Itching Withdrawal From Cetirizine Or Zyrtec (Page 36)
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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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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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Carol, try runing extremely hot water on the itchy places (if you can get to them) for about 5 minutes. The amino acid suppliment called L-Lysine. I take one 500 mg capsule per day for a few days and it really helped me. But I never had all this itching as bad as it looks like everyone else has had it. I only took Zyrtec for a week, which was a couple months ago. Now all I have are little pin prick itch spots. they are getting less and less by the 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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This was very helpful. I figured it was withdrawals and am in day 4. They should put something on the medication that indicates you will have these symptoms when trying to get off Cetirizine (Zyrtec).

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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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The itching is not random, but definitely related to zyrtec withdrawal. The drug maker pretends to not notice that its cash cow causes addiction (does anyone remember cigarette companies with similar amnesia/deception tactics?). I have been toughing out cold turkey withdrawal for about three weeks now after almost 10 years of use, and it leaves me feeling that I will either beat this demon or go bonkers trying. The best advice I can give is that every time the urge to itch surfaces you have 2 choices: either give in and start scratching like a pathetic fleabag until the impulse temporarily goes away (this can take a long time) or refuse to give in to the urge and be aware that it will (again temporarily) go away if you do not scratch. I have good luck deliberately diverting my awareness to another task but you need to stay aware and avoid the stealthy itch impulses that sneak up on you , because it only takes a couple mindless scratches to intensify the sensation and that can lead to an extended bout of scratching.

The drug companies deserve hellish consequences when enough people finally catch on and make demands of restitution for their profit driven "health care". Meanwhile, I will report back once this side effect goes away since there is so little reporting of successfully having stopped and how long it takes to be rid of the itching after stopping.

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Thank God for this post! Like others, I thought something was really wrong with me. I never thought Zyrtec was the cause of my itching and red hives until now. This is crazy!! I'm going to follow the advice about taking half a pill to try weaning myself off this drug!

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The Zyrtec Itch
11/04/11
It sounds as though a lot of you people are really in a nightmare with this Zyrtec itch thing. ÂI'm surprised we haven't heard of a class action suit yet. ÂHas anyone called the manufacturer to see if they have any suggestions about how to get off of Zyrtec without getting the itch side effect?

Hot water stopped my localozed itch. I've only been taking Zyrtec for one week - 10 mg every 12 hours. After only five days on the stuff I cut my dose to 10 mg once a day. ÂLast night about 9 hours after taking only the 10 mg dose my right inner wrist started itching like crazy. After having just read all the forums about the Zyrtec itch I knew exactly what it was. Tonight again, about 9 hours after my morning dose, my wrist started itching again. This must be some sort of withdrawal or half life wear off sort of thing. So, like bug bites that itch, I ran the hottest water on my wrist that could tolerate. I kept it there for a while and kept turning up the heat. Yippy, that worked but I don't know for how long yet. So far it's been a couple hours and no itch. For those hard to get under the faucet places on your body I suggest a VERY HOT washcloth.

Instead of Zyrtec, I'm going to try some Activated Quercetin with Bromelain to see if that will do me any good.

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I am so grateful I saw all of these posts. Thought I was going crazy itching so much. I stopped Zyrtec about a week ago due to finances. The next day I am itching,it seems worse when I lay down at night too. I was getting worried I was allergic to my dogs or something. Thankful this will pass!

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I'm in the same boat- I've been on Zyrtec for years now and every time I try to quit, I itch uncontrollably and forced to return to the drug! I've only tried doing it cold-turkey, so now I'm thinking about weaning myself off slowly. Makes more sense, actually.

For those of you who've tried that, did it work?

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I am going thru the same thing. I'm on day 5 of withdrawal from cetirizine (generic Zyrtec) and I am going crazy with severe, SEVERE itching. I don't know if I can last 15 days, but I'm going to try my best. I feel just awful. I wasn't on it that long either.

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Thank God I am hearing about this from you guys, I thought I was going nuts! I have been off Zyrtec for 2 days, and the itching is unbelievable. Everywhere. You name it, it itches. Out to the store tomorrow to pick up a pack and cut the dose in half and wean off - I can't keep this up for 2 weeks. Thanks all, hope you get better.

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I just found out that intense itching is a withdrawal symptom from stopping zyrtec . . . even in its generic form!! I'm going cold turkey because I don't want ANY MORE of that stuff in my system. I'm told that the itchiness lasts about fifteen days. Hopefully I will remain sane until then.

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i have been taking zyrtec every night for 3 years following severe allergies and a skin condition i caught from my dogs.I stayed on it at Drs. advice. No where was there any info about withdrawal or the intense itching it would cause when i stopped taking it.Unbelievable and impossible to stop- lotion, cortisone cream, calamine lotion, a scratcher and anything else i could think of- There really should be a warning on the label. Very Lax on the company's part.

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I don't know about withdrawl symptoms, but I'm researching itchiness due to TAKING this medication.... I gave my daughter a first (and only) dose last night, and will NEVER give it to her again.... she is so itchy all over I've given her benadryl and she STILL can't go to school today for scratching. I'm afraid it wil freak out toher kids, lol. Obviously we won't be taking this medication again. I can only assume that the withdrawl symptoms of itchiness are temporary, but sure am oping my itchy little nine year old will stop itching soon! No more zyrtec for us!!!

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I keep getting itching after this. Not had it before, but it's the first time I've taken the medicine for more than a month (around 3 months this time).

I'm fiding that taking a half dose is enough to suppress the symtoms. I intend to drop it by half again next week and see if i can come off that way.

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If you take any medication for a long period of time, you will experience some withdrawal effects. This is just as true of allergy medications, as it is of any other.

One of the most common withdrawal effects are rebound effects, so for an allergy medication, this can include itching.

Have you spoken to your doctor about it?

https:/­/­rxchat.com/­wiki/­Zyrtec/­

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