Posted by sukarno on December 14, 2010, at 11:59:34
In reply to cetirizine (zyrtec) is an antidepressant?!, posted by rovers95 on June 25, 2010, at 14:08:42
I just started taking cetirizine after the pharmacist told me that it is not contraindicated with alprazolam.
I feel sedated and sleepy as if I had taken its parent drug hydroxyzine. I slept for 11 hours and still feel "zonked" like I haven't slept at all.
However, I have noticed that I am less depressed and more relaxed. I'm taking 5mg twice a day because I think 10mg would be too sedating all at once and perhaps not give me 24 hour coverage against allergies. There's a lot of mold in my house and I have a documented mold spore allergy (confirmed by skin test in 1993).
Maybe histamine exacerbates depression? I read an article on MSNBC that said that allergies can make depression worse.
I thought of using mirtazapine (Remeron) instead as it has relatively strong antihistaminic properties, but because it can cause cholesterol levels to increase - sometimes extremely - I decided I didn't want to take that risk.
Rx: alprazolam 1mg QID, famotidine 20mg BID, cetirizine 5mg BID, GNC Ultra Mega Gold vitamin supplement BID
Dx: panic disorder with agoraphobia, chronic depression, probable PTSD
poster:sukarno
thread:952158
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20101203/msgs/973531.html