The Benedryl Story - Wednesday, May 26, 2010

The best way to describe how I felt physically during each day of my chemo, as well as several days after each cycle ended was a mixture of pensive, nautious, light-headed, restless, you name it, it wasn't a fun time at all.

I had MAJOR problems sleeping at night, which started during the 1st cycle of chemo. It was so bad that on the 3rd morning of chemo I told one of my oncologists about it and so he prescribed Ativan. I tried it and it didn't work, didnt even phase me. So after a couple of days we talked about it again and here's what he told me...

"Children's Benedryl Liquid, any flavor." And I said "You gotta be kidding me, but what if it hurts me, what if it affects me negatively with all the medications I'm currently on, plus with the chemo drugs inside of me??" He knew my entire medical situation quite well after talking with my infectious diseases doctor, my urologist and so on..so he looked me square in the face and said "(my real name) what have you got to lose?" And, he was right.

So, I tried it and...it worked!!! Omg it friggin worked and as dead sick as I was I was overjoyed!! I slept like a baby from that night onward until I was finally declared cancer-free months later! It was amazing! Truly amazing that something so simple, something so inexpensive, something so over-the-counter could give my worn-out body the extremely required sleep needed in order to fight one of the hugest medical battles of my life.

And the ONLY bad side effect was that I felt groggy the next morning. Groggy I could handle, walking around like the living dead? No way Baby.

The dosage was simple - personally, I loved the Cherry-flavored version(!) - take 2 TEAspoons of it; BUT, NOT the Teaspoon sizes from the little plastic cup on the top of the bottle - instead, the standard kitchen sized teaspoons one would use for everyday use. In most cases, within 30 to 45 minutes a person will start to fall asleep very gently and without any struggle whatsoever.

I am NOT a medical doctor and I am NOT advising you or anyone with any type of illness/disease to try this. I am only sharing with you what worked for me and it worked wonders! DO NOT try this product without speaking to your doctor/main medical professional FIRST. What works for me may not work for you.

Back then I had no problems taking the Children's Benedryl liquid, it did not interact with any of my drugs, both the chemo drugs - and when I was done with that, the HIV drugs either. Last week I had a restless night and was tempted to take some but after 11 years I thought to myself "Better call the pharmacy first and ask just to be on the safe side." I did and the head pharmacist told me there would not be any negative drug interactions; BUT to doublecheck with my doctor. Sooooo, I stayed up till 3 a.m. till I finally fell asleep. Woke back up at 7:30 a.m., called my main doctor and she confirmed it - it would not be a problem. And it wasn't.

I think what the one oncologist from 11 years ago - unless I made a mistake in the interpretation? - was trying to tell me when it came to my apprehension of trying the product was this - "Look, you got so many aces stacked against you, what is one harmless children's over-the-counter medication gonna really do to your house of cards?" And he was right. For me, it was worth taking that chance.

But again, that doesn't mean it's right for everyone else. I would hate to suggest to anyone to try what I did and then end up getting very sick or ending up in a coma, know what I mean? ASK YOUR DOCTOR FIRST AND/OR MEDICAL TEAM before you consider trying what I did.

Last month on my open Facebook homepage I read a post where a fellow Hiv'er I am friends with and another I do not know were briefly exchanging experiences about how they just could not get any normal sleep, one of the two for a very very long time. I wanted sooooo bad to say "Look you gotta try what I did" but that woulda been the wrong thing to do, again, I woulda felt so bad if either of them tried it with
not-so-positive results.

And that is why I was compelled to write this particular post, not just to share my experiences or more details from my cancer period - but because I cannot imagine anyone not being able to sleep normally when there is a POSSIBILITY that something very simple may just do the trick for them. Yeah, sure, I've had many restless nights since those cancer days but when the going-gets-tough, I take the stuff and it works like a charm, like it always has.

Then again, it's not like the friend or his friend would've listened to me anyways. People are still discounting me because I am not 100% open about my HIV+ status, but I cant emphasize this enough to everyone I know here on Facebook and beyond - fictional name or not, I am real and my experiences are real, it doesnt make me count any less as a HIV+ individual or a human being. I wouldn't be writing one single word if it wasn't the truth and didn't come straight from my heart. I mean it. Thanks for reading everyone.