Diphenhydramine HCI
Maybe, like me, you take diphenhydramine HCI once in a while to help get to sleep. You might know it as Nytol, Unisom (sleepgels), or as the “sleepy” ingredient in Tylenol PM. (And, by the way, don’t take the Tylenol PM if you don’t have PAIN. Tylenol can fuck up your liver if you take too much of it.) The Tylenol people are also now selling something they call Simply Sleep — that’s just diphenhydramine HCI too.
Here’s the thing, if you’re at the grocery store or pharmacy looking for this stuff, STAY AWAY FROM THE BRAND NAMES OR EVEN THE GENERIC STUFF SOLD AS A “SLEEP AID”. It’s so much more expensive that way. Instead, what you want to do is wander on over to the antihistamine aisle and look for the generic equivalent of Benadryl. Check out the active ingredient… uh-huh, Diphenhydramine HCI, 25 mg, just like in the sleep aids.
Today I bought a generic “allergy relief” — straight diphenhydramine HCI — for a third the price of the very same drug sold as a “sleep aid” — same doseage, same number of capsules per package. The same drug! And I’m just talking about a generic-to-generic price comparison here! The generic antihistamine was about a quarter the price of the brand name “sleep aid”.
What a racket!
Just be sure, if you get the generic antihistamine instead of the “sleep aid”, that there aren’t any other ingredients in the antihistamine that might keep you awake. You want just plain diphenhydramine HCI.
Good stuff.
Yawn.
Posted by RebeccaHartong on January 30, 2006 under Uncategorized
I buy Excedrin for my headache relief. One time I was getting sharp stabbing pains, and, besides thinking I had a tumor because I’m partly a hypochondriac, I saw they had Excedrin Migraine. It was more expensive, but I got it anyway because I thought it’d be helpful. And it was.
But later I compared the ingredients on it to a bottle of regular Excedrin, and they’re exactly the same. The amount of acetominephin, the amount of caffeine, the amount of inactive ingredients — all exactly the same. The only thing different was the instructions about what it did, how it acted, and how many to take.
I later found out they are required by law to have separate labels for migraine medicine and regular headache medicine or something like that. What ever the case I looked up, Excedrin is charging us $3 or so extra bottle for a label.
Yay.
I get the generic stuff now just to spite Novartis — although they probably make the generic stuff for the grocery store chain anyway.
The OTC diphenhydramine HCI 25 mg that I take is marketed as an antihistamine for ALLERGIES … GOOD GRIEF!
tash
Thanks for sharing this info. In the last year I have taken over 100 Tylenol with Diphenhydramine as a sleep aide. I do have mild
aches and pains in my 65 year old knees, too. However, I will stop the Tylenol. My last physical revealed some change in my liver, so I got on line to see if it could be the Tylenol. Could be. Again, thanks for sharing!
Lottie from Brazil
I WONT USE NAMES SO THEY CANT SUE ME BUT WATCH THE COMMERCIALS FOR PAIN ON TV ONE NOW SAYS IF YOUR GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN WHAT WE TELL YOU WE WOULD RATHER YOU DONT TAKE US AT ALL,I HAVE KNOWN FIR YEARS THAT ACETAMINOPHEN TAKEN FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME AND MORE THAN 2 A DAY AT 500 MG WILL RUIN YOUR LIVER,I WAS LUCKY,I WAS HURT ,PUT ON OXCONTIN AND VICODEN ES,WHEN MY BLOOD TEST CAME BACK AFTER 2 WEEKS AS I HAVE A GOOD DOCTOR,HE CHECKS WHEN HE HAS YOU O ANYTHING LONG,WELLL WHEN HE SAW MY LIVER READ OUT WHITE BLOOD CELLS ETC HE SAID IF HE DIDNT KNOW WHAT HE PUT ME ON HE WOULD PUT ME IN HOSPITAL THAT MINITE…I NEVER TOOK A PILL WITH ACETAMINOPHEN IN IT AND NEVER WILL AGAIN….MY BET IS WHEN DEMS TAKE OVER PRESIDENTCY TOO THEY WILL OUT LAW THAT MED…WATCH IT WILL HAPPEN
Wow. Pretty scary stuff, Bob! I’m glad they got you fixed up but — yeah — that acetaminophen can be dangerous stuff.
YOu can buy the equate sleep aid for under $2.00 at any walmart, i actually just went there tonight to get sleep aids. 32 tabs of dip. hci 25MG
Try stoping Diphenhydramine and
see what happens…
This stuff is a brain killer.
