Zyrtec

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I'm having some thoughts about zyrtec and hoping you will help me think this through.

DS1 has been on it since he was about 1. He had anaphylaxis from pollen, and it was prescribed to him. Shortly after that it went OTC. I had trouble finding it for a bit, so I bought some claritin. One dose made him crazy, so I went back to zyrtec. He just uses it through the spring because it seems that his allergies are not as severe as they were then. We moved to NC from MO last February, and last spring was not bad for him.

DS2 seems to have the same pollen allergies. A few weeks ago when the pollen started up he had some trouble and ended up with a bit of pneumonia. Since then he has been on zyrtec and singulair. He is doing much better and is doing okay with the major pollen we've had this weekend.

DS1 has always been a crappy sleeper. Over the past year he has gotten much better. He has not been on zyrtec since last spring.

DS2 has been a pretty good sleeper. Good napper at least, has had issues at night but lately he has started sleeping much, much better.

Both boys have been on zyrtec for about 3 weeks.

Both boys have started waking up at least an hour earlier than normal. DS1 is constantly telling me he is tired. DS2 is tired, but only taking 1 hour naps instead of his normal 2-2.5 hour naps.

This morning as they both woke up at 5:30 :yawning it hit me that this could possibly be related to the zyrtec.

What are your thoughts?

[Therese's Mommy]

Originally Posted by Biscuits & Gravy

Both boys have been on zyrtec for about 3 weeks.

Both boys have started waking up at least an hour earlier than normal. DS1 is constantly telling me he is tired. DS2 is tired, but only taking 1 hour naps instead of his normal 2-2.5 hour naps.

Is it possible they still haven't adjusted to DST? I know it took my girls a while and in fact it is probably just this past week that they finally are back on their normal schedule.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I don't know. They seemed to adjust pretty well and were fine when DST happened. In fact DS2 had a run of nights where his sleep was the best it has ever been. Slept 4 hours after going to bed, normally he wakes every 1-2 hours. DS2 has started getting super restless at around 5am. Nursing non-stop, rolling around, standing on me while nursing, kicking, kicking, kicking.

I've been doing some reading about zyrtec this morning and what I've read has me a little freaked out now. I'm super tempted to go get some claritin today and see what happens. I know so many people who have kids who did not do well on zyrtec. Now I'm starting to have doubts about what it is doing to my own kids.

[kjbrown92]

My kids did fine on the Zyrtec, and Claritin didn't work for me personally, but everyone is different.

[sbgrace]

Zyrtec makes Caleb temperamental to put it mildly. But Claritin just isn't helping at all and we're having asthma flairs so I think I've got to do either singulair or back to zyrtec.

It could be affecting sleep though for us they either sedate or wire up. It's weird they are waking early after sleeping through. Try switching dose (bedtime to am or am to bedtime whichever is the opposite of now) and see if things change.

For my son getting up early is part of being over-tired (or over-excited about something).

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I give it in the morning now because during the day is when they have the most trouble so the dose is strongest then.

I picked up the NCSS for toddlers & preschoolers at the library today, so we'll see if there are any ideas that might help with non-allergy stuff. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of why they are not sleeping, and the medicine was a common thread.

Oh, and DS2 does not sleep through. Never has. DS1 didn't do it consistently until he was almost 3 though, so my expectations are pretty low when it comes to STTN.

[LauraLoo]

We did not have good luck with Zyrtec, but we had more extreme side effects such as chronic nightmares, which are a rare side effect. But to answer your question, yes, Zyrtec could be the cause of your ds' disrupted sleep and early wakings. While my ds was on Zyrtec, he was chronically tired (and very cranky) during the day because he wasn't sleeping well at night. When we took him off Zyrtec, his sleep & moods improved in less than 2 days.

I found the following site *very* helpful when assessing a rx drug.

http://www.askapatient.com/viewratin...35&name=ZYRTEC

[Biscuits & Gravy]

Originally Posted by LauraLoo

We did not have good luck with Zyrtec, but we had more extreme side effects such as chronic nightmares, which are a rare side effect. But to answer your question, yes, Zyrtec could be the cause of your ds' disrupted sleep and early wakings. While my ds was on Zyrtec, he was chronically tired (and very cranky) during the day because he wasn't sleeping well at night. When we took him off Zyrtec, his sleep & moods improved in less than 2 days.

I found the following site *very* helpful when assessing a rx drug.

http://www.askapatient.com/viewratin...35&name=ZYRTEC

This is one of the sites I was reading earlier when I was getting freaked out. Thanks for sharing your experience!

[spedteacher30]

My son had a terrible time with Zyrtec, Claritin and Singulair, but is doing well on Xyzal--which is second generation Zyrtec. There is also a second generation of Claritin called Clarinex. The doctor and I had to appeal to the insurance company three times to get the Xyzal covered, but they finally covered it at the third tier co-pay.

you can also try Allegra--it didn't make our son crazy, but it also didn't help his allergies.