Is it safe to use antihistamines long-term as sleep aids?

[Anon54]

I currently take 5mg Zyprexa (Olanzapine) for sleep. at this dose it's an AH (anthistamine) but also blocks dopamine making it an AP (antipsychotic)
I dont need it because it's an AP, I dont have skitzophrenia I just have insomnia/anxiety & it's precreibed off label to me but the problem is it lasts to long. It has a half-life of 30 hrs & it's keeping me tired throughout the day so i wanna stop taking it. It doesnt help with anxiety but atleast I dont have any trouble getting to sleep any more

OTC Phenergan (Promethazine) has a shorter half-life of 10-19 hrs so that might work better for me but it states on the internet that it's not recommended for more than 10 days. I found it better than Doxylamine & Diphenhydramine because it has less side effects. I also have bad allergies which it helped with. I actually found it as sedating as the APs Ive tried in low doses & would have been happy to continue taking this if it wasnt only recommended to be used for 10 days or less. I think wikipedia says it's a weak AP too which adds to the sedation.

I'm thinking of changing APs to Seroquel because it only has a half-life of 6 hrs so it wouldnt make me tired thoughout the day but on wikipedia it says low doses (below 200mg) are only recommended while weaning onto it, or for short term use as it's only a AH at doses like 100mg. As u go above 200mg it starts to become an AP but i dont wanna take higher doses. 100mg-150mg would be fine for me.
What I dont understand is why it's OK to take larger doses & not smaller doses of Seroquel long term because it's not as if it stops being an AH at higher doses or it's AH properties are lessoned at higher doses, or are they?
Is there many ppl out there been precribed <200mg Seroquel long-term?

I found Ambian (Zolpidem) To be really weird. I didnt like it very much & I dont think I could get precribed it anyway.

I didnt much like Avanza (Mirtazepine) either. I found that to be kinda stimulating while sedating at the same time & it gave me vivid dreams I think

I really do need to take a sleep aid or I just find myself laying there most the night. I've tried exercise & all that & dont want advice on life style changed please. I took 150mg of Temazepam last night & like all the benzos I've tried they barely effect me. I actually found the highest recommended dose of Phenergan to be better for sleeping. Benzos only make me calmer & probably make me wanna stay up later cuz im feelin good.
I'm thinking my best option is to change to a low dose of Seroquel but im a bit concerned about taking an AH long-term. The other APs arnt as sedating. I have a chart saying the least to most sedating APs & Seroquel & Zyprexa are the same. Only Clozapine is more sedating but there's no way i'll get precribed that because it's only for ppl who havnt responded to other APs & ya have to get blood tests & stuff regually cuz it can be dangerous.

So yeah I'll probably switch to Seroquel but if anyone else has any ideas of other good sleep aids?
Seroquels the most sedating drug Ive tried so far so I dont think theres alot of other options. I need something with a short half-life so Im not tired throughout the day. I jut can't understant why it's not recommended in doses where its only a AH.
My dr originally put me on only 50mg when I used to take it so I dont think he thought it was a problem but wikipedia says different.

 

[Alex007]

A lot of people get diabetes from long term use of Seroquel. Many people are filing lawsuits. http://seroquel.gregmonforton.com/

it's an anti-psychotic yet psychs are giving it out like it's skittles. And you do develope tolerance to it, many people are stuck taking very high dosages, and u wake up dumb as fuck. Try something else, I don't want to see u in more pain.

 

[Anon54]

http://www.psychresidentonline.com/atypical antipsychotics.htm
as u can see from this table weight gain for Seroquel was given only 2 stars where Zyprexa was given 4 stars
Ive seen other charts too & Seroquel puts on the least weigt out of the APs listed. Im wondering if the diabetes is just a reslut of the weight gain or it it's more then that.
Does anyone know if it's just the weight gain that causes a higher risk or diabetes or is it got to do with the mechanism of which the drug works?

