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3.9 Overall Rating

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Most voted positive review

56 People found this comment helpful

I'm 59 and starting to experience prolonged periods of time without sleep. Sometimes, I go three days without sleep, until finally, my body quits fighting it and I can sleep. Upon waking up, I feel miserable, tired, cranky and non-productive. I don't take medications of any kind unless it's an absolute emergency. However, prolonged periods without sleep were taking their toll on me. I use th...

Most voted negative review

9 People found this comment helpful

I've been taking medication for sleep on & off for 20 years. THEY ALL CAN BE DANGEROUS & ALL ARE ADDICTING! With that said, I would never suggest anyone taking anything for sleep for more than 3 days UNLESS under the CONSTANT (weekly) care of a seasoned sleep professional that KNOWS that all of these medications have the potential to become addictive and can be dangerous. I've literally been to ov...

Shared reviews and ratings

Slim shady Brad | 19-24 | Transgender | On medication for 10 years or more |
3/22/2024
Condition: Itching
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

It helped me sleep but it gave me restless leg syndrome. My wife said I mule kicked her in the back in my sleep...to remedy that issue I cut my legs off at the knee...I sleep great but now all my sons friends call me stubby...and I miss wearing boot cut jeans. Now I wear knee cut jeans

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Anonymous |
1/1/2020
Condition: Other
Overall rating 2.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

diphenhydramine has been shown to promote dementia

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insomnia | 25-34 | Male | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
7/23/2019
Condition: Other
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

i regularly use 100mg to get proper sleep. I tried 400mg diphenhydramine and 11300mg antihistamine. my heart rate went dowb to 42.. felt extremly drowsy.. unable to do simple tasks or concentrate on anything. after couple of hours I woke up feeling extreme cold and shivering legs. about 20 hours latr. mt heart rate came back to 70. it was constant 42 for whole period. I used monitering device to keep track of it.

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Labrador | 65-74 | Male | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
12/9/2018
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 4.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Takes 45 min. before becoming effective before going to bed

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Activetraveler | 55-64 | Female | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
8/30/2018
Condition: Other
Overall rating 4.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Unexpectedly, Benedryl helps greatly to reduce my lower back pain! I have tight glut, piriformis & hamstring muscles on left side. NSAIDS have never helped. Benedryl seems to calm the involved nerves. Happy to have discovered this! I take just 1/2 caplet at bedtime, and if needed same mid-day, and I keep on moving!

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Ross | 65-74 | On medication for 10 years or more | Patient
8/27/2017
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 4.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I've never had much trouble falling asleep but after maybe 1 1/2 hours I'd wake and not be able to get back to sleep. I've been using it for at least ten years and it's been working well for me all this time. I use a CPAP machine too and my using it drives my sleep doc nuts but she acknowledges that I need to be able to sleep so I just keep using it and with what I think are good results and I haven't seemed to experience any nasty side effects. Costco has what they market as Allergy Med. and it's lots cheaper than their sleep aid that is exactly the same formula.Read More Read Less

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Sleepy | 65-74 | On medication for 6 months to less than 1 year | Patient
4/23/2017
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 3.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I recently read about a link between Diphenhydramine and dementia. The study was conducted by National Center fo Health Research. Couldn't find anything on webmd. I take Benadryl to help me sleep and it works just fine Since I read the article I am not sure of facts regarding the drug.

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bluelava | 45-54 | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
2/19/2017
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

Before trying this med I had tried every prescription sleeping pill my Dr had to offer...they all gave me the next day "hangover" and grogginess effect and they really did not work that well...So I tried this, as a 50mg liquid dose, works great and does not give me the hangover or grogginess effect...I am concerned about long term use so I will discuss this with my Dr. But for me this works better for me than any sleeping pill I have ever been prescribed.

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Marty | 55-64 | On medication for 10 years or more | Patient
2/5/2017
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I typically didn't have trouble falling asleep, my problem was staying asleep. I would wake up every few hours and not be able to get back to sleep. I found that talking one 50mg tablet of Diphenhydramine enables me to get the solid night sleep I need and wake up fully rested and alert. If I accidently forget to take one I immediately have interrupted sleep even if I'm unaware that I have missed taking it. I recently heard a news report that you shouldn't take this medication for longer than 2 weeks. I've been taking this for over 10 years. I tried this weekend to stop taking it and my sleep is very interrupted. I am planning to resume taking it as I need to sleep but I will be contacting my physician. Read More Read Less

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JimM | 65-74 | Male | On medication for 2 to less than 5 years | Patient
11/27/2016
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 2.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I'm 73 years old and I have started taking 1 of the 25mg caps regularly, like every night, for a couple years now. Lately I've had trouble urinating and pain also. I've also experienced restless leg at night and blurred vision the next day. Short term memory is also being affected. When I was younger I could take up to 3 of the 25mg capsules, when needed, with no problems but now just one gives me unwanted side effects. Time for this old man to try something different.

