All,
- Have you been taking Zyrtec for a long period of time?
- Have you realized after forgetting to take it or trying to get off it, that there are SERIOUS withdrawal symptoms?
- Are you beyond itchy from head to toe and it seems like getting off Zyrtec is going to be impossible?
The reason I am creating this blog is to share my story and my learnings as I have been going through the withdrawal symptoms of cutting Zyrtec out of my life. If you're just looking for the solution, go to my second post. If you're interested in my back story to see if you relate, please read on!
So, my background. My name is Taylor and I am 25 years old. I have severe allergies to dogs, cats, seasonal, and to kiwi (go figure) and so I've always been medicated. Around 6th grade or so, a doctor prescribed me Advair, Singulair, Zyrtec, Albuterol, Nasarel, and Doxycycline all simultaneously. Keep in mind, it was about 7th grade when i realized that if i went without my Zyrtec for a day or so, I would get painfully itchy from head to toe. Everywhere. And if I took a Zyrtec, it would be gone in 20 minutes. I didn't think anything of it, I just knew I needed to keep a supply so I wouldn't run out. This was my drug regimen for the vast majority of my life, until about my junior year of college (Fall 2010).
Around this time, I started developing severe sleeping issues, specifically night terrors, hallucinations, vivid dreams, and sleep walking. I would start screaming and freaking out in the middle of the night, causing my roommates to get a bit worried for my safety. I didn't honestly care that much about this until I started considering the ramifications of someday wanting to be married, and how this would affect my relationship with my future wife. I had zero desire to wake my wife up on our first night together on our honeymoon with me screaming bloody murder in a hotel room. That thought led me to start talking to people and seeking help.
As I began to dive in and research sleeping disorders, it seemed that night terrors were primarily an issue with children and by adulthood, they would tend to disappear. There also seemed to be no medication that specifically helped with this, other than sleeping pills with dependence risks associated with them. And of course, I was already on half the medications available in the free world, so adding another wasn't high on my list. I then began speaking with professionals, many of whom simply suggested a sleep apnea mask. I didn't believe this was going to help, so I ignored them and continued my search.
Around the Fall of 2013, I had moved from Texas to Cincinnati, OH and was working for P&G. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get to this mindset, but I began considering this huge amount of chemicals I was taking to alleviate other issues and questioning the composition of those drugs. I started researching each one individually.
...Wow.
....Drugs are not good for you.
....Everywhere I looked, people were having massive issues with many of these drugs!
My whole mindset was completely shifted. I needed to get off all of these medications as soon as possible and see what would happen. I immediately stopped taking Singulair, which seemed like a redundant drug, and Doxycycline, which i was using for acne, but no longer had issues with. Nothing changed sleep-wise; these weren't the culprits. That being said, I felt good that I was paying less for drugs and on my way to reducing my chemical intake.
About this time, I started reading up on corticosteroids, which Advair and Nasonex both are. The next great experiment was to try to get off these, as well as my nemesis, Zyrtec. Advair was replaced with Qvar, which is more or less, a simple inhaler that is not a steroid but would still help with my asthma, and Nasonex was removed from my regimen immediately.
Amazingly enough, my hallucinations stopped! My sleep walking stopped. The night terrors became far more infrequent. I started sneezing a lot, but that was expected, being off my nasal spray.
I was making huge progress.
Now came the challenge: Zyrtec. If you have done any research at all on Zyrtec, you'll know that thousands of people suffer from withdrawal. I knew that getting off this one would be very challenging. 4-8 weeks of painful withdrawal. But, reports everywhere were showing that people were exhibiting all sorts of crazy side effects from this awful drug. I knew I needed to fight hard and get off of it. Keep in mind, I tried about 15 times over the years to get off of it, with no success. In fact I never made it past Day #4 of abstaining from use.
That's the background leading up to today. In my next post, I want to walk you through a glimmer of hope I found, what I'm doing now to get off Zyrtec and my progress.
Cheers,
Taylor
Wonderful blog! I can totaly relate to you! I am so happy to have found so many stories that I can relate to. For the whole time, I WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE after 10 years of trying to get rid of this Zyrtec addiction.
ReplyDeleteAfter taking Zyrtec for the first time in my life in 2006, I had an immediate major decrease of volume of my hives : it was a God damn miracle! I continued to take Zyrtec regularely every 48 hours : a small dose of 5 mg. My family and friends noticed the drastic changes but I NEVER EXPERIENCED ITCHINESS like I do today.
In 2010, four year after first using the drug, I realised that I became dependant to Zyrtec and decided to make an experimentation. I went cold turkey, completly stoped the drug, gathered all my will, my soul and decided to hold as LONG as I could without taking it.
My symptoms were exactly like you...
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48-60 hours : Itching is regular and constant. But I am fighting it hard and barely manage to get asleep. Itching 5/10 to 6/10
60-72 hours : Itching is MAJOR. It’s painfull! There’s not a part of my body that wont stop itching. I’m unable to rest but I can keep myself distracted for a limited time.
Itching 8/10 + Pain 5/10
72-84 hours : Hell. I feel like my whole skin is not part of my body anymore. Suprisingly, NO HIVES! But, oh lord!, the itchiness! It’s like hundreds of mosquitoes biting you at the same time but you can’t do anything! The itchiness comes from inside and NEVER STOP. Anger, pain and severe distress. I can’t even stay still on a chair without literally peeling myself off. My itching is so BAD that I would gladly throw myself off a bridge and terminate myself.
Itching 10/10 + Pain 8/10
86 hours : my personal record after surrendering to the itching.
I take a 5 mg oral pill of glorious Zyrtec! 15 minutes and ITS GONE… Wow!
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I have been diminishing my ZyrJunk intake for days without any other anti-histmine. Today, I chop the smallest micro dust (around 0,625 mg) with a sharp knife. This is ridiculous but its only way to consistenly remain under sane with LESS AND LESS Zyrtec! Small withdrawal effects but I'm fine!
Of course, I am consistently reporting my physical symptom like a total junk recovery addict. Today, the dose is minimal but the symptoms are persistent. Patience!
You should never allow your itching to switch to crazy mode. Take a control dose at once while leaning it off. The problem is that the 5 mg dose, which seems to be quite small for some people, is still way to strong for the H1 Receptors that it binds to. Going cold turkey is maybe too much of a shock for some people! Maybe the immunologic response that ensue is catastrophic but like any addiction is breakable.
Running with less of 40% of my past cycle dose during the last weeks, I have managed to control the symptoms slowly but steadily. With precise monitoring I confirm that it is fading away… I plan on diminishing it as long as needed and as methodicly as I can : to choping fractions of milligrams, to licking micrograms then to nirvana over the next weeks.
IF ALL ELSE FAIL, I will use Allegra...
Where is the FDA on this? I was prescribed Zyrtec by my Military Doctor for what we call in Texas "Cedar Fever". Its an annual cedar pollen problem which can cause flu like symptoms to sufferers. The season is now over. When I stopped the Zyrtec, the itching started. Its like getting mosquito bites all over your body at one time! This is not right! The manufacturer must be aware of this! This in my mind is intendedly addicting people to this product. Just like cigarettes or the so called "Nasal Sprays".
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