i have a tremor in mhy hands very bad started taking passion flower caosules and benadryl it has greatly improved both have calmimg effect and passion flower helps with anxieety but have to be careful with sedating meds mbenadryl in used as a sleep aid also should not be a problem

Were you able to get blood work done? And how is your thirst? Lithium really scares me, honestly, just knowing what it can do to your kidneys. This is def something I would bring up with your doc especially if it is affecting your balance. I was reading that hand tremors are really common, but im not sure about tremors in your legs. I hope you feel better!

Yes I got pretty pronounced hand tremors on lithium. Took it for a few months but it just wasn't working for me. Made food taste really weird as well.

Be careful with the benadryl. It's an SSRI believe it or not so it can mess with you serotonin levels. Until about 4-5 months ago, I had been using it frequently as a tranquilizer because the only sedative they will give me now is hydroxyzine and that's basically a very long-acting benadryl. Would zonk me for over the whole day when I could count on 4-6 hours at most for the benadryl. Sometimes took 3-4 pills to do the trick and it always would, but I noticed I was less stable overall. I also realized that if I was needing to take that much beny, I wasn't taking enough of my oxcarbazepine or I shouldn't need that much assistance calming the mania. There shouldn't have been that much mania.
But yeah I forgot about the hand tremors from the lithium. Don't recall if it was anywhere else on my body but I stopped taking it after 2 or so months. The kidney thing is scary.

did not know this my doc gave it to me for ther tremor and sleep never had any other symptoms i take a little at a time but i am not stable anyway never have been this like all meds work differerntly for different people

Recreational users report calming effects, mild euphoria, and hallucinations as the desired effects of the drug. Research has shown that antimuscarinic agents, such as diphenhydramine, "may have antidepressant and mood-elevating properties".

I got my blood work done. My sugar was high, lithium low, and dr increased my lithium. I will call my dr tomorrow but I also see my gp on Thursday

bywena, that's good info for us all. Antimuscarinics are anticholinergic which interfere with the action of choline in the brain - thus slowing down mental processing and can lead to confusion and disorientation in high doses (varying greatly among different individuals of course).
This is why docs prescribe hydroxyzine instead of diphenhydramine for anxiety when they are, and act, very similar and yet the latter is available OTC and very inexpensive.

Anytime you see the term "antimuscarinic" just know that it comes from the term "muscarine" which is a psychoactive (and anticholinergic) chemical first found in certain mushrooms - the most notable being the famous white spotted red cap Toadstool mushroom we in countless paintings and other art forms across the world (Alice in Wonderland for one).

Yes. I take propranolol for this. I'm on on 600 mg and was taking propranolol w even less. Totally normal. Talk to your doc..

Bywena I messaged you about the Benadryl.

Ok thanks older

I'm going to throw out the other side of the debate. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) is not actually an SSRI. The chemical Diphenhydramine was used as part of the chemical makeup that made Prozac in the 1960's. But Diphenhydramine is an Antihistamine. Some Histamine-1 Receptor Antagonist can affect Serotonin levels if taken in large doses. But generally drugs like Benadryl are taken in small doses, the max dose of Benadryl for a sleep help aid is 50 - 75mg per day. The average elimination half life of Diphenhydramine is around 5 hours for adults, for 50 mg.

Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) does not have negative interactions with all SSRI Antidepressants, there is actually very little data to support these claims. The 1 drug that does have research and proof of a negative interaction is Zoloft.

But, Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) is not classified as an SSRI, its an Antihistamine. Its also used to counteract withdrawal symptoms from SSRI Antidepressants in some patients. And some Antihistamines such as Vistaril are used as Anti-Anxiety medications.

Diphenhydramine is not generally advised to take long term as it can cause Cognitive impairment.

Thanks kat. I overdosed on a bottle of Benedryl a few years ago so I don’t take it often if at all anymore. I did take 50mg a few nights ago to help me sleep.