Don’t take it. BOO on the junk
My experience with stopping diphenhydramine after having taken it for a while is that I’ll have several nights where it’s difficult to stay asleep — and then, eventually, everything’s fine. Diphenhydramine is one of the less problematic drugs out there for helping with sleep. But — absolutely, people shouldn’t take more than the recommended doseage (usually 50 mg). God only knows what taking more than that would do to a person over time. Probably nothing good.
I have just purchased the Rest Simply from Fred’s. Is it o.k. to take this if I am taking Paxil CR? I can not take anything that makes my heart beat rev up so now I am a little concerned about this. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks
Hi Gail! I wish I could answer that question for you, but I’m afraid I just don’t know. Your best bet would be to ask your pharmacist or your doctor.
Well i have been taking between 8 and 10 tylenol pm’s a night since it was made approx. 10 yrs every single i night i take it, yes i have had some abnormal liver function tests, and i am aware of what it can do to a liver, but in turn i have tried the allergy stuff that has same ingrediant for sleep but to be honest it doesnt work it does the opposite it makes me sleepless. I deal with military docs since my hubby is in the navy and they refuse to give me sleep aids to substitue for the tylenol pms, i have been a chronic insomniac since i was 21 i am now almost 35 (in 2 months) due to post traumatic stress disorder (stranger attack) so even though i know the risks i still need to sleep and cant stop what works for me.
Argh! Kelli! That’s so dangerous — as you know! Is there any way you can save up enough money to see a non-military doctor who will be willing to help wean you off the Tylenol? If ever there was a person who could really benefit from a prescription sleeping pill, it’s you! Please, please try to find some way to see a doctor who’s willing to help you with this. You need to sleep, of course, but not at the price of destroying your liver.
Wow, 8 – 10 Tylenol PMs a night. That is ridiculous.
Well… I wouldn’t say it’s “ridiculous” so much as really dangerous. People who are desperate for sleep will sometimes take drastic measures for getting it.
I sure hope that lady found some way of weaning herself off those Tylenol PMs.
jeez…u guys ever consider Ibuprofen for pain? My doc said 2500 millgrms a day is fine. Not as dangerous as Tylenol or even “Aleve” type OTC meds. If i were taking 8-10 Tylenol I would consider oxycodone or hydrocodone. Yea addicting….but oh yea…it helps and safer than 50+ Tylenol a week for gods sake. Oh yea…and if the Dems OR the republicans ever have ANYTHING to do with MY drugs…we are ALL in trouble. We want to keep government out of religion but not our body?? Damn, thought that was what doctors were for.
Have a friend in Florida whose daughter died recently after taking too much Tylenol PW. She was 24 years old.
Diphenhydramine is sometimes Rx’d for anxiety –diphenhydramine is also a mild SSRI. In fact, Prozac was synthesized from diphenhydramine.
Sorry to hear of your friend’s loss. That’s tough when someone so young dies in a way like that. I didn’t know about the SSRI properties of diphenhydramine — interesting! Thanks for the info!
I swithed to a supermarket night time sleep aid containing only dihenhydramine to avoid the acetominephin, then noticed the blurb on the back about consulting a doc before use if you have an enlarged prostate — which I do. What is this about? What will happen to my prostate if I continue to help nyself get to sleep by using this product?
Hm… sorry, but I don’t know the answer to that question. But! Let us google together and see what we can find…
Okay. Here we have it from the New York Times Health section:
Seek and ye shall find, eh? I love the internet. A lot of people haven’t yet learned how to use search engines like Google very effectively. Basically you just enter the KEY words of the topic you want information on. In this case I entered “diphenhydramine prostate enlargement” (without the quotes) and the NYT article was the first thing Google found.
I just decided to stop taking diphenhydramine hcl as a sleep agent. Unfortunately I was taking it to help with the insomnia side-effects of Vicaprofen. I was hit by a car 3.5 years ago. (pedestrian vs car). After multiple (multiple, multiple) useless surgeries I figured I was destined to be on pain meds for the rest of my life..only thing is, I hated the pills. Between the weight gain, constipation, insomnia and the dull stupor I wasn’t living. I am the 41 year old mother of 4 year old Grace. I wasn’t able to be a very good mother and my husband was carrying too much of my rapidly rising weight. I was just done with coming off the Vicaprophen…not really too bad, when I read about the long term side effects of diphenhydramine. Weight gain, memory loss, confusion, liver toxicity, dependence, and (gulp!) the relationship to early onset Alzheimers. Now I don’t take ‘em. I didn’t realize how they helped me sleep through the pain…too much sleep, I know. But now I cannot sleep at all, not at all. And the pain is soooo bad. Please, please…any advice? I want my life back…I want to be the Mommy and wife and HUMAN that I need to be. I have tried herbal remedies. I don’t trust my Dr.s anymore. Just performed a complete doctorectomy. Is there any hope for us?
