Itching Withdrawal From Cetirizine Or Zyrtec (Page 9)

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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REPORT

OK, so here's me reporting after more than a month of going cold turkey. Week four was terrible, itching was unbearable and because it seems that my body is not tolerating high histamine food had to take half of the pill last week as I was getting some bad effects after eating pizza, tomato sauce and few other high histamine inducing food, few days ago started the low histamine diet and I'm now itch free, really hoping that one day I will be able to return to 'normal' food, probaly gonna start introducing it through small steps.

Best,
Simon

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I googled this info because I was going to go off the allergy med I've been on for a little over a year. I never had allergies before then so I thought maybe I would be ok. And I've now been off for 3 days and cannot sleep because the itching is so bad. I am going to start taking again since reading this. Would rather stay on my allergy med and not have the other allergy problems I had before. This intense itching is making me claw myself. I have claw marks all over me from scratching. I would put a cream on it but I would have to coat my whole body. I may itch in one place one minute and then it moves to another then another then another. It is crazy and I feel like I have ants biting me all over. Ok Zyrtec here I come.

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I had to go back on Zyrtec as I got so sick about two weeks off of it with hives and angioedema and severe gastric symptoms. So far all my testing is normal and I can not figure out what I am reacting to. I stayed off for over two months but I could not function and had to go back on. I will try to bring my body back to a healthy balance and then try to slowly taper it again. Right now I have to follow my doctor's advice as doing it on my own has impacted my quality of life.

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I take 30mg Cetirizine, 300mg of Ranitidine, and one dose of Singulair, I have major scalp itch, and my skin is dry. Also I am having trouble managing my weight. Does anyone know if this combination of drugs can cause weight gain?? My medical condition is aquired angio edema, that presented a few years back, I had serious outbreaks, some almost life threatening. I finally found a dr., that didn't think I was crazy and he put me on these meds. I began taking them last September 2012, and have not had a serious outbreak since. The drugs are working to control my issue, but the itching is enough to drive you crazy.

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I also had a horrible scalp itch last year after getting permanent hair extensions. It was so bad and I used a topical steroid lotion. Then last fall, I got hives after being exposed to too much cold without heat for a week. Stayed on zyrtec for 5 months and tried to go off this past April. I got angioedema so badly, I was never so sick. Look up Mast Cell Activation disorder. I have had every symptom and I need to be on the Zyrtec and Zantac for now and may need some singulair as well. Seeing my allergist today, I feel so much better back on the antihistamines and I hate to take them but this is some kind of autoimmune issue with me as all of my tests are healthy. Susan

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This honestly sounds like aquired or hereditary angio edema. I say thay because you mentioned gastric issues, the disorder causes your digestive tract to swell also, and it is extremely painful. I aslo use this drug for those purposes, and I think I can live with the side effects because having huge outbreaks of hives and swelling was not livable for me.

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Jill,
I started getting so sick about 10 days off the Zyrtec. I started getting the angioedema in my fingers and toes as I started tapering the zyrtec to go off and that should have been a sign that I needed something. The stomach issues were horrible and I had a normal endoscopy and abdominal sonogram. I just showed acid reflux. I just saw my allergist/immunologist and he said that I may have to increase the Zyrtec a little and it kills me to be on this drug. I have no choice as I was so sick, queasy and burping like crazy. I could not eat and lost a lot of weight. I felt like I was dying!! Anyway, now it is 9 days back on the Zyrtec and I am taking 10mg now and I feel better and can eat normally. I would rather take the pill the rest of my life than to feel what I was going through. Susan

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I have to take 30mg a day to stop the angio from occuring. I know your pain. It is a most debilitating disorder.

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Hi there, I've tried many times in the past 3 years to get off of my allergy meds containing Zyrtec. I thought I just needed it when I'd try to stop and get MAJOR itchiness all over, so I'd start it again. Finally I found this blog and decided cold turkey. What a nightmare! For 1 month I itched everywhere!! What helped me is keeping busy, cool and taking Benadryl at bedtime when it was too unbearable. Itching is completely gone now. Funny thing is now my allergies are very minimal, and the darkness under my eyes has decreased! Weird, but I'm happy it's all over! Hang in there guys, it does stop!

