Itching Withdrawal From Cetirizine Or Zyrtec (Page 32)

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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Re: Nikki (# 620)

Wait until the other problems start kicking in...

Legal suits when?

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Guys, it's not all in our heads. Here's an official case study: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5124431

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Re: Brenda (# 622)

Brenda, thanks for sharing the link to this article. The European authors seem to think that the unbearable itching is uncommon after cessation of Zyrtec, and I find it rather disturbing that similar reports do not abound in the American medical literature. I myself filed an adverse reaction report with the FDA. Do you think I ever heard back?? I encourage everyone in this forum to file a similar report. There really needs to be a warning in the package of these medications warning potential users to limit use to a week or so or only use occasionally. Of course, this is a billion industry and such limited use would impact the bottom line...

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Re: Dee (# 45)

I was taking Allegra. You have the same itching withdrawals with it as well.

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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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Re: Edwin Chan (# 617)

It's now Day 12 - I still woke up at 4am itching all over. It's livable, but not fun. And yes, one does need to adapt and structure life around it... Thank God it's a bit better than before, when i absolutely could not do without it. (Imagine trying to give a class while scratching all over like a monkey - dreadful.) It was wise to not try to go off it while finishing my dissertation... really, really hoping to be itch-free finally one day. Thanks for the encouragement!

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Tough it out.You are not alone.
Take a shower if you can.
You will have a better life

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Re: Nikki (# 620)

Just taper off slowly. There is no reason at all to suffer horribly. Cut in half do that for 2 weeks. then cut down to a 1/3rd of a pill, 2 weeks... then 1/4... if you get off suddenly you will SUFFER HORRIBLY. I tapered slowly and it was doable... Physically impossible for me to be able to handle any other way. Go Slow... even when you are down to a crumb.... Then down to a crumb every other day... then every 3rd day...

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Re: Cassie (# 628)

I have been on it for a year I notice if I miss a day I get crazy itchy. How long is the side affeffects. What can I do to help the otch

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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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Hi,

I have reduced for one month my daily intake of cetrizine and now I am on my second week without it and I am super itchy and also some part of the body are burning (behind my ears, for example). I have been taken the antihistamine non-stop for two years. How much time should I wait before all these symptom disappear?

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Re: Laurie (# 631)

It will dwindle down slowly. Gold Bond lotion Green bottle helps alot applied to itchy areas. By the 4th week it should be greatly decreased. My first week and a half was hell but I wanted off this stuff asap.

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Re: Natalia (# 632)

Hi, i've posted previously that i took cetirizene every other day for 15 years!! Little did i know that the intense itching side effect was down to this drug. I went cold turkey and the itching subsided within 2 weeks, life changing to say the least and i am now drug free.... The company that make cetirizene should be taken to court and the drug withdrawn.

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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've been off of Zyrtec (cetirizine) since April and feel great (mostly). I still experience an itchy scalp frequently and just bear with it. Today my face is so itchy. Has anyone tried taking half of a zyrtec very occasionally after getting off? Just wondering if that will set me back and make me have to start all over.

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Re: Leslie (# 635)

I suspect it will set you back

Your body will DEMAND more!!!

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Re: Leslie (# 635)

I wouldn’t risk it. Say NO to Zyrtec! I’ve been Zyrtec and itch free for 6 months now. I will never take one gram if that poison ever again. I choose to suffer through my allergies and colds. Typically they only last a week or two with or without meds anyway.

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Re: Leslie (# 635)

Leslie, don’t do it. Stay away from Zyrtec. For occasional itch/allergies, try either 1000 mg of vitamin C or D Hist (a natural supplement for allergies available through Amazon). {affiliate link added}

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Re: EC (# 638)

My common sense told me that, I guess I just wanted someone to say it would be ok. LOL. I'll get vitamin C! Thanks

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I’ve only just discovered that it is this antihistamine drug which I’ve been taking for about five years now that is the reason for my itching all over when I run out of the tablets! I’ve even been to the doctors about it in the last few months and they didn’t mention anything about withdrawal symptoms from this drug. They did various allergy evaluations and came back with nothing! Every time I run out and go a couple of days without the tablets, I get horrendously itchy all over and I thought it was due to my hay fever, not withdrawal symptoms! Only when I googled it today did I discover this! From what I’ve read today, I think I’m going to do the gradual weaning myself off the drug as this cold turkey lark is unbearable, it’s driving me insane and it’s only been a few days! I’m quite shocked at this discovery about this drug as there are no warnings on the packets about it. I hope I can eventually get rid of this itching and come off the drug completely. It just shows what a nasty drug it is.

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