Itching Withdrawal From Cetirizine Or Zyrtec (Page 8) (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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Yes those were the only thing I needed! I pray it works for all. Life Extension brand was what my dr recommend because you don't belch up a fishy odor. I ordered mine from amazon prime.

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Hi all. I was taking Cetirizene (Zyrtek) for 15 years thinking that something at work was making my skin itch. I tried to give up so many times but after 3-4 days the itching became too intense. Last year I promised myself that I would give it up for good and vastly increased my mineral water and vitamin C intake and also began to take a natural antihistamine. Low and behold after 5 days the itching began to subside and I now I am drug free, It's been a hell of a battle and I have to say that my immune system went into overdrive when coming off them (kind of like letting a cat out of a bag so to speak). All good now and I've told my doctor what their effect was and that I took them for 15 years without question. One other thing my Doctor diagnosed me with asthma (I don't have that either) !! my mum passed away and stress from work caused my chest to tighten restricting my breathing....I thought it all through and got better....it far too easy to be given drugs and then God knows what damage they do over time! Good luck to all.

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Amber, yes it is two separate capsules. Omega 3 (it also has other natural oils in it) and Mega GLA (this is the Omega 6). Both do show other oils listed on the label of the Life Extension brand that I use. I hope it works as well for everyone else. I haven't taken a Zyrtec since March 18th! Good luck my friends.

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I'm so happy it seems to be working for you. Be sure to continue the Omega 3 and the GLA. I took them both for a week before going off the Zyrtec. Worked for me. 5weeks of no Zyrtec!!!!

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Still holding strong with almost no itching. Almost meaning practically none at all! I'm so thankful to finally feel I've defeated this Zyrtec addiction! I'll never take another!

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Richard- and to anyone else who's attempting to kick their Zyrtec addiction - what worked for me: I weaned myself off over the course of about 2 months, taking 1/2 pill, 1/4 pill, 1/8 pill, 1/12 pill (it gets hard to split after that), and even crushing the 1/12 pill into powder and dividing the powder. I would lower each dose every 7-10 days (quicker towards the end). I am happy to report I am 6 days Zyrtec free. Now, the itching did start day 1 of no Zyrtec, but it's been intermittent throughout the day, and today, day 6, it's been few and far between. For me, the itch was bad-like a bee sting, and I couldn't not itch, so I would and it would go away after 5-6 scratches. And time would pass before another itch came about. The vitamin C helped, and I almost took a Benadryl 1 night a couple days ago, but decided to push through. You can do it!! There will be discomfort, but totally worth it! (FYI, I attempted to go cold turkey at first, made it 5 hours past when I was supposed to take another dose and was MISERABLE). I am fortunate weaning has appeared to work for me.

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After 3 years of torture and full-body itching, it is FINALLY STARTING TO FADE AWAY. I started off taking Zyrtec every single day, to every other day, to half a pill every other day and so on.... all the way down to 1/8th of a pill every 3 days.

IT HAS NOW BEEN 16 DAYS WITH NO ANTIHISTAMINE. It was only a few months ago that I couldn't go 3 days without wanting to tear my hair out -- now it has been over 2 weeks and I've only experienced mild itching here and there (mostly right after a shower).

I think Denise's post (Post #547) helped the most except that I didn't do it for her short period of time, I did it until the bottle was empty! It wasn't until about 2 months after doing this that the itching started to subside -- it wasn't an immediate fix. I still itch here and there, but it's now mild and I no longer need to take any pills.

One thing I would recommend everyone do is look into LEAKY GUT SYNDROME. I believe I have/had this. I worked with my Nautropath who put me on a no-gluen, no-dairy, no-sugar diet for about 6 months, along with various supplements such as Vitamin C, Ultra MFP digestive enzymes, and 2x 50bil probiotics every night.. I think this helped a lot. You may have a damaged gut lining from poor diet or a history of antibiotics. Talk to a naturopathic doctor, do some tests, you may find that you have gut damage. Leaky gut is when food does not fully digest properly, and instead it "leaks" through your gut lining and into your blood stream, causing your body to go crazy and release histamine, which causes itching (among other symptoms).

I'm grateful to be slipping away from popping pills everyday. I hope to be full itch-free very soon, but for now, my new record is 16 days without any pills... amazing!

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I took cetirizine this summer to ease hay fever symptoms and stopped taking it for one day and had the most uncomfortable itching so had to take another pill to counter it. This week, after research and finding sites like this, I stopped again as I do not want my body to be addicted to this. It is only day 2 for me today the itching was unbearable. I spent most of my morning in the loo at work scratching my arms, tummy, legs, back. I ended up having to leave work early in the end as I couldn't work, went home and sat in the bath for ages. This helped and whilst in the water the itching seemed to subside a lot. I have had to slap on loads of moisturiser in the hope that might help, but I am still itching on my neck,scalp,hands and back. I just can't believe this stuff is so easy to get hold of, but so difficult to stop taking. I am determined though not to let it win and I am going to be off this crap by the end of the week.

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Another things will relieve the symptoms
1. have a bath if you feel very itchy
2. ask someone clean your bedroom every two days.
3. stay at home if you can.

Finally please endure at least 10 days :)

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Re: Nikki (# 620)

Try tapering off, with smaller doses. I think it's the only way to quit without going bananas. My first week was pretty awful, it's gradually getting better, thank God! I don't know yet when I'm going to be free of random itchiness, but it's not as severe and the phantom pinpricks have *mostly* subsided.