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mabell | 75 or over | On medication for less than 1 month |
5/5/2016
Condition: Other
Overall rating 1.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

still cant sleep

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raul | 75 or over | Male | On medication for 6 months to less than 1 year | Patient
4/22/2016
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction
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Anonymous | 35-44 | Male | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
9/30/2015
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 3.7
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

This seems to help with mild insomnia. However, sometimes I can take 1.5x the directed dose (3 pills instead of 2) and I still can't fall asleep.

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Cnhinton123 | 19-24 | Male | On medication for less than 1 month | Patient
1/30/2015
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 4.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

This medicine has helped with my insomnia. However, I recently discovered from a recently released study that anticholinergics like this medicine increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's. I only take it when highly necessary- when my sleep schedule rotates (I have a circadian rhythm sleep disorder). I think it would be unwise to take it every night. This medicine also reduces my anxiety before I sleep.

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flora68 | 55-64 | Female | On medication for 10 years or more | Patient
1/22/2015
Condition: Other
Overall rating 3.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I often took diphenhydramine in the past for allergies and it worked well but the drowsiness is obviously a consideration. I prefer promethazine for nausea, but diphenhydramine worked well when I took it as a sleep aid, but the last two times I took it, I had Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), which you CANNOT sleep though. NOTE: I've ONLY experienced RLS twice and in my lifetime and ONLY after taking diphenhydramine at bedtime. When I researched RLS, I learned that diphenhydramine is a common trigger of Restless Leg Syndrome. I don't take it anymore (duh), at least never late in the day, unless I want to spend the night riding an invisible stationary bike! Read More Read Less

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Magenta27 | 45-54 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
1/11/2015
Condition: Extrapyramidal Reaction
Overall rating 4.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I got akathisia from taking Proochlorperazine for nausea & it was hell on earth. I tried propranolol, which helped but gave me suicidally bad depression. I tried this and it worked pretty well. Not 100% but about 80% and it gradually went almost away to date, probably because it fades away after you strop the drug that causes it. I needed more than the gP prescribed but it's OTC so no problems. It's also great, at higher doses, as a sleep aid. Great stuff!

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MRG53 | 55-64 | Male | On medication for 1 to less than 2 years | Patient
10/14/2014
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

My issues aren't "chronic" but I do have periods where sleep eludes me. When those occur I take 1x 50mg gel cap ~9 hours before I have to wake up and it works quite well. IE my alarm goes off at 6a so if I take this I try to do so by ~9p otherwise I wake up a little groggy. NOTE: Allow 9-10 hours

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Nancy | 45-54 | Female | Patient
6/25/2014
Condition: Nausea and Vomiting
Overall rating 3.3
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I've been taking diphenhydramine at 25 mg per day for rx related nausia for several years. It has worked quite well with some lethargy being the only side-effect. HOWEVER, I read recently that long-term use of Benadryl (diphenhydramine) causes cognitive loss. It does this by blocking the neurotransmitter, acetocoline. A deficit of acetocoline is a flag for Alzheimer's patients. The article went on to say that the cognitive loss can be reversed by stopping the use of diphenhydramine. It seems like just about all the OTC drugs recommended for nausia are diphenhydramine except ginger. I will try ginger and report back.Read More Read Less

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Vincent | 55-64 | Male | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
5/31/2014
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 5.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

I'm 59 and starting to experience prolonged periods of time without sleep. Sometimes, I go three days without sleep, until finally, my body quits fighting it and I can sleep. Upon waking up, I feel miserable, tired, cranky and non-productive. I don't take medications of any kind unless it's an absolute emergency. However, prolonged periods without sleep were taking their toll on me. I use the Up and Up brand of diphenhydramine from Target. They come in 50mg gel caps. I take 3; 2 hours prior to my desired sleep period. It works great! I sleep through the night without waking up. In addition, if I wake up too early I feel super tired and it takes me about an hour to shake off the lethargy. Lastly, tolerance to this sleep aid occurs quickly. I began taking 1 at first. Now I'm at 3 to achieve the same effect. What I do to keep from taking more... I will stop for a week to 10 days, experiencing difficulty in sleeping again. However, doing this for a short time works for me. Like all drugs, as my tolerance increases, so do the amount of pills I take. Once I start again, 1 works for about 2 weeks, then it's a build up to 3 again and time for me to detox from it. My life is so much better being able to sleep again. I have noticed no side effects other than mild lethargy in the morning. I hope this info helps whomever reads it.Read More Read Less

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steff117 | 55-64 | Female | On medication for 1 to 6 months | Patient
5/25/2014
Condition: Chronic Trouble Sleeping
Overall rating 4.0
Effectiveness
Ease of Use
Satisfaction

i have to take more than the 1 or 2 mentioned on the bottle. Severe side effects for me was dry mouth, and short term memory loss. I will get up to go and get something out of the kitchen and before I ever get to the door, I can't remember what I was going to get. Also, I have slight arthritis in my fingers, and when I take this medication at bedtime, it effects my handz.. I cannot open them. It does work for sleep, but the dry mouth and etc, I have stopped taking it.

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