Opioids Beating the Opi-itch - Is it Safe to Mix OTC Antihistamines??

[Oxy8_8]

I take up to 150mg of oxy with up to 480mg codeine per day and - while the codeine is the biggest culprit of the itch, my oxycontin makes me itch too and I need the oxy.

I find I take several different Over The Counter antihistamines such as promethazine, Benadryl (actrivastine), loratadine and cetirizine. Sometimes I double up on the Benadryl and promethazine.
Is it safe to do this...are there any side-effects except drowziness??

I'm worried it's unsafe but I have a low tolerance for itching.

 

[T. Calderone]

It's safe to use over the counter antihistamines. I've done it before but it made me too sleepy.
Maybe take a lesser amount of codeine and see if that helps. I hated the "itchies" especially when
it was on my back, a spot I couldn't reach! I had to use a butterknife to scratch or unsharpened pencil.

 

[ErgicMergic]

I would actually not recommend "doubling up" on first gen OTC antihistamines that are too anticholinergic, as they dry you out too much and make you too sleepy, overpowering the subtle nuances of the opioid experience.

Instead, I would recommend taking your normal dose of first gen OTC antihistamines, then combine it with 10-20mg cetirizine, a second-gen one which doesn't cross the BBB and doesn't make you sleepy. The only "first gen" AH I would actually enjoy in doses up to 30mg is hydroxyzine, the parent compound of cetirizine, as it works to relieve anxiety via inverse agonism on the 5-HT2C receptor, and this action also disinhibits NE and DA release in the prefrontal cortex, making it very useful to potentiate euphoria and energy/focus gained from opioids while relieving the itchies and keeping you out of the anticholinergic fog that first-gen ones like Benadryl are known for.

 

[Oxy8_8]

Actually my eyes have been puffy and dry so that's really helpful thanks.
I also suffer anxiety. Id hydroxyzine available OTC?

 

[Serotonin101]

look up some second generation antihistamines and couple it with a first generation antihistamine. I suffer horrible allergies (retired junkie as well) and only way to alleviate them is 50mg diphenhydramine and a single dose of cetirizine.

hydroxizine never did shit for me for itchies, promethazine made me sleep, diphenhydramine worked best in lower doses (otherwise it can be very sedating) and the second Gen antihistamines.

 

[madskilz]

when I was a junky i would sometimes take benedryl and it did wonders for the itching though most people dont even realize theres such thing as it

 

[ErgicMergic]

^ "Most people don't even realize there's such a thing as" Benadryl? Seriously? It's like the only antihistamine everyone knows about.

One bad thing about that is that people who get all drowsy on Benadryl categorize all antihistamines as "yucky" or "drowsy," and have to suffer intense itchies when they can take a couple Zyrtec (cetirizine) and enjoy their opiates with no itching and no added drowsiness! :D

Oxy8_8, I'm not sure if hydroxyzine is classified as a POM (Rx only) or OTC in the UK, but it's a simple, old allergy medication still in widespread use today, also used for anxiety, that doctors will have no problem prescribing if you simply ask for it. If you guys can get promethazine OTC, then I'm guessing that docs won't be too worried about hydroxyzine.