Zyrtec and gaining weight

I am a 52 year old female. I've been using Zyrtec for four months, at first PRN, then for the last eight weeks daily. I also take Norvasc and Atenolol for BP. I was already experiencing slight swelling in my ankles presumably from the Norvasc, and I have been gaining weight steadily since starting the Atenolol in December. I have had overwhelming fatigue during exercise to the point that I can hardly finish a one hour Jazzercise class (which I have attended on a regular basis for over 20 years.) All symptoms I've blamed on the BP meds, especially the Atenolol.

I began complaining to my doc about the symptoms and had a complete blood work up to rule out other diseases that cause these symptoms. He suggested Weight Watchers and increased exercise to battle the weight gain, and reduced the Atenolol to half dose to over come the these issues. I didn't think to tell him about the Zyrtec I had started taking OTC.

I began careful monitoring of calorie intake and increased my Jazzercise classes in an attempt to lose weight with no success. In fact, the weight continued to increase.

This week, the swelling in my ankles increased to the point where you can not recognize them and the swelling has now included my feet. They are so puffy the toes are connected and you can make a deep impression with your finger in the skin. I decided to stop the Zyrtec and found the swelling to stop immediately. Even the slight ankle swelling has abated.

I started searching the web for contraindications between Zyrtec and the BP meds. None of the drug sites offer any negative side effects The Zyrtec site gives no info at all. After reading the many experiences here and on another site, I think the Zyrtec is to blame for all of my symptoms. I have not asked the doc about his opinion, but will inform him at my next appointment.

I think the hardest part - for me - was even to concieve the idea that Zyrtec has all of these side effects.

I've been taking Zyrtec on a daily basis for about 90- 110 days a year due to really bad allergies. We live in the NY area which produce alergans most of the year.

After trying almost every antihistamine, Zyrtec seemed at the time as the best drug since it handled the allergy while eliminating the drowsiness almost completely for me. Being happy that I was able to maintain normal life during allergy periods was almost a new concept for me and I was really grateful for finding this drug.

Unfortunately, being almost blinded by the allergy-fighting success, I neglected the attention to the side effects. I guess I'm falling into the unlucky 2%. I had almost every side effect: Irritation, mood swings, gaining weight, dry mouth - just name it.

Recently, my wife did some research because we got to the point where I would fight with her over anything. I can testify that my tolerance level hit the ground. Anyway, she got my attention for her research results which turned a red flag for me. In addition, this year my body seemed to not respond anymore to the drug and doing my own little research revealed that it is very likely that you need to rotate different drugs every few months.

So I decided to get off Zyrtec and switched to Benadryl Allergy which I take every 4-6 hours. Yes, it does make me drowsy for about 15-20 minutes but it works. What's more interesting is, I've been about 10 days off Zyrtec and I am shocked to realize that I'm slowly getting rid of all the side effects associated with Zyrtec.

That being said, I would like to emphasize that this was my own individual experience and it may not be the same for someone else. But it is pretty disappointing for me that i cannot use this drug anymore on a regular basis.

Is any one having menstrual problems? I have had a lot of cramping and little to no flow-which is unusual for me-I feel like I am constantly PMS-ing
and I want to eat all the time! The allergy problem is gone but my ovaries
are killing me and Im gaining weight!

I have been taking Zyrtec for about a year now and I have not had any of the problems that all of these people have been complaining of, such as eating too much, gaining weight, not sleeping, phyco problems, etc. I have had none of these symtoms and the meds had gotten rid of my hives and allergies.