Hydroxyzine and Drowsiness: What Users Say (Page 2)

• cry...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 21, 2016

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "I've been on this medicine for 2 years now and it continues to work well against anxiety and panic attacks. I take a 25 mg pill per day. At first, I experienced slight drowsiness and wanted to sleep a lot, but after a few days these side effects went away completely. Skipping a dose won't affect me, but after skipping several doses once I felt nervous, irritated, and had trouble sleeping. Overall, it's good and reliable."

• Anonymous
• October 12, 2011

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "I have moderate to severe anxiety associated with a very unhealthy self-esteem. It is a terrible thing because I am generally a very rational person. As a result, I have extreme difficulty telling someone how I feel and of hurting another person's feelings. (I would never want another person to suffer the way I do). My symptoms usually begin with increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, nausea and pain in the chest/throat area, hyperventilation which will sometimes throw me into panic mode and extreme negative thinking that I am unable to deviate from. I was prescribed Vistaril 25mg up to 4 times daily as needed. I have found it very effective so far for immediate relief but it does cause drowsiness."

• Chr...
• November 7, 2013

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "I have been taking 25 mg of Vistaril once per day for about the past month. I take it at night. I have depression and anxiety pretty bad with the anxiety being the stronger of the two issues. I can't handle stress very well at all either. I am taking 40 mg of Prozac a day also. The Vistaril at first made me drowsy and lethargic. It took me about a week to adjust. Now I feel much better. I can sleep at night and feel decent when I wake up. It's not perfect but I am not getting any side effects and it's improved my life. I would recommend trying it but I would only take at night and do not drive after taking it until you get used to it."

• Ste...
• February 6, 2015

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "I'm glad I was prescribed Vistaril. It relieves anxiety quickly without all the downsides of Klonopin or Xanax. The drowsiness is more pronounced, but I'll take it over a panic attack. This seems like a good medicine to take as needed. Be careful driving, and remember to rely on natural coping skills as well. To the people experiencing an abnormal amount of drowsiness or nausea, just remember it's temporary. It was totally effective for me, and my anxiety is moderate."

• Anx...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 16, 2014

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "This medicine does what it's supposed to do. A 50mg capsule usually is enough to dispel panic attacks and return me to baseline. I don't take any more because I can't deal with the drowsiness during the day and I take something else for sleeping at night. No benzodiazepine-like euphoria, just simple no-frills relief."

• Cin...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• March 1, 2020

Hydroxyzine for Pruritus "I have been taking 25 mg of Atarax up to four times a day for 30 years. I was given this because of my constant itching and rashes. It has saved my life. I have allergies to so many things. When I'm stung by an insect or come in contact with an allergy trigger, I take a higher dose, and it has saved me from using an epi pen. I also have used it to sleep. I don't have anxiety, perhaps Atarax is why. I don't have trouble with sleepiness on the lower dose. So I function fine in the daytime when I take it. Your body gets used to it."

• Che...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 20, 2020

For Anxiety "I took a very low dose of hydroxyzine for anxiety before bed twice. It sedated me so much. But I woke up with tension, anxiety, and rebound adrenaline rush all day. Ended up in the ER the first morning after not realizing it was effects from the drug. Be careful, everyone reacts differently."

• Til...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 5, 2019

For Anxiety "So I know everyone's body is different, some meds work for others and some don't. But I will say this medication really does help me. Anytime I'm feeling anxious or having a panic attack, I will take one, and even though it takes a while to kick in, it really does help. I'm also prescribed clonazepam, and I take that with it, and that really helps. But on the days that I don't take the clonazepam, the hydroxyzine makes me feel really drowsy, really relaxed. It like removes all the tension and the nervousness and the anxiousness from my body. I hope that this helps."

• J P...
• July 9, 2015

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "This is great for general anxiety. Calms you down fairly quickly and makes you 'zoned out', mildly sedated and definitely less anxious. Not as strong as a benzo and will not stop a panic attack, but is great for when you are feeling panicky or generally anxious. Another plus is that it is not addictive. Absolutely no withdrawal symptoms whatsoever. This DEFINITELY raises my resting pulse about 15 beats per minute and also raises diastolic blood pressure about 10 points even at a small dose. Even with these raises, mine is still within normal range, but just a word of caution."

