Long term diphenhydramine abuse

[backback]

Im not sure where to put this but this seems somewhat right. Ive been taking large amounts of benadryl(300mg-1600mg) for about 2-3 years daily with some resting periods of a few months in between.

I dont know why i keep coming back to it but my physical and mental health are declining from the use. It has caused a lot of liver damage but i never see anyone talking about it in related threads.

When i take it, it causes unbearable abdominal pain and it always feels and looks bloated or distended. It gives me horrible nausea and i throw up on an empty stomach which usually means bile. Does anyone else have similar symptoms?

 

[Moreaux]

Welcome to Bluelight backback. I did some digging on longterm high dose use of DPH and here aren't any available studies on the matter. In other drug forums, the biggest complaints are mental and cardiovascular issues, but a few users have encountered stomach issues. I will say that taking anything more than 800mg is very dangerous, and 1600mg does have the potential to be lethal. Are you wanting to quit or are you wanting to know what you can do to make using DPH safer?

I looked at the other thread you created and have to say as unpleseant as the stomach issues are, I think you need to be concerned for your heart. DPH also has negative effects on heart rate so I would try to put some space between DPH and meth, etc.

I do know that antihistamines affect people differently, and long term use can cause some serious gastrointestinal issues. I have a few close relations that now suffer from GERDS because of heavy antihistamine use, and that is actually pretty serious and inconvenient.

Out of curiosity what form of DPH are you consuming? If it's in pill form it's possible the binders are causing issues.

 

[Muzda Jonxx]

I was hooked on DPH for a year. It's all psychological I think, my brain became convinced it needed it to sleep. I was on 250mg a night.

I'd recommend switching to doxylamine instead. It's very similar to DPH, but works better as a sleep aid. Jump to that for a while, then jump off it. That's exactly what I did, now I take no sleep aids at all (although I do have the advantage of 30mg mirtazapine a day).

 

[backback]

Yeah I'm using dph a lot less and trying to stop completely and i no longer use meth it was just part of my "expiramentation" phase. Ive been going to doctors and having tests done to see about the liver damage. I only went back to otc meds because of not wanting to risk a dirty ua for probation.

 

[Muzda Jonxx]

Yeah I'm using dph a lot less and trying to stop completely and i no longer use meth it was just part of my "expiramentation" phase. Ive been going to doctors and having tests done to see about the liver damage. I only went back to otc meds because of not wanting to risk a dirty ua for probation.

Cool! Certainly the liver damage is the biggest worry, other than one trainwreck of a research chemical experience that landed me in IC, I've never suffered lasting physical damage from my misadventures. What dose DPH you down to?

 

[paranoid android]

In my young and dumb years back when i was like 11 or 12 i was actually dumb enough to try Dimenhydrinate (a Anti-Histamine that's almost identical to Diphenhydramine) in doses high enough to trip. I took 25 of the 50mg pills (dimenhydrinate is about half as potent as Diphenhydramine) and it was probably the worst drug experience i have ever had. Of course my dumbass tried it twice and i couldn't even look at those pills for years without getting nauseous. However i have taken Diphenhydramine alot in medical doses for my allergies and i did notice some side effects mainly nausea, hypersalivation, rebound allergies and even vomiting when i was not taking the drug.

I would definitely say go see a doctor and get your heart checked out as Diphenhydramine in high doses like all anticholinergics is cardiotoxic. Also stop now for the love of god. Taper down if you need to but stick to medical doses. Another danger that i have seen with regular high dose Diphenhydramine use is that it will barely work if you need it for a severe allergic reaction. I have seen this in family members actually. One time my cousin had a severe unexplained allergic reaction and ended up in hospital. As she had been taking about 125mg's of Diphenhydramine a few times a day the Diphenhydramine drip did fuck all against the allergic reaction. They had to put her on a Hydroxyzine or Promethazine drip (i forget which) instead which did work but took a long ass time and a rather high dose. There definitely is a tolerance issue with antihistamines as i saw her pop 5 or 6 of the 25mg pills and not even look drowsy where as if i took that much i would be home in bed and half delirious.

 

[Moreaux]

In my young and dumb years back when i was like 11 or 12 i
was actually dumb enough to try Dimenhydrinate (a Anti-Histamine that's almost identical to Diphenhydramine) in doses high enough to trip. I took 25 of the 50mg pills (dimenhydrinate is about half as potent as Diphenhydramine) and it was probably the worst drug experience i have ever had. Of course my dumbass tried it twice and i couldn't even look at those pills for years without getting nauseous. However i have taken Diphenhydramine alot in medical doses for my allergies and i did notice some side effects mainly nausea, hypersalivation, rebound allergies and even vomiting when i was not taking the drug.