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I took 10mg off cetirizine everyday for a year. I decided to go straight to cold turkey without tapering. Just had my first full night's sleep last night after going cold turkey 9 days ago. Still feeling tired and groggy from sleeping ~12 hours though.

Hope sleep goes back to normal soon enough. Itching seems to be getting less frequent at least.

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I am reducing the dose at the moment and im Down to 2.5 mg a day but so itchy and skin is really sensitive.
Both now and when i was on fuld dose the skin turns red even by the lightest touch.
Is everybody else expiriencing this top?

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Re: ItchyWitch (# 646)

You need to wean off Zyrtec rather than stop cold turkey. I have been researching the safest way to wean off of it, because I have taken it for years and can't stand the drowsiness. It appears that it can take 8 weeks or so of slowly reducing the dose and substituting in a different one (like Allegra) to successfully get off of Zyrtec with minimal withdrawal symptoms. I already take Allegra, so I'm going to switch in Claritin in place of Zyrtec. I found a schedule of what someone did who simply weaned off and substituted nothing and it sounded logical. I'm going to adapt it a bit to add in Claritin because I need an antihistamine. However, here is the original schedule to give you an idea:

Week 1 & 2: alternate days taking 10 mg Zyrtec with 5 mg (children's liquid)

Weeks 3 & 4: take 5 mg each day

Weeks 5 & 6: alternate 5 mg one day with nothing the next day

Weeks 7 & 8: alternate 5 mg one day and nothing for 2 days

Week 9: take nothing

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Re: SBT (# 660)

Yay! Now, just surround yourself with positive thoughts, and enjoy all the rest you can get before you start the best adventure ever with your sweet baby. Congrats to you!

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Re: Jolene (# 669)

I tapered off Zyrtec with the pediatric liquid medication. I simply was not able to stop cold turkey. They itching was unbearable and migrated from one spot to another— weird places, too, like my eyebrows, in between my fingers and toes. It may also help you to take 1000 mg of vitamin c (I like ester-C) daily, and the oils as previously mentioned. In the first two weeks of withdrawal I also kept some liquid children’s Benadryl handy and when things got really bad with the itching I would take a tiny amount. I needed it maybe once or twice a day a first, then less and less until I did not need it any more. It allowed me to function in work and it life when the itching was at its worse. It gets better, and then it stops. I promise. Hang in there.

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I stopped Zyrtec cold turkey six months ago, and the withdrawal symptoms started to lessen about three weeks ago. I thought I was crazy - first deep itching, then deep pins and needles (described as some as thousands of bug bites), sensitive skin, photosensitivity. My scalp still itches some days, and I still have some skin sensitivity on parts of my body. Doctors are no help - I saw every specialist possible - because none of them believe there can be a withdrawal.

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I found this site thru google. I have been on generic cetrizine hydrochloride for almost 2 years. I decided to take myself off it because my cuticles are dry, my skin is dry, my hair is dry and worst of all my mouth is so dry that my gums bleed. I have been off the medication for almost a week and my dry symptoms, especially my gums, are diminishing fast. Unfortunately, I have the itsch everyone is talking about. It's a nightmare. My whole body is red from scratching all day long. I have one form of relief, Cold. Roll your cold pop can on the itch, grab an icepack. It's better than scarring your skin with scratching or hot water burns.
PLease note, I was not taking Zyrtec the brand. I was taking both walmart and meijer generic versions but the key ingredient is the same.

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I am stuck in on Easter Sunday on day 6 of horrible withdrawal from this drug I call poison. I have now missed 4 days of work. I have very bad mornings, hours of intense itching, scalp buring, crying, scratching my skin raw. I take 3000 mg of vit. c. and drink nettle tea, and take oatmeal baths in hot water. It seems to take some of the edge off, This drug needs to be taken off the market. I took it for 3 years because of food allergies. I have never experienced anything like this. I am determined to get free from this pain and never take zyrtec again. The public needs to be made aware of the dangers of taking this drug.

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I stopped taking Zyrtec (the 10 mg generic cetirizine hydrochloride tablets) two days ago because I recently heard that antihistamines, including Zyrtec, can cause weight gain. I started taking cetirizine for nasal allergies about three to four years ago (not long after Zyrtec went OTC), and I actually put on six pounds over a period of two months the year I started taking it! I did not make the connection at the time, and just attributed the weight gain to other things then, but now I believe it was the cetirizine. There has been a study that links antihistamines to an increase in appetite:
fyiliving.com/research/antihistamines-may-cause-weight-gain


Now, after two days of no cetirizine, I have been experiencing the crazy itching that everyone else here has described. I suspected the itching might be a withdrawal symptom, so I googled it and found this forum. It is a relief to know the cause of the itching. I am trying to go cold turkey, and I hope the itching goes away within a few weeks. However, I've read about people five months out who still have occasional itching.

On the bright side, I am happy to report that my urge to snack has decreased, and I actually lost two pounds! This might seem like a coincidence, but I don't think so.

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Hi Amy,
I am 4 weeks clean of this beast. I'm fine now.
Here's what you need to do:
Start to wean
Start taking D-hist
Start acupunture for itching and anxiety
(Zyrtek causes anxiety issues as well)
You will get through it.
When you do the above, the only thing you need in addition is to not itch the itch. Don't touch it and it goes away In a few seconds.
You can do this. I did. I went from 40 mg/day ( drs orders) to nothing.
You can stop. You must. There are alternatives. Just get the D-hist. NOT the D-hist D.
Good luck. It's worth it.
Beth

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