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3.5 Overall Rating

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Most voted positive review

35 People found this comment helpful

I started taking Zyrtec for my seasonal and non-seasonal sneezing, itching eyes, and itching skin. It worked very well for those things. However, starting about 24-48 hours after I began taking Zyrtec, I found myself feeling sad, "off," and had crying episodes. I did not associate the two, thinking it was something hormonal. However, for the next 3 months, I continued to feel confused, kind of dep...

Most voted negative review

9 People found this comment helpful

I had to take Zyrtec orally when i was 10 for ADHD prescribbed from my doctor. It was horrible exprence for me. It made me depressed, i couldnt pay attention with Zyrtec in my system. My grades slipped and i always had blurry eyes. My docot was concered about me and took me off the drug for a week. After 2 days my grades started going back up, i was happy again and my eyes and allergies were lesse...

Shared reviews and ratings

Andi | 45-54 | Female | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
11/30/2023
Condition: Other
Overall rating 1.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Soooo tired. Soo sooo tired. Never again.

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Dee | 35-44 | Female | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
10/25/2023
Condition: Hives
Overall rating 1.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

terrible side effects. nausea, dizziness, and stomach cramps for 2 hours immediately after, followed by 2 days of extreme grogginess and fatigue. had very vivid nightmares. couldn't drive, had to call out sick from work because of how debilitating the fatigue was. extreme dry mouth, loss of appetite, short term memory severely impacted. this medication should NOT be OTC and needs to come with more warnings!!!

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Milo_ventigo | 13-18 | Male | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
7/5/2023
Condition: Other
Overall rating 1.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Absolutely horrible medication, caused me to feel drowsy and sleepy, hardly able to move for the two days that I took it, this also resulted in severe diarrhea and loss of focus as well as a bad mood and horrible discomfort, terrible drug. I hope that whoever legalized this has their kids go into severe poverty. I can only wish that any slight resemblance of joy gets stripped from their life indefinitely, that their wife cheats on them and their finances collapse.

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SaucyA2 | 25-34 | Male | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
5/30/2023
Condition: Other
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Absolutely had a great experience with this product when I needed to work and was so congested with the cold sickness. Perfect product absolutely works!!

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Nuronet | 65-74 | Male | On medication for 6 months to less than 1 year |
11/20/2022
Condition: Non-Seasonal Allergic Runny Nose
Overall rating 3.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Zyrtec works great but the problem is when you stop taking it after using it for months. After stopping it causes sever itching for weeks.

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bret752 | 35-44 | Male | On medication for 5 to less than 10 years | Patient
9/22/2022
Condition: Other
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

For some years now, I've been dealing with itchy skin. I have no idea the cause, but it usually happens at night before bedtime. I don't have a rash, just itchy skin that is almost intolerable! I do have dry skin I use lotion for, however even if my skin isn't dry I still have skin itching. I started using Zyrtec, well the generic of it anyway, which is the same product. It works like a miracle for me in relieving my pesky itchy skin, but I have awful side effects where I get restless and anxious and have cognitive effects. I switched to Benadryl generic recently and while it doesn't work quite as long(not more than about 12 to 24 hours at most), it's slightly better for the anxiety side effect, but the anxiety is still there. Perhaps antihistamines give me that side effect? But I just can't handle the Zyrtec due to this! It's very effective for my itchy skin and works for well over 24 hours, but I had to quit. I should mention I have a long history of severe anxiety disorder, and take medication for it, so maybe I can't deal with Zyrtec as good? Be aware of this if you take antihistamines. It may effect you differently but for me, my mental health/cognition eroded while taking it.Read More Read Less

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M Bilal Khawaja | 35-44 | Male | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
7/11/2022
Condition: Allergic Conjunctivitis
Overall rating 2.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

It caused me Fixed Drug Eruption. Many areas of my body got pigments and I didn't understand first time because no such side affect mentioned anywhere.

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SummerRay | 65-74 | Male | Patient
5/9/2022
Condition: Non-Seasonal Allergic Runny Nose
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I get early spring and late summer congestion, no runny nose yet post nasal drip that feels like I am drowning in my chest. Zyrtec worked so good. I have no drowsiness. I don't take it continuous usually just a couple of days maybe a week at the most until next bout. No side effects what-so-ever.