I would definitely say go see a doctor and get your heart checked out as Diphenhydramine in high doses like all anticholinergics is cardiotoxic. Also stop now for the love of god. Taper down if you need to but stick to medical doses. Another danger that i have seen with regular high dose Diphenhydramine use is that it will barely work if you need it for a severe allergic reaction. I have seen this in family members actually. One time my cousin had a severe unexplained allergic reaction and ended up in hospital. As she had been taking about 125mg's of Diphenhydramine a few times a day the Diphenhydramine drip did fuck all against the allergic reaction. They had to put her on a Hydroxyzine or Promethazine drip (i forget which) instead which did work but took a long ass time and a rather high dose. There definitely is a tolerance issue with antihistamines as i saw her pop 5 or 6 of the 25mg pills and not even look drowsy where as if i took that much i would be home in bed and half delirious.

Lol. My throat tightens when I see the word diphenhydramine. When I was 15 I was desparate for sleep and that was the main ingredient for OTC sleep aids. I had a bunch at the house as my Dad had an ongoing script for terrible allergies. The pills were large, blue, kind of powdery, and not coated. I was able to get five down and then couldn't get anymore. I went down stairs and got margarine and coated the remaining pills with it and was able to swallow them. Few times in life have I been so sick. Not only did the margarine make me barf...all night...DHP makes me incredibly hyper (like 8 ball coke hyper), so I was vomitting for hours and unable to sleep for the next 48. Every time I see, hear, or taste anything remotely related to that evenings events I get anxiety and my throat tightens.

 

[backback]

Many of my experiences with otc drugs were trial and error because ive never met anyone else other than on the web with diphenhydramine, dimenhydrinate and doxylamine expiriences. Its all kind of come back to searching for the high i got the first few times taking it. But the past month or two i stopped taking it for the hallucinations but rather the sedating feeling and appetite suppressent which is also part of the bad side affects of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. When i do take it now i try not to exceed 300-400mg. Dxm got repetitive and lsa makes me nauseas. All more adventures of legal highs.

 

[Muzda Jonxx]

Lol. My throat tightens when I see the word diphenhydramine. When I was 15 I was desparate for sleep and that was the main ingredient for OTC sleep aids. I had a bunch at the house as my Dad had an ongoing script for terrible allergies. The pills were large, blue, kind of powdery, and not coated. I was able to get five down and then couldn't get anymore. I went down stairs and got margarine and coated the remaining pills with it and was able to swallow them. Few times in life have I been so sick. Not only did the margarine make me barf...all night...DHP makes me incredibly hyper (like 8 ball coke hyper), so I was vomitting for hours and unable to sleep for the next 48. Every time I see, hear, or taste anything remotely related to that evenings events I get anxiety and my throat tightens.

Oh, that taste! Nothing tastes as rotten as DPH, even MDMA. I remember I used to chuck them to the back of my throat so they'd avoid my tongue entirely! :D

 

[paranoid android]

Lol. My throat tightens when I see the word diphenhydramine. When I was 15 I was desparate for sleep and that was the main ingredient for OTC sleep aids. I had a bunch at the house as my Dad had an ongoing script for terrible allergies. The pills were large, blue, kind of powdery, and not coated. I was able to get five down and then couldn't get anymore. I went down stairs and got margarine and coated the remaining pills with it and was able to swallow them. Few times in life have I been so sick. Not only did the margarine make me barf...all night...DHP makes me incredibly hyper (like 8 ball coke hyper), so I was vomitting for hours and unable to sleep for the next 48. Every time I see, hear, or taste anything remotely related to that evenings events I get anxiety and my throat tightens.

Yeah it was years before i could look at those orange Dimenhydrinate pills without feeling nauseous much less able to take them for nausea lol. I took the 25 50mg Dimenhydrinate tabs because i read abit about it and it said it was a sedative that reduced nausea. As i am now 34 and i was 11 or 12 when i tried this needless to say i did not have the internet much less Erowid to look up wtf the drug actually did. I had already tried Valium and Xanax and figured it would just be like another Benzo . As soon as the shit kicked in i knew i was very very wrong .

Funny you mention those blue Diphenhydramine OTC sleeping pills. Those are usually what i buy at the local pharmacy here because they are cheaper then the 25mg pink allergy pills and even the 50mg whitish green extra strength Diphenhydramine allergy pills. Dunno why the generic sleeping pills are cheaper then the generic allergy pills but whatever. I have to take 50mg's anyway for Diphenhydramine to help my allergies anyway so it's just as well i get the 50mg pills.

