I tried this and it seems to be working

[FreddieFaulenze]

Along with the sleeping med my doctor gave me, I have supplemented it with 2 tabs of Tylenol PM. The meds that the doc provided did not work alone but the sleeping med in Tylenol PM helps. I was warned that the combo could lead to an increased propensity for falling. That has not happened to me yet - fingers crossed.

[kaliska0]

Or you could just take benadryl........ That's the added part to tylenol pm to help you sleep and unlike tylenol it will not strain your liver to take it long term or at higher dosages. Unisom is the most sedating out of the common otc anithistamine options and is often sold as a sleep aid instead of as an antihistamine. Some are also sold for motion sickness. All the first generation antihistamines will have a similar effect. Histamines are alerting and so is acetylcholine with 1st gen antihistamines also blocking acetylcholine(anticholinergic). Unfortunately the anticholinergic action is actually more sedating and more likely to work long term than the antihistamine effect but is the main cause of side effects like dizziness, dry mouth, etc..... that these meds often have. Newer antihistamines only stop histamines and do not produce as many side effects or as much, if any, drowsiness because of the reduced impact on acetylcholine. The more sedating antihistamines are the more likely you will have side effects so stronger may not be better.

Sedating 1st gen antihistamines that usually don't require a prescription:

Benadryl,

chlor-tabs(chlorphenamine)

Dexchlorpheniramine (very old antihistamine with many names)

Unisom

dramamine

meclizine(don't know a common brand name)

dimetapp formulas that contain Brompheniramine

Avil(Pheniramine)

Phenergan

triprolidine (never seen it here)

Some prescription 1st gen antihistamines are also used off label for sleep issues. I take hydroxyzine. Prescribed for insomnia but also doubles as a better allergy symptom reducer than newer antihistamines do because anticholinergics reduce fluid secretions. Even if they can't sufficiently stop the allergic reaction and high histamine level they still reduce runny nose, watery eyes, etc... Usually in exchange for also having dry mouth.

Combining multiple sedating medications of any kind can increase the odds of dizziness, drowsiness, delayed reactions, etc.... Many doctors won't do it at all but the effect depends on the person and I've had to take 4 different sedating medications together in the past to get sleep with generally no issues during the day. Occasionally it caused some problems when taking falls in martial arts class but some people get that dizzy being flipped upside down even when not taking any medication.

[FreddieFaulenze in reply to kaliska0]

Thanks; I'll give some of these a go.