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Thanks for the replies, I tried no Zzz-Quil per my bfs request and as you can see I am posting at 4AM and I've been up over an hour...Arghhh!
Have you spoken with a Dr (Psychiatrist) about the anxiety/insomnia? There's every chance that the Dr tells you to continue taking a dose of benadryl.
It's just benadryl (diphenhydramine.) Not addictive in the chemical dependence sense but obviously it becomes a mental crutch. It's the same ingredient in Tylenol PM and Advil PM and a handful of other allergy/cold/pain meds often combined with another one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by QuakerBaker;58113020
My father is an alcoholic, but I[B
don't use substances[/b]. I've never even taken a sip of alcohol, never a puff from cigarettes, I avoid taking things like Tylenol if I have a headache...
Yes you do. You use diphenhydramine. It's a substance. I also wouldn't totally obsess about not taking tylenol or motrin if you have a headache or whatever, unless again you find yourself having a lot of headaches, in which case you should see a doctor about the frequent headaches. Tylenol is less psychoactive then benadryl is.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jonesg
Self medicating is addictive behavior. Full stop, end of story.
When you find something that works, you will become addicted very quickly.
You sound psychologically addicted, its a matter of time finding your sedative of prefernce.
You do use substances, you abuse them.
He's right but doesn't know the full scope, I am a recovered addict alcoholic.
I remember drinking nyquil to ease my anxiety.
Anyway , good luck.
That's a bit of a stretch. I self medicate for allergies in early spring with the same substance she uses. I self medicated when I threw my back out by taking Tylenol PM before bed time. The PM is the same stuff as Z Quil. Were those addictive behaviors?
At what point is "self-medicating" a problem an addictive behavior?
Have you spoken with a Dr (Psychiatrist) about the anxiety/insomnia? There's every chance that the Dr tells you to continue taking a dose of benadryl.
I seriously doubt that.
Prescribing drugs is pretty much all psychiatrists do. A psychiatrist is not going to advise you to take something you can buy OTC when there are many better and more reliable sleep aids available. I don't take any of them because (drum roll)...
Every single one of them has a half-life. Even Benadryl. I doubt most of you knew that.
What's a half-life, you ask?
The elimination half-life of a drug is a pharmacokinetic parameter that is defined as the time it takes for the concentration of the drug in the plasma or the total amount in the body to be reduced by 50%. In other words, after one half-life, the concentration of the drug in the body will be half of the starting dose.
With Benadryl, elimination half-life ranges from 6.7 to 11.7 hours. So between 6 to 12 hours after taking Benadryl, half the drug will be eliminated from the body. Within two days, the drug will be completely gone from the body. Let me say that again: It takes two days for Benadryl to clear your system.
You care about elimination half-life because of drowsiness when you need to be awake and drug interactions.
If you took Benadryl and still had the infamous "Benadryl hangover" late the next day, are you going to pile another sleep aid (take your pick: Ambien, Trazodone, Hydroxyzine, Melatonin, I've got a ton of 'em) on top of that? I wouldn't. But I also wouldn't be able to sleep that night.
Dump the meds. Look up "How to Stop a Panic Attack". It'll show you how to use breathing techniques to suppress the fight-or-flight response and induce calm and relaxation.
I have severe anxiety and I do a variety of strategies to help with it. One is to get more sleep, because when I get a lot of sleep I have less anxiety, but I also struggle to stay asleep at times.... So I started using Zzz-Quil to help me sleep better.
I live with my bf and he thinks I use it too much, as I pretty much use it almost every night now to make sure I sleep. But if I don't use it, I typically wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep, often I wake up and have anxiety then that keeps me up longer.
My father is an alcoholic, but I don't use substances. I've never even taken a sip of alcohol, never a puff from cigarettes, I avoid taking things like Tylenol if I have a headache...I only take medication prescriptions if it is severe. I even avoid the pill. I don't even eat candy or junk food....literally none. I only have 1 can of Pepsi a month, other than that everything I drink is water....and I stay extremely fit. So I am in good physical health and don't have substance issues of really any kind.
So...I don't really know if it is a problem per se that I use it so much, but he thinks it is a bad habit forming and that I am dependent on it and will eventually build a tolerance to it and need more and more...he also says that since I am a short and very thin girl that I shouldn't do the full dose, which usually I go a little under the lines anyways.
Any thoughts?
I love Zzzzzzz and have used it on occasion. I'd say it's a problem to use ANYTHING almost every night. Zzzzz is a chemical. Not a natural substance. So I'd resist using it frequently.
My first go-to, when I can't sleep, is a cup of warm vanilla milk (milk with pure vanilla extract & sweetener). Milk has melatonin in it, and Pure Vanilla Extract has a tiny bit of ALCOHOL. This usually puts me to sleep. I may play Solitaire on my pc while drinking it. Often, my eyes get too heavy to finish the game.
