Itching Withdrawal From Cetirizine Or Zyrtec (Page 18)

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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Big time suffering!!! Just get through the first few days, don't let this rule your life!

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My previous blog that I posted on Mar. 7th, was actually day 11 off the drug.
Today is day 13 and I am still itching although now it seems not to roam as much and is more localized to the groin area. Kept me awake most of the night last night. Tried ice, scratching and then applying a method ointment so that it will sting because I can handle that better than the itching.

But now my nose, upper lip and lower cheeks are swollen and very itchy. The skin feels like leather because it’s so swollen. It’s driving me crazy! Has anyone else had the nose flare up. I am wondering if now I have a sinus infection?

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Severe itching, hives and red blotches after stopping Zyrtec. I had only been on it for 4 days. Never again will I take this poison

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I have not had a antihistamine for 5 months and the itching has not stopped. I am determined even if it takes two years. the itching is really bad on an evening and cannot be relieved by anything. the only way to stop it is to stop scratching which eventually works but it is so easy to just scratch and then it gets worse. If I could take the makers to court I would do. Only someone who is going through this knows how upsetting it is. Some people have been lucky and the itching has stopped, mine hasn't but I am determined.

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To Lea, I just read your post, I stuck it out too, the daily agony for months, all the while in complete disbelief that people were still buying and using Zyrtec and no one was stopping it. Not even my doctor would say that my problem was from Zyrtec withdrawal, which angered me, made it all feel like a cover up. Anyway, mine began to grow less around month 6, and at 12 months I would say finished but with some what do they call that, phantom itching? This was a truly unbelievable experience and throughout my withdrawal all I had were blogs on the internet, to know that I wasn't crazy, because of like I said, doctors refusing to acknowledge it or saying "get back on Zyrtec if it hurts to much to be off it." Very intelligent, you know? My experience tells me you're almost there, so good luck, and maybe someone will get a legal case going?

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I can't imagine itching like that for five months but hang in there it's worth it. I took a lot of oatmeal baths and Gold Bond anti itch cream, both of which gave me relief for a couple of hours. I also started yoga which I think helped too. My itching has finally subsided. It has been three weeks and I still itch but not nearly as severe and my skin still feels dry and prickly. After my nose healed I got a great big cold sore and I've never had one before. I think it came from the stress of the itching which made me depressed. I am glad I hung in there and suffered through it. I hope the itching will go away for good some day. I took the antihistamine for 7 months before I quit. I'll never take it again.

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I beat it now two years off of it. It itched for two months. The first month horrible then tappered off the last month. Wishing you l the best!!! My 14year old went off it for about a month and had been on it as long as me. He had zero withdrawals. Weird huh

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Im tired of itching myself, havent slept in days. If id known this i woulda used something else.... ive been using zyrtec for 2 months and stopped because of other side effects but the itching is worse than that.

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UPDATE: So i tried using 24hr benadryl allergy to counteract the Zyrtec and it slowed down for a little, but it came right back after i ran out. I only had 6 doses because someone gave me them, they felt bad seeing me itch. I had only 1.5 weeks of no itching, i hope this isnt permenant because ive scratched my skin raw!!

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Per my allergist’s direction I have been on 1 Zyrtec pill daily for the past four years to help with seasonal allergies. I came off them this January 2015 to be retested by a new allergist. Coming off Zyrtec cold turkey for a few days was a nightmare. I had extreme burning/itching in my hands and feet. The pain was so bad I could not sleep through the night. The only thing that helped me was cold treatments in the form of cold running water and ice packs applied to my hands and feet. It was a very stressful and painful several days to say the least. After my allergy testing was completed I went back on the Zyrtec and within 30 minutes of taking the pill all of the negative symptoms disappeared! I asked my allergist and general physician about this problem and the connection to coming off Zyrtec and they both denied that my symptoms were in anyway related to coming off or going back on Zyrtec. They said that Zyrtec is a terrific drug and perfectly safe to take daily for indefinitely long periods of time. Suspicious, I Googled this problem and found lots of info online about other peoples’ similar experience. I remained on Zyrtec for another two weeks so I could catch up on sleep having not slept for days. I then took myself off Zyrtec with a very gradual taper. I purchased liquid Zyrtec so I could reduce my dosage by 1 milligram every two weeks. For the first two months the taper was no problem at all. I experienced no negative symptoms or problems at all. When I finally got my liquid Zyrtec dose down to 3 milligrams I experienced extreme Vertigo and itching/burning in my hands and feet again. It was excruciating.

I could hardly focus to safely drive or walk. Moving my head quickly make everything around me spin and getting out of bed in the morning was very difficult. Additionally, I was having problems sleeping though the night again with all of the itching and burning in my hands and feet. Determined to never take an antihistamine again I continued tapering off of Zyrtec. The Vertigo and burning persisted. Finally after several weeks of these symptoms I was desperate for help so I went to see a Naturopathic doctor for an alternative opinion. Unlike my allergist and general practitioner, my Naturopathic doctor said she had heard of situations like this before. In short, she said that my body had been producing too much histamine over the years and now that I came off the Zyrtec the excess histamine was causing a lot of inflammation in my nervous system and my body. She recommended I take daily vitamin B pills as well as get vitamin B inj. weekly for 6 weeks. Additionally, she suggested I take D-Hist to naturally help manage the histamine in my body. I did not take the D-Hist as I wanted to do one thing at a time to clearly see what what causing what outcome. I did get weekly Vitamin B inj. and take daily vitamin B pills. The Vitamin B inj. and pills have helped me tremendously. My Vertigo is at a lower level and the burning/itching had also decreased to a lower level. Wanting to be off of all medications, I stopped taking the pills and inj. after several weeks and within days the vertigo and burning symptoms came back. It was clear to me that the Vitamin B is really helping calm my nervous system and it is going to take a long time to heal. I share my experience so those who are struggling with this nasty problem can consider a more natural approach to helping their body heal. Keep strong and know that coming off Zyrtec or any antihistamine is the right choice in the long run! Good luck!

