I enjoyed the sedation and excitability that occurred. .. So I started to take it a lot. Basically abusing it. And now I cant get off of it because I do experience withdrawal when I don't take it. What should I do?? And is is common?
Has anyone had any dependance issue 's with diphenhydramine use?
Question posted by whitneylove92 on 11 Oct 2013
Last updated on 8 May 2025
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
40 Answers Page 2
Equino99
14 Dec 2018
I'm going through this now and it's horrible. The real problem that I have is that I just had an operation last week and was given a lot of drugs while I was under. I'm not sure if this had any influence or not.
I took diphenhydramine 50-75 mg, on and off for a few years. Sometimes I would take it for 60 or 7 days straight and then it could be two weeks to 3 months before I took it again. In late October I got a cold and took it on and off until Nov. 6th. On Nov. 10th I started feeling sort of strange but wasn’t sure what was going on. I have an enlarged prostate and while I was in bed late on the 10th I got up and found that could not pee at all. I tried all night with no luck, and on the 11th ended up in the ER. They had to catheterize me and told me that diphenhydramine does that to enlarged prostates. The problem was that I was getting all kinds of side effects now, like pins & needles in my skin and an elevated heart rate.
My resting heart rate is usually 57-59, it was now 85. As the days went on I was waking each night with tachycardia and nausea 2-3 times a night. By night 7 I started getting hypnic jerks and was getting zero sleep. Meanwhile the pins & needles were increasing in my hands, face, shins and feet. I was getting nausea during the day and a stuffy nose. My heart rate was sometimes into the 90’s and I had slight depression and lots of anxiety. During all of this they tried pulling my catheter but, I still couldn’t pee. Luckily they had already booked an operation for me, so, on Dec. 6th they operated on my prostate. It was tough because I was still suffering all of those side effects at the time. A few days after the operation they pulled the flushing catheter and I was able to pee. I’m still in bad shape with burning and sometimes itchy skin all over, nausea, headaches and tachycardia. I’m not sure when this will ever end but, if it does, I promise to come back and report what happened.
kootenayboy
14 Dec 2018
The prostate issue I'm glad you posted this as I've had problems since the benidryl and it's really scary with all sorts of symptoms weird electrical like tingling internally trouble peeing pain I stomach constipation etc. I'm worried it's cancer but going to the Dr about it is terrifying
Equino99
14 Dec 2018
Kootenayboy... The electrical feeling is a withdrawal symptom. So are the stomach issues. I just don't know how long this is supposed to last. How long have you been going through it.
Inactive
29 April 2020
Hi! I have been experiencing almost the same symptoms you experienced. I was taking ZzzQuil for 5 years approximately 7-9 pills, and then they were not helping me go to sleep so I increased the intake to 12 pills for about 2 months, one night I woke to an extremely rapid heart beat and it freaked me out. I stopped taking ZzzQuil and started feeling sick, like dizzy, nauseous etc... so I went back to it, taking about 4 pills every night but one Friday night I was watching tv with my children and all of a sudden I got very dizzy so I dropped the pills again and have been out of it ever since( about 2 weeks) however I have been experiencing dizziness pins in needles on my hands, face, feet, numbness on both arms tachycardia(167bpm) my husband brought me straight to the Er, I had and EKG a whole bunch of blood work done and nothing was found. I went back home and had a pretty rough weekend feeling nauseous dizzy and racing heart beat Etc..
on Monday I woke up extremely agitated my heart was racing, my body was shaking and I started panicking so I called my husband because my heart once again hit 167pbm my arms, hand, feet, neck was all numb, the ambulance came and picked me up. I got to the hospital once again did all the blood work again EKG and nothing was found they send me home with no diagnosis. I don’t know what to do anymore
nika1
14 Dec 2018
I can't even believe I found a thread on this, because I thought I was the only person legit "on Benadryl." I've been taking it for probably about 12 years, just to sleep (although I few times when I was younger I took up to 16 and got really high, but high similar to dextromethorphan - not recommended). Otherwise, I have been taking 2-3 to sleep. My doctor actually prescribes it because she thinks it's better for my insomnia than actual sleeping pills. I have been off of it for 2 nights and I really thought I was sick, but now I am thinking it is because I am not taking the pills. No one has mentioned this, but the thing that made me think it was stopping the Benadryl is my whole body is itching (along with headache and a flu feeling). I also just read about the Alzheimer's and dementia connection.
