Diphenhydramine and Nausea: What Users Say

• Anonymous
• June 15, 2012

Diphenhydramine for Nausea/Vomiting "I have emetophobia, that is, a pervasive fear of vomiting. I do not know if this affects vomiting, but if I feel nauseous, Benadryl works wonders. My stomach settles right down and my anxiety lowers just enough for me to deal with it without the use of benzodiazepines."

• Jus...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 9, 2020

Diphenhydramine for Allergic Reactions "This is an old thread but thought I would share. I was in the hospital in labor. I developed a reaction to the epidural that caused severe itchiness. They gave me something that didn't help, and after several hours of itching, a nurse gave me IV Benadryl. I immediately couldn't breathe and felt like someone kicked me in the chest. I was warm all over, nauseous, and on the edge of passing out. An EKG also showed I had a heart arrhythmia from it. I've taken oral Benadryl in the past with no problems. Now it's on my list of allergies, and I tell every doc I see. Most terrifying experience."

• Con...
• April 26, 2017

Diphenhydramine for Allergic Reactions "I have no rest every time I take Benadryl. I feel I have a really bad reaction as I feel restless, my body feels itchy, nauseous, and it makes me feel angry. Feeling restless really hurts my stomach. Am I allergic to it, or is it a bad reaction?"

• Nut...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 4, 2020

Diphenhydramine for Insomnia "I took half a Sominex last night to try to get a deep sleep. I slept better, but I am a wreck today. Bad headache, nausea, and extreme muscle fatigue and weakness. Wondered whether it was the Sominex, and reading some of the reviews, it looks like it is. Even had to nap this afternoon and still feel awful. Binned it."

• Bab...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 27, 2017

For Nausea/Vomiting "Was told by pediatrician to give to 4-year-old for nausea and vomiting for a virus. I tried Pepto-Bismol but vomited it back up within 10 minutes. Ondansetron was prescribed to the entire sick family. My son and I tried our ondansetron and still felt nauseated. After 4 hours, it was clear we needed to try something else. The Benadryl is definitely helping."

• Mel...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 24, 2019

For Nausea/Vomiting "Uhhhhhh.... Wow..... All I have to say is that I have had extreme nausea all night... I tried Dramamine. Didn’t work. I remembered that diphenhydramine can also be used for nausea relief. So I took a liquid gel (50 mg), and it’s been maybe 10-15 minutes, and I already feel better. Thanks again, diphenhydramine!!"

• Can...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 24, 2020

Diphenhydramine for Insomnia "Started taking these Unisom SleepGels a year ago. Very effective. I was taking them only Sunday night through Thursday night. I noticed I was getting very nauseous on the weekends and couldn’t pinpoint why. I felt amazing throughout the week. Horrible on weekends. Found out it was because I wasn’t taking them on weekends. Now I have to take them every night. I am very worried it will get me sick. But the nausea is so bad."

• Can...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 24, 2020

Diphenhydramine for Insomnia "Started taking these Unisom SleepGels a year ago. Very effective. I was taking them only Sunday night through Thursday night. I noticed I was getting very nauseous on the weekends and couldn’t pinpoint why. I felt amazing throughout the week. Horrible on weekends. Found out it was because I wasn’t taking them on weekends. Now I have to take them every night. I am very worried it will get me sick. But the nausea is so bad."

• Man...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 1, 2018

Diphenhydramine for Insomnia "Seemed to work the first day, but then with weeklong use, started to make me nauseous and have a very upset stomach. I took it an hour before bed and it only made me feel like I was sick with allergies, which is odd."

• Bet...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 18, 2018

For Nausea/Vomiting "For me, this is the most reliable medication for nausea and vomiting for multiple purposes, and I’ve tried everything else, including ondansetron. For any kind of nausea, taking this early enough stops vomiting altogether and really helps with nausea side effects from other medication like morphine, etc. Great as well for migraines, as it reduces nausea, stops vomiting, and seems to help with making other medication more effective, too. I tried everything for motion sickness, both natural and pharmaceutical, and this is the only one that helps at all. Shame many pharmacists in the UK are so poorly informed about this medication and refuse to allow you to buy it if you say it’s for nausea-so always just say you want it for occasional sleep issues."

• Fox...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 20, 2015

For Insomnia "Diphenhydramine is an extremely effective sleep aid. It takes half an hour or less for 25 mg to knock me out. The biggest problem I have with diphenhydramine is that it makes me feel kind of groggy and nauseous the next day. I feel like I'm walking around in some weird twilight, and food just doesn't taste good to me. Still, out of the three sleeping pills I've tried, diphenhydramine is by far the most effective. Ambien made me feel like I was on a roller coaster, and melatonin mainly makes me fall asleep a little faster."

