehow with some combination of nutrients but without some pretty detailed tests… I also absolutely did not want to just transfer my dependence to another antihistamine or try to withdraw from one pharmaceutical by poisoning myself with another (steroids).

So, having read all the previous posts on this thread and bunches of others, this was my plan:

I found my 3 heating pads. I got some vitamin C powder (C-salts brand off of Amazon) and cod liver oil softgels (Nature Made brand off of Amazon). I also bought quercetin and bromelaine (D-Hist). I found all my various bottles of Zyrtec stashed in places in my office or backpack or purse or kitchen and put a single Zyrtec container and Benadryl container with the D-Hist in a single ziploc bag that I kept with me.

Starting with the end: I kept the antihistamines with me because I was worried about the anxiety of knowing that I could not physically get to Zyrtec causing more itching and discomfort. If I found that I could not bear what I was going through, I could always just take something. This actually calmed me down and I believe helped, but not having bottles stashed everywhere reduced the temptation or any auto-pilot dosing without thinking.

Heat: absolutely definitely helps with the itching. I did not realize this until I started reading these posts. It helped to actually turn the AC up and then use heating pads or hot packs because sweating sometimes felt a bit worse than heating pads. But you first and foremost have to not let yourself itch at all. AT ALL. But if you start or if the crawling tingling sensation is too much, press the area with a heating pad or hot pack and let the warmth dissipate the histamine. I also found that having clothes touching my skin helped prevent the tingling sensation. When I wore shorts and t-shirt, I arms and legs were easy to reach and so I scratched. When I wore jeans and sweater at work, everything was magically much less itchy. At night, cold air temperature and full blankets and covers made me able to sleep like a baby (I know from previous week-long abstention from antihistamines before doctors’ appointments that sleeping is impossible when you are insanely itchy – I will admit to spending nights just crying in bed then. With this, I did not feel a thing until morning when I took off the covers). This is absolutely a waste of money and energy on AC for a couple weeks, but just think of the money you will save by not buying Zyrtec for the next 20 or 40 or 60 years.

I am about 95% sure that the vitamin C helped reduce histamine for a few hours. At the very least, it cannot hurt. You do not store any excess vitamin C, and even if they cause kidney stones (subject of debate, I tend to believe that it does not), this is not long-term use. About 2000 mg in the morning and 1000-2000 mg depending on how itchy I felt before bed. This seems like a lot, it might be, but again, I really really believe that it helped.

Cod liver oil – less sure about. I think it helped, but I’m just not sure. In any case, it is a good supplement to take so this was not a bad time to start. I took 1-2 gel capsules (530-1060 mg) per day.

And all of this has gotten me through. I should probably mention that I follow something called the autoimmune protocol, so I do not eat gluten or dairy or beans or seeds at the moment, just most veggies and meat and a little fruit. I know the itchiness of missing a dose did not improve after the diet change, though I had hoped that it would, but it is likely that I am eating far lower histamine as a result of this. Maybe consider limiting some high histamine foods in the mean time. I intend to try eating low histamine and high histamine to see if I can tell a difference, but I will wait longer to try to heal more.

Hours 24-96 after last dose: pretty awful. I was still trying to work out vitamin C dose etc. I also planned to stay home and wore shorts and tank top and so the itching was worse. Once I figured out that pants and long sleeves would help, the itching decreased by maybe 50%. If I started to scratch at all and set off the severe itching, I would have to use heat. Showers work well if you are at home: try taking clothes into the room and letting the steam keep you warm as you put on your clothes.

After 96 hours after last dose, I was back at work after a long weekend. The first couple days, the urge to itch was just as strong in the morning and night, but the long sleeves and pants at work and concentrating on working with my hands helped immensely. The difficult part was when I was changing into or out of pajamas.

After 1 week, I could not believe how bearable the itching had become. After 2 weeks, I was still a little itchy, but accidentally itching my arms once or twice would not set off the itching firestorm. At 2.5 weeks, I flew from LA to Paris for work with long sleeves and jeans and experienced almost no itching. While here, I have still carried around the antihistamines just in case, but this is more for peace of mind. I am still taking Vitamin C, but more like 2000 mg every 1 or 2 days instead of twice a day. Taking the cod liver oil because I plan to continue taking permanently. Not perfect, but the happiness over not being addicted to Zyrtec far outweighs the itching I have at this point. I hope it continues to improve.

**No itching does not apply to my scalp. I have psoriasis on my scalp at the moment and nothing I do will calm it. But at the beginning of all this, itching my scalp would result in neck and upper back itching. After a week or two, it did not spread.

{affiliate links to Amazon added}

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Same here. The reason I was prescribed it in the first place was because I started getting random itching for no reason. I can't even determine if I get itchy when I stop taking it because of the drug addiction, or because of my original problem...

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As I've mentioned I took ceterizene for 15 years!!! I gave it up last year and it took a week or so to get off it....don't give up in your attempt to stop taking it , I know the itching is intense but it will subside, take a natural antihistamine whilst coming off it too as it may help. Good luck all...Peter

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I am going to share to help anyone who suffers in this hell. Thanks for anyone sharing info to get rid of this horrible drug. I will provide as much details as I can to help you overcome it.

