For this reason I try my hardest to buy single-active-ingredient versions of everything. I can keep a list of what pill combos combine into nyquil/mucinex/whatever, and can avoid doubling up on anything unintentionally.
They were both diphenhydramine HCL, 25mg. Both tablets. The only differences were the labels, the pill colors (blue for ZZZZ, pink for allergy), and the price.
And the other benefit to stocking single-drug medications is more flexibility. I imagine some hapless guy whose has pain in the morning, but sees only "Advil PM" in the medicine cabinet.
If I need Advil PM, I'll take a regular ibuprofen and a regular diphenhydramine.
Just to add, most nootropics are cholinergics in some way or another. Take a look at choline supplements, or racetams (from Wikipedia: "Racetams are understood to work by activating glutamate receptors that are colocalized with cholinergic receptors, thus increasing the frequency of activation of the latter."). They are supposed to help people with Alzheimer's disease, improve their memory and whatnot. There are many studies around to support this. There is also Huperzine A that has been investigated as a possible treatment for Alzheimer's disease and there was a meta-analysis that found it efficacious in improving cognitive function (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huperzine_A for more).
But yeah, anticholinergics are known to be bad for people with Alzheimer's disease, and some cholinergics are known to be effective in improving cognition of those who have it. Of course there are other medications that are supposed to be avoided, here is more about it for the curious (it mentions DPH, too): https://www.mind.uci.edu/medications-and-patients-with-alzhe...
It took everything I had to not start literally climbing up the walls. My anxiety and energy level skyrocketed.
One of kids is the same way on Benadryl.
Apparently 5% have such a reaction.
I got tired of explaining the reaction to doctors and nurses, (got called a liar several times). Although I had one nurse almost in tears as she had same reaction, but no one would believe her.
So on forms I put I’m allergic to allergy medication.
The pharmacist explained that caffeine reduces headaches. Well that's great, but I didn't have a headache, I had muscle aches, and I was trying to sleep. He looked at me like I was crazy.
Also, IIRC, caffeine specifically has been identified to help with migraines, not headaches more generally.
When I'm healthy and working, I regularly drink about three espresso shots a day. If I'm sick, that plummets to zero while I'm lying in bed and feeling miserable. Invariably, I'll get a killer headache, which the paracetamol alone doesn't fix. I know this, and either I just ignore the headache or make myself some instant coffee at home.
But a badly run scientific study would not control for this quantifiable effect: Sick people get headaches, and dosing them with caffeine reduces the headaches! Ergo... caffeine reduces headaches.
However, I very much doubt that caffeine has a headache reducing effect in sick people that aren't also having caffeine withdrawal.
Imagine a world where most office workers would regularly partake in, say, Opiates to "take the edge off" their stressful jobs. In that world, researchers would confidently conclude the OTC pain relief medication should include Naloxone!
This isn't even that outlandish a scenario. There are countries where people living at high altitude habitually chew Coca leaves to counteract altitude sickness. Should OTC pain killers in those countries include Propranolol? Is it right to force tourists wanting ordinary Paracetamol to also take drugs for acute Cocaine withdrawal just because most locals feel better if they get it?
It's absurd to mix drugs like this, if you think about it a little...
Or so my pet monkey told me.
A cup of green tea is enough to ruin my day and possibly the next week.
I had a chat with my chemist about why a small bit of caffeine was in the more expensive brands of acetaminophen / paracetamol. I asked if it was used as a kind of pick me up to feel more awake.
He said that the dose of caffeine was very very small and not for that, but it actually helps the paracetamol work better or faster.
Acetomeniphin Ibuprofen Benadryl Pseudoephedrine
Covers almost all of the many combinations for sale at the drug store.
Yes, but according to the post, the single-active-ingredient version of acetaminophen might make you less cautious and more risky, and lead you to buy multiple-action drugs!
:-)