Benadryl & Weight Gain

Good luck in nursing school! It's a slog but you'll be through it before you know it.

Drop me a line if there's ever anything I can help with. I happen to be really good at EKG interpretation. :)

Thanks! I am excited and nervous. It's been a long time since I needed to do any heavy studying.

I lovedlovedloved ER. Crazy place, but I really belong there. LOL. With my autoimmune, I couldn't stay bedside even though I felt like I'd just gotten there. I am lucky that my computer skills and my clinical skills give me the healthcare informatics option. Now to just gut through the last few weeks of my master's program and be done. :D

I have allergies like woah so I've been taking Benadryl since I was a small kiddo. You really can build up a tolerance to it. Most people can't stay awake with 75mg. I only get a little drowsy and it takes 100mg or more to completely knock me out. I try to stay away from it as much as I can with all of the new info about possibly being implicated in alzheimers.

Informatics is an awesome field. That makes sense on the Benadryl. Thanks for the info.

Imo- - that may be pure coincidence.

But- as others said- you were talking a lot of Benadryl.

Not only sleep, but digestion, memory, even vision can be affected by antihistamine.

It has long been known that the administration of antihistamines can cause weight gain... In a recent NHANES survey, antihistamine use was associated with obesity, and a study in the journal "Obesity," (see abstract copied below) confirmed this and analyzed the use of over-the-counter antihistamines and their effect on weight gain. They found, as in the NHANES survey, that the use of over-the-counter antihistamines, including both fexofenadine and cetirizine, was associated with obesity.

https://www.aaaai.org/ask-the-expert/antihistamines-weight-g ain

Just chiming in to say I pretty much love every post you make. Science and documentation are powerful! And sparkley.

Histamine is a substance that also acts as a neurotransmitter. We often think of it related to allergies, but it is involved in many brain functions, actually. Two of the things it can do are increase anxiety, and also decrease appetite. Antihistamines don't cause the weight gain themselves, per se, but taking them removes the appetite suppressant effect. So, taking it can correlate with weight gain, absolutely. You habituate to benadryl very easily so I would avoid taking it daily, especially a high dose. It can really mess with mood, too.

Seroquel is well-studied. Just be aware higher doses can also cause weight gain and keep an eye on it. 25mg is really low and you likely won't have problems, though!

One of the best ways to treat insomnia is to have what we call good sleep hygeine. This means we need to sleep at least 7-8 hours, preferably in a dark or cool environment that is quiet. Eliminate all electronic light 30-60 minutes before bed. Sleep at the same time every night, even during breaks and vacations, and wake up at the same time each day. No caffeine after 2-3pm or other stimulants.

Thanks to you and Julie for the science.

FWIW: I didn't experience any weight gain with Seroquel until I hit 100mg, if memory serves.

That stuff was absolutely MAGICAL for sleep. If I wasn't in bed 40 minutes after taking my pills, I'd fall flat on my face asleep.