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Dear Suzanne, I have contributed a couple times to this blog and was pleased to read your comments. I suffered to the extreme with Zyrtec withdrawal, extreme meaning that my withdrawal lasted over six months and "ghost" itching until 12 months, and the deep and constant itching became skin sores (NOT from scratching, just spontaneous, from jangled nerve endings I presume) from which I still have hundreds of scars. One of my comments was that my doctors as well told me the itching was from something else, DEFINTELY NOT FROM ZYRTEC THEY SAID, and told me to get back on Zyrtec! What is Zyrtec paying these doctors to deny??? I am very glad you have given us sufferers a relatively easy solution that is working for you, for those who are currently suffering or for those of us who have been through it like me, in case we ever suffer this again from maybe a different drug or antihistamine unaware, as we were the first time. For example I didn't know that the sleep ingredient in Tylenol PM is an antihistamine! I just knew it gave me wonderful, blissful relief. Until it wore off. Again, thank you.

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Joey, Zyrtek is a KILLER, and IS the KILLER! It wasn't until I weaned myself off and completely removed it from my life that my everyday 12+ hours of agony subsided. I will say that my body isn't completely back to normal at all because of the taxing effects that the "magic pill" caused...but it's better. I'm SO sorry to hear of your phantom itching too.

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I have completely gone off the medicine. It is hard but you have to bare through it or the itching and irritation will literally never go away. It took me 2 weeks to finally feel better. You can do it too, just stay disciplined and remember that reaching for it is not a solution.

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Also remember that we are generally itchy, high histamine people in the first place which is why we got hooked to Zyrtec. Our itching and sneezing will never completely disappear. Now I just deal with the regular allergies and itching as they come and they don't impair my life like they did during the Zyrtec and Zyrtec withdrawal days. I too have dermographism so I will be forever itchy but nothing compares to the hell I was in while on Zyrtec. Do not reach for the pills and do whatever it takes to get off of it!! I

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I started withdrawal almost two weeks ago. I soon after had burning itching spots on my leg, then noticed a few on my fingers. I scraped the skin off in some spots. What I want to know is how long this will go on. If it goes on longer than a month, and am going to hire a lawyer. I should not have to deal with allergies and these horrible side effects that were never listed on the drug,

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It took between two to three weeks of hell before I started feeling better. It is months later now and it seems that whenever I get a bit stressed I will still have the same itching but nothing like the withdraw. I don't know when that will ever stop. Now that I have gotten into this whole drug withdrawal thing, it is amazing what I am learning about the withdrawal symptoms that many many drugs have that keep people taking them. I even read that dandruff shampoo (one very popular one in particular) leaves a wax coating on your scalp and when you stop using the shampoo and scratching the dandruff is worse than ever because it is the wax so people keep using it thinking that their dandruff has gotten worse. As much natural that we can use the better.

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I dont know if you ever found a way to control your indigestion/acid, but here is something that works for me (I have no gallbladder now and acid is something I struggle with)...

2-3 tablespoons of organic apple cider vinegar WITH THE MOTHER. Very important.

1 cup organic apple juice or water

2 teaspoons or so of organic LOCAL honey (raw is best but just dont get pasteurized)

Drink in the evening a few hours before bed

Strange that acid would help with acid, but it does. And the local honey has local pollen in it, so that helps eith building up immunity to allergenic triggers in your area.

I am still struggling with getting off Zyrtec dur to the itching (doing on tablet every 48 hours noe), but this helps for acid reflux like a charm. It even helped curtail my gallbladder attacks before I had to have it removed.

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Did you manage to come off the Cetirizine. I am really struggling to wean off them. I take an eighth of a tablet a day. I can't seem to stop completely due to the intense itching.

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Glad i decided to look this "issue" up. Thought i was going paranoid , laying in bed itching like mad, i kept thinking theres a bedbug infestation. So, at least i know whats causing this crazy itching. its a good money earner take ceterizine to relieve (mild) itching for a few weeks, stop taking the tablet and BOOM , you're in itching hell. how to relieve it? take some ceterizine.

I never had this problem with promethizine (otc in uk). I'm going try phenergan as a quick taper substitute

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I went on vacation and ran out of Zyrtec. I was so sick to my stomach at first and then the itching started. I thought I had lice or was going crazy! My ENT told me 4 years ago to take it daily when I had been taking it of and on the previous years. Day 4 and 5 were the worst. That's when I figured it had to be the Zyrtec. I have barely slept and even went and bought another bottle. I waited another day and took a Clartin. I was desperate. I then went to the pharmacist and asked about the withdrawals. She said the same thing: you must have an allergy and get back on it. WTF?!? I am refusing to take it. Now day 8, a little better. I was able to get some sleep last night. I am taking Claritin. I know I probably shouldn't. I have to function at work though. I'm hoping the Clartin doesn't set me back from the process. I will be going back to using my netti pot (I love) and my oils. Just want to be able to get through this!

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