Midol - Feel silly for asking - Women
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 5
Midol - Feel silly for asking - Women
Hi. I have been sober for a few years. I have had pretty painful periods and have used generic midol off and on when I needed it for the first day of my period (The worst). The ingredients are: Acetaminophen, caffeine and Pyrilamine Maleate (antihistamine).
Anyways, this month I needed it and I took 1 and then proceeded to drink coffee on top of it while listening to someone's 5th step. I started to feel really loopy/spacey.
Am I overthinking this? lol
I told my sponsor and she said she thought there was an additional ingredient that was slightly mood altering but there is no additional ingredient.
I guess I am asking if any ladies here have used Midol while in recovery and is it safe?
I do not think I will be using it again after this incident, it was too weird.
Anyways, this month I needed it and I took 1 and then proceeded to drink coffee on top of it while listening to someone's 5th step. I started to feel really loopy/spacey.
Am I overthinking this? lol
I told my sponsor and she said she thought there was an additional ingredient that was slightly mood altering but there is no additional ingredient.
I guess I am asking if any ladies here have used Midol while in recovery and is it safe?
I do not think I will be using it again after this incident, it was too weird.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
This might be useful to you in making your decision... Ladies, Mind Your Midol: Nonprescription Drug Use Could Lead To DWI Charges - Fighting Against Wrongful Criminal Charges
Sounds like it does cause some real drowsiness. Why not ask your doctor to suggest an alternative?
Sounds like it does cause some real drowsiness. Why not ask your doctor to suggest an alternative?
Grateful
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NC
Posts: 1,763
I'm not a pharmacist or doctor (nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night), and I'm also no lady 
, but as someone who worked in clinical pharmacy for 15+ years two things come to mind. The first is that one of the ingredients in Midol (or generic equivalence) is pyrilamine maleate. This is an antihistamine and can cause drowsiness (and that loopy/spacey feeling). One of the other ingredients is caffeine, so drinking coffee on top of the caffeine in the Midol could give you unpleasant side effects as well.
The idea of the 3 ingredients in Midol are to reduce pain and reduce bloating. The acetaminophen/caffeine combination is an effective analgesic and the pyrilamine maleate (as with most antihistamines) acts as a minor diuretic. I wouldn't consider Midol a mood altering drug in the pure sense of it like with opiates or benzos, but drowsiness/dizziness is a common side-effect from most antihistamines.
I'll throw in the disclaimer that this is not medical advice, but merely an explanation of how the ingredients in Midol work. All antihistamines can cause drowsiness. Even the newer ones that purport not to cause drowsiness still list drowsiness as a side-effect.
, but as someone who worked in clinical pharmacy for 15+ years two things come to mind. The first is that one of the ingredients in Midol (or generic equivalence) is pyrilamine maleate. This is an antihistamine and can cause drowsiness (and that loopy/spacey feeling). One of the other ingredients is caffeine, so drinking coffee on top of the caffeine in the Midol could give you unpleasant side effects as well.The idea of the 3 ingredients in Midol are to reduce pain and reduce bloating. The acetaminophen/caffeine combination is an effective analgesic and the pyrilamine maleate (as with most antihistamines) acts as a minor diuretic. I wouldn't consider Midol a mood altering drug in the pure sense of it like with opiates or benzos, but drowsiness/dizziness is a common side-effect from most antihistamines.
I'll throw in the disclaimer that this is not medical advice, but merely an explanation of how the ingredients in Midol work. All antihistamines can cause drowsiness. Even the newer ones that purport not to cause drowsiness still list drowsiness as a side-effect.
Recovered
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 1,129
Personally, I don't take any 1st generation antihistamines. They are VERY triggering for me. I only take 2nd or 3rd (mainly Zyrtec and Allegra). I would not take midol as the pyrilamine is a 1st gen and would make me loopy.
Long story short and I won't bore you here....but one of my worst relapses started with benadryl while spending a spring in SC. Pollen everywhere and I foolishly thought I could "just take an OTC allergy med". As innocently as I did that, it was horrible for me. I learned the hard way and I am VERY CAREFUL now about what chemicals go in my body.