Oh, Andie… I’m so sorry to hear about your situation.
First, thanks for the info on diphenhydramine’s long-term effects. I was under the impression that it was a fairly benign drug — apparently not everyone thinks so!
The only advice I could really give you (I’m no medical professional) is something you probably don’t want to hear: keep trying to find a doctor who can really HELP you.
Have you been to a pain clinic? They might be able to teach you some non-narcotic methods for dealing with your pain.
Please keep trying. I think your kind of situation can be very tricky to treat effectively, but you CAN be helped. Don’t give up.
Well it’s a bit different over here in the UK but here’s my experience, hope it helps!! I have suffered from mild insomnia most of my life and I thought I was jolly clever when I worked out that antihistamines were far less expensive than sleep aids so I embarked on my diphenhydramine journey about two years ago. If only I had the benefit of hindsight because I would advise anybody intending to use it long term, not to. I now suffer chronic acute constipation as the drug affects the smooth muscle in the GI tract, this was something I didn’t realise until way too late. I am no longer a mild insomniac, I am an acute insomniac thanks to my fairly brief period spent on this awful drug. I sleep an average of three hours a night now, instead of pre-diph when I slept about six hours. These drugs have been scientifically proven to affect cognitive behaviour, I have read that they result in slow brain erosion hence the link to alzheimers. I would advise anyone taking them or thinking of taking them to never ever touch them. I have irreversible liver damage, chronic constipation (which is awful) and I am a nervous wreck thanks to the long term effects. Steer away folks!!
Ah, jeez, Kitty Kat! So sorry to hear of your health problems!
For whatever it’s worth, I have pretty muchn entirely quit taking diphenhydramine for my occasional insomnia. It quit working for me and I wasn’t willing to increase the dosage beyond 50 mg. Now, I just live with the fact that some nights I’m just not going to sleep very well.
One thing I have discovered (or, rather, come to accept as fact) is that alcohol really can mess up you sleep. Even two glasses of wine a few hours before bedtime can be enough (for me, at least) to have me waking up in the middle of the night and unable to go back to sleep. It pisses me off because I do enjoy having a drink in the evening. I like uninterrupted sleep more, though, so… alas, I’ve had to cut back on the nightly glass of chianti.
Well my dosage was up to 150mg at one point, I was like a hardened drug addict LOL!! I definitely became dependant upon good old Diph!! I saw my Doctor last week who has prescribed a mild dose of anti-depressant so I haven’t taken any Diph for over a week and have swapped to the mild sedative but it doesn’t touch me at all, I have had literally about two hours sleep a night for a week now so am pretty shattered! I feel like I am going cold turkey for the Diph, I need rehab haha!! I am going to try my very best to sort out my insomnia without the help of drugs, although that is easier said than done! I don’t drink so that isn’t an issue, although in my wild days (I am now too old to be wild, it is classed as dementia once you hit 30 which I do in April!)a good drinking session would always guarntee to knock me out but the actual sleep wasn’t very good sleep. And the hangover was a killer!!
Also, Diphenhydramine can be used as a hallucinogenic. Sounds crazy, and it is, but try popping 20-25 Benadryl along with a Red Bull, stay awake, and see the craziest things. People who don’t exist will talk to you while your cat sings Frank Sinatra. Shadows will dance with you. It’s a wild trip, check out Erowid.org for more info.
I’ve got to say, Lomia, that sounds like an extraordinarily bad idea.
I’ve been reading all these comments and I am surprised that nothing has been said about making sure you are exercising and eating right. Please do not get me wrong. I have had bouts of insomnia that have almost literally killed me. The one and only time I was ever fired from a job was due to such extreme insomnia (due primarily to anxiety)that my doctor, after prescribing almost every type of sleep aid there was, felt I was mentally to a point where he tried to have me checked in to a “mentall wellness facility. Anyway, I got over the anxiety without the drugs (I tried them and literally wanted to die) and the insomnia on my own. It definitely was not the easy way out though but in the long run, I feel we need to deal with these issues on our own and not buy into the lies of man-made drugs that will only prolong your agony and give you new and exciting agonies to deal with in the future. When the drugs failed me, I realized that i had to do it on my own. I would exercise at night and absolutely exhaust myself. I would meditate. I would read boring books. I would eat only healthy foods. I would make every effort to avoid awaking in the middle of the night (i.e. run a fan in my room for white noise). It did not happen over night but I eventually got control of my own mind and body. I lived through it…which says a lot.
