Hydroxyzine Causing Fatigue - Interstitial Cystitis Network Support Forum

DanaG · 05-22-2004, 04:24 PM

Has anyone found that hydroxyzine causes them to be too tired? I do not have allergies, but I do find that sleeping in different places (ie: my apartment, my mom's house, hotel rooms, etc) sometimes affect how often I get up during the night (which right now is every 2 hours). My doc initially put me on 25 mgs and when I told her it made me too tired, she told me to cut it in half, but it still makes me sleepy. Has anyone experienced this or found that a smaller dosage has been helpful for them?

Thank you so much.

Dana

vm · 05-22-2004, 05:23 PM

I think it made me sleepy the first week or so that I took it. I was taking just 25mg at night. That went away.

Then I started an additional 25mg dose in the mornings. Had the sleepiness again for a week or so and it went away again.

How long have you been on it?

DanaG · 05-22-2004, 07:27 PM

Thanks for the reply. I only took it that one night at 25mgs and I seriously felt so sleepy and couldn't function the next day and I couldn't afford to be that out of it again. My doc didn't say that it took any adjustment, she just said that I should lower the dosage. I don't know if it is the same thing or similiar, but years ago they put me on Elavil and I was sleeping until like 3 o'clock in the afternoon!

vm · 05-23-2004, 08:20 AM

Yup - Elavil made me sleepy the first several days, too.

I think with many durgs it takes a week or two for your body to adjust to the med. My doc had told me I might feel sleepy the first several days, but to hang in there to see if it persisted.

***Katrina*** · 05-23-2004, 04:57 PM

It made me dangerously sleepy at first....no doubt about it I wished I had weined onto it because people could wake me at first.

If it is affecty you this way try to take only half....I opened the capsules and took some out myself....I did a lot better this way.

Hopefully you aren't that bad.

Take Care in time the tiredness went way down to probably nonexsistant.

peiti · 05-23-2004, 09:17 PM

Hydroxyzine made me very sleepy for the first few days. Then I found out I'd better take it in the early evening (7pm) instead of bedtime to get rid of the morning sleepiness.

Good luck.

kim mondro · 06-01-2004, 04:52 PM

i just started taking it about a couple weeks ago and it made me sooooo sleepy but i loved it cuz i hadnt had a good nights sleep in months because of the pain and nocturia. i take 50 mg and it doesnt really effect me. im tolerant to alot of medicines but i would ask your doc if you she could prescribe you another antihistimine that doesnt make you drowsy. my uro put me on an antihistimine for the day time and it doesnt make you sleepy. now if your using the meds for a sleeping aid ask your doc to switch you to another sleeping aid im not exactly sure what the name of it is but ill get back to ya email me if you need anything utterlyhopeless03@yahoo.com
hope your feeling better

VickiB · 06-01-2004, 06:13 PM

I've been taking it for two and a half months. My Doctor said it would make waking up difficult until my body adjusts to it. Even after all this time, I'm still sleeping until 9:00 am, and that's just not like me! I plan to talk to him about lowering the dosage at my next appointment. I used to be a "morning person"!

Vicki

Coleen · 06-02-2004, 05:46 AM

Definately makes me sleepy also..... I cut mine in half and take it that way.. Seems tro help ,me feel not so groggy and cloudy in the morning.

***icnmgrjill*** · 06-03-2004, 06:44 AM

I took hydroxyzine for 7 years.... and rarely, if ever, had sleepiness and drowsiness during the day. But, it did make it much harder to wake up in the morning. As Peiti said, I learned to take it at dinner time.... so that by the next morning I could wake up earlier.

That said, now that I'm off it, it's great to finally be able to get up at 7am without fighting it... if you know what I mean. But, I'm still very grateful for it. Of all the meds that I tried for my IC, hydroxyzine was the most helpful for me personally.

Jill O.

***dyno*** · 06-03-2004, 07:54 AM

I have been taking it for almost 2 years now and I did have a few days when I first started it that it did cause the sleepiness in the morning but as my body adjusted to it, I have been fine.
That being said, I am sleepy today but certain times of the month, I am more tired anyway. That is one of my PMS symtoms. So it could be a combination of things contributing to the tiredness. This medication has been such a great help to me I will put up with this side effect.

DanaG · 06-04-2004, 04:00 AM

I'm curious what exactly it has helped with when some of you say it has helped so much. Frequency? Urgency? Pain?

Thanks.

Dana

kim mondro · 06-12-2004, 04:40 PM

this medicine has helped with the frequency but like i said i only take it at night so instead of going potty 3-8 times a night i only go 1-2. it doesnt really help with pain or urgency but it does help me sleep so i am very grateful.
kim

makeyourday · 06-12-2004, 05:46 PM

I had to stop taking it. I was way to tired all day.

MeganAnne · 06-13-2004, 07:30 PM

I've been taking a generic form of Atarax for about 3 weeks now. I'm not as sleepy as when I first started to take it, and sometimes I feel better and sometimes I don't. Is this one of those perscriptions where you have to give it a few months to really kick in?