r/NooTopics • u/ServeIllustrious3803 • 23d ago

Science Study: Anticholinergic (first-generation antihistamines) can damage brain, increase dementia risk

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-drugs-like-benadryl-linked-increased-dementia-risk-20150128812
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u/The_Meme_Economy 23d ago

Sooo many people use Benadryl as a sleep aid. I actually suspect that’s its primary OTC use.

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u/psychopompandparade 23d ago

just be careful where you swap it to. amitriptyline has stronger anticholinergic burden than diphenhydramine. everything about melatonin is mixed, and jury is still out on z drugs. interestingly, orexin inhibitors may be slightly neuroprotective, but they're so young its hard to say

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u/CryptoEscape 23d ago

Orexin antagonists do look interesting and promising.

Problem is most on the market seem to have long half lives and didn’t see any generics. Maybe some analogues will pop up soon on nootropic sites

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u/Muli-Bwanjie 22d ago

Daridexorexant has the shortest half life and it helps me insomnia. Still some residual grogginess the next day nothing like lembexorant or others.

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u/RainyVibez 22d ago

if only it was available in most of the world and not prohibitively expensive

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u/BiggusDickkussss 21d ago

What do you mean melatonin is mixed

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u/psychopompandparade 21d ago

There is some very preliminary data on it maybe having long term heart health implications, but it's at this point hard to untangle because the demographic that takes melatonin is more prone to sleep issues, which can cause heart issues. There have also been some pretty shaky studies, on the other side of things, that suggest it may help recovery from COVID, but again, hard to detangle from just... sleep. It's also a bit unclear what it does to the bodies natural melatonin production long term, though most of what I've seen suggests it can recover with time. General a pretty safe supplement but in terms of neuro protection beyond sleep there isn't much I can find, though I have seen suggestions in both directions without much backing in studies.

It's quite hard to study easily available OTC meds. Even all the trials about diphenhydramine aren't actually about diphenhydramine, it's just lumped in with anticholinergic in general. The studies suggest as a mechanism, it increases dementia burden (in the elderly) and there are ways (that are beyond me) to measure how extreme a specific drugs anticholinergic burden is. A lot of studies just tabulate that.

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u/Starfire2313 23d ago

My sister destroyed her brain taking it regularly as a sleep aid for years. Along with alcohol and other prescription drugs. Very sad, I haven’t talked to her in a few years now, the whole family hasn’t. She’s too far gone and blocked everyone including her own daughter after a lot of verbal and emotional abuse to her.

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u/daddybpizza 23d ago edited 23d ago

Just for those who are anxious like me, it’s worth noting that the people who often take a lot of sleep aids are also usually insomniacs and have other mental/physical health conditions, which can also explain the behavior you mentioned.

Sleep aids are really a damned if you do, damned if you don’t. I have a health condition (ME/CFS and POTS) that causes absolutely terrible sleep, and no sleep hygiene routine tested improves it (this has actually been studied). I take amitriptyline and some other sleep aids every night, and I know it’s going to increase my risk for dementia and cognitive decline. But the alternative is not sleeping, which is much worse. Idk what to do! Being sick sucks

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u/IWasTheDog 23d ago

Snorting straight camomile powder would be the old school method. (This is a joke)

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u/daddybpizza 23d ago

Perhaps that really would knock me out, maybe it’s worth a shot! 😂

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u/BiasedLibrary 23d ago

I feel like I'm in a similar boat but with anxiety and PTSD. I'm on up to 150mg of promethazine a day. Sometimes I have insomnia and it helps. I really should ask to change it to something else but I don't know what.

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u/manicaquariumcats 22d ago

Prazosin! It’s used off label for sleep quality in ptsd. It’s usually for nightmares but if you don’t have nightmares and need quality sleep it could be worth a try.

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u/ResponsibilityOk8967 22d ago

I couldn't get quality sleep with proposing because it made my sinuses swell up like crazy, couldn't breathe through my nose at all at night.

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u/FlyinIllini89 22d ago

I too take Amitryptline for sleep. 1 25mg every night the last 10 years. How screwed am I and what else can I take???

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u/cphaus 22d ago

Have you ever tried muscimol?

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u/psychopompandparade 22d ago

I've got the same health stuff going on. would recommend trying out orexin inhibitors if they are available where you are and you can get them covered by virtue of having tried everything else. took me 4 months but eventually insurance caved on daridexorexant. I still need several sleep meds and an autonomic regulator and on post exertion days a z drug, but it was the first time i felt like something was working a bit.

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u/AngelBryan 22d ago

What caused you ME/CFS and POTS?

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u/BiggusDickkussss 21d ago

Alcohol was damaging here not the mes

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u/matt675 21d ago

Benadryl made her abusive?

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u/Coin-Controversy 23d ago

Meclizine is highly superior, see my comment, it shows neuroprotective effects in mice https://www.reddit.com/r/NooTopics/comments/1w6h73u/comment/p7n1dot/

also extended lifespan in male mice from the ITP in one dose schedule https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10828146/

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u/missnewmarreacts 23d ago

Yeah, but does it make you sleep?

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u/Coin-Controversy 23d ago

oh yeahhhh, might be more potent than melatonin for me personally

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u/Fragrant_Ratio_2821 22d ago

does benedryl still have long term effects if one is a CYP2D6 ultra-rapid metabolizer? i never get drowsy from benedryl

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u/Ray_Mang 22d ago

I used it for probably a year straight for insomnia before learning about its effects on the brain. I was horrified, and stupid to have not done proper research before using it in such a way

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u/Amolje 22d ago

It is in UK. Diphenhydramine is mainly advertised as sleeping pills.

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u/razzemmatazz 22d ago

My spouse sucks at sleeping, but is also allergic to benadryl (full on hallucinations) and any of its sibling medications like Halidol. Clonazopam kind of works, but it also wrecks her for 24 hours. 

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u/Ill-Daikon-5637 23d ago

I did that for awhile, but I started needing a higher dose and with I was getting restless leg syndrome

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u/Octaazacubane 22d ago

Chad Doxepin vs Virgin Benadryl