Hydroxyzine

[honeywhite]

What pharmaceutical group is Hydroxyzine? I've heard it described as anti-psychotic, which won't do shit for my runny nose and itchy eyes. If it WILL, tell me, I'll take half a tablet or something (some people say it's souped up Benadryl, which is more my speed).

 

[FungousSneeze]

Its an antihistamine sometimes prescribed for anxiety or sleep often as an alternative to controlled substances.

If control of allergy symptoms and sedation is what youre looking for then hydroxyzine will provide it. It has no recreational value imo other than an additive to other drugs to increase sedation.

 

[honeywhite]

Its an antihistamine sometimes prescribed for anxiety or sleep often as an alternative to controlled substances.

If control of allergy symptoms and sedation is what youre looking for then hydroxyzine will provide it. It has no recreational value imo other than an additive to other drugs to increase sedation.

What I am looking for is control of allergy symptoms. That's it. Thank you. This'll do then.

Had no Claritin or Benadryl

 

[Scrofula]

A lot of anti-psychotics are strong anti-histamines, so there's a lot of overlap in classification. Hydroxyzine is one or the other class depending on what it's prescribed for.

Interestingly, hydroxyzine is metabolized into cetirizine, which is an anti-histamine but doesn't cross the blood brain barrier, and so is non-drowsy.


But yeah, no reason you couldn't also use hydroxyzine for seasonal allergies, hives*, or swelling from bee stings. I'm actually surprised they don't prescribe it where I live.


*Reminded me that my sister started having a serious reaction to shellfish on prom night, so got to show off her expensive dress in the ER. Not that anyone cares, I thought it was hilarious. She took Benadryl initially, and Hydroxyzine would've worked too (it wasn't full anaphylaxis, that needs a 911 lights and siren).

 

[Keif' Richards]

Honeywhite, I'm not knocking you man, but in the future, it might be easier for you to handle more simple questions by simply Googling them and conducting your own research. We're always here to help you and we want you to acquire the knowledge necessary to be an effective contributor. We want you to become an effective researcher in your own right so that you can come back and use your skills to help other BL'ers who are in the position you're in now.

If you were to Google "Hydroxyzine", you'll be confronted with suitable resources like Wikipedia and you'll find out that Hydroxyzine (Vistaril, Atarax) is a sedative antihistamine of a similar nature to other drugs of the class, which include Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), Promethazine (Phenergan) and Doxylamine (Unisom) among others. There's not a significant or extremely noticeable difference between any of these drugs. I would challenge someone to differentiate the two. It's like preferring Coke over Pepsi. There are some people who have their preferences, but in a pinch, each can be substituted for one of the others.

I feel like the medical establishment has almost randomly assigned various positive effects to different antihistamines that aren't really correct. "Hydroxyzine is an anxiolytic"; "Promethazine is an antiemetic"; "Diphenhydramine is for allergies". It seems almost arbitrary. I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist, but I have a firm belief that the reason why some of these antihistamines are prescription-only medicines is because, by labeling them as "controlled", less-informed patients might be more inclined to believe that these drugs are indeed effective. Prescribers will rarely say "oh yea, this is just an antihistamine by the way", it's more like "we have a very effective anxiolytic known as Vistaril that is indicated for your condition. It's nearly as effective as Benzodiazepines for anxiolysis.

The pharmaceutical companies slap a "new and improved" sticker on a box of antihistamines, claiming antihistamines will conquer your mental illness and make everything alright. So, instead of say, buying 600 Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) tablets from Costco for $5, you can pay $15 for 10 tablets of Hydroxyzine that will really not produce any kind of profoundly different effect than any of the other antihistamines.

Case in point, all of the sedative antihistamines are almost totally interchangeable. The relegation of certain antihistamines to prescription-only status is totally arbitrary and most likely a very sneaky way of psychologically attracting new patients.

 

[Scrofula]

Don't forget cynicism. When you see people get prescription versions of something OTC like ibuprofen, it's often because Medicaid is picking up the tab.

