Unisom Confusion

SallySunrise

I've seen several posts here and on first tri asking about unisom dosage and whether or not it's the same thing as benadryl.  My doc has always told me it was, but others have said it's not.  I looked it up and here's the answer:  Everyone is right.  Unisom uses two different main ingredients, so it depends on which one you buy.

Unisom SleepTabs (blue tablet) = 25mg of  doxylamine succinate, which is not the same thing as benadryl but is very similar.

Unisom SleepMelts (pink meltaway) = 25mg of  diphenhydramine HCl, which IS the same thing as benadryl.

Unisom SleepGels (blue softgel tab) = 50mg of diphenhydramine HCl 

Any of the above are safe during pregnancy, and you can take 50mg at a time (1 SleepGel or 2 of the others).   

Bonus FYI:  Generic brand benadryl is super cheap! Much cheaper than Unisom. If you're taking either of the ones that are composed of  diphenhydramine HCl, might as well switch next time you need more! 

skimecrn

I saw something about this yesterday and looked it up too. My doc said I cannot take benedril until the end of my first tri. I wonder why this is. I'm dying without my allergy meds and if I could take benedril it would save me alot of misery.

SallySunrise

Hmm... I've never heard that.  I'm not saying it's wrong (I'm certainly no doc), but I would definitely call and ask why.  My doc said it's fine, and I took it the whole time with DS.

caralck

I was told by both my regular OB and the RE that I could take benedryl in the 1st trimester.  Both did advise limiting use and once I realized that neither the benedryl or doxylamine were keeping me asleep, I stopped taking them both.  No sense taking it if it doesn't work.