Will Tylenol PM help me get a few winks?
 

After a cross country trip on Friday, I will be flying from NYC to Rome the following day. I am not a big "pill" taker ( and I never seem to be able to doze off on a plane even if I have a glass of wine) but I really would like to have at least a couple of hours sleep heaing to Europe. Has anyone tried Tylenol PM? A friend suggested it but I'd leke to know if anyone has tried this and if there was any reaction. Thanks for any advice.

Take it once at home first to see how it affects you. Tylenol PM or Advil PM both work for me - but I have a friend who swears she gets more wired/restless when she takes it.

Everyone is different . . .

I fly to Europe often (from NYC) and always have difficulty sleeping on the plane. Personally, otc sleep meds don't work for me but for many people they do. I think Tylenol PM has a plain version that doesn't have pain medicine included. The bigger issue is whether you'll end up groggy once you land (no fun, especially if you're unable to check into your hotel until the afternoon). Why not try it before you go to see the effects they may have on you (if any)?

I find that bringing a good sleeping mask, neck pillow (if not in first class) and noise cancelling headphones help me relax even if I don't sleep during the flight.

Good luck and happy travels.

I use Benadryl, or some equivalent. Works fine for me, but like janisj's friend, Tylenol PM seems to make me less sleepy.

I take Excedrin PM, but it's basically the same thing. The main ingredient in either Excedrin PM or Tylenol PM is the same ingredient in Benadryl, so just get whatever's cheapest.

Agree that you should take it at home first. I have no problem with it, but you might.

Tylenol PM is a combination of Tylenol and Benadryl (just checked the label.)

Actually, I should have said a combination of Tylenol and diphenhydramine (the active ingredient in Benadryl.)

If you are going to take a sleeping aid, why compound possible problems with a pain reliever if you don't need one? I don't believe in anyone taking pain meds for no reason, and Tylenol and cause more stomach problems than some other ones. My BIL just got a bleeding ulcer due to taking too many aspirin. Pain meds can irritate your stomach or worse, as well as your liver. I just don't understand why people push pain meds for sleeping pills, there are plenty of ones without them.

Before my trips I visit my Dr. and get sleeping pills that I break into two pieces. I can sleep for 3/4 hours per each 1/2. Once back home I may finish them off over a year. But I only take a dozen or so. I find a whole pill on the first night really puts me into a nice deep sleep and I feel refreshed the next morning.

No one is "pushing" pain meds, Christina. I just told the OP that Benadryl would work just as well as the Tylenol PM.

And there is nothing wrong with taking pain meds as long as you follow the recommended dose.

You already said your BIL took "too many" aspirin. He probably would have been fine if he had only taken the recommended dose.

I am like janisj's friend so I give another vote to try what you think you want to take while flying while at home several days before your flight chestnut.

Well, I never sleep on planes and the only time I have ever taken sleeping meds they gave me terrible nightmares. BUT I have found something that helps me get at least semi-sleep. Since I sleep on my stomach it has been impossible to get comfortable leaning back (well actually sitting straight up) so now I put down my tray table, put my large tote bag (or you could use a computer case) on it, lay my little pillow on top of that, put on my eye mask, put my head down on this with my arms tucked under and I can actually sorta sleep. Hope this helps!

OTCs have never worked for me, at home or on a flight. If I do get any sleep with them, I wake up feeling very groggy and disoriented. I always take Ambien, as prescribed by my doctor, when I fly but its not for everyone. As with the suggestions above, definitely try out any method at home so you don't find out about a nasty side-effect on your flight.

Tracy

We (family of 4) each do a different "drug" to help with sleeping - my point being that what works for one may not work for all. Friends swore by Excedrin PM, which I tried and it definitely made me more jumpy. So my daughter takes regular dramamine (be sure you DON'T get the "non drowsy" formul). Son takes benadryl, I used to take Xanax for fear of flying but I'm fine now and can fall asleep on my own. Husband tried every over the counter and non-medical way to sleep and the ONLY thing that works for him is Ambien. He takes one on the plane and one the first night and then he is set for the trip. This was a big lifesaver for us because he used to be unable to sleep at all and was basically sick for the first 2 days of our trips.

And whatever you decide to try, OTC or Rx - be sure to try it out at home first.

The posters above are correct: the "pm" is just Benadryl. If you don't need the pain control, just take Benadryl. But there is a rather significant proportion of people who get "wound up" rather than sedated from diphenhydramine (particularly children and the elderly) and so you should try this at home before counting on it for sleep.