Well, here I am again suffering from insomnia. I am trying to make sure it does not spin out of control again. It is hell I know and I am so sorry for you all who suffer. I actually took a generic sleep aid last which is how I got to this site. Coincidentally, I have NOT been exercising. I believe the body will eventually shut down if you exhaust it. Give it a try!!! I will and I will let you know how it goes.
By the way, I figured out about that Excedrien Migraine as well…what a rip off!! How do THEY sleep at night?!?!
thank you your practical breakdown was very helpfull
I have been taking diphenhydramine HCI for about 4 years @ about 200mg per night… what long term side effects am i introducing myself to,if any at all… please help!!!!!!!!
Hi Derek!
Whoa…. that’s a lot of diphenhydramine! The suggested dosage is 50 mg.
I don’t have easy access to information about what you might be doing to yourself, but you should be able to get that information from a pharmacist. Probably for free, even. Pharmacists are wonderful sources of information — woefully underutilized.
It would probably be safer for you to be taking a prescription sleep aid — at the recommended dosage — than to be taking that much diphenhydramine. You might want to check with a doctor, if you haven’t already.
Thank you all! The good news I’ve read from all these posts is that at 2,3 4 am….I am not alone. I’m right in the midst of menopause, so I know I have that to blame. Here’s my current issue… At 46, I excercise almost everyday and have since I was a teenager. I eat well…I am a healty size 8. I drink one or two glasses of wine a week if I go out for a nice dinner. That being said…I can’t sleep and stay asleep without the help of drugs. I often tell people I am a drug addict. I vary what I take… lorazapam, benedryl and ambien. The ambien works best if what I want is sleep, but I feel like poo the next morning and don’t feel like I got real sleep. The lorazapam isnt actually mine…it’s my daughters as she suffers from anxiety. But, it works well. Benedryl works fine at times, but I have to double the dosage written on the box. When I medicate, I sleep. But, since this whole insomniac thing started last year…I have gained 20 pounds. Exercise has not changed. Eating habits have not changed. I ask myself on a daily basis…do I want to sleep? or do I want to stay a size 8? At 2,3 and 4 in the morning…I couldn’t care less if I weighed 300 pounds. So, since last week, I have gone cold turkey on all of it. And, along with detox headaches…I haven’t slept for three nights. What to do, what to do????
Hi Deeana. I wonder whether the weight gain isn’t really more related to the menopause. It might be that you’ll need to eat less or exercise more now that your hormone levels are fluctuating. Whatever. As far as the sleep thing goes… I’d say, just give it time. Make sure you go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Do calming things before bed time. Eventually your body will figure out that it’s sleepy-by time. At least, that’s the theory.
Rebecca, I know you said earlier that you are not a medical professional, but you are a voice of reason and support on this website.
Insomnia is truly a dibilitating syndrome/disease/side-effect from which there is no easy outcome.
I have suffered on and off for several years and have done everything and taken everything mentioned on this site. Only one who has suffered can truly understand how life-altering Insomnia can be. Those who haven’t been there simply cannot understand or grasp the feeling of true wearieness and the fact that when you are bone tired you are willing to try anything.
But I’ve been there, and I do know. I even fell asleep at the wheel once and I thank God every day that I did not hurt anyone. After that, I sought help. To this day, I am on-again, off-again, but making slow improvements towards a healthier and dream-filled life.
Hypnosis and accupuncture have worked for me in the past. But that can get expensive very quickly. Then again, so can the pills.
Please, please, please remember the pills can be Deadly-just think of sad Heath Ledger- a fate no one wants.
The best thing I can say from experience is be good to yourself and your body. You only have one liver and one life (at this time
) ) Seek professional help. And if you do not get results, find another doctor, then another one until you find peace.
HI ALL. I GET MY NIGHTTIME SLEEP AID AT DOLLAR STORES,$I.50 FOR 24 CAPS 25 MG OF DIPHENHYDRAMINE
hello, ive been taking somthing called equate (diph 50mg) i started out at 2 pills a night and within 4 months im at 5-6 pills. i like how it makes me feel and it gets me to sleep. in the morning i feel fresh and im able to remember things better. just recintly i have been exp. a little bit of chest pain and i wounder if it has anything to do with diph pills? love the site.
