Posted by:
Nightingale
(
)
Date: August 13, 2011 02:41PM
I agree you need to take it only for a few nights, then switch it up with another med or take a break for a few nights, then repeat. Maybe try Melatonin, which is more "natural", but again, it only works for a few nights and then doesn't seem to help as much. If I take it for three nights in a row, then off for a week or two, it works better when I resume than if I take it continuously. Usually, the reason I can't sleep is stress and/or my brain has a hard time settling down and taking a break.
Benadryl is an anti-allergy med but can be used as a sleep aid, although not long term or on a consistent basis I don't think.
I just started using Benadryl as a sleep aid in July as Melatonin isn't effective long term and only provided a few unconscious hrs anyway. I ended up with side effects, unusual for me, that have caused me grief all summer. After a few wks of consistent use I became quite ill but it took a few more weeks for me to realize the Benadryl was causing it. I'd been trying to think back and see what the causes of my misery could be and I suddenly thought it could be side effects to this new med. Sure enough, my problems were listed as potential side effects, although not on the label or even in the pkg insert. I quit taking Benadryl right away but it has taken two weeks to start feeling relief from the side effects. Scary stuff. It has ruined my summer so far, with pain and nausea and malaise and generally feeling quite ill. I'd rather be sleepless for a month than suffer such unpleasant side effects! So, for me, a few hrs of assisted sleep here and there were NOT worth the cost, namely quite horrific and disabling and painful and scary side effects, that interfered with work and sleep and enjoyment of life.
I know that doesn't happen to most people who take it, but it highlights how cautious we should be about taking meds, even over-the-counter ones, which may not be as regulated, or safe, as we tend to think and that we should be quicker to consider that new symptoms or problems may be medication side effects (which all too often is the LAST thing we think of, as with me). What is scary about side effects is that it can take a long time to even realize the med could be the problem and some side effects don't necessarily clear up even with cessation of the med. That's what I'm finding - ongoing problems even after stopping Benadryl and being off it now for nearly two wks. The long lists of potential side effects for most substances should make us much more cautious than we tend to be.
I can relate to your husband feeling dependent on the Benadryl. I was taking one (or two) routinely, not even waiting to see if I needed it that night, as I got to just assuming that I did. I didn't find that it gave better sleep than Melatonin, it just got to be a habit to take it. With the symptoms it caused (severe leg pain among them) it actually ended up costing me many nights' sleep. I don't think it was the drug itself that caused dependence but the idea of needing it to get to sleep, and the anxiety about not sleeping that created a need that may not have really been there.
I too am analyzing possible reasons for why it would be hurting your marriage; maybe disputes about medication dependence? crabby guy from lack of sleep? etc?
Maybe he should consider discussing this with his GP, switching to another aid, like Melatonin or similar, testing to see if he needs a sleep aid at all (there are many other strategies that could be tried to enhance sleep) and also to see whether Benadryl is actually helping at all. A GP could help with all of that.
But yeah. I'm ticked with Benadryl. For a few hrs of so-so sleep, I've been in pain all summer. My theory is that it has to do with constricting blood vessels, which caused me a lot of leg and foot pain, and the more pain I had the more I took Benadryl to help me sleep, and so on, vicious cycle.
I took this opportunity to whine about my side effects with it, as I'm so ticked with Benadryl. I found out through this that in Canada at least, drug manufacturers are not required to list all potential side effects if their product is available without an Rx, which Benadryl is. I know it's a crap shoot when you're ingesting substances that are perhaps not entirely well controlled but I've never had side effects before and so didn't expect any this time. I don't have allergies so have never taken allergy meds before and don't usually take too much for colds/flu as I prefer to just let things work themselves out. So, I was disappointed, and alarmed even, at my unexpected reaction to Benadryl. I have "proved" that it was the culprit as the leg pain did gradually abate right after I stopped taking the Benadryl. Now I use a lot of different measures to get drowsy before bedtime and hopefully fall asleep without too much trouble. Again, I'd rather be awake forever than suffer more medication side effects. Yow.
As for dependence, either mental or physical, that's a tough issue and an MD could be your best friend on that one.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/13/2011 02:49PM by Nightingale.