Miruvor
ME/CFS Partial

Antihistamines for sleep

Condition
ME/CFS
At worst
Not stated
Ill for
Not stated
Published
Undated

Summary

Used Benadryl (diphenhydramine) regularly for years as one layer of a multi-drug sleep regimen alongside chlorpheniramine, Dramamine, doxylamine and Atarax, for chronic insomnia with ME/CFS affecting both falling and staying asleep. He says he "swore by" it and it worked for years. The benefit ended when he developed tachycardia he attributes to the drug and had to stop, after which he needed benzodiazepines and other agents instead. This is a case of a treatment that worked and then had to be abandoned for an adverse effect, not one that never worked; no later resolution is described.

Read it in their words

healthrising.org

What they credit

Credits Benzodiazepines and Klonopin, H1 antihistamines.

Symptoms mentioned

Symptoms: POTS & dysautonomia, Sleep problems.

Similar stories

  • Relief! I still have CFS but am a MILLION times better

    Substantial ME/CFS SevereIll 13 yearsEffect faded forums.phoenixrising.me · sells Jan 2026

    julienl42's own title is his hedge: after 13 years and a long, actively-managed stack of prescription, antifungal, sleep and supplement treatments, he has gone from being in bed all day with 3-4 crashes a month to about one crash every one to two months,…

  • How I got in remission/cured my ME/CFS

    Full recovery ME/CFS SevereIll 3 years forums.phoenixrising.me Aug 2025

    Ali_Mardiyev, disabled for 1.5 years with POTS/dysautonomia/severe fatigue/PEM, layered a stellate ganglion block with beta-blocker, a testosterone course, several psychiatric medications, intermittent fasting and a slow graded-exercise ramp starting April…

  • Martin's Paradoxical Temporary ME/CFS Remission Story

    Relapsed ME/CFS Very severeIll 10 yearsEffect faded healthrising.org Jul 2024

    Martin became ill after EBV reactivation, Lyme disease and food poisoning, and was bedbound for the last three of his ten years of illness with severe post-exertional malaise. Lyrica, benzodiazepines, tianeptine, quetiapine, rapamycin and methylprednisolone…

  • Robyn Dale

    Near-full Long COVID Very severeIll 5 months positivelycovid.org Jun 2022

    Robyn's treatment combined short courses of propranolol, zopiclone and diazepam early on with medium-term amitriptyline for insomnia, mood and muscle spasms, alongside daily walking, yoga, meditation and graded activity. She crashed severely in December 2021…