I am a 27 year old male. I have taken the Zyrtec for about 8 months. I noticed that If I missed a dose, I itched. I may notice too late to stop this toxic product. I searched the posts that I found over hundreds case just like me and the company refuse to say it is one of the side effect or they are already noticed and still sell in the market?

In my case it is the worst on days 3-7. I am currently on day 8 and the itch is bearable. I started quitting cold turkey and drank so much water to relieve the itch on days 1-4 and got some vitamin C supplement to take in the morning (better around 8:00am and 2:00 pm) -I found someone it is said to be effective.

Day 1 - not much itch and bearable
Day 2 - it got worse lots of hives and itch
Day 3 - more worse cannot sleep (hives/heat/burning)
Day 4 - the worst day in my life (hives/heat/burning)
Day 5 - same as Day 3 but less hives and still very itchy (less hives/heat/burning)
Day 6 - similiar to Day 5
Day 7 - (less hives/less heat/less burning)
Day 8 - Today

Please note that I could not concentrate to work from Day 3 to 7.

I took vitamin C supplement at 8:00am because it can relieve the symptoms from 9:00am to 1:00pm. So I can relieve these symptoms during my work.

Note: I did excessive exercise (running) on day 4 to get this chemical out of my body, drunk much water and sweat a lot. I had not experienced any hives/itchiness during running.

If you need to work,you better take leaves to plan for that. It is not easy to overcome it as you know that you can take the Zyrtec to relieve it in one day.

I am on day 8 now and I can concentrate on my work.

Day 10 and day 11 is the weekend. I will share more on whether I can get rid of the toxic products successfully.

Good luck for anyone who suffers from a similar case and shares their story with more people! Please tough it out on these days :)

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Re: Nikki (# 620)

Wait until the other problems start kicking in...

Legal suits when?

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Re: Smiley (# 629)

Hey - the best advice is really to cut down gradually until you're left at nothing. I itched for about 3 weeks, but its been (thank God@!!!!!) gradually decreasing and I'm SO happy to report that now I'm generally itch-free most of the day, and if some itchiness does crop up, it's manageable and temporary -- it usually disappears within half an hour.

I've also realised that (I think) supporting the system (your gut) with probiotics helps. I now take yogurt or a live culture drink at breakfast and after dinner. And while the itchies lasted, turmeric tea did wonders to calm it down, and also, as others have noted here, a hot shower helps somewhat.

Before i stopped, I had been taking Zyrtec or Telfast (Allegra) for almost a decade. I preferred Zyrtec because it IS fast-acting, but every 3-4 days without a zyrtec dose I would be getting such a bad, horrendously itchy rash that I couldn't sleep without waking up every hour. My back, arms, legs and torso would be itching like mad and I usually counted at least 5-6 spots I was itching at once. It was really quite enough to put you in despair. Only with a dose of zyrtec, all the symptoms would magically disappear. I still have pictures of that nightmare, and to me it's a veritable miracle that I finally discovered how to stop spending $50 on Zyrtec every 3 months for the rest of my life. It feels like a sentence has been lifted. I still can't believe it. Strangely what else has happened now is a sensitive sinus: running nose in the morning with change of temperature. However, that's livable and hopefully will also disappear with time and sufficient rest.

All the best, praying for you!

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Well, it's been 6 weeks since quitting Zyrtec. I only took the stuff for 1 week. Most of the painful itching has stopped but I still get pin prick itching now and then. I don't know what will work for you people, but I now take Chlorpheniramine 4 times a day. It does what I need it to do for my allergy. At my local grocery store pharmacy it only costs $3.00 for 100 pills. That’s ONLY 3 pennies a pill (12 cents a day).

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Check out this blog zyrtecsideeffects.blogspot.com. It has very detailed information on the "withdrawal" symptoms experienced by way too many people!!

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thank god i found this info i though it was just me ive been takeing zyrtec for 12 years and ever time i try to stop iching drives me crazey i can't stand it i half to take it again to stop iching now i c everone taking it is doing it also never had any iching prob before taking zyrtec.

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Go Scottie!!!
Are you in the U.S.? I am. I will ask around. I've filed with the FDA. Let us know you blog site. I find comfort knowing I'm not alone. By the way, are you off of Z?
I'm weaning now. Doctors are of no assistance to me. Said it doesn't matter what I do. Very emotionally devastating, stressful, and terrifying. I have to get off this med. I can't even imagine what it would do to a fetus. This drug is stopping me from continuing my family. I will not put a baby through this. Damn it!!! Why did I ever start taking it? Because the ignorant doctors told me to. And now,...they abandon me after I question their reasoning. Can't believe that human being can act like they've never heard of this! Seriously, pathetic.

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I only took Zyrtec for one week (I posted 5 months ago back on 11/4/11, post #10). Well, it's now been 5 months since I stopped. The itching isn's as bad or as often but I still get stabbing and painful itching on my right inner wrist. It makes me wonder if this is going to be a permanent thing. I can't even imagine what the rest of you are going through. This stuff can ruin your life.

