Drug Ratings for BENADRYLAverage Rating: 3.1 (468 Ratings)
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Results are sorted by Date Rating Was Added Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) |
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR BENADRYL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
  | F M | | | | |||
| 3 | Allergies | I haven't had allergies very long in my life, but it seems Allegra and Zyrtec work roughly the same as Benadryl WITHOUT the drowsiness and grogginess the next morning! Benadryl does its job, but I am skeptical how good for health this stuff is long term! I felt like I couldn't wake up with any kind of motivation the next morning. I am 35 years old, had been in the Army for 16 years, in pretty good shape, and relatively high health, and I never wake up this groggy outside of Benadryl dosages! And no Mr. 18 year old wannabe know it all, I am not a hypochondriac! You just have youth on your side! I never had allergies until I was 30 years old! | M | 35 | 2 days 30 MGx2 | 6/4/2013 | 1 | With toradol | Hot flashes, out of body experience, anxiety | F | 22 | 1 days IV | 5/14/2013 | 5 | Allergies | I love Benadryl. I usually take 2 a day because my allergies can get bad. If you take it too late it makes it hard to get up before 10 am do take accordingly! Makes me hungry like a hour later. Can really knock you out best sleep ever. Makes you focus for the first hour kinda like your on adderal. | F | 23 | 1 years | 5/1/2013 | 5 | Severe allergies | This is the ONLY antihistamine I can fully count on during allergy season. It zaps all of my hives, rashes, itchy/sneezy/runny nose, itchy eyes/throat, etc. I only wish it were 'non-drowsy'...but I think antihistamines by nature knock most people out. | F | 30 | 10 years 50mg | 4/26/2013 | 3 | Insomnia | At first when I started taking Benadryl I would fall asleep. I took about 3 a night then the next day I too 3 but I didnt fall asleep. So i took 2 more. I ended up falling asleep. Every 3 days I take about 2 more and i works. I dont get a dry mouth but my hip area I get a sharp pain. I ignore it cause I am already sleepy and I fall asleep and thats all. Im at 8 a night. tomorrow I might have to take 2 more than I did cause it doesnt work. | M | 21 | 9 days 180 2X D | 4/1/2013 | 3 | insomnia | Worked well at first then my body built up a tolerance so i took more 200mg before bed keep in mind i was taking 100 mg before bed a few weeks later it wasnt working as well i was getting up twice a night so then i increased to 300 mg now im having major swelling in my hands face feet especially my legs....if anyone else experienced edema (swelling) please contact me thanks | F | 37 | 2 years 300 mg | 3/25/2013 | 5 | Allergies | The medicine help my allergies and I can't complain. But, it causes me to have vivid terrifying nightmares which I never have if I don't take the pills. | F | 20 | 2 days 2 | 3/5/2013 | 5 | Allergies | None, sleepy | F | 24 | 1 months | 2/13/2013 | 4 | Insomnia | Incredibly disturbing vivid nightmares - being chased, being hunted by a murderer, my family killed, etc. The dreams feel extremely real when happening. It only happens when I take Benadryl. | F | 29 | 2 days 30 mg | 2/11/2013 | 3 | Hives during pregnancy | Doctor recommended Benadryl during pregnancy for hives. Started having cramping after a few days of taking it. Numbness and tingling everywhere. Worked good with the hives though. | F | 23 | 7 days 25 mg | 2/4/2013 | 5 | allergies, ibs, anxiety | 3 years on and off never everyday. it helps my allergies: itchy eyes, headaches, rash helps with food allergies calms panic attacks helps sleep calms my ibs symptoms, stops my vertigo,, and also calms my shaking when i feel nervous | F | 27 | 3 years .25mg | 2/2/2013 | 4 | To sleep and for minor allergies | Makes me groggy in the morning. If I take it too late it is really hard to wake up before 10 am. | My Grandmother used to give us this when it was a prescription. It zaps all allergies for me. | F | 34 | 30 days 1X D | 1/26/2013 | 5 | Preservative allergies, sinus pain | 1 pill = dry mouth 2 pills = ASLEEP! | I take one pill anytime I am unsure of ingredients in what I'm eating. I have a preservative allergy that causes swelling, headaches, hives. I normally take 1 pill 2x a day, at mealtimes. Sometimes I have had to take 2 pills because something I ate started to give me symptoms. In which case, the two pills KNOCK ME OUT COLD for about 3-4 hours or overnight if taken late enough.Its a deep, dreamless sleep-not agitated or weird. Just