Dramamine is a motion sickness and nausea medication that might be able to help with anxiety symptoms. In this video we break down some key facts about Dramamine, including how the antihistamine medication works in the body, whether it works for anxiety, what the side effects and dosages are, and even see how it compares to natural alternatives. By the end of this video you will know if Dramamine is effective for anxiety or not.
Full Video Transcript
Narrator (00:00):
Dramamine is motion sickness and nausea medication that might be able to help with anxiety symptoms. In this video, we're going to break down some key facts about Dramamine, including how the antihistamine medication works in the body, whether it works for anxiety, what the side effects and dosages are, and even see how it compares to natural alternatives. If you're struggling with anxiety symptoms in your day-to-day life, you don't want to miss this deep dive into Dramamine where we see if it really can help your anxiety.
What is Dramamine? Dramamine is the major brand name for the generic drug dimenhydrinate. It's an over-the-counter antihistamine that is broadly used for relief from nausea and vomiting. Dimenhydrinate is commonly used by those who are sensitive to motion sickness during travel, which means anyone who gets ill from travel in planes or cars. Motion sickness is often called car sickness or train sickness.
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They're functionally the same thing. Dramamine is available in a tablet, liquid, or chewable tablet form, and dimenhydrinate is a H1 receptor antagonist, meaning that Dramamine is an antihistamine that reduces the effects of natural chemical histamine in the body. Products containing dimenhydrinate are also used as sleep aids and other over-the-counter medications, similar to other antihistamine based drugs like Benadryl. It's worth noting that recent research has shown that Dramamine specifically is not very effective as a sleep aid. A study published in the journal 'Sleep' found that participants who took Dramamine did not fall asleep any faster than participants who took a placebo. The study also found that participants who took Dramamine had more difficulty staying asleep and felt more tired the next day than participants who took the placebo. The reasons why come down to Dramamine containing a component that enhances wakefulness, making it an unsuitable sleep aid more on that later.
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How does Dramamine work for anxiety? Dramamine works by reducing the natural chemical histamine effects of the body as it is an antihistamine, but unlike many antihistamines, Dramamine is not used for allergies. Instead, it's used for nausea. Dramamine blocks the histamine one or H1 receptor, which is present in great quantities throughout the brain. Dramamine itself is not a single drug. Instead, it's a combination of two other drugs which each make up around half of a Dramamine or Dimenhydrinate dose. Those drugs are diphenhydramine. This antihistamine is best known as being the main ingredient in Benadryl. Similarly, it is also the active ingredient in Dramamine
8-chlorotheophylline or 8-CTP. This drug is not an antihistamine and has no direct effect on nausea or motion sickness. Instead, it helps to block sedation and it's actually closely related to caffeine in both its chemical structure and effects.
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As drowsiness and sedation are one of the main side effects of diphenhydramine, this combination works well. People can take Dramamine without feeling as sleepy as they might while taking diphenhydramine by itself or any other H1 receptor blocker medication.
So 8-chlorotheophylline is essentially acting as a wakefulness agent to counter the side effects of the main active ingredient diphenhydramine. In several trial studies with mice and rats, diphenhydramine has been shown to sometimes have an anxiolytic or anti-anxiety effect. It appears that most of this anxiolytic effect comes from diphenhydramine effect on the central H1 or histamine receptors. This happens through what is called an inverse agonism. Histamine is blocked and an opposite effect also occurs: the inverse agonism. This process accounts for diphenhydramine primary, but not sole, link to anxiolytic properties. The way in which diphenhydramine interacts with M1 receptors, norepinephrine transporters, or NETs, alpha one receptors, serotonin transporters, and more in the brain can really help.
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Additionally, if sleep problems are causing anxiety, Dramamine's positive effect on those problems may reduce anxiety too.
Dramamine side effects and downsides. Dramamine is generally considered safe when used as directed, but it's not completely without risks. Side effects of Dramamine have been shown to include dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth, and increased mucus. Abuse of Dramamine has been reported and often involves ingestion of high doses in order to induce psychotropic effects, including hallucinations and euphoria.
Psychiatric patients may also abuse Dramamine to achieve an extreme anti-anxiety effect. There does appear to be a potential for the development of physical dependence on the drug in individuals who chronically abuse it. Although there are only a few cases reported in the literature of physical dependence on the drug, the anti-anxiety effects of taking large doses of Dimenhydrinate make it an attractive drug of abuse for people who are diagnosed with psychiatric disorders such as anxiety disorders, trauma and stressor related disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders, and even schizophrenia. Please seek help from a medical professional if you experience any of these side effects or addiction and abuse issues.
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Dramamine dosage for anxiety
Before taking Dramamine, please make sure that you follow all the instructions given on the product package as well as only using the medication according to your doctor's directions. When possible, if you have any concerns or doubts the usage of this drug, please consult your doctor or pharmacist first. After taking Dramamine, the drug is absorbed and reaches its max level in the system in about two and a half hours. It's half-life, or the time it takes for half of the drug to leave your body ranges from one to four hours.
Dramamine dosage is typically determined by your age, health condition, and response to the treatment by a healthcare professional. As a baseline, however, recommended Dramamine dosage for nausea and motion sickness for adults is one to two tablets every four to six hours. Maximum daily dosage for Dramamine is no more than eight tablets in 24 hours, or as directed by a doctor or healthcare professional.
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Similar recommended dosages, both daily and maximum, are said to work when using dramamine for anxiety as well.
A natural Dramamine alternative for anxiety
If you're not too excited about using Dramamine for your anxiety symptoms, perhaps because it didn't work too effectively for you or because you experienced side effects, you may be wondering if there are natural alternatives out there? A natural alternative would achieve the same or perhaps even better end result, which is to provide relief from symptoms of anxiety. A really good alternative to Dramamine would provide anxiety relief by supporting your mind and body in a way that over time would make you more resilient. Ideally, you'd become better equipped to handle any stress responses that came your way and learned to think about anxious situations in a way that makes them less stressful in the first place. The most effective natural anxiety remedy out there, particularly for stage fright and performance anxiety is PerformZen.
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PerformZen has proven extremely effective at treating performance anxiety as it contains a combination of GABA and L-theanine, which help boost mental clarity. Theacrine, which aids mental clarity and energy, Ginkgo Biloba, which is an effective stress reducer plus vitamins and minerals like magnesium and vitamin B6, which have proven effective in reducing even severe cases of stress. This combination provides the positive anti-anxiety effects of drugs like Dramamine, but also boosts alertness and mental clarity, which are more subtle symptoms of performance anxiety that Dramamine does not address. Overall, this may mean a natural solution such as PerformZen is not only safer but more effective than Dramamine for performance anxiety. Many of our happy previous customers thought so at least. To find out all about PerformZen, check out our website using the link in the description, or Google PerformZen and we are the first result. That's all for this video. Make sure you click the like button and smash that subscribe button to get updated when we launch new videos all about different ways to combat anxiety symptoms in the coming weeks. Or if you want to learn more about overcoming anxiety right now, then check out these other videos on our channel. Good luck in your journey, and until next time, break a leg.
