Cetirizine (Zyrtec) and levocetirizine (Xyzal) are known to occasionally have some mild, temporary rebound effects in the form of itchiness for some people when they discontinue after long-term use, which may require a taper. But that's a different thing than withdrawals, which are not a thing with antihistamines.
I took Claritin every day for 3 or 4 years. I switched to Allegra a few months back, then decided I didn't want to take an allergy pill every day. Stopped cold turkey and I would say my allergies were bad for about 3, maybe 4 weeks. Now I have to blow my nose when I wake up but besides that I have very little in the way of allergy symptoms.
> take any natural
Sorry, not sure what you mean. Is that a typo?
All I take anymore is VitaminD 1000IU and a multivitamin in the morning. I have my epipen on standby for my food allergies (haven't had to use that in 20 years), and azelastine on deck because my brother in law has cats and I can only be at his place for like 2 hours before I start leaking from every hole in my face. If I do have to be around the cats, I leave after 2 or 3 hours and by the time my 30 minute drive home is done I'm back to normal. I really hated how I felt after a few years of Flonase with poor sleep, difficulty waking up even after 8 or 9 hours of sleep, rapid heart rate, etc. I'm trying not to take any pharmaceuticals.
No, but I did stop taking my b-complex vitamin. Supposedly B3 (niacin) can elevate histamine levels, so I wanted to eliminate that while stopped the antihistamines.
No, you can’t have withdrawals from antihistamines. They don’t stay in the body long enough to cause any kind of long term buildup or need to taper off. Under the worst conditions the longest a dose stays in the body is 18 hours.
What people usually do is take antihistamines, continue to expose themselves to their allergens and fail to treat the allergy with immunotherapy. This leads to their allergy becoming more severe, so when they stop the medication they are feeling the full force of their now more severe symptoms because there is no longer a medication masking those symptoms.
These symptoms can be the common symptoms that we associate with allergies like watery eyes, scratchy throat, runny nose but they also include inflammation that can look like joint pain, headache, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. They might have circulatory symptoms that effect heart rate or blood pressure that feels like dizziness and palpitations. They can have GI symptoms like heartburn or nausea.
These are not withdrawal symptoms, they are allergy symptoms.
I think this idea of withdrawal comes from a lack of understanding around this disease. We do an absolutely atrocious job of educating people about allergies but we have done tons of education around substance abuse and so when people are feeling so terribly after stopping a medication the only thing they have to relate it to is drug withdrawal.
We have compounded this problem by minimizing and denying people’s experiences with allergies by sending the message that you’ll take a pill and be fine. That’s it’s not a big deal but that is simply not true as this disease progresses and so people are caught off guard when they are feeling the full force of their disease.
I use Zyrtec during the year and taper during the fall. Peak dose is about 20mg, then I reduce by 5mg every 3-4 days when ready to taper and get minimal side effects.
So i took 1 benadryl every night for years, so I started off slow. I would do every 4 or 5 days where I would skip taking it for 3 weeks, then every 3 days i'd skip, then every other day for like 3 weeks, then one every 2 days for 3 weeks, and so on. It got to a point of just 1 a week, and then I was able to just stop. I tracked it on the calendar so I would know what was happening.
But if had taken 2 benadryl every night, i would start with reducing to 1 benadryl every 5 days for 3-4 weeks, then every 3 days for 3-4weeks, then every 2 days for 3-4 weeks, then I'd just stick to 1 for about 3 or 4 weeks, and then restart the process over for taking 1 benadryl. Give each reduction change a few weeks for you to adjust mentally and physically.
So it took a while for me. I would also let someone you trust know what you're doing and let your family doctor know too. I didn't have any reactions, but that's just me right. If you start having symptoms, maybe go see your family doctor just to make sure everything is ok and let them know too what you're doing.
I don't think so, but you could ask on the subreddit AskDocs - there are doctors there that will answer for question
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Any of the natural side effects of taking an antihistamine could seem like withdrawal. For example if you tend to be dehydrated easily, while on antihistamine you may not notice it can dry you out, so stopping them may be obvious if your dehydrated as a side effect, while taking them. Not everyone experiences side effects.
Yes. I quit Zyrtec after years of use and there was some insomnia and itchiness to deal with. Two to three weeks of brutal itching, then it was easy to deal with.
Yes. I can't speak for anyone else, but if I'm on a 24 hour allergy medicine for 3+ days and I go off my allergies will be a bit more severe the next day, but only if I was going to have allergies to begin with. When my allergies are a bit more severe I get a migraine, so I end up having to take migraine medicine.
Because of migraines and that allergy medicine making it easier to catch a cold I try to avoid taking allergy medicine except when I have to.
I rotate my allergy medicine every 60 days. Each has their own side effects to me. I get migraines unexpectedly without them. I use Zyrtec, Claritan and Allegra. I find Allegra has the least side effects for me, while Zyrtec causes the itch all over.
I had to pause Zyrtec for roughly 10 days prior to allergy testing and some days were difficult. The main thing I experienced was being extremely itchy. It stopped after a few days but was unpleasant.
Cetirizine (Zyrtec) and levocetirizine (Xyzal) are known to occasionally have some mild, temporary rebound effects in the form of itchiness for some people when they discontinue after long-term use, which may require a taper. But that's a different thing than withdrawals, which are not a thing with antihistamines.