If the milk doesn't work or I'm out of milk, I will use Zzzzz, but that's rare.
Another thing to try is Nyquil (the kind you get from the pharmacist). It has a tiny bit of alcohol, which helps put me to sleep.
I don't normally drink alcohol, so anything with alcohol in it has a strong effect on me.
Something I may drink once in a blue moon is a liqueur drink. One of those sweet low-alcohol-content drinks that you can drink straight or mix w/something. I liked Creme de Minthe mixed with cold milk (low calorie Grasshopper drink). As I said, I have a low resistance to alcohol, so anything w/alcohol has a big effect on me. But I usually go with the warm vanilla milk drink.
It helps to be more physically active during times of anxiety, although it's hard to do that then. If you exercise or are active enough that you get tired from the activity, that helps with sleep. A body tends to sleep, when it's tired from activity, even if your brain doesn't want to.
If someone has a problem w/alcohol or a family history of alcoholism, I'd avoid anything w/alcohol in it.
If you need something to help you sleep almost every night, you need to see a doctor. There are drugs you can take temporarily that will quieten your brain and let you sleep. Everything else that I mentioned above is for the occasional time when you can't sleep.
I don't see the problem...however, as a life long insomniac I know everything after a while loses its effect...was at the highest dose of Ambien and even that stopped working for me...took me 6 months to wean myself off of it! I really don't know what the answer is...I feel your pain!
I have had insomnia issues all my life, often made worse by debilitating sinus headaches. I also have anxiety and depression issues as side dishes to my ADD. These days I sleep solidly through the night with the help of several things if I’m having trouble:
-I listen to the Sleep With Me podcast, which is insanely soothing to me.
- I take a couple melatonin gummies about 30 minutes before bed
-I drink a cup of the 4 Sigmatic mushroom cacao drink with whole milk (expensive but it works)
-lavender spray on the sheets
-super dark room - as in no light
-meditation before getting under the covers
Also my dogs and cat sleep in the bed with me. Their sounds of their peaceful breathing after they fall asleep is like a tranquilizer.
Also if you can, cut out the screen time a couple hours before bed and no caffeine after lunch.
I love Zzzzzzz and have used it on occasion. I'd say it's a problem to use ANYTHING almost every night. Zzzzz is a chemical. Not a natural substance. So I'd resist using it frequently.
My first go-to, when I can't sleep, is a cup of warm vanilla milk (milk with pure vanilla extract & sweetener). Milk has melatonin in it, and Pure Vanilla Extract has a tiny bit of ALCOHOL. This usually puts me to sleep. I may play Solitaire on my pc while drinking it. Often, my eyes get too heavy to finish the game.
If the milk doesn't work or I'm out of milk, I will use Zzzzz, but that's rare.
Another thing to try is Nyquil (the kind you get from the pharmacist). It has a tiny bit of alcohol, which helps put me to sleep.
I don't normally drink alcohol, so anything with alcohol in it has a strong effect on me.
Something I may drink once in a blue moon is a liqueur drink. One of those sweet low-alcohol-content drinks that you can drink straight or mix w/something. I liked Creme de Minthe mixed with cold milk (low calorie Grasshopper drink). As I said, I have a low resistance to alcohol, so anything w/alcohol has a big effect on me. But I usually go with the warm vanilla milk drink.
It helps to be more physically active during times of anxiety, although it's hard to do that then. If you exercise or are active enough that you get tired from the activity, that helps with sleep. A body tends to sleep, when it's tired from activity, even if your brain doesn't want to.
If someone has a problem w/alcohol or a family history of alcoholism, I'd avoid anything w/alcohol in it.
If you need something to help you sleep almost every night, you need to see a doctor. There are drugs you can take temporarily that will quieten your brain and let you sleep. Everything else that I mentioned above is for the occasional time when you can't sleep.
NyQuil has doxylamine succinate, which is another anti-histamine like diphenhydramine. For some reason though, it works so much better for me. It's also the active ingredient in Unisom.
I love Zzzzzzz and have used it on occasion. I'd say it's a problem to use ANYTHING almost every night. Zzzzz is a chemical. Not a natural substance. So I'd resist using it frequently.
My first go-to, when I can't sleep, is a cup of warm vanilla milk (milk with pure vanilla extract & sweetener). Milk has melatonin in it, and Pure Vanilla Extract has a tiny bit of ALCOHOL. This usually puts me to sleep. I may play Solitaire on my pc while drinking it. Often, my eyes get too heavy to finish the game.
If the milk doesn't work or I'm out of milk, I will use Zzzzz, but that's rare.
Another thing to try is Nyquil (the kind you get from the pharmacist). It has a tiny bit of alcohol, which helps put me to sleep.
I don't normally drink alcohol, so anything with alcohol in it has a strong effect on me.
