Zyrtec vs Xyzal

[Diane_46]

I have had hives since July this year. I had them about 7 years ago, they lasted about a year. I'm taking Zyrtec (once a day), Zantac (2 / day), Doxepin (150 mg @ bedtime), and Benadryl as needed. I had been on prednisone on and off since July but my doctor has taken me off of it (for obvious reasons). Unfortunately nothing I've taken other than prednisone has worked. My hives are particularly associated with pressure (underwear) - Since September i have worn a tank top under my clothes due to hives associated with wearing a bra. Since there are times that my clothing requires wearing a bra (like yesterday) and sure enough, hives were back by last night. Very, very itchy.... i drank a ton of Benadryl (the liquid version since that works more quickly than pills). I am ready to ask my doctor about other options - Xyzal, Atarax (I do have a quickly dimishing number of these pills from when I had to go to the emergency room), and perhaps dapsone. Does anyone have experience with these drugs? Right  now, i'm sitting here feeling so itchy (better than last night, but not good) and discouraged. I would appreciate others experience. Thanks!

[FurballsMom]

It looks like you already know what your true food allergies are.  You can have hidden food allergies or food sensitivities, too, though, which will affect your GERD.  I have GERD, too...

I see a naturopath who had me go through an elimination diet, which helped me discover these hidden food allergies that can't be tested with the usual igE tests, because you'll test negative for these food allergies but still have a reaction (GERD or IBS or both).  I still have GERD, but now that I know which foods to avoid, I'm able to live without taking the reflux medications you mentioned.  I also lost a signifant amount of weight without even trying.  I needed to lose the weight.

I learned that it is dangerous to take these PPI (Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, etc) medications long term.  A friend of mine had a nissen fundoplication done and was still taking the PPI meds and ended up ruining the lining to her stomach and small intestine.  She will have to have vitamin B shots for the rest of her life--every week--just to survive.

[Marsh37]

One day about 6 years ago I had shell fish I broke out in hives and my lips swoll up. and for several years  after that I continued to get hives and swell. After several expensive tests and a sleu of doctors one doctor said I have Uticaria and she prescribed me a eppi pen. Without medication I have been completly Hive free for about a year and a half. (Knock on Wood)  
This leads me to my new problem I have always felt like thier is a lump of mucous in the back of my throat the doctor says its GERD and Possibly Allergies. So he prescribed Nexium, Ranitdine 300 mg  and xyzal (which my insurance does not pay for) I am very frustrated with the whole situation. Any Help would be nice

[Tori363]

If you are having pruritus (itchy skin) or hives caused by "pressure," it could be eczema.  I had "hives" for two years and always in areas that chafed against my clothes (bra area, waistband, ankles, backs of knees, etc). It was HORRIBLE.

However, after going to many different doctors (internist, dermatologist, allergist) who all prescribed either oral antihistamines or prednisone, I finally went to an immunologist who realized what it was.  

I got a simple prescription for topical corticosteroids.  Unlike the antihistamines, they actually worked (and fast, within a day), and unlike prednisone, they are not as dangerous with scary side effects.

If you get "hives" because of pressure, and your reactions are dermatological (I have hay fever, too, but the itchy skin was not systemic), you should ask your doctor to try a strong corticosteroid cream/ointment.  It may be eczema.  

The good news is, it may never go away completely, but you can treat it (and make other changes, like taking cooler showers, using better moisturizers, etc) and it won't bother you anymore.

[JanaBanana612]

Have you looked at your laundry detergent?  I all of a sudden broke out in hives last year, especially in my bra area, by my socks, or waistband of my pants.  My doctor treated it with Zyrtec.  I got tired of taking it and looked at what was around my house.  I've switched to fragrance free everything.  No candles, no nothing.  I use laundry detergent has no toxin or fragrance in it.  I've controlled my hives, unless I'm around fragrance. I also feel I breath much better.  If only people realized how polluting fragrances really can be:)

[romy09]

I was given a sample of Xyzal from the allergist. It seems to work ok. Then I got a prescription for it from my PCP. She also gave me a $20 discount for each 5 refills. She obviously knew that my insurance wouldn't cover it, but neglected to tell me. When I went to fill the RX, they told me that the Xyzal isn't covered by insurance. ????? What the heck do I have and pay for health insurance for anyway???? My theory is that if you need a prescription for a medication that is necessary for you to feel healthy,...........then it should be covered!!! Right??? Well, then I found out that it would cost me $90 but minus the $20, total of $70 a month. I don't know about you, but I can't afford that cost plus office visits that cost $25 co-pay for follow-ups and $35 to see the allergist on top of it. I am disgusted with all of them!!!!! I am trying Zyrtec that cost $25 @ Walmart. Cheaper than the prescription seeing as I will need it for the entire allergy seasons foreverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!! Hope it works.

[gappygappy]

Not sure if this helps. I read on one research study that there is no clinically significances between the 2 drugs (xyzal and zyrtec) I'm a med tech student and I did take organic chemistry. xyzal is usually prescribe as 5mg/tablet (pure R-enantiomer) while zyrtec is prescribe as 10mg/tablet (50% S-enantiomer and 50% R-enantiomer). The human body only uses the R-enantiomer, which is why some people feels its faster and better as your body only digest pure R-enantiomer rather digest both S/R at the same time. Technically there should not be any difference because your body can only use the R-enan, but imagine this: If you want to paint your room PINK in 1 hour, do you go to the store and buy a tub of pink paint, or do you buy a tub of white paint and a tub of red paint to mix? Obviously, if you but a tub of pure pink paint, you would save the time of mixing it before painting. Same as zyxal, if you stomach only needs to dissolve the R-enan, it should be faster than dissolving both R-enan and S-enan together. Thats my logic. But technically, there is no clinical significance when they conduct the research study. But then again, one would wonder who sponsored that research study...
I have tried both zyrtec and xyzal before, personally I think xyzal provides relieve faster. The bad thing about xyzal is that it is slightly pricer than zyrtec. You can read here http://www.irf.dk/en/reviews/xyzal_levocetirizine.htm for more information on comparison of the 2 drugs.