knocked out. | F | 43 | 3 years 1X D | 1/12/2013 | 3 | Sleep aid | Worked great as a sleep aid, but the joint pain, numbness in arms and legs, hip pain and muscle twitching increased with use to the point I can no longer take Benadryl, I thought I was dying. I stopped taking Benadryl, no more pain and discomfort. | Although joint and muscle problems are not a common side effect, be aware that Benadryl use can cause severe joint and muscle pain. | F | 42 | 3 years 50mg 1X D | 1/3/2013 | 5 | Allergies | Jittery, anxious, decreased appetite. Worked very well for allergies. Side effects were nothing compared to my allergies. Would definitely recommend. | F | 29 | 2 days 50 | 12/21/2012 | 1 | Allergic reaction (itchiness) | Difficulty breathing; anxiety; panic attack; nausea; difficulty swallowing; drowsiness; burning sensation in chest. The feelings were very intense and scary. I felt like I was suffocating and wanted to scream. I received it thru IV before a platelet transfusion.. | F | 27 | 1 days 25 mg 1X D | 12/10/2012 | 5 | allergies and also.for anxiety | Some fatigue but not too much | F | 26 | 10 days 25 mg | 12/6/2012 | 1 | Shot thre IV before ct scan | Felt hot,dizzy,lightheaded,tired,almost passed out,weak | M | 21 | 1 days | 10/24/2012 | 5 | Allergies,unable to breath,Angioede | No side effects except dry mouth when I take it when I do not really need it. I take the dye dye free liquigels;helps manage my EE. This works even better than an epipen I can crush the liquegels in my mouth for quick results when I can not swallow. | I could not survive without it. If you are allergic don't take it just like I don't take aspirin | F | 64 | 10 years 30mg 8X D | 8/26/2012 | 2 | Allergic Reaction | Drowsiness, sleepiness, lethargic , short term memory, feel spaced out, and it may be possibly be causing my heart racing, breathing difficulties. | I had a barium swallow with follow through test I started getting hives on my face so I took some bendadryl, I wasn't sure if the benadryl helped or not , The next day I had racing heart and breathing difficulties so I took benadryl had it on-going for 6 days so far, Two ER visits, The 7th day was a holiday my heart was racing out of breath felt like I was having a heart attack , I called my dr and she said, " there is a possibilty that Benadryl is making your heart race!" Well I stopped taking it and I guess we will see what happens. Everyone is going to react differently to the same medication. I really think I would rather try a natural remedy then try any of these any longer. | F | 40 | 7 days 30mg 3X D | 7/4/2012 | 5 | Allergies/Sleep Aid | No known side effects. Helps me sleep well through the night and helps with itchy/watery eyes. Just worried about long term use. | F | 33 | 2 years 50mg | 6/18/2012 | 4 | Assist in sleep | When I take this frequently, as in 3 or 4 times a week, I often am awakened with fairly severe hip joint pain. I discontinue it's use for several weeks and am good for a while longer with it's use. However, after time the pain returns. The only thing that stops the pain is to get up. Lying in bed and repositioning doesn't work. It's very annoying. | I like the way it lulls me into a good nights sleep except when I've relied on it for too long. | F | 55 | 5 years 50mg 1X D | 5/21/2012 | 2 | Allergies | My legs start feeling weak, then my head seems foggy. I have to lay down. I feel the medicine moving through my body, causing me to feel numb in certain areas. Hot/cold spells. It last for a few hours after taking the medicine. It freaks me out. | I am sure that Benadryl works fine for most people. My first bad experience was when I was 4 months pregnant with my middle child. I went to the hospital with extreme nausea/vomiting. They gave me Benadryl. I immediately began feeling that heaviness in my legs, the tinglyness, then numbness. I had to be immediately wheeled to a room because I couldn't even sit up straight in the chair. It was very scary. Thought it was because I was pregnant. Nope. I get this same reaction when not pregnant and even when only using the cream. Will never use it again. | F | 22 | 1 days 1X D | 5/11/2012 | 4 | allergies | sleepiness, bad dreams | F | 19 | 2 years | 5/8/2012 | 3 | `Mentally challenged 32 year old daughter taking for cold/allergies. Works well to clear up runny nose, HOWEVER, tonight she couldn't quit talking and repeating sentences, vacuumed, dusted, did dishes, cleaned bathroom and wanted more chores to do. Very much out of the norm for her!!!!!!!!!! What worries me most is her pulse was 