• Man...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 29, 2016

For Anxiety "Due to family illnesses, family addictions, and marital problems, I had been having severe anxiety and panic attacks that seemed to be getting worse. I was having difficulty sleeping at night. I was prescribed 50mg of Hydroxyzine up to 3 times a day as needed for anxiety. After about 10 minutes of taking my first dose, it was as if someone snapped their fingers and the weight of the world was finally lifted off my chest, and I could breathe. This really helped melt away my anxiety. I didn't feel numb or drugged, but I felt relaxed. It was like a heavy and grounded feeling. I did sleep a lot the first two days I took it, but I feel like that was due to my body finally getting to catch up on some much-needed rest. I feel like I have my life back :)"

• Rad...
• June 2, 2014

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "I was prescribed Vistaril for bad panic attacks, as needed. I was put on Celexa, and less than an hour after taking it, I felt extreme fear and had the worst panic attack I've ever experienced. I called my doctor immediately and was told to go ahead and take the Vistaril. It calmed me down in less than 15 minutes. It did, however, make me so drowsy that I found it impossible to stay awake. Thank goodness I have it on hand for my next attempt with Wellbutrin."

• Tin...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 17, 2018

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "I’ve taken this medication on and off. I take it whenever I feel overwhelmed and I’m filled with anxiety. This medication helps me relax my mind. It’s also good when I can’t sleep at night. My doctor had told me to try it, and I have a lot of allergies to medication, so this medication has helped me with a lot of different uses: allergies, anxiety, and sedation. So I’m gonna say 10 out of 10. I recommend."

• Ala...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 16, 2021

For Sedation "I've had chronic insomnia for almost 5 months now, and my psychiatrist prescribed me hydroxyzine. Worked well for the first few days before it just stopped working for me. I started taking it and needing more just to feel a mild sedative effect until the point where it just did nothing anymore. A few weeks passed, and I decided to try it again in which it worked and made me sleep easily, but once again, a sort of tolerance built up again, and it stopped working. Overall, it is good for short-term use but not for anything chronic. Don't take too much, or it will make you very groggy as well."

• bre...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 1, 2016

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "This stuff is like an OTC version of Benadryl (it's an antihistamine). It has been helping me wean off of the Klonopin I've been taking to help me sleep for the last 2 years. This stuff takes almost an hour to kick in, but when it does, it almost always kills my anxiety at times when benzos didn't. If you're gonna take it for sleep, take it at least an hour before you plan on going to bed and make sure you have 8 to 9 hours to sleep because it will knock you out. Grogginess is its biggest negative, along with tolerance building up fast, so I try to take every other day if I can, though it's non-addictive and safe to take regularly at least far safer than a benzo."

• Ica...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 17, 2016

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "I used to take this medication for panic attacks, and it worked absolute wonders. It took about 30 minutes to kick in but really calmed me down and it wasn't at all addictive. I later found out I have severe hereditary liver problems and it has a bad interaction with what I have to take to keep my liver in check, so I can no longer take it. With the medicines combined I just felt foggy and had to sleep for at least 15 hours if I had to take a Vistaril, I couldn't keep my eyes open and function until I'd slept it off. I'm now trying out Xanax, and I don't really like it, Vistaril kept me calm longer and was just amazing when I needed it. With Xanax the half-life is just terrible and I end up with a worse panic attack than I began with."

• Ama...
• March 11, 2017

For Sedation "I am 26 years old and have been prescribed this medication for anxiety. I took it for the first time yesterday at around 2 pm. I watched TV for about 20 mins and found it extremely hard to keep my eyes open at all. I fell asleep and didn't wake up until around 7 pm. I woke up, had a snack, and fell back asleep until 5 am. I was up for an hour and felt weak and had no energy. I went back to sleep (I tried my hardest to stay awake). It is now 3:30 pm the next day, and I feel groggy, weak, and still so tired. Needless to say, that will be the first and last time I take it."

• Anonymous
• July 11, 2019

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "This is really not a drug for people with serious, long-term issues with anxiety. But it's also the lowest-risk prescription a doctor can write, so expect to get this as a first-line treatment in lieu of any personalized care. I have taken Vistaril on and off for nearly 10 years, and while it does help in some specific circumstances, it's just not a particularly effective drug. It basically produces a mild sedative effect that can take some of the edge off of background anxiety. If you take it on a daily basis, expect the benefits to fade somewhat. Increasing the dosage just makes you more drowsy and the side effects worse. If you can identify in advance circumstances that make your anxiety worse, taking a Vistaril before that can help alleviate things a bit. This drug will not stop or even really affect an imminent anxiety or panic attack, and even at its most effective, it won't help with many of the side effects of anxiety (rapid heartbeat, trembling, numbness, etc.)."

