I took it last night about an hour before I went to bed and it made me very sleepy. In fact, I was still sleepy this morning and wound up going back to bed around 8 AM and slept until almost 10 AM! I've been groggy all day....not sure if it's just my fatigue or the Zyrtec. It's helping with my allergy sx so I'll just have to get used to it.

I found as I got used to the product, the sleepy feeling backed off. As I hit week 2 I was much less sleepy. In the first few days I was pretty groggy though. Hang in there.

Kelly,

I take Zyrtec as needed and it works great for me. I have MS fatigue and haven't noticed any side effects from Zyrtec. I just sleep a lot no matter what I take. Zyrtec sure helps with the allergies that keep on coming with the Oklahoma winds.

AllegraD has worked for me in the past. They are 12-hour pills, but I only take one in the morning, else it keeps me awake at night.

I got my nose reamed out years ago, and that helped more than anything.

Good luck, Kitty. Ugh, maybe you're allergic to cats, lol!

Start with 1/2 tablet.... 5mg of Zyrtec works for me without side effects.

Shut up!!!

Nevah!!!

I'd just have to learn to live with it 'cos my kitties aren't goin' anywhere!

I have terrible allergies. I have tried Zyrtec and it works great. It makes me sleepy so when I take it, I take it at bedtime. Now that it is OTC it is expensive. So far this allergy season I have only used Claritin but have been thinking of switching back as the Claritin doesn't seem to be doing as good of a job.

I bought the store brand @ Rite Aid for a little more than $7 for a box of 30. And they were BOGO so I really got 60 pills for less than $10. The store brand seems to be working well for me. I might start breaking the pills in half and see if that works as well. If it does it'll extend my supply even longer!

Claritin did nothing for me.

LOL, Kitty. You just reminded me of something my PCP told me since I told him I liked the Claritin as it didn't make me sleepy. He said that with allergy meds, if it doesn't make you sleepy than it is not a strong enough allergy med. He's probably right. It you think of all the allergy meds they use in hospitals they all make you sleepy.

DD17 takes Antivert when hers get really, really bad. However, it makes her not only sleepy but goofy as heck. But the Antivert helps dry up all the congestion with out the side effects like we both get with most decongestants.

Hint:

You can get about a year's supply of generic Zyrtec at either
Costco or SAM's club. (for about $17.00)
example:
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product...=1&topnav=&s=1
This is the one I use.

Claritin is useless IMO. There are studies out there that show it is equal to placebo!
And besides being useless, it raised my liver functions once!

This is pretty interesting:
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/11/ma...pagewanted=all

Zyrtec is a cousin of Atarax (hydroxyzine)...one of the most potent of all antihistamines.

I do believe a full 10mg dose of Zyrtec is not necessary most of the time...that is another story..but briefly ... drug companies choose doses, and they are not always accurate about that. It is estimated that the majority of drugs out there are OVERDOSED. The FDA has nothing to do with choice of dose as a rule.
Dr. Jay Cohen MD explains this in his book on Cholesterol.
http://www.medicationsense.com/statin_drugs_book.html
Since he is a teacher as well as a doctor, his explanations of things are fascinating!

Try 1/2 a tablet--you'll be surprised.

Also on the other hand I had an acute sore throat where I could not swallow back in Feb. Benadryl did nothing. But I took Zyrtec 10mg twice a day, and it was amazing as an acute intervention for a drastic problem!
For everyday use.... 1/2 tablet is plenty for me!

My husband has severe allergic rhinitis. He has always used ChlorTrimeton. This spring he was miserable, so I encouraged him to use my new generic Zyrtec--- he loves it ...take a whole one each night. Much less nose blowing, etc from him!