But I gotta be the one to point out, a person should be able to tell the difference between hydroxyzine and diphenhydramine, based on their pharmacology. I've never had any Atarax, so I can't say personally (what should happen isn't always what does happen).

A big indicator you ate a bunch of Benadryl is when all the moisture in your face disappears (and time stops). That's due to anti-cholinergic side effects.

Hydroxyzine has much lower, sometimes no binding to those receptors. So time should flow normally, and you should be able to spit.

Dph actually increases dopamine levels in ways similar to cocaine, while hydroxyzine is antagonistic at the D2 receptor (hence the anti-psychotic label). So I'd expect people to overuse DPH for longer than they would hydroxyzine. Myself and a few others I know do seem to become oddly hooked on the stuff, despite getting nothing out of it (I quit, btw).

Why that means you can't get Atarax OTC in the US, though, I can't tell you.

Strangely, DPH is a controlled substance in Zambia.

 

[johnlesliemackie]

The sedative properties of hydroxizine are pretty weak. 50-100 mg combined with a downer might make it easier to fall asleep while making it harder to wake up and disrupt a continous pattern of sleep.

It does take the edge of my anxiety, when it’s not overly severe, and clogs some of the neural wheels turning in my head: the formation of neurosis after neurosis at imaginable speed, inbent fractals and connections ravaging my interior while chaining me to my skull: mental events unable to portray with our ordinary one-word-after-another word english (or in my case, Swedish) — so i do find it underappreciated when it comes to light anxiety relief and dissolution of

 

[honeywhite]

The sedative properties of hydroxizine are pretty weak. 50-100 mg combined with a downer might make it easier to fall asleep while making it harder to wake up and disrupt a continous pattern of sleep.

It does take the edge of my anxiety, when it’s not overly severe, and clogs some of the neural wheels turning in my head: the formation of neurosis after neurosis at imaginable speed, inbent fractals and connections ravaging my interior while chaining me to my skull: mental events unable to portray with our ordinary one-word-after-another word english (or in my case, Swedish) — so i do find it underappreciated when it comes to light anxiety relief and dissolution of

There's barbiturates for that. (I'm a barbiturate-for-anxiety lover so this is a joke, even though they are in fact indicated for that purpose)

 

[honeywhite]

If you were to Google "Hydroxyzine", you'll be confronted with suitable resources like Wikipedia and you'll find out that Hydroxyzine (Vistaril, Atarax) is a sedative antihistamine of a similar nature to other drugs of the class, which include Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), Promethazine (Phenergan) and Doxylamine (Unisom) among others. There's not a significant or extremely noticeable difference between any of these drugs. I would challenge someone to differentiate the two. It's like preferring Coke over Pepsi. There are some people who have their preferences, but in a pinch, each can be substituted for one of the others.

I did google it, but half the sites say it's an anti-psychotic, which freaked me out. I wanted a simple anti-histamine (and, after taking an Atarax, got it). Then again it's like saying Thorazine is an anti-psychotic, but to me, it's the greatest or second-greatest (let's just say it ties with Zofran) anti-emetic in the world. The AP "label" was scary. Turns out Atarax is slightly superior to Zyrtec as an allergy pill.

 

[Kittycat5]

Honeywhite, I'm not knocking you man, but in the future, it might be easier for you to handle more simple questions by simply Googling them and conducting your own research. We're always here to help you and we want you to acquire the knowledge necessary to be an effective contributor. We want you to become an effective researcher in your own right so that you can come back and use your skills to help other BL'ers who are in the position you're in now.

If you were to Google "Hydroxyzine", you'll be confronted with suitable resources like Wikipedia and you'll find out that Hydroxyzine (Vistaril, Atarax) is a sedative antihistamine of a similar nature to other drugs of the class, which include Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), Promethazine (Phenergan) and Doxylamine (Unisom) among others. There's not a significant or extremely noticeable difference between any of these drugs. I would challenge someone to differentiate the two. It's like preferring Coke over Pepsi. There are some people who have their preferences, but in a pinch, each can be substituted for one of the others.

