Quote:
Originally Posted by Fiona
Hi Laura-
I've been takng Benadryl for years as a maybe better than nothing antidote to the dreadful dystonia I've had for seven years. It's the only thing the docs have had to suggest really. I have had to take up to 5 of those 25 mgs things for it to work sometimes.
It does seem to promote calm sleep, but it can also depress my CNS to the point where the Sinemet can't quite get over the threshhold.
When I had severe dystonia in hospital after waking up from total hip replacement surgery - they neglected to address dopamine needs during the three-hour plus surgery - I had to talk the recovery room staff through duct-taping my arm to the bed so I wouldn't jack-knife off the table with my brand new hip, and then giving me a 12.5 mg Benadryl IV.
So yeah, it works for some things, but be careful about what you combine it with - certain MAO inhibitors could be a no-no.
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Fiona,
Because you say that benadryl helps dystonia, it makes me suspect that you are lowering your acetylcholine with it. Ron once described acetylcholine and dopamine as one pulls and the other pushes. Doesn't that sound like dystonia? Acetycholine is responsible for much muscle movement. And i don't know if I'm in the right thread for this but you said in one of them that you don't think pwp are all headed for dementia and i certainly agree with you.
Dementia can result from lack of acetylcholine and happens with aging. But i wonder if too much acetylcholine is one of the problems in the first place. It's excitatory and slows the production of or even stops the production of dopamine.
now this is crazy, and probably not true. but i wonder if acetylcholine levels are related to one's intelligence quotient. IF it works the other way around???? probably just a wild thought but i'm on it in google.