Here is a link to looking at the different classes of antihistamines. I learned this page and can safely take the newer class of them when indicated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H1_antagonist
I am not a doctor and am not giving medical advice per se. All I would say is do your due diligence before taking ANYTHING.
Long story short and I won't bore you here....but one of my worst relapses started with benadryl while spending a spring in SC. Pollen everywhere and I foolishly thought I could "just take an OTC allergy med". As innocently as I did that, it was horrible for me. I learned the hard way and I am VERY CAREFUL now about what chemicals go in my body.
Here is a link to looking at the different classes of antihistamines. I learned this page and can safely take the newer class of them when indicated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H1_antagonist
I am not a doctor and am not giving medical advice per se. All I would say is do your due diligence before taking ANYTHING.
12-Step Recovered Alkie
Join Date: May 2010
Location: West Bloomfield, MI
Posts: 5,797
To thine own self be true.
Some ppl can / can't take Listerine
Some ppl can / can't take pain killers
Some ppl can / can't take cough syrup
Some ppl can / can't take cold meds like Nyquil
It varies from person to person.
For me, I've either done the work to maintain my spiritual connection with God or I haven't. As such, I've either recovered from a hopeless state of mind and body or I haven't. I don't believe, like it says in the BB, that I think I can live a life avoiding alcohol (or triggers, if you prefer) and that my only hope is a complete psychic change.
I don't make that change happen, I can't bring it about.....God does. I can, however, maintain it once it's occurred. When I'm spiritually fit, taking any of the things I mentioned above has about as much effect on me as drinking a glass of water or eating a hamburger. The mental obsession doesn't flare up nor does a physical craving. When I'm not doing that maintenance and I'm, "off the beam," as they say, it could be a very short distance from "taking as prescribed" to "using them alcoholically to treat my condition."
I wrote "To thine own self be true," because it's each of our responsibilities to be honest with ourselves about ourselves regarding where we are spiritually and ultimately where we are in our recovery. Are we on solid ground or have we taken short cuts, avoided steps, or rested on our laurels?
The BB has a couple sections where it reads "nothing counted but honesty..." and "....could recover if they had the ability to be honest." I find the most important honesty is not what I used to think (me telling "you" the truth) but it's having the objectivity and lack of selfishness, contentedness, and lack of false spiritual pride to study and recognize where REALLY AM in my recovery and the courage to act accordingly.
Some ppl can / can't take Listerine
Some ppl can / can't take pain killers
Some ppl can / can't take cough syrup
Some ppl can / can't take cold meds like Nyquil
It varies from person to person.
For me, I've either done the work to maintain my spiritual connection with God or I haven't. As such, I've either recovered from a hopeless state of mind and body or I haven't. I don't believe, like it says in the BB, that I think I can live a life avoiding alcohol (or triggers, if you prefer) and that my only hope is a complete psychic change.
I don't make that change happen, I can't bring it about.....God does. I can, however, maintain it once it's occurred. When I'm spiritually fit, taking any of the things I mentioned above has about as much effect on me as drinking a glass of water or eating a hamburger. The mental obsession doesn't flare up nor does a physical craving. When I'm not doing that maintenance and I'm, "off the beam," as they say, it could be a very short distance from "taking as prescribed" to "using them alcoholically to treat my condition."
I wrote "To thine own self be true," because it's each of our responsibilities to be honest with ourselves about ourselves regarding where we are spiritually and ultimately where we are in our recovery. Are we on solid ground or have we taken short cuts, avoided steps, or rested on our laurels?
The BB has a couple sections where it reads "nothing counted but honesty..." and "....could recover if they had the ability to be honest." I find the most important honesty is not what I used to think (me telling "you" the truth) but it's having the objectivity and lack of selfishness, contentedness, and lack of false spiritual pride to study and recognize where REALLY AM in my recovery and the courage to act accordingly.
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