Posted by gary g on November 24, 1998 at 14:05:36:
In Reply to: antihistamines posted by dean on November 24, 1998 at 06:03:09:
diphenhydramine (generic benadryl) is my secret weapon -
I am CONVINCED it helps moderate the severity of attacks, and I have actually stopped whole clusters on occasion by loading up on it the instant I sense early warnings
it does not stop them once they're going, but helps take the edge off a lot of the time (see my followup post re: sleep deprivation)
they don't make me sleepy at all, but I do get VERY spacey
I also keep a log of medication consumption, because I get so my short term memory is so bad I can never remember if I took meds, or just thought about it
keep a notebook going on a table where I keep all my meds - absolute routine: write down the time & dose just before I swallow the pills
the diphnehyramine comes in a liquid form also (be sure it's the nonalcoholic types !)which seems to work faster - I hit that when I wake with a headache - if you compute the dosage, it's pretty weak so I usually slug down 1/3 of the bottle at a shot - equiv of 3 - 4 tabs
tolerance builds fast though, and effectiveness diminishes - every couple days I switch to cafergot & analgesics, to "rest" the benadryl