Hi Christian,
I’m not a medical professional, so you should really check with a doctor about the chest pain. It might be nothing — but, then again, it could be something. Better safe than sorry, right? You’re always taking a chance when you take more than the recommended amount of ANY drug — even an “over the counter” one. (Hey, sometimes you’re taking a chance even when you take the amount prescribed!) I almost never take diphenhydramine HCI anymore. The 50 mg had quit working for me and I didn’t want to increase the dosage. Plus, I wanted to take fewer drugs in general.
My husband worked nights and I was on alert all night for our 3 children. Now it’s just the two of us and I’m still on alert. I sleep about 2 to 3 hours at a time. I’ve decided to try taking Nighttime Sleep Aid which contains Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride 50 mg tonight. I’ve been reading many results and don’t want to become addicted to any sleep aid. I’ll let you know if I sleep all night (which I’ve never done).
I’ve taken 600 mg of Diphenhydramine at one time. AWESOME. I LOVE YOU REBECCA
I just started taking this stuff in a generic acetaminophen and diph caplet this week (I’ve taken it 3 nights) and I have noticed the constipation. I’m planning on not taking this anymore because of the really scary side effects i’m learning of. Is it habit forming at 50 mg? And also, what other effects am I going to experience?
Keeping in mind that I am NOT a medical professional, I think it would be a mistake to take diphenhydramine HCI with acetaminophen if you don’t have some kind of pain you’re trying to treat along with your sleeplessness. You can find straight diph (25 mg tablets) as an allergy treatment. I haven’t noticed any side effects from diph but, yes, in my experience it was mildly “addictive” in the sense that when I quit taking it regularly I had a few nights of not going to sleep easily. Eventually I got back to a more-or-less regular sleep cycle without it, though.
oh my gosh! God must be watching over me today because I have been so desperate for something to help me sleep, since going through withdrawals from Lorazapam this past week, that I tried both Excedrin PM and Tylenol PM. When I compared them last week at the drug store, I saw they had the same ingredients and opted for the Tylenol for ease on my stomach due to ulcer.
I could not tell after 1 week of use, if it was still the withdrawals of Lorazapam or if my heart meds were not working or what, but my pulse rate and heartbeat has been totally out of control and it felt like panic attacks.
Now I see that this is the same stuff in antihistamine drugs OTC and I cannot take that, never have been able to. It has a reverse effect on me; instead of sleeping I am strung out like a speed freak, thus causing my whole body to turn inside out.
No more for me!!
thanks for the info everyone!
I take a different antihistamine sleep aid (Doxylamine Succinate), because half a 25mg tablet enables me to cope with sleep apnoea. I’ve tried other treatments without success, and will try more, but need to stay functional in the meantime.
.
I’ve found the previous posts really interesting. Whilst I’m not going to tell people not to take sleep drugs (after all I’ve just admitted I take them), I’d like to share some alternatives I’ve found useful at times.
1) Melatonin – relatively inexpensive, the body’s natural drowsiness “drug”.
2) High dose Multivitamins – in Australia usually marketed as “Stress”,”Sugar Metabolism”, or “Women’s” formula. Taken in morning, otherwise they might keep you awake. Particularly likely to be helpful if you’re “jumpy” or if your moods/insomnia vary with your menstrual cycle (if you’re a woman, of course). My wife and I use a multivitamin called “Ener-G”, which we buy through http://www.webvitamins.com (free plug – my only interest in Webvitamins is that I want them to stay in business to sell me more supplements
3) A form of Tebetan energy meditation which I learned through “Tough For Health” – two parts, for this description I’ll use the sitting version. First Part, sit for approx. 3 minutes with left leg crossed over right leg, and left hand crossed over right hand, fingers intertwined. If this feels buzzy or giddy try the mirror image (right over left). Then Second Part, sit up straight, feet flat on floor, hands “steepled” together with fingertips touching corresponding fingertips of opposite hand, tongue pressed against roof of the mouth, for at least 30 seconds. Helps calm the mind and body prior to sleep (can also help if/when you feel “spaced out”).
4) If lying on your side, hug a pillow. It’s comforting and easier on the arms than hugging a person all night.
Finally, if taking ANY drug, check it out – do an internet search on it’s name and check for side effects and interactions. Don’t worry too much about less common, reversible side effects but at least if they show up you’ll know it’s probably the drug. With other side effects you have to make your own decision about the risk.
