Low dose benadryl: An unknown treatment for MS

Tell us what you are using to treat your MS-- and how you are doing.
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David1951
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Low dose benadryl: An unknown treatment for MS

Post by David1951 »

I do not have MS. I have an acquired metabolic syndrome that is similar in symptom sets and is ultimately just a different manifestation of the same root cause.

I have just received the following feedback concerning a woman who has had MS for 18 years and thought you all might be interested:

I stay busy but i'm OK... Sorry i haven't kept in touch. I've been through some things that's kept me distracted from the benedryl and it's effects.
Vicki is not easily watched over. She's almost like a kid and has to be reminded over and over about doing anything consistently. I did notice a tremendous difference in her ability to focus on games of all kinds for hours after being on the antihistamine for a short time. To me it was a great difference. Before she could not get through any game without lots of help and would have double vision and confusion. Her energy level definitely improved and her level of interest.
She is very hard to monitor consistently. She's been busy with a new relationship and has been on a cruise that was great fun and has taken up smoking, drinking and late hours. she's still doing well but has forgotten to take the benedryl consistently and i'm constantly reminding her. I do think it had a good effect on her and she does too. She is trying to remember to take it but it's kind of hit and miss. She really needs a keeper. Don't we all.
Thanks for keeping up with us.

I responded:

Is this a test??

" She's been busy with a new relationship and has been on a cruise that was great fun and has taken up smoking, drinking and late hours."

I don't know what to say..other than...o..kay

chuckle...I guess that's good news

David

and her response:

All in all, she's definitely better. I probably shouldn't tell about her new habits but thought i should be straight about what's going on. she eats well and has started going to the MS wellness center for exercise. That is recent but i think that will help too. Gaining strength in her muscles will help her walk. She's trying to get stronger. Her mind seems stronger and she's more able to think straight. We just need the legs to get stronger and i think they will.


and My response:

Janice
I'm not judging...I can totally understand wanting to make up for all the pleasure lost due to a deteriorating condition....for 18 years. Actually that she CAN do these things is probably as good an indicator of the effectiveness of the LDB....


After all, being happier with the life you have is a very powerful thing...it gives you the will to do more than just survive.


wow that's good, I should write that down...lol

I would like to see you guys for lunch sometime soon, let me know

David

********************************************************************************************

And now some background, My exchange with Dr. Neil Lava...head of the MS clinic at Emory and an "EXPERT" on WEBMD

Mr. Staup,

Thank you for this information. I will look into it.

Neil Lava



From: David Staup [mailto:dstaup@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2012 4:10 PM
To: Lava, Neil
Subject: An unknown treatment for MS



Sir,



I found the following while investigating the benificial effects that 5 mg of benadryl every 4 to 6 hours has had on my condition (mitochondrial dysfunction).



"Institution: Stanford University

Summary

Researchers in Dr. Lawrence Steinman's laboratory at Stanford have developed a new strategy for treating or preventing autoimmune diseases with antihistamines. Using the EAE mouse model for multiple sclerosis (MS), the inventors have shown that the disease course and severity can be ameliorated with daily administration of antihistamine. This approach has the potential for treating MS with less side-effects and more convenient dosing than current therapeutic interventions.

Stage of Research

EAE mice treated daily with anti-histamine receptor 1 have decreased disease severity and delayed onset of the disease compared to controls. Also, treatment with antihistamine receptor 1 leads to significant changes in the serum IgG recognition of some healthy brain antigenic targets.

Advantage

Safe - antihistamines are established drugs with less severe side effects than current MS treatments e.g., interferon-beta, glatiramer acetate, high-dose IV immunoglobulins, monoclonal antibodies against a-4 integrin and steroids)

Convenient - oral administration is easier for patients costs to produce and store these compounds are lower than existing treatments

http://www.ctsaip.org/create-pdf.cfm?id=5893

I have been putting this info out on the web for a bit now, following is feedback from a diagnosed MS patient:



"My wife, who was diagnosed with MS in 2006, has been taking 5 mg of Benadryl every four hours for about three weeks now. She has experienced a dramatic increase in energy, an end to persistent conjunctivitis (redness of the eyes), and has not needed to apply her metronidazole cream for rosacea. She has also been able to stop taking Tramadol three times daily for back pain. The pain is still there, but it is more easily treated with the occasional NSAID or 5 mg of Valium. Here is a link to a patent application .pdf covering this treatment in greater detail. It is very technical, but it might be interesting to physicians and others with a scientific background. My wife takes slightly less than half a teaspoon of generic children's Benadryl (diphenhydramine) every four hours."



My personal experience and the following study lead me to believe many of the benificial effects of low dose benadryl stem from the fact that certain antihistamines in low doses inhibit apoptosis.



http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 0261904498



specifically here:

"1. It is shown that a number of antihistamine drugs which prevent liver injury inhibit mitochondrial swelling at concentrations at which they do not affect electron transport or oxidative phosphorylation"



I saw you're postings on webmd and suspect you can do more than I with this info.



