BENADRYL Reviews (DIPHENHYDRAMINE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.9 (608 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare BENADRYL with similar:
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More on BENADRYL: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR BENADRYL | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 3 | Allergies | It works fast for me. As soon as I take a couple of pills, my nose stops running/itching. The problem is: I get extremely sleepy. If I take it in the morning while I'm at work - I can't barely keep my eyes opened. It's terrible! | F | 22 | 7 days | 4/20/2009 | 5 | Insomnia | None. This off-label use of Benadryl has worked very well for me to reduce insomnia. | I started having a terrible time with insomnia when I went through menopause. Suffered for about 3 yrs getting as little as 1-1/2 hrs of sleep per night. Tried various Rx sleep aids which were horrible. Finally my doc suggested trying Benadryl for a couple months. He said to try 25mg or 50mg max. I found that 25mg doesn't do the trick for me, but 50mg works great. It's been 6 mos now and while I don't sleep through the night, I am able to fall back asleep once I awaken. This has been a godsend for me. Occasionally I will feel groggy in the morning, but not too often. I get a good 6-7 (maybe even occasionally 8) hrs of sleep per night. BUT, I have found I have to take it about 2 hrs before I want to go to sleep. Also, it is necessary for me to get to bed at a reasonable time (11pm at the latest). If I stay up too late I cannot get to sleep. I have tried to wean myself off to no avail. If I don't take it or take less than 50 mg, the insomnia is back again. My doc wanted me to use it for a couple of mos, but he said it's non-addictive and didn't seem worried that I have been continuing with it. Anyway, Benadryl is not that expensive, but I purchased a generic at Costco for $3-something for 400 tablets and it works just as well for me. In this awful economy, every little bit saved is a big help. I would recommend anyone suffering from insomnia give Benadryl (or a generic equivalent) a try. Incidentally, the Costco bottle is labeled Kirkland Allergy Medicine. | F | 53 | 6 months | 4/17/2009 | 5 | insomnia | Gives me slight headaches from some of the non-medicinal ingredients. I'm sensitive to food additives and this has a few of them in its formulation. | This is the only sleep aid I'll use. It makes you suddenly feel drowsy and want to sleep so naturally. It isn't addictive and works in 45 mins like clockwork. I always keep some around just in case I cannot sleep. It usually puts me under for 6-8 hours. If you have less time to sleep I wouldn't take it. You'll be groggy when you wake up if you can wake up. | M | 34 | 15 months | 4/6/2009 | 3 | sleep aid | Hives, thirst and morning after drowsiness. Terrible itchiness on my lower legs. | Started taking Benadryl 3 years ago as a sleep aid. After many nights of waking up around 1:00,I needed something to keep me asleep. Benadryl did the trick. I've decided to quit cold turkey and am experiencing terrible itching on my calves and have noticed raised white hives all over my legs. This is no fun - it's only been two days and I'm tempted to take one just to relieve some of this itching. I have taken 25 mg max and usually take only 1/2 of a tablet. | F | 41 | 3 years | 4/1/2009 | 3 | allergies, food allergies | Sleepiness, drowsiness, extreme irritability, depression, feeling of having a "stuffy head" | Benadryl works wonders for allergies, the quick dissolve strips are very fast and effective and have saved my life a few times (closing throat, difficulty breathing, swelling in lips - face - fingers). They generally work within 10 minutes. The pills take longer, about 45 minutes and do help enormously with allergies. However, the past few years since I started taking Benadryl, I have suffered from anger management issues and severe depression/lethargy - which was very unlike me. When I stopped taking the benadryl pill form, some five years later, these problems just disappeared and I felt "normal" again. I still take the dissolve strips in emergencies, but have heard from my pharmacist that they are being taken off the market. Have had (more severe) problems with other allergy medicines so I have no idea what I will do now for an allergy medication. | F | 27 | 5 years | 3/31/2009 | 4 | food allergies | extremely tired the day after. Started having hip and joint pains that almost made me unable to walk. | Benadryl has helped me live with food allergies for many years. After I started having aches and pains in my lower torso, I stopped taking it to see if it could possible be a side effect. To my amazement, my joint pains ceased. Right now I am still in the experimental stage - trying to determine if the pain will leave all together. | F | 66 | 20 years | 3/30/2009 | 4 | F | 20 days | 3/19/2009 | 5 | Allergies, sleep aid | Drowsy, even on a child's dose | Benadryl is one of those drugs that has never done me any wrong. Works wonders on allergies, and even a small dose will help me through insomnia. | F | 25 | 15 years | 3/18/2009 | 4 | Sinusitis/Cold/Allergic rhinitis | Drowsiness, absent-mindedness, mental fogginess, dry nose and mouth, decreased appetite, hypnogogic hallucinations | Claritin (including the -D with pseudoephedrine) crapped out on me, so I turned to generic Benadryl. It really relieved my cold symptoms and sinus pressure and has made me less vulnerable to allergic reactions. It has several negative effects, listed prior. Other positive effects are: decreased feelings of nervousness, less acid reflux/heartburn, improved mood when not tired, and less insomnia. I'm debating whether or not to make this my antihistamine during allergy season. | M | 25 | 7 days | 3/12/2009 | 5 | sleep aid, cold, | I take it at bedtime and feel a bit sleepy next day. Other than that, none. | I get a good sleep. It helps with colds. I use it as needed and feel no rebound effect when I don't take it. I have also discovered that it helps my acid reflux, which I developed