Can this be reversed by stopping, or is the damage done? I can't find anything in the medical literature about what can be done. I am also wondering how long these "withdrawal" symptoms will last. I never had to quit anything except cigarettes and that was not physically hard (mentally, another story).
Shanec1381
1 Dec 2018
I took it in the form of Nytol for 5 years and i slept better than I had i several years. When I read about the long term effects of it , I stoped. Not having any side effects for the first three days, I didn’t connect chronic headaches and sniffles right away as withdrawal symptoms. They continued for 2 weeks and gradually lessened. Drank lots of skin milk. Avoided coffee tea or caffeine. I’m fine now.. BUT THE SIDE EFFECTS ARE MOST DEFINITELY PHYSICAL. Headaches for me were the worst
Barbara Baldwin
17 Nov 2018
I take 100mg 3-4+ times a day. Been doing it for a few years. My drs. know and are not concerned. When I forget to bring it with me when I'm out and about, nothing happens. My only concern with it is my leg muscles. No one seems to know if diphenhydramine is causing my leg muscles to weaken to the point I can no longer walk for more than 20 feet.and why I have Morton's neuroma now..
plainsandwich
16 Nov 2018
Hello. I know this question is from years ago, but I'm replying to it in hopes someone can gives me some answers.
So, I know this is very stupid and unhealthy of me... But, I started taking zquil about a month ago now. I really enjoyed the effects and received a high tolerance quickly. I know it's unsafe, but once I figured nothing would happen, I started to take 6 to 8 at a time and then 4 later on in the day. So, I am taking about 10 daily when it says not to exceed the dose of 2. Whenever I stopped taking zquil, my stomach was sick for 4 days and I was puking hardcore at some points, along with having a fever. My boyfriend told me that it was probably zquil withdraw because I didn't feel like I normally would if I was sick, it was different, in a way. Mostly just horrible stomach upset that didn't go away no matter what. But of course, once I took some zquil I was fine again.
This surprised me because I didn't think that withdrawing from zquil would effect my stomach so abruptly. Yesterday, I had taken about 6 to 8 and then didn't take anymore for the rest of the day. Today, I hadn't taken any all day and was fine until about 2:30pm. I started to get a stomach ache and figured that my body was withdrawing from zquil because that's what it did whenever it had been awhile since I had taken any. I took 4, but I think it was definitely too late, because I ended up puking really bad but then I felt better. I decided to eat a little and then I took 1 more because I thought maybe I had puked up some of the 4. I'm supposed to be trying to taper off of the zquil but every day I just end up taking the same amount. I know I sound really ignorant and I'm assuming this is very dangerous to do to my body. I really need to stop and I plan too.
I'm just wondering why the "zquil withdrawal" effects my stomach so atrociously. Whenever I puke when I'm in this stage it hurts so bad and takes awhile to calm down.
Someone please give me your opinions and facts! Thanks.
kanswr321
25 Feb 2019
Nausea and vomiting is the most common withdrawal symptom. You pretty much just need to fight through it. You can try tapering down to lessen the effects, but it will also drag it out. It took me 4 days of vomiting before that passed.
kootenayboy
15 Nov 2018
Yes I have, I have fibromyalgia and I found by accident benadryl worked the opposite on me I got energy I could sleep the nerve pain was numbed but the same thing I grew dependent on it the withdrawal can be brutal not phychological but physical headaches (most likely sinus pressure) bowel issues (mucus glands dried up probably) and of course all the fibromyalgia symptoms returned no energy painful to sleep all nerves hurting etc . It's not worth the worry of being on it though as the anxiety increases and so does the dose required to keep the benefits. For me it was not a pleasure thing but an attempt to have a better quality of life.
Equino99
14 Nov 2018
A friend of mine is a Chemical Dependence doctor. She told me that Diphenhydramine is a very dangerous drug and can cause long time protracted withdrawal symptoms lasting many months. She warns all of her patients about it no matter what they are trying to withdraw from, because many start using it to help with withdrawal symptoms from other substances.