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yourmother | 35-44 | Female | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
4/19/2022
Condition: Seasonal Runny Nose
Overall rating 2.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I took 1 of these at about 5 pm. My nose was cleared by about 8. BBUUUTTTT!!! I woke up the next day with regular heart palpitations (Flipping and pounding) they lasted the entire day! I had some dizziness and depressed mood as well. Won't take again.

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Lgbfjb | 45-54 | Male | On medication for 10 years or more | Patient
4/9/2022
Condition: Inflammation of the Nose due to an Allergy
Overall rating 4.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I take this for seasonal allergies such as sneezing runny nose. I only take it as needed. Luckily for me my allergies are only bad around this time of the year. I try not to take it everyday if I don't need it. I noticed with the 10 mg dose that after 24 hours the effect seems to be wearing off. But I try to space my dose out to 48 hours so I take it every other day. I've read a lot of the reviews with people having various side effects but for me I've never had any problems with itching or having it caused me to have some sort of mental depression or any mental anxiety or any issue like this. The main side effect I noticed from this medication is that it makes me sleepy. For example when I take the dose I'll sleep for at least 8 hours the next day. And then maybe even nap some more the next day. Generally I don't sleep a lot or very well so I don't mind this side effect. I've been using this medicine for more than 10 years. I would tell people that they should be careful with it because it can interact with alcohol and if you take a dose it's still in your body for up to 48 hours from a single dose. I've tried other allergy medications but generally they do not work as well as this one and some of the other medications make me feel sort of well how can I say wired. And they keep me up so I prefer Zyrtec. Another thing I noticed about this medicine is that when I take the tablets it seems to bother my stomach a little bit. I don't have any pain or anything but I noticed some what loose stools. but I've switched to what we call a syrup version that's available in my country and I've noticed that this problem seems a lot less with the syrup that I was with the pills. So anyone who notices the loose stool I would recommend to try to syrup version if it's available for you. I know it's not available everywhere but I really feel like they should make it available. My opinion the syrup is better than the tablet but both work very well for allergy problems especially seasonal allergies. Read More Read Less

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DH | 7-12 | Female | On medication for 2 to less than 5 years | Caregiver
2/7/2022
Condition: Non-Seasonal Allergic Runny Nose
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

My child had been taking this daily for 2 years. It had helped with his allergies BUT it also caused side effects such as anxiety, depression and intrusive thoughts. He was a mental mess thanks to this drug.

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anonymous | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
8/20/2021
Condition: Hives
Overall rating 1.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Used this otc because of a tick bite. I was prescribed OTC by my doctor. I was on it for 35 days. I am trying to wean myself off of it. When I don't take it I break out in hives. I now have itchy burning skin headache and it feels like something is crawling on me. This is terrible. I went from 10 mgs to 5 mgs. I am going cold turkey. My itching is awful. I googled the side effects of this OTC and see that a lot of people are having some of the same symptoms.

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No name | 35-44 | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
3/14/2021
Condition: Inflammation of the Nose due to an Allergy
Overall rating 3.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I began taking Zyrtec in the spring. It was very effective with relieving my allergy symptoms. I began spotting and bleeding irregularly around the same time. I did not attribute this to the Zyrtec at the time. I stopped Zyrtec over the summer and the spotting and irregular bleeding stopped. I began taking Zyrtec again in the fall when my allergies returned. As soon as I began taking the Zyrtec, I began spotting and bleeding irregularly again. I stopped taking Zyrtec and the spotting stopped. I havenâ??t had this issue since stopping Zyrtec.Read More Read Less

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Jrm0914 | 25-34 | Female | On medication for 6 months to less than 1 year | Patient
6/13/2020
Condition: Seasonal Runny Nose
Overall rating 1.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I have taken Zyrtec off and on. Never consistently until recently trying to remember to take it daily..especially with COVID-19 as I wanted to keep any allergies at bay.... but today I woke up with yellowish eyes. Apparently Zyrtec can cause severe liver problems and jaundice. Yeah.. no thank you. Now to figure out to heal my body from the damage Zyrtec has done.