• Bre...
• May 8, 2014

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "My experience with it. The medicine works great for itch relief (pruritus) and anxiety. I have Graves' Disease, this was to treat anxiety temporarily after a thyroid storm. The problem I had with it was it made me too drowsy to function normally. I stayed tired and experienced grumpiness and lack of patience. I've taken Xanax and Elavil before and definitely was able to work and socialize normally, unlike with this medicine. There is no way I can take it every four to six hours and function throughout the day. I've never been one to tolerate antihistamines very well, I get the shakes, etc., and experienced the same with Vistaril. All that aside, at night, it did help me sleep and ease the anxiety as it's supposed to."

• scb...
• July 19, 2016

For Pain "Finally, a migraine preventative that works for me! I was having up to 10-15 migraines a month. None of the standard migraine preventatives worked well for me, or I had side effects that I could not tolerate. I have 2 levels of migraines -- those that Excedrin Migraine takes care of and the ones that need my triptan (Axert) medicine. Within a week of starting the hydroxyzine, my 'low-level' migraines all but disappeared and I was down to 3-4 'triptan' headaches a month; the month after that the 'triptan' headaches were gone. I haven't had a migraine-free stretch like that for over 15 years! The side effects have been minimal -- I was drowsy during the day for the first week, but that has gone away. On the plus side, I'm sleeping better too!"

• Roa...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 5, 2013

Hydroxyzine for Allergic Urticaria "Have taken Vistaril for nearly 30 years for hives that seem to be associated with exposure to hot/cold temperatures or emotional stress. A 5mg dose rapidly eliminates hives and has a lasting effect for 2-3 days. My doctor gives me an annual prescription for 30, 25mg tablets which I cut into four pieces. I only take 1/4 tablet, therefore, this very small dose completely resolves the hives for several days with minimal side effects consisting of slight drowsiness. For me, it is a marvelous medicine. Cost, even without insurance, is extremely small."

• gym...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 4, 2023

For Anxiety "I took 25 mg Vistaril at 8 pm for anxiety. I didn't even feel that I took anything and was up for hours (longer than usual) after taking. It did not help any anxiety, instead, it's given me anxiety. The next morning I felt so groggy, lightheaded, in a daze, like a zombie, and I spent the entire day in bed because of this. I will NEVER take this medicine again. The aftereffects made me feel horrible, not like myself. I didn't want to do anything, and I have 4 kids, so I cannot afford to be like a zombie in bed all day."

• mir...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 2, 2016

For Anxiety "I just took this for the first time about 2 hours ago. I read a lot of the reviews on this site before starting to take it and saw a lot of negative posts on the pill and on its effects. Going into it, I didn't expect it to 'cure' or completely 'rid' me of anxiety like I feel a lot of other reviewers on here did, which led to their negative takes on it. I more so just wanted to see how I would respond. I found that it took about an hour (maybe a little less) to kick in. I also found that it calmed me down quite a lot. I only took a 25 mg capsule. I've seen a lot of reviewers saying that it 'sedated' them. I didn't feel deadly tired, just nice and calm. First time all day not feeling anxiety. So I give this one a thumbs up."

• Nik...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 6, 2019

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "This drug is amazingly sedating. After reading the reviews, I was reluctant to take it, thinking it would not work. Boy, was I wrong. Sadly, I am starting antidepressant therapy, and my anxiety is through the roof. I was given Ativan but am reluctant to take it often for fear of tolerance and addiction. The Vistaril has really worked at calming me down after increased anxiety, especially when worrying when trying to fall off to sleep. It shut down the worry and made me slow down, which in my case is what I needed. I only took 10 mg and caution against driving or other activities until you know how it will affect you."

• Mac...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 18, 2019

Hydroxyzine for Anxiety "I have severe anxiety. My first psychiatrist prescribed this to me for anxiety. It did not help but did make me sleep. Now I am going to a new psychiatrist, and he is insisting I try it again! So now I am back on it. The only way it helps relieve anxiety is by knocking you out to sleep! Sure, I’m not anxious when I'm sleeping, but I can’t sleep 24/7!"

• Eds...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 4, 2016

For Sedation "Have been taking 10 mg for years on a semi-regular basis. Only when I need a good sleep or if I slept poorly for a couple of days. Don't notice the antihistamine effect, but do sleep well and rested. If the nervous system is too aroused, it doesn't always work. But for me, it's good. Not much side effect apart from slight drowsiness, but very short term on waking."