• Sam...
• June 16, 2019

For Cold Symptoms "I used generic diphenhydramine HCl 25 mg capsule to help with a runny nose, sore/scratchy throat, and sneezing because of a common cold. I took only one capsule before sleep at night. It made me sleepy right away. But it made me nauseated, helped with a runny nose and sneezing. I don’t like that while I was asleep I kept feeling jittery."

• Jac...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 19, 2020

For Insomnia "I had been taking Benadryl for a while to help with sleep, which it definitely does. It was fantastic that something over the counter was really effective. BUT, after a short while, the mild side effects got stronger and really concerning and uncomfortable. Chills, nausea, general malaise, elevated blood pressure and pulse, and, most disturbing, memory loss. The chills and mild nausea just made me feel constantly ill. Finally, I had to stop using this, and I felt better within a few days. All sleep drugs have side effects, but this had more than was acceptable or even safe. I'd only use this again in an absolute emergency."

• Nat...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 26, 2021

For Insomnia "I suffer with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), and I suffer with vertigo. I usually take motion sickness pills to help with the dizziness and nausea. I took two, which means 50 mg of diphenhydramine. I also hoped it would help me fall asleep. That was after work at 10:30 pm; it is now 4:49 am, and I am wide awake! I have restless legs, up and down to urinate, and this med did nothing but keep me awake! I am surprised that getting out and in bed hasn’t woke my boyfriend up. I have work today at 2 pm, and I am afraid I will crash and burn at work!"

• Mit...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 22, 2017

For Nausea/Vomiting "I took diphenhydramine by mouth for spring allergies. It made me drowsy and helped my allergies, but also made me dizzy and nauseated, which it is supposed to prevent. I do know that it is probably one of the best antihistamines on the market."

• Stu...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 18, 2020

For Insomnia "While Benadryl works for insomnia, it also (for me) had side effects of mild nausea, anxiety, chills, and elevated pulse and BP, also short-term memory issues. After a little over 2 weeks, I stopped because of them and found myself going through withdrawal - a lot of anxiety and not feeling well. I wish someone had mentioned this could happen in my internet searches before I started, but there was nothing. Once I stopped and this happened, I searched 'Benadryl withdrawal' and there was LOTS of information to be found and symptom lists. For me, this made me sleep but with bad side effects while taking and then stopping. Be careful using even for a fairly short time!!!"

• Dad...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 14, 2021

For Cough "I had an annoying tickle cough for almost two weeks, and I decided to try Benadryl for it. About ten minutes later, I began getting an anxious heartbeat and dizziness. The next day, however, it is now almost 2 pm, and I have spent the entire day feeling nauseated, with a strange thumping headache, and feeling 'hungover.' It did help the cough, though."

• net...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 29, 2022

Diphenhydramine for Nausea/Vomiting "Took Benadryl when I was out of town and did not have my generic brand Equate with me. I had done this twice, and both times, the Benadryl made me sick with diarrhea and nausea. I will always stick with the Equate for hay fever, as I never feel sick from it."

• Anonymous
• September 2, 2017

Diphenhydramine for Nausea/Vomiting "I take Methotrexate weekly, 25 mg, and have found that taking Benadryl at a dose of 12 and 24 hours after my weekly dose helps reduce the nausea."

• All...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 6, 2015

Diphenhydramine for Insomnia "This was not very effective for me, and it made me feel worse the next day, even if I got 8 hours of sleep. It isn't really worth it."

• Tin...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 26, 2022

For Nausea/Vomiting "It works great for nausea and vomiting at maximum doses daily. The problem is it cannot be used as a maintenance drug. Chronic use has been documented and linked to Alzheimer’s."

• Mik...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 9, 2020

For Insomnia "Benadryl gives me horrible restless leg syndrome and makes me feel very nauseous. It feels like I have pins and needles all over my body. Feels like bugs are crawling all over."

• Tri...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 31, 2021

For Motion Sickness "As all oral Benadryl products, once taken, after a few minutes of dormant activity, it makes me sleepy. After I have awakened, the nausea mainly goes away, especially seasickness."

• Wil...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 22, 2021

Diphenhydramine for Nausea/Vomiting "I used it originally for food allergies but ended up puking (expected, to be honest). Not long after, I took another to wave off the extra symptoms like nausea. All it did was induce vomiting again."

• Amy...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 7, 2018

Diphenhydramine for Nausea/Vomiting "I took a single pill of Benadryl, and it made me vomit, nauseous, diarrhea, dry throat, and gave me a stuffy nose. I wouldn't give this to my worst enemy."