120bpm resting and BP was up. She has been like this for the 3 days she has been on the benadryl (generic), but tonight was the worst. Told her staff to stop med and if she can't sleep, I will take her to the ER and see if they can give her something to counteract the effects. She has a seizure disorder and I only pray the side effects will go away soon. SCARY!!! She has taken in the past, but hasn't had this severe reaction. Gave 3 stars as it works well for runny nose. | F | 32 | 3 days 25mg 2X D | 5/8/2012 | 1 | Allergies on vacation | Out of body experience after probably taking too much just drinking out of the bottle . About 2or3 days after that started to get tingling in hands arms feet and legs , it has now been a week and half I still have tingling , I am so scared I hope it goes soon also panicky feeling @ night | F | 25 | 4 days ? | 4/28/2012 | 1 | Allergies/anxiety | Clears sinus right away but gives horrible anxiety. Used to calm down panic but stopped working | F | 26 | 1 years .25mg | 4/2/2012 | 2 | Bad allergic reaction | Rashed out extremely bad after taking other Pill, went to ER and nurse gave me 50g of Benedryl. Rash went away almost completely within half hour and was told to take 2 more every 8 hours today. Took my next 50mg at 6pm, got super drowsy and a bit irritable, so so SO tired but everytime I lay down and close my eyes my heart races and I jump awake trying to catch my breath. Had same problem when given demorhal while in labour. Cold and jittery, dry eyes and throat. Feelings of Rashing out again. Blah ! Terrible and scary feeling. Just want to sleep! Never again! | F | 22 | 1 days 2 x 50mg | 3/18/2012 | 5 | To sleep | Twitching if I take to much and extreme irritability .relaxation drowsiness. 2 pills to go directly to sleep , four to stay up and be relaxed .ive read that this drug causes hallucinations however I've never taken tht many at once and I don't take it to get high I take it to sleep or to relax. | I have been taking thi medication for years on and off the only thing is the more you take it the more you have to take but that's with almost any drug. | F | 19 | 1X D | 3/17/2012 | 3 | Allergies, anxiety | It calms down my social anxiety and panic attacks.... But lost effectiveness. I would feel extremely anxious irritable moody and angry after taking too many days straight. I would wake up in a cold sweat. It also made me gain 15 lbs | F | 26 | 1 years .25 mg | 3/16/2012 | 1 | Given in the ER | I was sick and went to the ER for heart problems. I do have tachycardia as is, but they thought the benadryl would help calm me down. It sped up my heart rate from 120 to 200 bpms. I was terrified and they had to give me two other medications on top of it to try and calm my heart down. | F | 26 | 1 days 25mg 1X D | 3/14/2012 | 1 | Allergies | It made my right arm extremely twitchy and restless. I wanted to rip my arm off! | F | 23 | 2 years 50 MG 1X D | 3/14/2012 | 4 | Allergies/Insomnia | drowsiness, restless legs, feeling heavy in the morning | I usually take a benadryl at night because I have terrible insomnia and severe allergies to boot! It lowers my histamine level very effectively while I sleep, so in the morning my eyes aren't totally crusted over. I find that I have to work on being relaxed before I take the pill in order for it to be sedative. If i'm not sufficiently chilled out, it can lead to some serious restless leg syndrome and "excitability" as they say on the package. It often hits like a ton of bricks, especially if you take two, and then you know it's time to pass out. If I ignore this sensation and stay up anyway, I find that I'm totally unable to get to sleep and the excitability sets in. So chill out, take it, and be ready to go to sleep! | F | 25 | 5 years 25 mg 1X D | 3/10/2012 | 1 | migraine and nausea | felt my throat and nostrils were burning. Two minutes after the shot (at the emergency room), I felt extremely drowsy but could not sleep. Five minutes later, I started having a panic attack, worse feeling ever. I wanted to run, to escape. It was a nightmare! I tried to relax, but apparently fell unconscious. The hospital nurses found me on the floor. I had a bruised knee, sore upper back muscles, and I also hit my head. It took me three hours before I could go to sleep because of paranoia. The next day, I still feel groggy, burned nostrils, but unable to sleep. | F | 30 | 1 days 20 1X D | 3/1/2012 | 5 | Insomnia | None | I took this in combination with 5mg x 2 of melatonin as a sleep aid after returning from detox and it worked fine. I didn't