Also, impaired nutrition can increase drug risks, and drugs can also impair nutrition. These effects are not always known, so it’s a good idea to take a strong (but safe) dose of multivitamins.
OOPS!!!
CORRECTION!
In my last post, suggestion 3, I wrote “Tough For Health”. That should have been “Touch For Health”.
Hello i just start taken something from longs called Longs Wellness – Sleep Aid it has 50mg of Diphenydramine HCI per caplet but i fall alseep fast with it but i wake up on any noise around me are if my wife touches me even a tap and i snap awake i know im a heavy sleeper normally when i fall alseep is this normal or should i take more right now i take 3 caplets before bed.
I’m not a medical professional, so I’m not in any position to tell you how much of this stuff you should be taking. BUT — since you asked, I’d really recommend against taking any more than the package the instructions tell you to. Diphenhydramine HCI is an antihistamine and it does affect people differently. Some people — it makes them feel “edgy” and can actually make sleep MORE difficult! If you’re one of those people, taking more of it might only make your situation worse.
Hey Rebecca et al.,
I just found this post after a Google search for diph.. I’m no stranger to the stuff, and haven’t really had much luck with it. I’m a vet and my primary caregiver is the local VA clinic. Ambien is the ONLY sleep aid they will prescribe (rules are very different for retirees vs. early outs on medical disch’g) and there is no other doctor for me to see at this time. I’ve been prescribed Ambien – finally – but ONLY after they had me try all these other drugs first – one of which was good ‘ol Benadryl! I couldn’t believe it when they suggested something I associate with bug bites & rashes as a sleep aid. Anyhow – I get 10 Ambien a month – nice thing abut this drug is that you can’t overuse it for too long.. because it will simply stop working. I was glad to hear that – as a whole. But the Ambien and I have issues… I’ve gotten back up after falling asleep, gotten dressed (thank goodness) gone to town, bought things, eaten things, called people, shopped online…. and never even knew it till I got up the next morning and realized I had clothes on, or the truck was moved, or found wrappers or store receipts on the counter.
Obviously – that’s just plain freaky! I live alone so it’s not like I can ask a hubby or roomie to holler at me — and worse yet – there have been times that I was COMPLETELY aware of what I was doing and felt completely normal – just assumes the Ambien wasn’t working… until I wake up the next morning and realize there’s a very hazey 4-5 hours from the night before that I only almost remember!
So – yah — the search for sleep is an ongoing quest for many of us – but never, ever, EVER take drugs as the **only** means of sleep and if you’re taking so much more than is recommended – get to a doctor or *someone* for help – it’s just too big a gamble with the long term effects. One doesn’t need be a medical professional to make that recommendation!
I did end up quitting the job I’d had for 5 yrs because I couldn’t get my sleep schedule worked out… now I’ve been out of work for 9 months, and besides the savings account dwindling to almost gone – I’m okay with it. I’m still looking. I am absolutely convinces that some of us are just naturally nocturnal however, as w/ no druge – I’m sleeping just fine now, 6-8 hrs a day.. Ahh but the key there is day! 9 months has allowed me plenty of trial and error… If I try to be awake during the day like ‘normal’ people – I fight non stop with the inability to be sleepy let along get to sleep at night when I want to be.
However – when I let go and just let whatever came natural to happen – I go to sleep every morning between 4 and 6am… and after 6-8 hours – I just wake up. Never fails. I suppose the real trick is going to be finding a job that falls between those normal awake hours. I’m confident one will come up sooner or later. But I gotta say folks… I’m a LOT happier now that I’m not fighting with a bedtime! I wish you all such peace in sleep.
Smoke a joint before you go to bed. Works every time.
Heh, heh…. if only…
It’s not so easy to find pot anymore. Believe me, there have been times when I would have REALLY liked to smoke a joint!
Speaking of pot, I recently had to quit smoking it because I’m about to enter an LPN program. I never realized how much it helped me sleep until these past six weeks when I’ve been tossing and turning, getting out of bed for a while, then getting back in, and just being pretty damn miserable. So, the other night I bought some generic sleep-aid pills at 50mg diphenhydramine hcl per softgel pill. Last night, I just could not sleep at all, so I took one pill, and then one more, and then two more, and then two more. That totals 300mg, and I feel really weird. How long will it take for this stuff to get out of my system?
I wish I could tell you, Keith, but I really don’t know.
Jeez, though! Quit taking more of this stuff than the recommended dosage, you people! Just because it’s an over-the-counter drug doesn’t mean it can’t mess you up!