David Staup
mbetter95
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Re: Low dose benadryl: An unknown treatment for MS

Post by mbetter95 »

I'm a bit more worried about this one (requested liver enzyme test and starting on lowest dose)...but there are some studies out there indicating it may be beneficial for MS/autoimmune diseases. I'll post a boat load tomorrow. :)
"M Better"
David1951
Getting to Know You...
Posts: 10
Joined: Thu Oct 18, 2012 7:28 am

Re: Low dose benadryl: An unknown treatment for MS

Post by David1951 »

6 month feedback:


I stay busy but i'm OK... Sorry i haven't kept in touch. I've been through some things that's kept me distracted from the benedryl and it's effects.
Vicki is not easily watched over. She's almost like a kid and has to be reminded over and over about doing anything consistently. I did notice a tremendous difference in her ability to focus on games of all kinds for hours after being on the antihistamine for a short time. To me it was a great difference. Before she could not get through any game without lots of help and would have double vision and confusion. Her energy level definitely improved and her level of interest.
She is very hard to monitor consistently. She's been busy with a new relationship and has been on a cruise that was great fun and has taken up smoking, drinking and late hours. she's still doing well but has forgotten to take the benedryl consistently and i'm constantly reminding her. I do think it had a good effect on her and she does too. She is trying to remember to take it but it's kind of hit and miss. She really needs a keeper. Don't we all.
Thanks for keeping up with us.

My reply:

Is this a test??

" She's been busy with a new relationship and has been on a cruise that was great fun and has taken up smoking, drinking and late hours."

I don't know what to say..other than...o..kay

chuckle...I guess that's good news

David


Her reply:

All in all, she's definitely better. I probably shouldn't tell about her new habits but thought i should be straight about what's going on. she eats well and has started going to the MS wellness center for exercise. That is recent but i think that will help too. Gaining strength in her muscles will help her walk. She's trying to get stronger. Her mind seems stronger and she's more able to think straight. We just need the legs to get stronger and i think they will.
zjac020
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Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 11:50 am

Re: Low dose benadryl: An unknown treatment for MS

Post by zjac020 »

David,

I know its been a while, but I wonder if readers would benefit from reading about how to take low dose benadryl. Many here (myself inluded) are used to the ease of taking LDN (low dose naltrexone), but LDB seems rather different. Ive read about how to dose from a capsule that has been pin pricked etc..but for those of us who need to lead a normal life (work, family, travel etc) carrying this around may not be practical, especially if regular dosing (every 3-4 hrs) is require.

Just thought it would be useful to complement this thread.

Regards,
zjac
violin
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Re: Low dose benadryl: An unknown treatment for MS

Post by violin »

"5 mg of benadryl every 4 to 6 hours"...
A caplet is 25mg, per the Benedryl site. I get mine as a generic equivalent.
I think it would be possible to use a pill cutter to cut it into roughly 4 parts, which would be close enough for me.

I've been taking one caplet at bedtime for the past months, helps ensure a good night's sleep. Sometimes I awake feeling too dried out, but then I use eye moisture drops. Maybe I'll try this very low dose during the day.

(Decades ago an ENT told me to take generic Benedryl for Meniere's dizziness, along with a low sodium diet, to try to improve inner ear swelling.)
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NHE
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Re: Low dose benadryl: An unknown treatment for MS

Post by NHE »

Something to consider...

Many popular prescription and over-the-counter medicines have anticholinergic activity and can increase the possibility of developing dementia.

http://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2015/01/ ... -dementia/
What Are Anticholinergic Medications?

We have been writing about this category of drugs for a very long time because of a clearly established link to cognitive impairment. These medicines are known as anticholinergics because they interfere with the ability of a crucial brain chemical called acetylcholine (Ach) to attach to nerve cells. ACh is essential for muscle contraction. Without adequate amounts of this neurotransmitter you could not breathe, blink your eyes or tie your shoelaces. Body movement can only happen when ACh triggers a muscular contraction.

Acetylcholine is also critical for proper brain function. Without ACh doing its job transmitting messages between brain cells, you would become forgetful and confused.

--------------------------------------------------------

Popular Antihistamines & Sleep Aids

What most modern-day physicians have not learned, however, is that many other drugs also have anticholinergic activity. As mentioned in the ACT study, first-generation antihistamines were linked to dementia. We are talking about drugs like chlorpheniramine and diphenhydramine (DPH).

You may be surprised where DPH shows up. It is the primary ingredient in many allergy and hay fever meds including the popular brand name Benadryl. But DPH is also found in a huge number of nighttime pain relievers and sleeping pills. Look at the label of Advil PM, Aleve PM, Bayer PM, Excedrin PM, Nytol, Simply Sleep, Sominex, Tylenol PM or Unisom and you will likely find diphenhydramine as a key ingredient.

We do not worry very much about the occasional use of such drugs. But chronic use, day in and day out for both pain and insomnia, begins to add up to substantial anticholinergic exposure.
Nenebird54
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Re: Low dose benadryl: An unknown treatment for MS

Post by Nenebird54 »

Search for MS and Tavist - you will see some research showing the active ingredient in Tavist seems to support re-mylineation.
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