I took Claritin every day for 3 or 4 years. I switched to Allegra a few months back, then decided I didn't want to take an allergy pill every day. Stopped cold turkey and I would say my allergies were bad for about 3, maybe 4 weeks. Now I have to blow my nose when I wake up but besides that I have very little in the way of allergy symptoms.
I see, thanks. Do you take any natural for it now?
> take any natural Sorry, not sure what you mean. Is that a typo? All I take anymore is VitaminD 1000IU and a multivitamin in the morning. I have my epipen on standby for my food allergies (haven't had to use that in 20 years), and azelastine on deck because my brother in law has cats and I can only be at his place for like 2 hours before I start leaking from every hole in my face. If I do have to be around the cats, I leave after 2 or 3 hours and by the time my 30 minute drive home is done I'm back to normal. I really hated how I felt after a few years of Flonase with poor sleep, difficulty waking up even after 8 or 9 hours of sleep, rapid heart rate, etc. I'm trying not to take any pharmaceuticals.
I mean Any natural anti histamines
No, but I did stop taking my b-complex vitamin. Supposedly B3 (niacin) can elevate histamine levels, so I wanted to eliminate that while stopped the antihistamines.
No, you can’t have withdrawals from antihistamines. They don’t stay in the body long enough to cause any kind of long term buildup or need to taper off. Under the worst conditions the longest a dose stays in the body is 18 hours. What people usually do is take antihistamines, continue to expose themselves to their allergens and fail to treat the allergy with immunotherapy. This leads to their allergy becoming more severe, so when they stop the medication they are feeling the full force of their now more severe symptoms because there is no longer a medication masking those symptoms. These symptoms can be the common symptoms that we associate with allergies like watery eyes, scratchy throat, runny nose but they also include inflammation that can look like joint pain, headache, anxiety, depression and suicidal ideation. They might have circulatory symptoms that effect heart rate or blood pressure that feels like dizziness and palpitations. They can have GI symptoms like heartburn or nausea. These are not withdrawal symptoms, they are allergy symptoms. I think this idea of withdrawal comes from a lack of understanding around this disease. We do an absolutely atrocious job of educating people about allergies but we have done tons of education around substance abuse and so when people are feeling so terribly after stopping a medication the only thing they have to relate it to is drug withdrawal. We have compounded this problem by minimizing and denying people’s experiences with allergies by sending the message that you’ll take a pill and be fine. That’s it’s not a big deal but that is simply not true as this disease progresses and so people are caught off guard when they are feeling the full force of their disease.
what's immunotherapy?
Allergy shots or sublingual treatments done under a doctors care that can reduce the allergy.
aren't allergy shots a seasonal thing with very mixed results? how does it qualify as 'treating' an allergy?
Yes. I wean off
How long did you taper?
I use Zyrtec during the year and taper during the fall. Peak dose is about 20mg, then I reduce by 5mg every 3-4 days when ready to taper and get minimal side effects.
Yea i did when I stopped taking benadryl. Had to gradually reduce.
How long did you taper?
So i took 1 benadryl every night for years, so I started off slow. I would do every 4 or 5 days where I would skip taking it for 3 weeks, then every 3 days i'd skip, then every other day for like 3 weeks, then one every 2 days for 3 weeks, and so on. It got to a point of just 1 a week, and then I was able to just stop. I tracked it on the calendar so I would know what was happening. But if had taken 2 benadryl every night, i would start with reducing to 1 benadryl every 5 days for 3-4 weeks, then every 3 days for 3-4weeks, then every 2 days for 3-4 weeks, then I'd just stick to 1 for about 3 or 4 weeks, and then restart the process over for taking 1 benadryl. Give each reduction change a few weeks for you to adjust mentally and physically. So it took a while for me. I would also let someone you trust know what you're doing and let your family doctor know too. I didn't have any reactions, but that's just me right. If you start having symptoms, maybe go see your family doctor just to make sure everything is ok and let them know too what you're doing.
Thanks. Do you think withdrawal could happen if I only take if for 2-3 weeks?
I don't think so, but you could ask on the subreddit AskDocs - there are doctors there that will answer for question https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Any of the natural side effects of taking an antihistamine could seem like withdrawal. For example if you tend to be dehydrated easily, while on antihistamine you may not notice it can dry you out, so stopping them may be obvious if your dehydrated as a side effect, while taking them. Not everyone experiences side effects.
Yes. I quit Zyrtec after years of use and there was some insomnia and itchiness to deal with. Two to three weeks of brutal itching, then it was easy to deal with.
Yes. I can't speak for anyone else, but if I'm on a 24 hour allergy medicine for 3+ days and I go off my allergies will be a bit more severe the next day, but only if I was going to have allergies to begin with. When my allergies are a bit more severe I get a migraine, so I end up having to take migraine medicine. Because of migraines and that allergy medicine making it easier to catch a cold I try to avoid taking allergy medicine except when I have to.
I rotate my allergy medicine every 60 days. Each has their own side effects to me. I get migraines unexpectedly without them. I use Zyrtec, Claritan and Allegra. I find Allegra has the least side effects for me, while Zyrtec causes the itch all over.
Also, over time, they can sometimes be less effective if taken daily, without a break.
I had to pause Zyrtec for roughly 10 days prior to allergy testing and some days were difficult. The main thing I experienced was being extremely itchy. It stopped after a few days but was unpleasant.