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Anonymous | 35-44 | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
8/29/2019
Condition: Seasonal Runny Nose
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Beware - once you start taking Zyrtec regularly, you are likely to experience addiction and be unable to stop it without significant withdrawal side effects. I have noticed that 24-48 hrs after taking Zyrtec, like clockwork, I experience extreme and uncontrollable itching and hives all over my body. (I never suffered from hives in my life until taking this drug.) This, of course, seems like an allergic reaction and makes you take more Zyrtec. I am extremely upset that the potential for significant withdrawal symptoms is not listed as a known drug effect. Johnson Read More Read Less

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Anonymous | 45-54 | On medication for 2 to less than 5 years | Patient
8/21/2019
Condition: Seasonal Runny Nose
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I was happy that this product worked on my allergies but it came with a cost. My joints, legs, neck felt like I was 50 yrs older than I am. I walked like an old lady. After reading reviews I stopped taking it. Now I am uncontrollably itching everywhere. My hands, feet, scalp. It's horrible. I also gained 25 pounds on it. I won't be using it again. Nightmare. Gave me nightmares too.

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Anonymous | 45-54 | On medication for 2 to less than 5 years | Patient
8/7/2019
Condition: Inflammation of the Nose due to an Allergy
Overall rating 2.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

After being on zyrtec for 3 years I decided to stop taking it to see if I could cope with my year round allergy to just about everything. After being off zyrtec for about 3 days I began getting itchy bumps all over my body and the feeling that I couldn't breathe. I thought I was just having an allergic reaction being hyper sensitive to whatever the medication had been blocking all those years. I decided to wait it out. After suffering for 2 more days my husband did some Internet searching and found to our horror that this was a side effect of the drug. So we went out, bought the smallest amount we could so I could taper off 4 days later still bumps, still itching. It is unbelievable that this information was not given to people and that doctors are pushing it on their patients as mine did. Something needs to be done about this. Thanks to zyrtec I now know how a junkie must feel.Read More Read Less

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Monteguy1978 | 35-44 | Male | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
6/12/2019
Condition: Other
Overall rating 1.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

When I was first given Zyrtec it was a few years back and at the time I was also on xanax for anxiety so I thought the extra anxiety was just where my xanax wasn't working; well about a week ago I started taking zyrtec again after being off for 2 years. Here's where it gets interesting; my doctor had taken me off xanax the same day I was taken off the zyrtec. So I started again last week and today I woke up with a massive panic attack after feeling depressed for the last few days. Praying this stops. I don't want to be back on xanax again. Read More Read Less

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DaC | 45-54 | On medication for 5 to less than 10 years | Patient
5/22/2019
Condition: Seasonal Runny Nose
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Used in varying doses for years for allergies and inner ear problems. Did not make any conncetion between this medication and depression/anxiety symptoms. Stopped taking it completely for a while. Felt really good. Didnt think about it being the reason until seasonal alllergies started up again and I suddenly felt really down, anxious and like i wanted to cry. Took one this morning and felt the side effects kick in right away. I will stick to my nose spray. Its too bad because it does work very well. Read More Read Less

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LauraM | 25-34 | On medication for 10 years or more | Patient
5/8/2019
Condition: Inflammation of the Nose due to an Allergy
Overall rating 3.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I've been taking Zyrtec since high school for indoor/outdoor allergies. It was really helpful for my allergies, although I still needed to use a nasal spray to get rid of everything. Anyway, the withdrawal that people are mentioning is REAL. I don't know how or why it isn't anywhere on the packaging, but the itchiness is horrible. I have eczema, and tried to go off of Zyrtec before for an allergy test and had the worst itchiness of my life. For me, the itchiness feels like underneath my skin is itchy. No welts, no hives, just the overall feeling of itch. I went back on it thinking that it was allergies (I live in a major city, where smog, pollen, etc. make those without allergies - have allergies). My allergist also didn't know Zyrtec withdrawal was a "thing" either!! There are some articles out about how to cut down and they work, so I wanted to share it on this forum. You take your Zyrtec, cut it in half, and take a half dose every day for 5-7 days, then you move to taking that half dose every other day for 5-7 days, and then finally quit cold turkey. I did the half dose for a week, and then have stopped taking it. I'm having little to no itchiness (it's also spring allergy season, so that doesn't help - I've been putting local raw honey in my tea and honestly think that's helping), and I hope this helps others come off of this medication. If I had known this I wouldn't have started taking it, but I will be thrilled to finally be done with this drug!Read More Read Less

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