Zyrtec is actually two mirror-image molecules... one of them is effective, one is not.  Xyzal is exactly the same is Zyrtec, but they eliminated the molecules that are not effective, so... you only need half the dose (5mg instead of 10mg).  Apparently, a few people who are very sensitive to medications can take Xyzal when they can't take Zyrtec.  For most people, however, it's not worth the added cost.  Generic Zyrtec (cetirizine) is available OTC and very cheap... Xyzal is by Rx only and not cheap.  If the Zyrtec is working for you, why switch??

Heather

Instead of switching to Xyzal, I would try alternating H1s.  For example... I take 20mg of Claritin in the morning and 20mg of Zyrtec at night.  Deb takes Allegra and Zyrtec... I think Ramona is taking Vistaril (Atarax) and Zyrtec.  There's also doxepin (Rx), Chlor-Trimeton (OTC), and a few others.

How much H1 have you been taking per day?  Have you ever tried the "magic lotion" recommended by mastokids?  

http://www.mastokids.org/mml.php

Heather

BTW... if the only idea your dermatologist could come up with is some free samples of Xyzal... I don't think s/he is going to be much use.

Hi Mike,

Last summer our air conditioner was down for several weeks and I was having a hard time in the heat, so I increased my H1s to 20mg of Claritin in the morning and 20mg of Zyrtec at night.  I had never done that before, but it really helped.  Around October I noticed that I was getting too dried out, so I dropped back to 10mg/10mg.  

A couple weeks ago I had that bad experiment with turmeric.  It's also starting to warm up and some of the trees are budding... and I noticed that I was having problems with dizziness again, mostly from standing up while giving lectures and having conversations with my colleagues.  (I took a couple doses of liquid Benadryl).  So... a few days ago I went back up to 20mg/20mg.  Now I'm feeling very stable  I'm sure not everyone could stand this dose, but for me the side effects (dryness) are very minimal.  I also started taking my nighttime medications around 8:00 instead of 10 or 11... another good move!  Like you, I also feel best in the morning and go downhill from there.  Not too far downhill these days!!  Zyrtec and Claritin are both twelve-hour medications, so trying one Claritin in late morning along with your one Zyrtec at night makes sense... I think you should be able to tell in just a few days if it's working.

Heather