Re: BENADRYL & SOMINEX
June, THANK YOU for posting that info. Duh! I sure didn't know that! One sure can learn alot here whether they are new or "old" to the BB.This is a puzzling discovery I just made myself and have been quandering over. A week ago I bought some Benedryl/generic AND Sominex. I noticed that BOTH have ONLY ONE active ingredient and it is EXACLTY the same one and the SAME mg. amount. Wouldn't this mean it is the exact same pill? So if one runs out of Benedryl and they have sominex, it should work the same and vice-versa. Consequently wouldn't this mean that Sominex should be on that list too? This angers me! Is this sneaky marketing or is there something obvious here that I am missing? Any pharmocologists or other "smart cookies" out there that can answer this question? A puzzled Shanasy
Re: BENADRYL & SOMINEX
Shanasy, I'm not a pharmocologist or a smart cookie - BUT would like to know what that one active ingredient is on both benadryl and sominex (I can't read the small....print even with a mag. glass right now - I have the font on the computer as large as it can go!).
It seems as if both these `drugs' should be on the hit list for dystonia - perhaps the list means any `drug' either/and its generic form, should be classified together - but it would be nice to have that explained to us.
I hope some others answer this post with more explanations.June in Toronto
Re: BENADRYL & SOMINEX
june, the ingredient i have listed on dye-free allergy Benadryl is diphenhydramine hydrochloride. i never have used benadryl on a regular basis, but don't you think they mean people who have taken it for years may have such a problem? isn't it just a simple antihistamine?
Re: BENADRYL & SOMINEX
A simple antihistimine? Seems to be a simple sleeping aid too. Isn't that interesting? Sounds like to me if you have allergies, you can take a Sominex and it will do the SAME THING as Benedryl. OR, if you have insomnia, you can take a Benedryl. Am I wrong??? I wonder how many people are taking Sominex and not realizing they are taking Benedryl? How many people are taking Benedryl and not realizing they are taking Sominex? Hmmmmm!Makes me wonder how many dystoniacs are created years of taking sleeping pills?
Re: BENADRYL & SOMINEX
Kathy and Shanasy - now I KNOW the active ingredient (thanks Kathy) I realise it is in sleepings pills, i.e. NIGHTALL, for sure. What plan of action should we have now -if any - about informing the Dystonia web site about Sominex and the active ingredient?June in Toronto
Re: BENADRYL & SOMINEX
i'm just hearing about this for the first time today. These are both readily available over the counter drugs. Maybe a survey of how many
blephs have taken them for years and then correlating the onset of their Beb?
Re: BENADRYL & SOMINEX
I'm not sure that only those taking them for years/large doses is a problem - what I undertand from all this - I'd say anyone taking ANY amount at all of these over-the-counter drugs could have a problem.June in Toronto
Re: BENADRYL & SOMINEX
good morning to all! i have and i have used all kinds of alergy meds. When i would run out of my prescription. i'd use benydryl and it worked very good. my eyes watered very much i couldn't keep make-up and they itched very much. my nose was like faucet the roof of my mouth itched so bad that i would stick my finger in and scratch. and sneezing well as soon as i woke up it would start. i was really surprised when i read about the benydryl. now i only use a nasal spray and it helps alittle.
becca in california
Re: BENADRYL & SOMINEX
Add Tylenol PM to the list of medications with the generic form of Benadryl. You see, after a period of time a the drug can be the generic name or another company or reason for the medication and bingo it is something different and the public can think it is brand new! Remember when they came out with the "new" medication to help people stop smoking as Zyban and it cost a fortune...it was really Wellbutrin which is a very OLD antidepressant that had been fairly inexpensive. It happens all the time. I had been on generic Elavil for many years for FMS and it is on the list of medications that can cause dystonias if taken over a long period. I was not happy that no one ever told me that. Now my Mom has been put on it for diabetic neuropathy(Pain and burning in her feet that kept her awake at night) and wouldn't you know it works to stop the pain just like it helped my FMS. So what do you do? I stopped taking it, but FMS worse and everything the doctor mentioned I might try is on the list. I had thought FMS was a terrible thing to cope with but BEB is much worse so I'm just living with the constant soreness and discomfort.
