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Doxylamine Succinate - Itching when I quit?
I know they say that this antihistamine med used as a sleep aid (sold as Unisom) does not have addictive properties, but I am confused.
I have been taking this version of Unisom nightly for over 6 years. Some nights, I took 1 and a half or 2. The last year, I have been having increasingly awful Restless Leg Syndrome and researching it one maddening night, I found that nighttime antihistamines can cause or aggravate RLS.
Since I am now retired, I figured I now had TWO reasons to stop taking the Unisom. This is my third day off of it. The RLS has subsided dramatically (YAY!!!) and last night was the first night in ages I had NO RLS issues (but I was wide awake until the sun came up). That is great news. But now, on the third night, I am itching all over like crazy.
This happened when I tried to quit last month and going back on the Unisom (just one pill a day) stopped the itching.
So, is the itching the toxins leaving my body? Is it my being off antihistamines revealing unknown allergies (when tests a few years ago showed I had none) that were unnoticed before because of the Unisom? Could this be some sort of side effect to quitting it?
Has anyone else had this? I took several showers today and NOTHING is stopping this maddening itching on my feet, legs, torso (front and back) and shoulders.
I have been taking this version of Unisom nightly for over 6 years. Some nights, I took 1 and a half or 2. The last year, I have been having increasingly awful Restless Leg Syndrome and researching it one maddening night, I found that nighttime antihistamines can cause or aggravate RLS.
Since I am now retired, I figured I now had TWO reasons to stop taking the Unisom. This is my third day off of it. The RLS has subsided dramatically (YAY!!!) and last night was the first night in ages I had NO RLS issues (but I was wide awake until the sun came up). That is great news. But now, on the third night, I am itching all over like crazy.
This happened when I tried to quit last month and going back on the Unisom (just one pill a day) stopped the itching.
So, is the itching the toxins leaving my body? Is it my being off antihistamines revealing unknown allergies (when tests a few years ago showed I had none) that were unnoticed before because of the Unisom? Could this be some sort of side effect to quitting it?
Has anyone else had this? I took several showers today and NOTHING is stopping this maddening itching on my feet, legs, torso (front and back) and shoulders.
I am having this issue. Did it ever go away for you??
1 Comments
I am so incredibly sorry. I never got a notification of this and yes. It did.
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I know I'm way late to the party, but just in case someone else comes across this....
systemic itching is common when you quit any anti-histamine, not just Zyrtec or Claritin.
This is because anti-histamines do not actually STOP the formation of histamine. They just block it's action.
This can be more apparent in the winter when skin is exposed to cold, dry air, or in the summer when you are ONLY getting dry, cold AC air.
Essentially, think of it likes this; since we aren't actually stopping histamine from forming, all that histamine is just building up in the body, and relying on natural enzymes like DAO to break it down. But the body can only that so fast. It can take a few weeks for the excess to be broken down and leave the body. Also, when you block histamine,
you inadvertently send the signal to the mast cells which produce it to make MORE to compensate. This is why when you quit H2 blockers, (and PPIs), you can have a rebound effect where there is significantly MORE acid than needed, (H2 blockers block histamine 2, in the same way anti-histamines block H1. There are also H3 and H4 too). The first thing to do is to SLOWLY taper off the antihistamine(s)...very slowly. Cut your pills, and titrate. You will STILL itch afterwards, but it will, (god willing), be less itchy than it would be otherwise. Second, be wary of using soap on your body. Anything that will dry the skin, will make it much worse. Third, maybe take some buffered vitamin C. Maybe eat some kidney? Kidney has naturally occurring DAO, which helps break down histamine of all types.
Good luck!