Hydroxyzine Causing Anxiety and Mood Swings

[Shamay]

I have been taking Hydroxyzine for a few days now and am noticing that I am having a restless night of sleep as well as feeling very anxious, panicy and am having mood swings...

Has this happened to anyone else, and does it go away?

[cmclien]

Hi,
I haven't taken that one in particular but like you, medicines that are supposed to make me drowsy often make me anxious and give me insomnia. Can you cut back the dose while you adjust?

[Shamay]

I'm going to see my uro tomorrow, so will ask her what she thinks.

This is so frustrating, I am running out of things to try! Elmiron made me very dizzy and the hydroxyzine is making me super wiggy. I am scared I won't find anything that will help, and the pain is unbearable.... and I'm not working and running out of money. :(

[earthlady]

Is it possible your dr. can refer you to a pain clinic or to a dr.who specializes in pain control? There may be more options available than you are aware of. Just a thought- I know no one really wants to take pain meds but it may be an option for you.

[Shamay]

Thank you for the suggestions, I will ask tomorrow.

[kadi]

Hi Shamay,
Atarax made my heart pound & made me also very panicky both times I tried it.
I found though that Elavil, a tricyclic antidepressant that interferes with nerve pain & reduces urinary frequency, was very helpful. I also could not tolerate Elmiron. In my case, it made my IC worse.

Don't despair though, there are still plenty of treatments to try. In spite of those early setbacks and a severe case of IC, I've found a treatment plan that works and I'm back to most of my old activities:)

Hang in there, the hardest time is figuring out what works. After that, it gets much easier!

[Shamay]

Hi Kadi,

Thank you. This is just so frustrating... I thought I was the only one on here who had this side effect to the Hyroxyzine. I am so sensitive to meds, it's hard to find one that works. I will keep trying things, something will eventually work.

I am on Doxepin right now, but after 11 years have started having adverse side effects to it... I am considering Amitriptyline however I am wondering that since they are in the same family of meds, whether I will have the same side effects to it. *shrug* I guess I won't know until I try it.

Thank you again for your post.

[faithtou]

I just read last night in The Better Bladder book that you might take Claritin instead of Hydroxyzine. I know Claritin (small tablet) does help me and my doctor was concerned that hydroxyzine combined with other medications would make me drowsy. Good luck!:hi:

[faithtou]

I've been reading the Better Bladder book and have found it very helpful. It did recommend taking Claritin antihistamine instead of hydroxzine to alleviate side affects. I've taken Claritin for several years. Personally, I do notice an increase in pain when I miss a couple of days. Good luck!

[faithtou]

Sorry about doubling up on the post about hydoxyzine. I didn't think the first message posted.:smile tee

[Shamay]

Hello Faithtou,

Thank you for the information. I have been trying Claritin off and on over the past two weeks and it really helps, I just wonder how many days in a row I can take it, it does seem to be very drying to the sinues and such. Do you take it every day?

[faithtou]

I do usually take Claritin daily, but I will lay off of it for a day or two if I know I'm going to be home and am feeling like my sinuses and mouth are overly dry. I also really try to limit my salt intake. Hope you feel better soon!

[Shamay]

Ah, I wish I didn't have to take it every day right now, however I am finding I don't really have a choice at the moment, it's the only thing I can take, hopefully I will find something else that works soon.

Thank you, me too!

[cmclien]

Just wanted to mention they make a childs dose (5mg) or you can cut claritin in half and see if it still works at that dose. It would be less drying too.

[Shamay]

Thank you, I didn't know that made a childs size dose. I did by a pill cutter so perhaps I will try that.

[cmclien]

Thats what I have been doing too, using my pill cutter on my regular dose.

[earthlady]

I just had a similar reaction to the Atarax liguid. I was hoping for a sedating effect for help with sleep, but all I got was a pounding heart rate and total insomnia. Same effects as tricyclic meds for me. Benadryl is the only one that actually does make me calm, and I think is one of the few that has only one ingredient in it.