Many of my experiences with otc drugs were trial and error because ive never met anyone else other than on the web with diphenhydramine, dimenhydrinate and doxylamine expiriences. Its all kind of come back to searching for the high i got the first few times taking it. But the past month or two i stopped taking it for the hallucinations but rather the sedating feeling and appetite suppressent which is also part of the bad side affects of dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. When i do take it now i try not to exceed 300-400mg. Dxm got repetitive and lsa makes me nauseas. All more adventures of legal highs.

It's not that uncommon here as alot of people have "tripped" on Gravol the brand name for Dimenhydrinate pills here. However everyone i know who has tried it has only done it as a 1 off myself included. Or well in my case a 2 off . I remember years ago here a few teenagers ended up in the Psych ward and on the news after taking abunch of Dimenhydrinate pills and where found either wandering the streets completely delirious or basically comatose or Convulsing i forget which. After that made the news they put Dimenhydrinate behind the counter so you had to ask for them and you couldn't buy more then 1 bottle at a time. As they come in bottles of 100 this is of course not really a problem plus they didn't put the Diphenhydramine behind the counter. As there's no law saying pharmacies have to have it behind the counter alot don't anymore and just put them on the shelves. It's the same deal with Pseudoephedrine here it's really up to whoever runs the pharmacy whether they want to put it behind the counter or not.

If you want something with a sedating feeling why not try a Benzo? I mean fuck long term use can cause a fuck of a Physical dependence in some people (usually people who abuse their script) but they are much safer then Diphenhydramine by a long shot. Clearly Diphenhydramine is fucking up your body and is it really worth that for fucking Benadryl? In my opinion it is not.

Oh, that taste! Nothing tastes as rotten as DPH, even MDMA. I remember I used to chuck them to the back of my throat so they'd avoid my tongue entirely! :D

You obviously have never had the 50mg name brand (they only come in name brand here for some reason) Demerol tablets then . They are absolutely the worst tasting pills ever and just generally the worst tasting drug i have ever encountered. The shitty thing is the pills have absolutely no coating on them at all so as soon as they touch your tongue they start to melt. They are also the most painful pills and substance in general i have ever snorted by far. The burn from just one of those pills is far worse then Ketamine is which is bad enough in it's own right. It felt like the Demerol burned a hole right through my fucking nose . That was another thing i only tried once

 

[Muzda Jonxx]

You obviously have never had the 50mg name brand (they only come in name brand here for some reason) Demerol tablets then . They are absolutely the worst tasting pills ever and just generally the worst tasting drug i have ever encountered. The shitty thing is the pills have absolutely no coating on them at all so as soon as they touch your tongue they start to melt. They are also the most painful pills and substance in general i have ever snorted by far. The burn from just one of those pills is far worse then Ketamine is which is bad enough in it's own right. It felt like the Demerol burned a hole right through my fucking nose . That was another thing i only tried once

It's all true, I have not tried 50mg demerol. It must be hella bad to taste worse than DPH. Although when it comes to nasty tasting opiates, drinking a co-codamol extraction is right up there with the nastiest tasting things on earth, so I can quite believe it! :D

Edit to add - your description of snorting it reminds me of when I used to snort pure M-CAT back when it was all the rage here in UK. That stuff used to burn so horribly bad. Only thing worse was snorting 2CE. That was one of those 'FUCK! Never again' type moments. Only thing worse was when I smoked some DMT that I hadn't washed properly, so still had traces of lye left in it. That was right up there with the most stupid things I've ever done. And man - have I done some stupid things..

 

[Moreaux]

It's all true, I have not tried 50mg demerol. It must be hella bad to taste worse than DPH. Although when it comes to nasty tasting opiates, drinking a co-codamol extraction is right up there with the nastiest tasting things on earth, so I can quite believe it! :D

Edit to add - your description of snorting it reminds me of when I used to snort pure M-CAT back when it was all the rage here in UK. That stuff used to burn so horribly bad. Only thing worse was snorting 2CE. That was one of those 'FUCK! Never again' type moments. Only thing worse was when I smoked some DMT that I hadn't washed properly, so still had traces of lye left in it. That was right up there with the most stupid things I've ever done. And man - have I done some stupid things..

OMG - that made me cringe. How horrible. Did it do permenant damage to your lungs? You are so lucky you lived!

 

[Muzda Jonxx]

We're talking minute traces, I must have picked up a tiny amount of the lye mix when I was syphoning off the naptha mix. It was honestly one of the scariest things, because of course I was also DMT-tripping at the time. Became short on breath and MAN - did my throat and lungs hurt. Thankfully after 30 minutes I was fine again.

