benadryl

[pmg145]

i took benedryl one night because it was all I could think of to do to get some sleep. It worked for me, not sure because it made me sleepy or because it made my symptoms less irritating.

[brighama]

Yikes! Be very careful with Benadryl; it can severely exacerbate RLS!
...
DRUGS WHICH ARE REPORTED TO LEAD TO OR AGGRAVATE RLS:

ANTIDEPRESSANTS: particularly the serotonin re-uptake inhibitors and tricyclics such as elavil(amitripyline) + paxil (paroxetine) and prozac (fluoxetine) have been reported to aggravate RLS symptoms in some.

PSYCHIATRIC DRUGS: i. e., haldol (haloperidol), risperdal (risperidone); chlorpromazine (thorazine), lithium *None of these drugs should be suddenly stopped without medical advice.

ANTIHISTAMINES: particularly benadryl or diphenhydramine can aggravate symptoms of RLS. A wide variety of over-the-counter medications for colds, hay fever, sinus, etc. will have benadryl or diphenhydramine in them. Yet, in others, it seems to help them sleep.

ANTI-NAUSEA DRUGS: such as Compazine, Phenergan, or any antinasuea drug crossing the brain barrier, probably all used in the U. S. can markedly exacerbate RLS symptoms.

[momrobare]

Originally Posted by nickiplmr

does benadryl make rls worse

Both my daughter and I have found that benedryl increases RLS considerably!

Believe it or not I have found relief with an old epilepsy medication called "mysoline". It works great and you can take quite a bit of it before you have too much.

Only thing is that for the first few days it zonks you big time! I mean it zonks you. I slept for 48 hours the first time I took it and it was a low dose. It also makes your head feel "disconnected". But after about 2 weeks...those side effects go away...and the RLS is GONE!

BUT mysoline doesn't work for everyone. My daughter can't take it at all.

But Paxil gives her relief!

[Prtam]

I have to take antihistamines for my allergies. I used to take benedryl and that was a nightmare for me. I would get sleepy, but I would have terrible RLS symptoms. If I had to take it several days, it sometimes took several days after not taking it for the RLS to subside. I don't seem to react the same way to Claritin or Zyrtec.

[Shibumi]

My first ever night of RLS (several years ago now) was after taking an OTC cold remedy with the typical drowsy-making antihistamine. Since then I've found that *any* antihistamine that can make me sleepy will without a doubt lead to a very bad night! Yet... non drowsy types work just fine. I'm sure there's something to that. As well, I cannot take any muscle relaxants (such as flexeril) without severe RLS that night.
My RLS has unfortunately found it's way to the foreground, and has affected me most nights for the past few weeks... without any chemical interaction going on. I'm spending one more week in search of the home remedy that works for me, or else then it's off to the doc for the "next level" of solution. But I digress...
Yes, benadryl is probably not your friend if you suffer RLS. You might try my method... when I need cold/allergy relief, I go for the claritin, straight up. If I need more help I might add pseudoephadrine (also by itself), but I hate that stuff so it has to be a bad cold before I go there!

Good luck to you!