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Finally off of zyrtec. I accidentally got off of Zyrtec! I had to take a 6-day regimine of prednizone for an injury I suffered and I hadn't taken zyrtec since before the injury. No torturous itching. I had been on zyrtec for about 4 or 5 years. Not stopping because of the itching. I'm thinking of trying over the counter Allegra...Any word if that would have a similar side affect?

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Is it normal to have the itching while taking it? I do and I see most of the reports are about when you try to get off it.

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My child broke out in hives behind his knees on both legs. We thought it was because he mowed the yard with his dad that day and had been in the grass. Then when we stopped the medication and my child came to me one night itching like crazy. I washed all the linens in my child's room thinking it was that. No it was this drug and that is a side effect if you stop the drug abruptly. Something my primary doctor hadn't told me. My child's behavior at this time while on this drug was very aggressive. It all came full circle and made sense once this drug was stopped. Just horrible.

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Sooo, it's been more than 2 months after going cold turkey. The itching I'm getting on my head (everyday, all-day) is absolutely unbearable! Getting occasional itching on the rest of my body after taking shower for example(thighs, back, forearms, feets), but it's not that bad apart from the skin on my head. Will this friggin' nightmare gonna end someday? I'm afraid it won't. Sometimes I just wanna cry(no, really) this is sad.

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I was on the Cetrizine for maybe 3 months and since Spring is over went off of it last week and on about day 4 or 5 I started having itchy hands and then it spread to scalp, face, feet and sporadically on my legs, buttocks, etc. Day 4 and 5 of itching has been the worse. Today is day 6 and it is much better, not as intensely itchy and I have longer periods of no itching.

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Hi everyone,
I am having the same problem, though it seems less severe than many. This is my 7th day without Zyrtec and I am still itching constantly, but it is not completely unbearable as scratching is not causing welts and I have been sleeping fine, though the itching is worse in the evening and right when I wake up. I am wondering if anyone has experienced the same withdrawal symptoms from other over the counter meds, because I am trying to figure out what I should take in case my allergy symptoms return later.
-Samantha

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I thought I was also going crazy when accidently I forgot to take Zyrtec and started itching about 2 months ago. This pass week I had to stop taking it because I was getting stomach pain due to something else, now I've been itching on my head, back, and torso for about 2 days!!!! I am NOT going to be taking anymore, I hate medications and this is one of the reasons, if I would've known this was going to happen I would NEVER had taken it! I really do hope that all this itching stops in about 2 weeks like it happened to other people, I am doing it cold turkey don't want anymore of that crap in my system! Stay strong people!!

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Maybel, make sure you are careful tapering and even after as I got very sick from the excess histamine in my system. It can make you feel very sick. I had a lot of stomach problems. after I stopped it and internal itching. After a few months I had to go back on it. I never resolved the issues of why I had hives to begin with and then when I went off the Zyrtec, I got really bad. Susan

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What I'd like to know is: are there other, more hidden reasons to stop the loratidine?

Three of my family members (including me) have been on the generic form of loratidine for years because of allergies which often progress into sinus infections. I actually forgot to use the stuff for a week, and as a result two of us began itching all over like crazy. I had been working out in the yard a lot so I really didn't suspect the drug. But today I thought I'd look online to see if I could find a connection. I just googled "loratidine withdrawal itching" and found this site.

The fact that we are not alone is reassuring and eye-opening. I don't want to sue the company (there are always side effects to meds--it's a trade off. Prednisone is much scarier) but I'd like to know what organs or body system is compromised by long term use of the drug.

Anyway thanks for sharing your experiences. It is good to figure out why I am itching. Btw, for a few days we were taking benedryl at night so we could sleep without itching and it worked, but another family member got a bad case of the shakes (like drinking too much caffeine). I don't know if that was another side-effect of the withdrawal, or related to the benedryl. I'm going to try to stay off the anithistamines totally and see what happens.

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A low histamine diet may help those with the withdral symptoms.

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I'm so thankful that I found this site! I've been taking Zyrtec for year but have recently started having issues with fluid in my ears, dizziness, etc. AENT doctor wanted to do allergy testing, so I had to stop taking the Zyrtec for the week prior to the test. About 36 hours after stopping the Zyrtec this insane itching started on my hands and feet! They felt like they were on FIRE! I had no clue it was withdrawal from Zyrtec! I'm not sure what do to as I'm not supposed to be taking any antihistamine because of the upcoming tests, but I've had to take benadryl once every 10 hours just to make the itching somewhat bareable!!! WHY didn't my AENT doctor know about this???

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