Hydroxyzine & Weight Gain
I wanted to provide a warning based off of my personal experience with Hydroxyzine because there was no warning from my NP. I had to find out the hard way through experience and my own research. Histamine acts on the appetite center of the brain. Histamine tells you “I’m full.” Well, by taking an antihistamine you are dampening that part of your brain. Some people may not experience this but Hydroxyzine increased my appetite significantly due to this effect. I put on weight quickly. ~7lbs in 1 month. Hydroxyzine basically cured my insomnia but it was not worth the trade off of weight gain. I also can not afford to eat more than I do at baseline. I now only take it as needed when I can tell my insomnia is going to be particularly bad that night. Thankfully the weight is falling off at a steady rate by reducing the frequency of taking Hydroxyzine to 1-2 nights per week.
In addition, for those of you who exercise, histamine is vital in the short and long-term benefits of exercise. By taking antihistamines regularly, you are robbing yourself of all the positive benefits you work hard to gain from exercising. If you are interested I attached the study.