Hello everyone I recently took Benadryl (diphenhydramine) for mosquito bites only to realize that it not only helped my insect bites but my constant neck and shoulder pain as well. The only research I was able to find is that Benadryl works for torticolis and that torticolis can be secondary to CM. I’ve been taking 50 mg daily now and that works better than the neurontin, skalexin and raboxin that I was taking. Just wondering if anyone else out there has found similar relief with Benadryl.
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My experience with Benadryl was negative. Post-surgery, I was having great difficulty sleeping (turns out to be common after surgery)and my physician was hesitant to do anything. A well-meaning friend suggested I take Benadryl, which I did for many months. I was so scared of not sleeping that I clung to it even when it was not doing anything. What it was doing was making me dull in the head until 2 in the afternoon. I finally wised-up and stopped. A while later , I tried it again - once- with the same result. I did not get a clear picture of long-lasting effects of regular Benadryl. I do know that it is not meant to be taken on a regular basis.
What I might suggest for your neck and shoulder pain is a proper assessment for the cause of your discomfort. A well-trained physical therapist - not just anyone - should be able to get to the bottom of it. I often suggest that someone with concussion experience is easier to find than one with Chiari experience.
They should know about motor control exercises, graded motor imagery, neurodynamic exercises, oculomotor exercises, sensation/proprioception training, primitive reflexes, and myofascial techniques. A variety of treatment techniques is important but it is the assessment that is key to focus in on what YOU need.
Not every clinic that advertises concussion treatment is of equal quality. If they have not heard of the previous listed items and can assess and treat - keep looking.
Good luck in finding solutions because, unfortunately, medications, be they prescription, over the counter, or under the counter do not address what is really going on in your brain’s processing centers.
I joined here just to reply to this thread. I recently have also discovered some relief from Benadryl and I am trying to figure out how or why this happens? Is it the improved sleep? Or is my inflammation actually caused by histamines to a degree.
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Well, I can honestly say I haven’t tried it (benadryl knocks me clean out for a full day on one dose…), but when I was in chemo they would give us Claritin for the bone pain that the Neulasta shot would cause. It seemed silly but it was AMAZINGLY effective.
The mechanism for that, as I understood it, is that the Neulasta is going to ramp up white blood cell production so much that it can’t get out of the bone marrow fast enough so the pressure within the bones builds up (and man does it cause killer pain! I thought my pelvis and femurs were going to explode!). Some theorize the Claritin helps to counteract the histamines also produced during the inflammatory response and therefore alleviating the pressure and pain, other studies have theorized that it is thinning the fluid that helps transfer the cells into the bloodstream.
Granted that’s just a super generalized statement, and I’ve only read a couple of studies, but perhaps the Benadryl is accomplishing something similar by knocking out the histamines or thinning something. Who knows? Maybe someone will study it someday. For now, if it works for ya, I’m happy for ya. 
My 11 yo daughter takes benedryl with ibuprofen and it does give her some relief. She’s newly diagnosed so no one wants to prescribe anything else for her pain.
Please research what the side-effects are for Benadryl. There is also a new research paper looking at the negative affects of Benadryl (under Diphenhydramine). It is not meant for long-term or even regular use and has brain effects that Chiari folk are more sensitive too - dizziness, drowsiness, blurred vision, confusion. I am sorry that you are not finding answers in the medical world.
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Hello
I was taking benadryl until I realized my blood pressure was to the roof
Cant be from pork salt or meat I’m vegetarian
Plant based grub .
Lots of lentils beans and greens …