Antihistamine and migraine

I have been recomended to take antihistamine, but I dread to take anything new, in case of s/e specially that it might be something that triggers migraine or headache. I would be grateful for any feedback, if anyone used it before, and did it affect your headache or migraine. Thanks.

Mini,

It's very common for docs to recommend antihistamines for migraines--here in the U.S. Benadryl (brand) is often used. It can work quite well at knocking down a migraine.

It can make a person very drowsy too--often a positive to take when heading towards rest or bed with a migraine.

It can make you feel groggy when you wake up.

Good luck!

i've been taking different antihistamines for years. not for migraine, but for SLEEP, since i have several sleep disorders.

benadryl is the OTC one most tried, and for some, it works. all of them tend to become less effective after long use.

now i alternate two prescriptions ones; vistaril and phenergan. i'm sure there are many more. unfortunately, though they allow me to sleep (some) they do nothing for my head pain. dianne

Benadryl in the US and AU are two different drugs. The AU version does not contain dephenhydramine.
Diphenhydramine is sold behind the counter in AU. There may be differences in the UK.

This is also the case for the UK version of Benadryl. It doesn't contain dephenhydramine.

P.

Petzi,

What a beautiful profile picture, looks "powerful" and beautiful.

Thanks Sherri,

I took the photo myself on last year’s safari holiday. We followed this guy and his brother for hours and I took approx. 574 pictures of them. Leopards are the most stunning of moggies.



Sorry for being off topic!

P.

Periactin, is an antihystamine sometimes used as a preventive. I think the spelling is correct. I didn't know about lowering the dosage of meds then and it knocked me out. I think it worked better for kids. At a lower dose.Don't know if it is still used.

The ER docs offer benadryl with pain meds because it enhances the affect. It helps me relax a bit thus helping the Dilaudid work better and longer.
kathy

Additionally, Benadryl and many antihistamines in this class reduce nausea.

Just pay attention to how you feel for a while. Antihistamines make me have a wierd very painful type of migraine. I have tried many kinds many times. My daughter gets this also. Strangely, I take Phenergan almost nightly to counteract the insomnia I get from pain meds for Chronic Lyme disease. I do not get the head pain from it. Everyone is different! Hope you get only good results.
Hugs,
Cindy

For a long, long time one of my treatments was Diphenhydramine and Phenergan, injectable. I took the shots up to four times a day. In the beginning it made me a little drowsy, but eventually I didn't even notice any sedating effects. This seems to be the "cocktail", as one Dr put it to me, that they use in The ER's around here a lot. It reduced my pain, but never really fully took it away.

what a cute cute photo she is a little doll!

I sometimes take Benadryl to combat the itchiness from the Oxy when I have to take it. I never had any problem with it causing migraine or making it worse. For me, no drowsiness which is nice.

In some cases it can help as a preventative. My daughters pediatrician prescribed an antihistamine as a preventative when she was younger and it helped quite a bit. So it is probably worth a try.

Sorry I disappeared after posting my question - I am having unexpectedly busy time - but I want to thank you everybody for your response. IT has been most interesting to hear of your experiences,
I read every one with great interest and will investigate what is available here in UK, but what you are saying is most enouraging.

In fact antihistamine what suggested to me when I mentioned to a friend, that when I have bout of migraine I sleep badly, because pain wakes me up, but I do not want to take any sleeping tablets.
She then suggested antihistamine and added that apparently anti-h can also be very good for migraines. I was very surprised since over the years no doctor, or neurologist, ever mentioned anti- h to me (and I have see many).

Your comments are very encouraging, and Cindy, thank you for your warning, I will most certainly watch out for any unusual migraines after I start taking it.
At the moment my head is fine BTW, but I will give the antihistamines a try when the next bout comes.