Hi everyone,
I know this doesn't really apply to whole foods. but it's driving me crazy.

I came down with a BAD case of poison ivy. I normally don't like to take pills, but i was SO miserable that i took benadryl. Well, it did wonders for the itching,
but l was shocked that my wieght did not budge after 3 days of eating really well. Normally my wieght will drop if i can ever stay on track that long, but not this time. I was really depressed over this , then i remembered the benadryl. I have never taken it before. does any one have experience with this pill? Does it cause water retention or something?

I did look up online that antihisamines can cause wieght gain. but i dont know if it's long term or not. I only took them 3 days.
Has anyone ever had this happen before?

thanks, sorry for being so off the subject.
kb.

Benadryl can cause urinary retention so that might be it.

Hey!

You can look up Benadryl on a pharmaceutical-type site like Rxlist.com. See if water retention is listed as a side effect.

If it's because of the drug, it won't be permanent. It's not fat.

Jay

This is entirely unscientific, but my personal experience:

I'm on Reactine permanently for medical reasons, and the higher my dose, the more stubborn my weight is (I doubled up my dose for two days and "gained" 3 lb, mostly water retention). So, it makes sense that other antihistamines might have the same effects in some people.

The good news is that when I lower my dose again, my weight-loss recovers, so I expect that if your body is reacting like mine to antihistamines, you'll probably be right back to normal once you stop.

Good luck!

The one thing I am completely convinced of is that medicine CAN make you retain water - and some certain medicines (specifically antidepressants) CAN make you actually gain FAT weight. Some people don't believe this - but I do, because I'm walking breathing proof. (Also because I recently read an article in a health magazine that was about this very thing.)

But it does sound like you are retaining water. That's not much to worry about - once you're off the meds, your weight should go back to normal. Oh happy day!

thanks guys, I think it was water. my wieght seems to be back to normal.
I did feel pretty bloated while on it, but i was so miserable altogether due to the rash and the drowsyness that i wasn't sure why i felt so crappy.

but it was just so discouraging to see that my wieght increased when i had been trying so hard not to overeat.


thanks again,
Kb.

Hey kaebea, you know, having the rash reaction would make you retain water also, apart from the drug! Histamines, which are released when you have an allergic response, cause swelling.

Jay

Glad to hear you're better! Can you switch to a topical ointment?