I cannot underline this enough - siphon your naptha mix so so carefully, and clean it again with an ammonia wash or something if you extract your own dimitri. Yeah, you'll lose a little but it's an integral step IMO, even though the recipes say you can optionally drop it.

DMT is my favourite chemical of all time, but nothing's worth permanent physical damage. Like you say, I was VERY lucky not to suffer lasting ill effects.

 

[dwaykin]

I signed up and registered just for this post alone. I have been taking diphenhydramine daily for about 2 years now. I actually started with sleep aids then discovered that diphenhydramine was the active ingredient and switched to benedryl because it was much cheaper. When I started I would take a does of about 5 and would descend into a very nearly drunken state which I valued to avoid reality. I've been told that I have some intelligence, but I have always been quite eccentric.

I have a hard time understanding society, and the commonly held beliefs and misconceptions. I don't really fit in and I always feel like the odd man out, and while I understand that being normal is a perception and is subjective the way the world works is insane. So I thought the best option would be to escape.

When I would dose I would become almost incapable of holding a coherent thought. Soon after I began to shake once the onset hit me, if was to do anything that required me to use any type of force or strength, what ever I was using would shake uncontrollably. Some tree limbs fell on top of my home and the ladder vibrated and clanged like someone was holding it and shaking as hard as they could. I also had heart palpitations it, it would beat thunderously in my chest and the sound alone was scary. It was like I could almost see my chest jump every time it beat. I was ok with all that because as soon as it all would slow down I could make my way off to sleeply land and avoid reality a little while longer. I found bigger bottle of benedryl that contained 365 25 mg pills that were quite cheap, and of course with time time my tolerance increased. I began taking 10 pills would wait until onset and most of the time take about 5 more, but I got to the point where I would get super high/drunk but wouldn't be able to go to sleep. So i'd take some more trying to escape to dream land.

When I would take the benedryl I would lose the ability for detail. Mostly having to do with short term memory assimilation, and partially muscle control and coordination. I couldn't talk because I would get stuck on trying to find a word to fit what I would be talking about, knowing I knew a word and its definition well, but being unable to match the name with the face. I would go somewhere with the intention of doing something specific and once I got there would almost completely forget why I went there in the first place. I read that it really hurt the short term memory, and I know for a fact that it's probably one of the worst side effects. Especially if the person is someone who enjoys learning of any kind. Ironically enough I happen to be that kind of person.

I began to have interest in organic growing/farming, and began to heavily study it, and decided I want to try my hand at it. I will inherit 20 acres to do what ever I please on. I also began to study energy healing, researching scientific research articles and anything else I could find about both the farming and the healing. I've reached the point of either drifting away and letting it all go or giving up the drug and trying maybe live and learn some more. It's gonna be hard, but I want to help myself and some people I love, some people who has believed in me despite my cowardice and short comings, people who think I can do great things if I stop trying to hide from the world. I know its going to be difficult because I've been on this road for a little while, but more than I want to hide from reality now I want to prove that what those who have cared and been trying to pull me up from the bottom believe of me can be reality. I'm not sure where it came from, but I've been thinking of a quote that has profound meaning for anyone who thinks nothing is worthwhile or that it can never get better. Is that along as your heart is beating and you're still breathing, the possibility of greatness is always present even if you're dead but your heart hasn't stopped beating and you haven't stopped breathing.

Update- 2 weeks diphenhydramine free. There first week was hell, but I did it without using other substances to help. Since then I can actually sleep for more than a hour with meditation and exercise. Ihope to be able to sleep all night eventually. I can still feel the pull a little bit but hope after a month or two it'll be gone. I'm lucky it was with benedryl because if it had been a harder drug I don't know if I could have stopped.

Much respect to those who have had bigger nastier monsters to slay! The worlds nasty sense of irony that its hard to escape an attempt to escape.

 

[Nixiam]

Paragraphs!!

 

[Manzel]

I've been taking the stuff in the form of Unisom capsules (50mg diphenhydramine) eight at a time. Enough to send me mindless for a couple of hours. I hate doing it but life has taken a turn for the worse in recent times and I've been using it as a temporary form of escape when I become too emotional to cope.

I'm scared of what it's doing to my body but at the same time I'm scared of trying to handle what I'm going through when I'm lucid. I'm scared of what I might do to myself when my mind spends too much time thinking about things. The DPH stops me thinking!

I've measured my blood pressure and heart rate when I'm affected and the BP drops down to 110/70 (quite low for me) and my heart rate has been as high as 135bpm. I can only imagine the trauma my liver must be going through and as for my brain...it will probably make a good dissection specimen before too long!

I'm sure I'm killing myself slowly with this stuff but it is probably better than doing it quickly when I'm in one of my darker moods.