Dimenhydrinate vs. Diphenhydramine
Dimenhydrinate & Diphenhydramine
Citation:   Zaphod. "Dimenhydrinate vs. Diphenhydramine: An Experience with Dimenhydrinate & Diphenhydramine (exp8467)". Erowid.org. Jun 29, 2005. erowid.org/exp/8467

 
DOSE:
600 mg oral Dimenhydrinate (pill / tablet)
  475 mg oral Diphenhydramine (pill / tablet)
BODY WEIGHT: 130 lb
Having tripped Dramamine several times I decided to try the antihistamine diphenhydramine and make a comparison.

In my last Dramamine trip I took 600 mg (twelve tablets) at once. I was alone and bored so I tripped to pass the time. I took the pills around 7 pm, the full effect starting an hour later. I was chatting online when the hallucinations began. The chat room had a 'voice' feature where you can talk to the other chatters. One of the other chatters started to talk to me only to discover that they didn't exist. Most of the most profound hallucinations I experienced while staring at the color white. For example I saw a hand emerge from the wall the same color as the wall. A lot of the hallucinations were difficult to distinguish from reality such as reading things that weren't there or hearing people talk in the other rooms of the empty house. I kept hearing footsteps as well.

Most of the visuals were gone by midnight but a few non-existent sounds could still be heard. I started to come down at around 2 am and went to bed. I woke up the next day at 1 pm with a mild headache. Some other interesting effects of Dimenhydrinate are:

A feeling of muscular weakness with extreme drowsiness.
General disoriented or kind of disconnected feeling.
Slight paranoia or fear.

The hallucinations are NOT at all like LSD or mushrooms. They manifest suddenly in some cases and can be very startling. Some of the audio hallucinations can be subtle but are still startling once you notice them. Motor control is altered and I advise you not to drive while on this drug as you can lose your sense of time and may misjudge distances. My trips usually began with a slight high that turned into mild paranoia.

Again the pills I took were Dramamine original formula which contained 12 tablets at 50 mg a tablet. $4

About a week later I found a bottle of diphenhydramine and decided to make a comparison. The specific drug is a generic allergy relief, Wal-dryl sold by Walgreens with diphenhydramine listed as it's only active ingredient. I took 475mg which equals 19 minitabs at 25mg a tab. I took them all at 2:36 am and sat down to play command and conquer to wait for the drug to kick in. The onset happened at 3:30 almost exactly an hour later I began to feel nauseous and had to vomit at 3:45 am at first I was disappointed because vomiting can sometimes ruin a trip. But I did not see any of the brightly colored pills in the vomit so I assumed they had already dissolved or sank to the bottom of my stomach. Anyway the trip continued but I did not see any visuals. I put on some trance music and that helped me to forget my stomach. I sat down to watch some MTV at about 4 am. A while later I became frustrated because the computer seems to have locked up. Then I realize that I am sitting on the couch watching the TV and I am not playing command and conquer. This happened for almost a full hour before I was able to break the cycle. Then I decided to draw for awhile so I sat on the floor and took the cap off the pen and completely forgot what I was doing for ten minutes. Besides being extremely forgetful I noticed voices in the music I was listening to that didn't exist.

Although I saw almost no visuals (water looks very cool and superfluid) I kept losing track of time, and would get engaged in other activities, sometimes very complex ones until I would encounter a problem in the activity, then I would realize I was sitting inert on my couch. Time was very distorted. For example I would be doing something that takes hours, then snap out of it and realize that only ten or fifteen minutes had passed. Other times I would just 'space out' for a moment then realize 15 minutes were gone. Aside from this I saw very few visuals, but spent most of the trip in a daydream like state. The trip ended at about 5:30 am and I went to bed. I woke up at 6 pm slightly thirsty.

The trips feel about the same, except I have never puked from dimenhydrinate. Also I did not experience hardly any fear or paranoia that comes with a Dramamine trip. I think that fear is an integral part of a good dimenhydrinate Trip, it heightens the trip when you are afraid I think.

Although it was lacking visuals, the diphenhydramine was more enjoyable. The only preparation I can suggest is to put on some music you like. It helps the trip greatly.

Exp Year: 2001ExpID: 8467
Gender: Male 
Age at time of experience: Not Given
Published: Jun 29, 2005Views: 40,902
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Diphenhydramine (109), Dimenhydrinate (17) : Alone (16), General (1)

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