I feel like the medical establishment has almost randomly assigned various positive effects to different antihistamines that aren't really correct. "Hydroxyzine is an anxiolytic"; "Promethazine is an antiemetic"; "Diphenhydramine is for allergies". It seems almost arbitrary. I'm a bit of a conspiracy theorist, but I have a firm belief that the reason why some of these antihistamines are prescription-only medicines is because, by labeling them as "controlled", less-informed patients might be more inclined to believe that these drugs are indeed effective. Prescribers will rarely say "oh yea, this is just an antihistamine by the way", it's more like "we have a very effective anxiolytic known as Vistaril that is indicated for your condition. It's nearly as effective as Benzodiazepines for anxiolysis.

The pharmaceutical companies slap a "new and improved" sticker on a box of antihistamines, claiming antihistamines will conquer your mental illness and make everything alright. So, instead of say, buying 600 Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) tablets from Costco for $5, you can pay $15 for 10 tablets of Hydroxyzine that will really not produce any kind of profoundly different effect than any of the other antihistamines.

Case in point, all of the sedative antihistamines are almost totally interchangeable. The relegation of certain antihistamines to prescription-only status is totally arbitrary and most likely a very sneaky way of psychologically attracting new patients.

I love and respect you Mr. Richards but think you are off-base with much of this. I do agree subjectively for its anti-allergy or even sedative actions hydroxyzine is no better than other antihistamines (actually for sleep personally I do but not generally speaking) but its hydroxyzines pharmacology that allows it to work as an anxiolytic. Its antagonism of 5ht-2a is rather unique among what we colloquially call antihistamines and combine that with it not being a controlled drug with very little abuse potential makes it an excellent choice in the repetoire of drugs to treat anxiety.

And regarding Rx or OTC antihistamines, it has nothing to do with psychology but rather money. Claritin, Allegra, Zyrtec, Xyzal, hell even Benadryl a million years ago were all once prescription only. They all cost a fortune, save Benadryl. We are talking well over 100 bucks for 30 days worth. The pharmaceutical companies do what they do with all me-too drugs. They discover, patent and bring to market a novel substance. Market the hell out of it, get it on formularies for insurance plans and charge an arm and a leg for it. The only psychology involved is that they know most people feel antihistamines are benign thus paving the way to make the Rx to OTC switch to hold on to some of their profits.

 

[itstartedwithakiss]

I take hydroxyzine for anxiety (prescribed by doctor) doesn’t do much for anxiety but does make u tired about 3 hours later ? it’s an okay antihistamine but not the best

 

[Lil'LinaptkSix]

... it might be easier for you to handle more simple questions by simply Googling them and conducting your own research.

Was at a dear friends *place and seen a med bottle under his bed; asked what the hell it was and he responded something to the effect that it was for sleep.
Had to google it with BL behind the search and low and behold Keif' appears.
Old boy is bedridden, has been for the 20 or so years known and want to take him to the farm. Love the guy and want to see him smile in the open air....
Ahhhh.., thanks for he informative posts, guys/gals. Google would be best suited to not bury BL under a pile of crap. BL is the place for knowledge/experience of a substance.
Where would I be without this place...?
Much

 

[Keif' Richards]

Was at a dear friends *place and seen a med bottle under his bed; asked what the hell it was and he responded something to the effect that it was for sleep.
Had to google it with BL behind the search and low and behold Keif' appears.
Old bot is bedridden, has been for the 20 or so years known and want to take him to the farm. Love the guy and want to see him smile in the open air....
Ahhhh.., thanks for he informative posts, guys/gals. Google would be best suited to not bury BL under a pile of crap. BL is the place for knowledge/experience of a substance.
Where would I be without this place...?
Much

Yes, I am everywhere. Every time you think to yourself "should I...?" that voice in your head is actually me yelling loudly from New England.