sleep perfectly for the first week or so as was expected however it did help and was better than going on scripts as even non-addictive sleep-aids have tolerance and withdrawal-like effects. Now I'm 5 weeks into it all and sleeping through the night with their aid. Highly recommend trying this before going script-route | M | 20 | 5 weeks 25mg x 2 1X D | 2/22/2012 | 3 | ALLERGIES | Numbness in throat,chest pain and or a feeling of heavy pressure in my chest, swelling in ears and Neck and burning throat along with temporary memory loss and or foggy brain. Took me years to figure out what kept causing this until I switched my medicine an started to feel much better. | 50 | 2 years | 2/22/2012 | 2 | insomnia | Benadryl works the best of any antihistimine for my allergies and helps me sleep great. However, it caused my eye pressure to go up significantly. I don't have narrow angle glaucoma, but do have open angle glaucoma. Several ophthalmologists told me this was fine to take, but this was not the case with me. It definitely raised my eye pressure, rather significantly. | F | 50 | 3 years 25 mg 1X D | 2/13/2012 | 5 | Sleep aid | None. unisom Sleep Melts are pink & rapidly dissolve on tongue & wear off in 4 hrs. other brands leave me lethargic longer than desired. | Wondering what years of daily dosage is doing to my liver...any doc out there know about this? | F | 47 | 3 years 25 1X D | 2/11/2012 | 3 | Massive daily allergies- skin | I've taken this drug for years for nasal and skin allergies and sometimes see side effects including--drowsiness, dried skin and body, anxiety, nightmares(night terrors you can't wake up from) I just woke up from a horrible string of nightmares including the dude from Halloween, Jason, and a ton of running... to wake up in a flop sweat. Don't take this within an hour of actually going to sleep. Take a couple hours ahead of time and force urself to stay up til the time u planned to sleep.. It might help the terrors. I could write a horror movie script with what I just went through. | M | 25 | 1 months 50 mg | 2/8/2012 | 2 | Sleep aid | Does not work. | F | 15 | 2 weeks 50 MG 1X D | 2/6/2012 | 1 | Sleep aid | Extreme grogginess but couldn't sleep, dizzy, heavy breathing, dry mouth/throat. Finally waited it out or so I thought after 4 hours slept for 2 woke up groggy again. When trying to go back to sleep had very weird almost like electrical surges in nervous system made me stay up and come too before trying to sleep again. Now writing this hope I don't have issues when trying to sleep again. Gonna have someone watch me as I sleep if I can. | M | 29 | 1 days 25mg | 2/1/2012 | 2 | stuffiness, runny nose | It gave me insomnia, dry, irritated nasal passages, hot, but not sweating | F | 30 | 2 days 50mg | 1/31/2012 | 3 | For last 3 months for sleep | Bad head aches and cold spots on my body | F | 62 | 1 days 25 mg | 1/26/2012 | 1 | Sleep Aid | For years, I have taken Benadryl as a sleep aid. Not often, just on those occasions where I know I need sleep and want to get to bed ridiculously early. I have never experienced any adverse side effects, other than occasionally being drowsy the next day. Well, first time for everything - last night, I experienced as close to an anxiety attack as I have every felt after taking the drug. My heart was racing, I was freezing cold yet sweating profusely, random muscle twitching, all shaky, felt all paranoid, and most CERTAINLY sleep was no where in sight. This lasted for about 4 hours, maybe more. I woke up and the feelings were gone, but I feel very off today, tired, sore, mind feels very groggy. | Up to this point, I would have given a 5 based on the sedative effects of Benydryl. It used to put me to sleep within a hour of taking it, and I would sleep well. But after my most recent terrifying experience, I cannot under any circumstance recommend this drug. | M | 34 | 1 days 50MG 1X D | 1/12/2012 | 2 | Allergies | Extreme drowsiness. Lethargy. High heart rate. Numb and shaky arms and legs. Lightheaded. Used to relieve allergies with only drowsiness as side effect. But in the last few months it stopped relieving my allergies but the other side effects remain | F | 19 | 4 years 2x | 1/7/2012 | 1 | To sleep | Headache, nausea, irritability, anxiety, restless legs, increased heart rate and increased blood pressure. | F | 32 | 1 days 50mg | 12/29/2011 | 3 | Allergies and Insomnia | Severe Anxiety Restlessness Extreme Irratibility Higher Heart Rate Sometimes a low body temperature Headaches Up and Down Mood I've gone through everything I've