from taking anti-inflammatory medication for arthritis. | F | 57 | 10 years | 2/28/2009 | 3 | Chronic Hives | Benadryl made me really sleepy and groggy the next day. I would highly recommend not taking it unless you can get like 9-10 hours of sleep (which most of us) cannot do unless its weekend. The first week, it was tough just getting out of bed like I've been socked in the face feeling. You feel like you have been sleeping in a cave for 45 day feeling. Strange dreams and nightmares too. It gave me some sweats during night. | At first, I was happy with this. However, after a few weeks of taking benadryl I guess I built tolerance to it. I got used to it and wasn't effective for my hives any more. I switched to a generic version of zyrtec. It works really well to relieve hives and lasts 24 hours. I would recommend this to others. Benadryl is more a sleep aid then hive relief. Works better to knock you out then actually give you daily relief. | M | 30 | 6 weeks | 2/26/2009 | 2 | insomnia, hives | Rather than making me sleepy, I became listless while lying in bed, and my itching actually got worse! How odd. | Darn, Benadryl is so well known for knocking you out, I had hoped to switch to using it for both needs, rather than the Claritin I use for the itching and Xanax for the insomnia, as I have been. (The Xanax is not working well for me either lately, which is why I was looking for another solution.) | F | 46 | 1 days | 2/23/2009 | 5 | allergies | Sleepiness, so only take at night which is good for insomnia. | I take 50mg (2 caplets) and generally sleep very well through the night. Have a deviated septum (broken nose playing football years ago) and allergies cause me to wake up too much. I try to go off it during times when allergens are less apparent. | M | 60 | 3 years | 2/20/2009 | 4 | Hives (Utricaria) | This stuff knocks you out. Don't take it during the day. I once did during work and I was passing out at my desk. It really helps with my chronic hives. Take it night time, wake up refeshed and the hives are gone. It does sometimes give me night sweats and nightmares in general. I have strange dreams that I never did before. I sleep like a baby on this medication. But sometimes wake up like What the hell was that dream?! Intially, for the first few weeks I would wake up very groggy. But now, I'm used it. I hope I don't build too much tolerance to it. I could see how it be addictive to take. | It works to clear up hives and knocks me out. I would recommend this over claritan or zyrtec which tend to mess with my body. Both of those have longer lasting effects cause nervousness and anxiety at least for me. With Benadryl, I feel great the next day. Like I slept for 10 hours. Well rested feeling. Just don't take during day! | M | 30 | | 2/19/2009 | 1 | Allergic reaction (hives) | I was prescribed Benadryl to treat hives resulting from a food allergy.Within an hour I had severe swelling of my hands, feet,knees, and hips along with an increase in the amount of hives.( prior to use the hives only occured in small patches, after using benadryl the hives covered my whole body, including my face and scalp.)Nausea, and vomitting occured, and within 2 hours my face began to break out in hives and swell up. I had to go to the emergency room twice because of the swelling, and each time I was given more Benadryl and discharged after being told to continue taking Benadryl.With each administration my symptoms worsened.In total I had taken approximately 175mg of Benadryl before I decided to stop taking the medication on my own. | I have taken benadryl in the past and have had no adverse reactions. However, I am 8 weeks pregnant and I believe at this time that the allergic reaction to benadryl is related to my pregnancy. I stopped taking benadryl and within 3 hours the swelling throughout my body subsided. However, swelling in my lips and around my eyes persisted for an additional 5 hours and then began to subside. All hives immediately faded and did not return.I would recommend that pregnant women use caution when using Benadryl even though your doctor may say that it is safe to use while pregnant. I was told that it was highly unlikely that I would be allergic to Benadryl but the evidence suggests that it was the primary cause of the swelling, nausea, and vomitting. I was not taking any other medication at the time. | F | 20 | 2 days | 2/11/2009 | 1 | fluid in ears | tinnitus...terrible screeching noise in both ears. Restlessness. Agitation. Stopped when I stopped taking it. | F | 40 | 1 days | 2/11/2009 | 5 | for sleep and it stops my IBS | Only a little raise in my blood pressure | I noticed when I took it for sleep benefits and allergies I also did not have the cramps and loose stools that go along with IBS. When I stopped for about a week my cramps came back and I didn't feel good. As soon as I started back up with the Benedryl the cramps stopped and also loose stools. I was able to drink my morning coffee again. | F | 72 | 2 years | 1/25/2009 | 5 | Hormone Imbalance and allergies | Slept the best in years, deep and finally with dreams that I recall. Perhaps it has helped me avoid whatever cold/sinus/flu that has gone around in 2008-9 winter. | I had begun experiencing night sweats while taking compounded bioidentical hormones (progesterone, estrogens, DHEA, and testosterone). The hormones had worked well for me before. My doctor suggested that I take Benadryl since often allergies upset hormone balance he said. I have serious chemical allergies, though no nasal allergies much. I only take 8-12 mg of Benadryl Allergy at bedtime and it has worked very well. | F | 58 | 5 months | 1/23/2009 | 5 | | 1/18/2009 | 5 | For insomnia | Have take a low dose childrens generic form for between 5 and 10 years. I also take Valerian and recently added L-Tryptophan. I take the Benadryl in liquid form right when I am going to sleep. Has helped me to get to sleep with no side effects until recently. The last year when I go to the doctor my blood pressure is edging up and I wonder if it the long term effects of the Benadryl. | F | 54 | 7 years | 12/16/2008 |