Re: BENADRYL & SOMINEX/Neuropathy
Delaine - thanks for the info about tylenol. My husband has peripheral neuropathy - idiopathic kind (unknown). Most people seem to have diabetic, like your mother, or idiopathic. Hubby is on amitryptyline -and YES WE JUST FOUND OUT it causes neuropathy!!! He is addressing that this week with his doctor. We are going to a Las Vegas conference this June on PN - hope to find out more about the disease there.June in Toronto
Re: Delaine
Delaine,I REALLY feel for you. My father has had FMS for most of his life and I see how he suffers. I cannot imagine how frustrating that must be for you! I admire your courage and strength though for holding off on the drugs. Hang in there! Hugs,
Shanasy
Re: BENADRYL
I use benadryl now only for my allergies but that is not ver often. What really caught my eye is Trazadone. I have been on this medication since 1995 because of depression that I have had. I tried to get off the medication at the same time I was starting to have trouble with my eyes. But now more than ever I am going to try even harder to get off the medication. Wish me luck.
Priscilla
--modified by Priscilla R at Fri, Mar 23, 2001, 17:26:25
Re: BENADRYL
Hi June,
Benadryl is in a number of cold and sinus preparations. The generic name of the active ingredient is diphenhydramine hydrochloride. My trusty drug handbook says that it is an antihistamine and is structurally related to local anesthetics and provides local anesthesia by preventing initiation and transmission of nerve impulses. It also suppresses the cough reflex by a direct effect in the medulla of the brain. It is used for Rhinitis, allergy symptoms, motion sickness and Parkinson's disease.
It is also found in Nervine Nighttime Sleep-Aid, Nordryl and Nordryl cough, Nytol Maximum Strength, Nytol with DPH, Sleep-Eze, Sominex Formula 2, Tusstat, Compoz, Benylin Cough and a number of other prescription and over the counter medications.
It has anticholinergic properties and this is believed to be the reason that it is helpful to some with BEB and other forms of dystonia.
I started taking it when my BEB symptoms were at their worst as I had read on this bb that it was helpful for some patients for relieving spasms, opening the eyes and relief for some with breathing problems. I continue to take it as it helps my symptoms. I am aware that it is on the no-no list. People react differently to medications. I wish that all drugs were 100% safe, but they as well as many herbs are not. Many people believe that herbal preparations are all safe, but they are unregulated and non-prescription, therefore, if anyone has a reaction or problem with one of them, it does not have to be reported (thus, you rarely hear of problems with the "natural" preparations.) Before anyone attacks, I'm not against herbal remedies and alternative treatments. I take some of the stuff, myself, along with a handful of vitamin supplements.
The no-no list of drugs does not mean that they will cause dystonia in everyone that takes them. It is a list of drugs that has been associated with people who have developed dystonias either immediately after taking them or further on down the road. Some are much more suspect than others. People do definitely get drug-induced dystonias.
It is a good list to be aware of and there are probably many other drugs that should be on the list.
Millions of people take Benadryl and the other drugs that are on the list and have not developed any form of dystonia.
Many of the drugs that are on the list are used to treat the symptoms that we suffer from.
It is a crazy, mixed up world and I wished that we knew all the answers.
Just food for thought and you all know how I like to throw a kink into things and give a different perspective.Shirley in AR. who is preparing herself for the fallout, now.
Re: BENADRYL
Thanks very much, Shirley, for the info on Benadryl. I'm glad it works for you.June in Toronto
Re: BENADRYL
My neurologist recommended Benadryl when I told him that allergies made my BEB worse (dry eyes, light sensitivity, etc.) He also recommended it to help me sleep. (Now that I know that the same ingredient is in Sominex, that doesn't seem so strange.) As Shirley said, people react differently, and in my case, Benadryl helps. I don't think we can just say that one drug or another "causes" BEB or any other form of dystonia, only that certain drugs can in some cases and in certain pre-disposed people, trigger a reaction. But, as Shirley pointed out, the fact that this particular over-the-counter medication is taken by millions of people who have not developed dystonia ought to count for something. I think that a number of drugs on the list, including some used to treat depression, are probably a lot more dangerous (and that they are available by prescription only for that reason). All I know is that Benadryl didn't cause either my BEB or my torticollis and it helps the BEB. I suppose it helps the torticollis, too, in that it helps me sleep, though that's the extent of it. So, Shirley, no flack from me. I think you have the right perspective. Carol
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