# histamine overload?



## flat (Jun 18, 2006)

I have found that when I take an over-the-counter sleeping pill that you can get at the drugstore (like NYTOL or SLEEP-EEZE or something) I find that I feel less dp'ed in the morning. Over-the-counter sleep aids are really just anti-histamines that make you sleepy. Are we producing too much histamine? Histamine is usually produced as a result to an allergic reaction. Is dp/dr (or the underlying stress that is keeping it there) causing our immune system to produce histamine for some reason? And having too much histamine in our bodies or brain giving us this dp sensation?


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## Mark (Jul 21, 2008)

I wonder what comfortably numb would have to say??


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## flat (Jun 18, 2006)

tap tap tap tap...(tapping my fingernails while patiently waiting)


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## AntiSocial (Jul 12, 2008)

Mark said:


> I wonder what comfortably numb would have to say??


something that would totally baffle us and make us all feel stupider by comparison


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## rk1 (Aug 5, 2006)

flat said:


> I have found that when I take an over-the-counter sleeping pill that you can get at the drugstore (like NYTOL or SLEEP-EEZE or something) I find that I feel less dp'ed in the morning. Over-the-counter sleep aids are really just anti-histamines that make you sleepy. Are we producing too much histamine? Histamine is usually produced as a result to an allergic reaction. Is dp/dr (or the underlying stress that is keeping it there) causing our immune system to produce histamine for some reason? And having too much histamine in our bodies or brain giving us this dp sensation?


I may have to try this, because mornings are the worse time for me.


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Perhaps the diphenhydramine or whatever was in that sleep aid just helped you to get a better nights sleep? I doubt it's anything other then that really. Try another sleep aid to see if it works the same. Something like zopiclone (lunesta, imovane) or temazepam or even diazepam would be good ones to try.

Older anti-histamines such as diphenhydramine (the anti-histamine in benadryl) are also anti-cholinergics this is what causes the real bad dry mouth and other side effects you get from these drugs. I found these drugs to actually make my dp/dr worse for the most part. Although since my dp/dr went into remission hey just make me drowsy but i still find them unpleasant.

Id say that more then likely these drugs are just helping you sleep better.


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## AntiSocial (Jul 12, 2008)

what did i say :lol:


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## B_J (Jun 25, 2007)

UP


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## Absentis (Jul 10, 2007)

IIRC, Diphenhydramine also acts on serotonin, a neurotransmitter identified by Dr. Simeon as possibly being involved with DPD.


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## Guest (Apr 4, 2009)

i take benadryl or tylenol pm nightly to sleep, doesn't help me just makes me need to sleep for like 14 hours.


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## comfortably numb (Mar 6, 2006)

Absentis said:


> IIRC, Diphenhydramine also acts on serotonin, a neurotransmitter identified by Dr. Simeon as possibly being involved with DPD.


Diphenhydramine does a very slight reuptake of serotonin but only to a very mild degree. In order for it to be of any significance as a SRI you would have to take massive doses and then the anti-cholinergic effects would take over and cause symptoms of anti-cholinergic poisoning such as delerium, really bad dry mouth, increased heart rate, seizures, etc. So it does not have any clinically significant serotonin reuptake inhibitor effects.

So i seriously doubt that plays a role in why the OP felt better after taking diphenhydramine.


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## Absentis (Jul 10, 2007)

comfortably numb said:


> Absentis said:
> 
> 
> > IIRC, Diphenhydramine also acts on serotonin, a neurotransmitter identified by Dr. Simeon as possibly being involved with DPD.
> ...


You are absolutely correct, and I realize I didn't make my point properly. I simply wanted to say that the situation is much more complex than just "diphenhydramine=histamine". And it's not just that there are more neurotransmitters involved, but receptor affinity, receptor subtypes, and a whole host of biochemical reactions involved.


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## Hoffy (Apr 26, 2009)

I've been doing a great deal of research into histamine and its effects on DP / DR. Please go to the members poll section and vote on your experience using anti-histamines.
Thanks!


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## York (Feb 26, 2008)

> Older anti-histamines such as diphenhydramine (the anti-histamine in benadryl) are also anti-cholinergics this is what causes the real bad dry mouth and other side effects you get from these drugs. I found these drugs to actually make my dp/dr worse for the most part.


I tried the old anti-histamines to sleep better, I felt HORRIBLE when I woke up and it lasted all day! Like a hangover, with bad DP on top.


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## opie37060 (Jan 9, 2010)

flat said:


> I have found that when I take an over-the-counter sleeping pill that you can get at the drugstore (like NYTOL or SLEEP-EEZE or something) I find that I feel less dp'ed in the morning. Over-the-counter sleep aids are really just anti-histamines that make you sleepy. Are we producing too much histamine? Histamine is usually produced as a result to an allergic reaction. Is dp/dr (or the underlying stress that is keeping it there) causing our immune system to produce histamine for some reason? And having too much histamine in our bodies or brain giving us this dp sensation?


It's weird because the day this all happened the night before i took over the counter sleeping pills then got up in the morning took a couple shots of nasal spray and felt wierd the whole drive to work than had a massive panic attack and have been dp/dr ever since....


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## Vespertiferous (May 16, 2012)

I'm probably going to go off-topic a little, and I realize that this thread has been silent for years. But I just, out of nowhere, had the idea that DP might be related to histamine and was so excited to see that someone else did, too, that I actually bothered to join this forum.

I had a few months of depersonalization several years ago, every once in awhile I look up more about it. I was just thinking about how I dislike the idea that it's caused by a desire to avoid anxiety or intense emotions, because that model assumes some amount of logic and decision making. For me it was so automatic that this just doesn't make sense that this feeling was some kind of "reasonable alternative" to anxiety.

I was thinking of searching DP and different stress and anxiety hormones or neurotransmitters and remembered that histamine could be an anxiety neurotransmitter. In my experience, it's not usually described as such. But I've run across mentions online that the body increases it as part of an increase in anxiety, which makes sense if it's part of a fight-or-flight response.

Histamine itself has a stimulating effect on the brain, which I was somewhat surprised to learn. Anti-histamines cause drowsiness because they attach to H receptors and block it. I used to only see histamine described in relation to causing allergy symptoms, not as a part of everyday brain function.

I'm amazed to see on Wikipedia mentions that opioid antagonists naloxone and naltrexone have worked in small studies of DP. So, the opioid system might be involved. But opiates cause a rush of histamine, too. Searching "naloxone histamine" comes up with several older papers saying that naloxone "inhibits histamine release."

I think I should also mention that a year after I was in a DP state for five months I had hives for like 4 months straight. This happened again a couple of years after that, but only for 2 months that time. I never had allergies, or severe-enough allergies to notice, in my childhood, but around 18 this all popped up. I take a fruit-sourced supplement now called Quercetin, because it is supposed to prevent the release of histamine, rather than block the receptors.


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## AndyD (Nov 24, 2011)

I have had very high histadine levels on my bloodwork in the past. I think histamine is a derivative of Histadine. If anyone else has seen either of these levels elevated in bloodwork, please share.


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## AndyD (Nov 24, 2011)

In regards to my post above, I forgot to add that anti-histamines almost always make DP worse, despite having high histadine levels. Still I wonder if these elevated levels somehow play a role in DP.


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