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Success - Finally, no more itching! Yippy! It took 7 months to disappear (Oct 2011 to May 2012) though I only took Zyrtec for one week. I only itched in my wrist and that was bad enough. But it was a very painful, deep, stabbing, electrified, aching itch. I can't even imagine what the rest of you are going through. If you scroll back, I did postings #10, #13 and #35. Good luck!

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Previous post 53

So for a week I halved my 5mg, then quartered for a week, then quit this past Tuesday (the 26th)
The itching is still there, but now as bad as when I just stopped from the full 5mg. Itching was bad yesterday, but has not been a problem yet today, so maybe the worst is over.
My doctor finally got back to me yesterday and agreed that dosing down is the best way to go if you have this side effect.
Your mileage may vary.
Good Luck!
JHBZP

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Hey all...ive just spent the past hour reading all of your posts and i feel like my eyes have been opened. Ive done many searches over the years for this exact kind of problem and this is the first message board of actually helpful info ive come across.

Ive been taking generic branded Cetirizine hydrochloride for 14 years now and have experienced the extreme itching many times.

I was originally prescribed Cetrizine because of very itchy skin in 1998 when i was 18 years old. It had been getting worse slowly over a year long period and a visit to my local doctor advised i had unusually high histamine levels and a basic 10mg anti-histamine would help. Itching was gone within 24 hours of taking the tablet and the doctor advised that taking them long term would not damage my health.

Over the next 8 years only a few times did i go 24 to 48 hours without taking my tablets as i hadn't stocked up in advance. In that period of time the itching would get worse and worse so i simply thought my original problem had worsened with age. As soon as i took my tablet the itching would go so i was happy.

In 2006 i decided i was sick of taking tablets, i literally thought that i was slowly poisoning my body by having to take a pill every day. I went cold turkey and lasted 5 days... i cannot describe the living hell i plunged myself into. Nothing i did stopped the itching which felt like knives stabbing me from head to toe. I simply thought my original problem from when i was 18 had worsened with age. I took a Cetirizine pill and within 30 mins the itching was gone. Absolutely crazy.

Following this traumatic episode I spoke to several doctor's at my local surgery and all of them seemed confused and offered no real solution other than to keep taking the tables for the rest of my life. One doctor said i should be thankful my body hadn't become immune to them. I agreed that i thought i was lucky and so carried on taking my tablets.

Reading all of your posts here has made me really question how reliable a GP truly is, certainly in the UK anyway! I believe the crazy itching i suffered in 2006 was this withdrawal everyone has been discussing here. I may still have some kind of skin allergy but there must be a better way of dealing with it than this.

All of your stories have truly made me believe that coming off this drug is the right thing to do. Ill be planning ahead for it, and better preparing myself this time though. Reducing the dosage and slowly substituting for a less powerful variation will be my next course of action.

Thank you all for your inspiring posts.

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Update:
I decided to go cold turkey. I did try tapering Zyrtec off but then I got fed up and stopped cold turkey. I'm on day 5 cold turkey now. I did take Claritin to offset the itching and hives twice. It's much better now, still itching but it's getting better. Hang in there everyone! You can do it!

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Thanks everyone for your post. I am going through the same thing. I took Zyrtec all Summer long and stopped about two weeks ago. I can't stop itching, it is awful. Has anyone experienced developing a skin rash after stopping using zyrtec? I have developed some type of skin rash that resembles eczyma on my face. Not sure if it is related or not.

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I have taken generic Zyrtec daily for the past 3-4 years or so. I used to only have to take it occasionally, and only in the spring/summer months, but my allergies progressed, and I eventually needed them daily.

I tried to stop taking Zyrtec 4x in the past year, and all 4x, like clockwork, 3 days after stopping cold turkey, I would get crazy intense itching, primarily on my hands and fingers, but also wrists, arms, and legs.

The 5th try, I was taking only half of a 10mg pill. After stopping this reduced dosage cold turkey, I would only get one day before the intense itching kicked in and I needed to take another dose.

6th time has been somewhat of a charm....so far. I started by taking one half of a 10 mg Zyrtec, every day, for 2 weeks. Then, I would alternate the half a Zyrtec with an Allegra every other day for 2 weeks. (So half a Zyrtec one day, Allegra the next, etc.) Then, after two weeks, I stopped taking the Zyrtec completely and took Allegra only, once a day, one tablet, for 2 weeks. After the 2 weeks, I stopped taking the Allegra completely.

It took a while for the "rebound" or "withdrawal" itching to rear its ugly head, maybe a week? I thought I had beaten the "itchies," but was disheartened when they came back after being off of the Allegra for 2 weeks. The itching is pretty much all over, hands, nose, neck, arms, legs, wrists, scalp, anywhere my clothes or hair brush... And it gets worse when I get hot and/or sweaty - then I get prickly itching. I have been soldiering on, dealing with the itching the best I can.

The kicker is I still have allergies. I still need an antihistamine of some sort. Nose is runny and stuffy at the same time on a daily basis. Often one nostril is completely plugged and can't be used for breathing at all. But I don't know if getting back on the wagon is worth it, when the withdrawal is so horrendous...

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