Vistaril and Panic Attacks: What Users Say

• Cra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 22, 2013

For Anxiety "I have weaned off of Effexor 150mg and 75 mg over the past 3 weeks. I started Cymbalta 30 mg 2 days ago and was still having horrible adverse effects coming off of the Effexor. Effexor worked great for my anxiety and severe PMDD, but was making me extremely sluggish. I have also had chronic back pain for the past 7 years, and my doctor wanted to switch me to Cymbalta. Well, the transition/withdrawal has been terrible. A lot of crying and panicking for no reason, crawling skin, etc. I took one Vistaril and found it very helpful. My doctor has prescribed Vistaril 25-50 mg every 6 hours as needed. It has been a godsend to help my anxiety during this transition. It has also been very helpful for my son's anxiety as well."

• Mbm...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 19, 2019

For Anxiety "I was given Vistaril for severe GAD with panic attacks. Very soon after taking the first one, my anxiety tripled, and I began having back-to-back panic attacks. After a call to the doctor, I was told to take a higher dose. Long story short, for whatever reason, I cannot take this medication. It has the complete opposite effect on me as it should."

• Jes...
• May 4, 2019

For Anxiety "For me, after taking this medication as needed for 3 days, I had no relief for my symptoms. I felt like this med intensified my panic attacks. It is just glorified Benadryl! Meditation, deep breathing exercises, and a long warm bath worked better than this garbage!"

• Anx...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 26, 2019

For Anxiety "The worst experience of my life! Took one 25mg Vistaril and had the worst panic attack of my life and had harmful thoughts! Never would recommend this drug to anyone. I couldn't breathe, stop crying, and kept having suicidal thoughts like thoroughly hated myself and wanted to slit my throat. It's the day after I took it, and I feel very depressed, I have a horrible headache, and it's hard for me to breathe. I have never cried so hard in my life, and I'm hyperventilating that horribly until I took that stupid medication. On top of it, it didn't even work for allergies or sedation like it's supposed to. I would have voted it 0 out of 10, but the lowest it goes is 1 and a hyperventilating that horribly, until I took that stupid medication. It didn't even work for allergies or sedation like it's supposed to. You're better off just taking Benadryl, an antihistamine."

• Mja...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 4, 2018

For Anxiety "I took this at bedtime to help my anxiety. I started sleeping less and less, increased panic attacks, weight loss, and paranoia. I felt like a meth addict. After about a month, I realized it was the meds and I wasn't going crazy! Don't take this stuff, it was seriously terrifying!"

• Don...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 18, 2021

For Sedation "I have been taking 50 mg of Vistaril at night for sleep. I sleep well with it but notice I am in a bad mood, 'snappy,' the next day. I am also prescribed Klonopin, which I take during the day as needed. I notice I am having to take Klonopin more consistently to take the edgy feeling away. I think also Vistaril is causing some mild depression. I was on Trazodone at night for sleep for years but had to stop because it was causing panic attacks the next day; plus, I felt drugged up. My doctor prescribed Dayvigo recently, but I noticed that made me very hungry the next day as well. I felt angry; sleep quality not that good. I have tried a lot of things to help me sleep but usually can't tolerate side effects. So, back to trying to reset my natural sleep clock - without meds."

• joh...
• November 24, 2010

For Anxiety "I have taken 25 mg twice a day or once a day with good relief. Twice a day is better. As soon as I stop it, I get slight panic, but I also feel like I'm not able to concentrate when people are talking. It's a strange feeling, and then I get pain in my left ribs, under my arms, and left upper back. Then I wonder if I'm going to faint or have a heart attack. It's a constant roller coaster of high and low adrenaline. A small dose of beta blocker worked well for anxiety, but when you are sick, you need a little adrenaline to combat inflammation. It's an awful balancing act."

• Sam...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 8, 2018

For Anxiety "It just doesn't do anything for me. I've even had panic attacks on this stuff. I took it as prescribed for up to 3 months, it's very weak. I do get that, but it doesn't even have a placebo effect on me."