[Info] Benadryl and Nyquil not good with some meds - others heard of this?

[ddr1166]

Hello,

My husband has seizures, and in our research we found that there's new information that shows with Keppra you shouldn't take Benadryl, Nyquil or other antihistamines. I don't think this applies to all of them, but we thought this interesting as he's taken both to try to sleep and/or help with a bad cold. Good to know! We're wondering if his last seizure had something to do with it as he had both within a three day period.

Thanks - any info helpful!

[epileric]

It is possible that the seizures were caused by an interaction, I guess nobody can say for sure.

Try this to double check for other interactions

http://www.medscape.com/druginfo/druginterchecker

[travel bug]

Wow! That is good to know. I remember being told to avoid Benedryl when I was on Dilantin, and I even put a sign in my medicine cabinet to remind me not to take it. (I kept it on hand due to food allergies)Once I switched to Keppra, I took the sign down. I've only taken it a couple of times to help me sleep since then, but maybe I need to put my sign back up.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll talk to my pharmacist. BTW, I think a good pharmasict is priceless; mine's been a tremendous help through everything.

Hope your Husband's doing better.

[Endless]

Hi, D.

I belive what you posted - Topamax and Benedryl together made my nose bleed, profusely. Topamax and sudafed made my extremely hyperactive - like there was a giant bumblebee flying around in my head and it wouldn't stop 24 hours a day. My neurologist told me it was emotional, that sudafed was no problem. But when I stopped the sudafed, no more hyperactive!

I think some of the meds are more problematic with interactions than others. I'm on Trileptal now, and can take Benedryl with it just fine. I haven't tried sudafed, though, and probably never will again. I don't want to risk having the bumblebee on board again.

[ddr1166]

Endless - Thanks for the info! I've never liked Sudafed, period. I think every person is different. This study came out fairly recently, but I haven't found it again - it was found by a friend of ours. It's good to know we aren't alone. Thanks.

[ddr1166]

Travel bug - yes about the Pharmacist. After our friend found the article, the pharmacist confirmed that Keppra and Benadryl don't mix well. He suggested Allegra for allergies, but we're waiting on the neurologist to confirm it. For sleeping, he said Unisom is ok with Keppra (NOTE: there are two kinds - [note my spellings may not be correct on various drugs mentioned here] one Unisom is diphenhydramine and the other is doxycycline succinate. As you know, diphenhydramine is just Benadryl, so DON'T use that one.) But we're also waiting on the neurologist to confirm it, too. Hoping the doxy Unisom will be ok. Another doctor friend suggested Ambien (but again, I must say don't take our word for it, as we're waiting on the neurologist).

Since you're on Keppra, another thing the pharmacist mentioned was that when he gets headaches (post seizure or sometimes allergy related), the only headache medicine he should take is Extra strength tylenol (generics ok), as the nsaids, ibuprophens and others are NOT good with Keppra. This was all from our lovely pharmacist! Good luck, thanks again.

[ddr1166]

Thanks, Epileric! This link will be really helpful. Cheers, D

[rangerwvu]

Just read over comments and thought I would share my experience and Doc conversations in case it helps: I take Lamictal. Sleep Aide (low dose of benadryl) and Ambien are both fine and I have been told my three Neurologist, one of which is epilepsy specialist, that those are fine, no interaction (but I am sure that this can be different for different people of course, just saying that the medical advice was that they are not shown to be interactive). I cannot take over the counter allegery medication or nyquil as it makes me hyper and impossible to sleep. Sleep aide (low dose of benadryl) is just fine, but higher dose of benadryl makes me a bit hyper. Have been taking Ambien for 1 year plus as it is needed to combat the difficulty sleeping caused by side effect of Lamictal, and no noted problems.