Something I may drink once in a blue moon is a liqueur drink. One of those sweet low-alcohol-content drinks that you can drink straight or mix w/something. I liked Creme de Minthe mixed with cold milk (low calorie Grasshopper drink). As I said, I have a low resistance to alcohol, so anything w/alcohol has a big effect on me. But I usually go with the warm vanilla milk drink.
It helps to be more physically active during times of anxiety, although it's hard to do that then. If you exercise or are active enough that you get tired from the activity, that helps with sleep. A body tends to sleep, when it's tired from activity, even if your brain doesn't want to.
If someone has a problem w/alcohol or a family history of alcoholism, I'd avoid anything w/alcohol in it.
If you need something to help you sleep almost every night, you need to see a doctor. There are drugs you can take temporarily that will quieten your brain and let you sleep. Everything else that I mentioned above is for the occasional time when you can't sleep.
I don't understand why everyone is recommending the OP see a doctor. Do you think she'll get a PRESCRIPTION that is less potent than the OTC medicine she's currently taking?
I would more recommend coming up with a sleep routine you follow each evening, including limiting screen time for an hour or two before bed, keeping your bedroom very dark, maybe taking a warm bath, and going to bed/waking up at the same time every day of the week. You'll find lots of info online in this same vein. Don't start taking prescription sleeping pills for a very minor issue that could likely be solved otherwise!
I have severe anxiety and I do a variety of strategies to help with it. One is to get more sleep, because when I get a lot of sleep I have less anxiety, but I also struggle to stay asleep at times.... So I started using Zzz-Quil to help me sleep better.
I live with my bf and he thinks I use it too much, as I pretty much use it almost every night now to make sure I sleep. But if I don't use it, I typically wake up in the middle of the night and can't fall back asleep, often I wake up and have anxiety then that keeps me up longer.
My father is an alcoholic, but I don't use substances. I've never even taken a sip of alcohol, never a puff from cigarettes, I avoid taking things like Tylenol if I have a headache...I only take medication prescriptions if it is severe. I even avoid the pill. I don't even eat candy or junk food....literally none. I only have 1 can of Pepsi a month, other than that everything I drink is water....and I stay extremely fit. So I am in good physical health and don't have substance issues of really any kind.
So...I don't really know if it is a problem per se that I use it so much, but he thinks it is a bad habit forming and that I am dependent on it and will eventually build a tolerance to it and need more and more...he also says that since I am a short and very thin girl that I shouldn't do the full dose, which usually I go a little under the lines anyways.
Any thoughts?
What kinds of medications are you taking for your severe anxiety?
Also you say you need a lot of sleep - what do you consider to be "a lot?" More than 8 hours? If you need more than 8 hours of sleep, you might want to go to a normal regular medical doctor for a physical and blood labs, to rule out some kind of systemic or neurological problem. Sometimes just an adjustment with your diet, or a single supplement, is all it takes to feel MUCH better physically and mentally.
Zquill is just diphenhydramine, which is an antihistimine that can cause drowsiness. It's basically harmless, and non habit-forming. You might be taking it as a crutch at this point -that would be your anxiety speaking to you, not any action of the medication.
If you're concerned with the dosage, I suggest buying a bottle of children's Benadryl, which is the same thing in a syrup form. Take just a capful at night - that's about half a teaspoon, and less than a standard children's dose. See if that doesn't get you sleeping soundly without any aftereffects at all.
It sounds more like you have trouble getting into the deep sleep - as opposed to waking up in the middle of the night after sleeping deeply.
What kinds of medications are you taking for your severe anxiety?
Also you say you need a lot of sleep - what do you consider to be "a lot?" More than 8 hours? If you need more than 8 hours of sleep, you might want to go to a normal regular medical doctor for a physical and blood labs, to rule out some kind of systemic or neurological problem. Sometimes just an adjustment with your diet, or a single supplement, is all it takes to feel MUCH better physically and mentally.
Zquill is just diphenhydramine, which is an antihistimine that can cause drowsiness. It's basically harmless, and non habit-forming. You might be taking it as a crutch at this point -that would be your anxiety speaking to you, not any action of the medication.
If you're concerned with the dosage, I suggest buying a bottle of children's Benadryl, which is the same thing in a syrup form. Take just a capful at night - that's about half a teaspoon, and less than a standard children's dose. See if that doesn't get you sleeping soundly without any aftereffects at all.
It sounds more like you have trouble getting into the deep sleep - as opposed to waking up in the middle of the night after sleeping deeply.
I had a doctor who was getting worried about me using Benadryl every night and he put me on amitriptyline. I ended up stopping that because it was not effective for me, but there are options that the OP can consider... it is an old-school antidepressant that helps with sleep and migraines as well (which is why I was using it). It didn’t really help with either for me and increased my resting heart rate by about 15bpm.
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