been taking (most of which are all OTC dieatary supplements) and i'm pretty sure Benadryl is causing these side effects. I'm only 21, i'm not a female (so it isn't PMS or whatever) and i'm otherwise a pretty relaxed person (off this medicine) It has helped me sleep, but often i wake up way to energetic and full of nervous and anxious energy. I would really be cautious of taking this drug for a long period of time and especially if you have experienced anxiety beforehand, this may magnify it. | M | 21 | 2 years 25-50MG 1X D | 12/27/2011 | 1 | To sleep | It made me feel REALLY bad on the night that I tool it, and then I continued to have anxiety attacks, and just feeling achey all the time DONT TAKE this medication just to sleep it is not something to fuck with!!!!!!! | M | 18 | 2 days 50 MG | 12/17/2011 | 4 | Allergy attacks | Extreme drowsyness. That's expected though. Usually fall asleep 45 min after taking second and sleep amazinly well even if it is middle of the day. I still sleep all night after that. Next day though I am usually very sleepy and have a bit of an allergy hangover ( partially stuffy nose, sore muscles from sneeIng...) if I wasn't so tired the next day I would rate it a five. | F | 23 | 1 days | 12/15/2011 | 5 | Can't sleep | I have allergies to cheap metals - Benedryl works great for the skin rash symptoms. I also noticed I sleep very well on it, falling asleep within an hour and staying asleep all night. No night terrors, extreem thirt, sweats, or anything else negative. Just hope 2 a night of reg dose for prolonged use is ok. | F | 27 | 2 months 25 2X D | 12/13/2011 | 3 | Allergic Reaction to Antibiotic | I had an allergic reaction to Bactrim so my doctor told me to take Benadryl. The first night was great, I took two pills and was asleep within 15 minutes. Slept good, woke up feeling good. Tonight I took 2 before bed and my heart started racing and I went into sleep paralysis/night terrors. Also hallucinating. Never again. | F | 25 | 2 days 2 Pills 1X D | 12/4/2011 | 2 | insomnia | RLS, jitters, nervousness, dry mouth. | Everyone reacts different, I am one of the people who has an adverse reaction to benadryl. It does the opposite. The jitters are so brutal for me. The only thing that benadryl works for is an allergy attack and hives. God bless the people that use this for insomnia and it works. It is the safest sleep aid for insomnia and if it works fo you that is good because the prescription aids can lead to a whole host of problems. If I were to take one before bed, you could count on me being up the whole night kicking my sheets until dawn. | M | 42 | 4 days 25 1X D | 12/2/2011 | 1 | Insomnia | It was alright for a couple days then I started to experience severe anxiety and panic attacks just be careful with this stuff having a bad experience on this stuff is more common than you think hope this helps somebody god bless | M | 28 | 10 days 3 Pills | 12/1/2011 | 3 | sick and to keep me from breaking o | I have to pee more and I am sleepy all the time. I feel like going back to bed. I feel sick all the time now. My mom sends me to school while I am on this. | F | 15 | 7 days 2 tsp 3X D | 11/28/2011 | 3 | Extremely Itchy | Tired, but can't sleep. Unexplained laughing | M | 15 | 1 days 50mg | 11/27/2011 | 5 | Could not stay asleep at night | Excellent sleep aid. It helps me to sleep through the night even though I wake up a couple of times to go to the bathroom. Love it and find it better than anything else. No side affects. | F | 63 | 5 years 25 mg 1X D | 11/21/2011 | 2 | hives | Painful swollen under my chins,anxiety attack | F | 54 | 2 days 25 1X D | 10/9/2011 | 1 | Rash/itching | Weird burning in throat, tired but unable to go to sleep | F | 13 | 1 times 25 1X AN | 10/1/2011 | 1 | rash, hives | 4 hours after taking 1 tsp of the liquid children's version, I woke with extreme thirst, went for water, and blacked out. Woke up in a pool of blood, 2 black eyes, cut, sore ribs. i am 61 years old, 165 lbs, female. | Dangerous Drug | F | 61 | 1 days 12.5mg 2X D | 9/30/2011 | 1 | Hives | Night terrors that lasted almost 2 weeks | My daughter had hives. The doctor said to give her benedryl and she told me how much to give her. She was given the doage and the hives went away. I believe that the dosage was more than was recommended on the label.She did not have the side effect of drowsiness nor hyperactivity. That night, the night terrors started. She was only two years old. The lasted for two weeks, nightly. I will NEVER give her that drug again. | F | 2 | 1 times 1X D | 9/20/2011 |