I think I have actually put on weight since I started taking Zyprexa. Only maybe 5kg at the very most over the last year. Im still pretty thin so Im not to concerned. If I stop smoking & get back into joggng that should come off pretty quick

like I said I need to take something to sleep so I may as well take the AP with the least side effects.

thanks for the concern though but Im only taking low doses. I feel better than what I did before I started APs. They actually come in 400mg tablets
so I'll probably only be asking for the 100mg tablets. or maybe I could just take 50-75mg. According to an equivelence chart I have on my PC, 2.5-5mg Zyprexa = 60-75mg Seroquel. So I should only need 75mg. Just the minimum I can so Im not trying to get to sleep the whole night. Im sure it's not to harmful in those doses. Alot of my friends have been taking APs for years.
I used to get insomnia so bad that I sometimes couldnt sleep at all. Now that isnt very good for ya health either

I have a really good comparison chart on my PC but cant fin where I got it from this was quoted from it though

The following statements from the CPS or specific studies state:
risperidone -can ↑ weight by 2 kg at 10 weeks, then 2.3kg
RISPERDAL after long term treatment
-18% of patients & 9% of placebo patients
increased >7% from baseline body weight
quetiapine -can ↑ weight by 2 kg at 4-8 weeks, 3.5kg at
SEROQUEL 18-26 week & 5.6kg at 1year
-25% of patients & 4% of placebo patients
increased >7% from baseline body weight
olanzapine -can ↑ weight by ~3.5kg at 10 weeks, then
ZYPREXA 5.4kg at 6-8months
-29% of patients & 3% of placebo patients
increased >7% from baseline body weight
clozapine -can ↑ weight by 4 kg at 10 weeks
CLOZARIL

Seroquel effects the following receptors 5-HT2A, 5-HT2C, D1, D2, D3, D4, M1-5, H1, and α1- antagonism.
Maybe it's not the H1 receptor which causes weight gain & increased chance of diabetes.
So if I take low doses maybe i wont put on weight like I have with Zyprexa, which effects a range of receptors at just 5mg.
Does anyone know if it's the AH effect which makes ya put on weight?

 

[Anon54]

For anyone whos interested heres a few quotes i found on the net
http://www.health-forums.com/alt-support-schizophrenia/antipsychotics-weight-gain-11550.html
a website about antipsychotics and weight gain

The most effective [antipsychotic drugs], such as clozapine and Zyprexa [olanzapine], block histamine H1 receptors the most and thus cause the greatest weight gain," Dr. Solomon said.

http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v28/n3/full/1300027a.html
a website about "H1-Histamine Receptor Affinity Predicts Short-Term Weight Gain for Typical and Atypical Antipsychotic Drugs"

Because centrally acting H1-histamine receptor antagonists are known to induce weight gain with chronic use, and because H1-histamine receptor affinities are positively correlated with weight gain among typical and atypical antipsychotic drugs, it is recommended that the next generation of atypical antipsychotic drugs be screened to avoid H1-histamine receptors.

If u read the whole site it says that other receptors effected induce weight gain too but the H1 receptor seems to be the worst for it. they wanna make a newer generation of APs that dont do this.

anyways im gunna keep recearching i might be able to find out how different doses of Seroquel affect histamine.

Im still trying to figure out why low doses of Seroquel arnt reccomended. maybe they just mean for the treatment of Skitzophrenia & bipolar because it's use less at low levels except for making ya tired.

anyone out there been precribed <200mg Seroquel for more than a year?
...

edit. ok ive done a bit of research
http://www.forbes.com/2004/09/08/cx_mh_0908seroquel.html

low-dose prescriptions account for half of Seroquel's market share and and he believes most of those are for sleep. Psychiatrists say the drug is being used widely as a sleep aid, often in patients who have other psychiatric disorders. "The vast majority of low-dose prescriptions are for sleep or calming,"

well if half the Seroquel market is only taking low doses i guess it cant be harmful

Zyprexa have sedative properties. But Zyprexa can also cause serious weight gain, even at low doses. At its lowest doses--one-sixth of what would be needed to treat schizophrenia--Seroquel does not cause weight gain. Nor is it addictive, as are certain sleep medicines.

Some say the sedative effect may be similar to what patients feel with a good dose of Benadryl.

hmm seems like i might put on less weight with Seroquel. Says in low doses i wont get any weight gain. & here i am taking Zyprexa
http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=152857
theres an OK thread about using Seroquel as a sleep aid.
Z-drugs are weird & benzos just make me calm & wanna sit up. I dont think theres any other alternatives.
Ive been diagnosed with anxiety & I do get minor psychotic symptoms. Sleeping well does help me feel better. So unless anyones got any better ideas. Seroquel sounds good to me & doesnt put on the weight like Zyprexa. It kicks in faster, helps with allergies & doesnt last as long (which wont keep me tired during the day)
so might give Seroquel another go