Tg4848
28 Oct 2018
I’ve been talking a sleeping aid for 25 years plus. Usually from Costco, brands like Tylenol pm to the CVS brands. I’m 49 years old now. Just read a report that it could be linked to Alzheimer’s. So needless to say I’ve stopped taking them. It’s day 3 now! My body is not taking it well. I’m shaky, fluish, very low energy.. I can go on and on with symptoms. I know I just need to push through but no one can tell me it’s just psychological.
plainsandwich
16 Nov 2018
You should really taper down..I don't know how many you were taking a day, but do it little by little..ya know, if you were taking 5 a day do 4, and then 3 the next day, 2 the next day, another 2..and then just 1 for a couple days. Then that way I highly doubt your withdrawal will be very bad at all.
Carmen bourgeois
30 Sep 2018
Should I go to er
Z-zZz-Z
29 May 2018
I have been taking diphenhydramine sleeping pills the kroger brand gel tabs for about 2 years every night and sometimes early afternoon as well. I was taking 2-3 pills each time they were 25mgs each. I started to feel very weird pains in my stomach area and started having a very delayed response when urinating. My stomach pains were similar to cramps and was also having nausea at the same time. I defenitely did not have any of these types of symptoms before taking these sleeping pills, I am 36 years old and very rarely have had stomach related issues until now. I cut the dose down significantly to 1 pill 2 times a day for a few weeks, then I went down to 1 pill only once a day at night time before im ready to go to sleep. Currently I have stopped taking them completely its been 3 days so far and the symptoms although not gone are getting better. I also started hydrating myself properly and when I get nausea issues I drink hot tea and a little bit of pepto bismol and it helps alot.
I have definely noticed a mental and physical pull towards diphenhydramine sleeping pills especially when I get anxiety but remember the physical pain it puts me in and have been able to resist the urges so far. I am going to explore some other alternatives to sleeping that are not destructive to the body and will post my results after. I hope you all get relief and resolve your issues with this as well. Please keep sharing positive results so we can all help each other.
Xgrumpybearx
12 April 2018
I was only on it for a couple months, taking 100 mgs a day, and have been off it 1 day. I felt awful, headache, nausea, vomiting. I was just wondering if anyone knows how long ill feel this way. Im trying not to take off work today but if i throw up there, i wont really have a choice.
Moomoomui
12 March 2018
I took benadryl for about 3 year,I stop it 3 days ago,I only took 25mg at night.but I begin lost appetite, diarrhea,rapid heart beat,cough, nausea, insomnia heart burn,chill and hot, I did not know allthese are withdraw symptoms. I thought I have cold and flu.so I took some cold and flu medication,but it didn't help.until Iook up this websites.i guess I have to tapping it off slowly,may be take 1 pill every other day.
jenmb2679
28 Feb 2019
I lose my appetite also. it is helped me lose a lot of weight. without it, I get cravings all day. long
Cold Turky
11 Aug 2017
I went to the emergency room for my back and got oxycodone. I noticed how well I slept when taking it so I decided to try and stop the benadryl. I have tried to stop in the past and no way. Yes real withdrawal systems. Anyways I don't recommend getting hooked on opioids but it had 100 percent help me get off benadryl. I'm on day 4 without benadryl and have had very very mild withdrawal symptoms.
jenmb2679
25 Feb 2019
so you replaced benadryl and with oxycodone? that's dumb. sorry
Barbara Baldwin
13 July 2017
I thought I was the only one who discovered the magic in D. I take 200mg 5 or 6 times a day. When I run out for a few days I don't have withdrawal...
teef21
3 July 2017
I have been abusing diphenhydramine for about two years now. Sometimes taking as much as 30 pills in a day. High doses will get you high. And yes, I have experienced physical withdrawal. This is the main reason I have not been able to stop for good. I am thinking that I am going to take a couple zyrtec or allegra when I start feeling sick. These ones are second generation anti-histamines and don't cause any psychoactive effects.
Related topics
drug dependence, sedation, diphenhydramine, withdrawal
Further information
- Diphenhydramine uses and safety info
- Diphenhydramine prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Diphenhydramine (detailed)
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