And, yes, generic diphenhydramine is often a fraction of the cost of products like Simply Sleep--which is the exact same thing.

You want to sleep? Fly during your normal sleeping period. Don't take an afternoon flight to Europe. Take the last flight out. Next, take a valerian capsule. It is a natural herbal relaxant that has been known for milleniums. On the plane ask for two shots of whatever booze you drink. Then ask for a bottle of wine to go with your pasta. You will sleep about 4 or 5 hours on a full belly. I flew over 4 times in the last year and this works for me. The breakfast call wakes me up. All this yakkity about avoiding alcohol is nonsense. I have no jet lag at all.

I'm another person who doesn't find diphenhydramine (Benadryl et al.) the least bit sleep-inducing. I have tried dramamine and found that it made me drowsy, but also gave my stomach cramps. And valerian doesn't see to do a thing except give me nightmares. Melatonin is similarly ineffective. Alcohol puts me to sleep, but doesn't keep me asleep and I do end up a bit worse for wear.

Ambien (prescription) works well for me, but you should do a trial run in advance (for anything you're considering using) to see how it works for you. I take the latest flight possible, eat dinner before boarding, and take the Ambien on an empty stomach. Ear plugs and eye shades help tremendously---I've actually started using ear plugs at home and find that I sleep much, much better. Adjusting your wake and sleep time for a few days in advance of your trip will also help reset your clock.

Whatever you use, I suggest you try it out ahead of time. I once gave my quiet well-behaved 2 year old Bendryl for an overseas flight (pediatrician's suggestion - don't ask my why I did it!) and she was HYPER all the way across the Atlantic Ocean!

Hi, Chestnut, I too can't really sleep on planes. I've tried Tylenol PM as well as a friend's prescription sleeping pill (I know, I know, I shouldn't) and neither put me to sleep.

The thing that has kind of started to work for me is to realize that this is a psychological thing--plenty of humans can sleep on planes just fine, right?--and so I bring things that make me more comfortable (neck pillow, eyeshade, earplugs). Then I just say, I'm going to rest, and I see what happens. Lo and behold even though I don't feel like I actually slept, I can't really account for the time that's passed, so I know I caught a few winks. Not sure that this actually makes me feel more rested, but it makes time pass more quickly on the long flight.

What about Dramamine? It should make you drowsy and will help any airsickness. Better yet, if you know someone going to the UK soon, have them bring you back some Nurofen Plus (basically each pill is an Advil plus 12.5 ___ of Codeine). That'll knock you on your derriere.

I know someone who gets real edgy on Tylenol PM and won't take the dang things. I know someone else who took Ambien and started hallucinating.

Different people.

Excedrin is just a brand name, as is Tylenol & Benadryl. It is/was a combination of drugs: originally Acetaminophen, Aspirin and Caffeine. Great for headaches, but cause re-bound headaches. Any of the Excedrins with that combination will keep you awake, no matter what else you add. Some no longer have the combinations. You have to read the specific ingredients, not the brand name.

I believe the actual drug in Tylenol is also Acetaminophen.

The PM maybe Diphenhydramine, as someone else said. This, by itself, usually (not always) induces sleep. Being groggy the next day is a problem for some.

The drug in some of the others is Ibuphrofen.

Problems associated with:
Aspirin - stomach and kidney problems.
Acetaminophen - liver problems.
Ibuprofen - kidney problems.

There are also some problems associated with Ambien, mainly sleepwalking and headache, I think.

I have found ambien to work well with no grogginess. I have tended to take it AFTER dinner is served on the plane. I also put on an eye mask (helps a lot). I'm curious to know if the person who takes ambien on an empty stomach does so for a specific reason.

We have also adopted the 'sleep forward' method, and bring on two small blowup beach balls to lean into...

I'm the one who takes Ambien on an empty stomach, cmstraf, and here's why:

"A food-effect study in 30 healthy male subjects compared the pharmacokinetics of Ambien 10 mg when administered while fasting or 20 minutes after a meal. Results demonstrated that with food, mean AUC and Cmax were decreased by 15% and 25%, respectively, while mean Tmax was prolonged by 60% (from 1.4 to 2.2 hr). The half-life remained unchanged. These results suggest that, for faster sleep onset, Ambien should not be administered with or immediately after a meal."

This information is from this web site: http://www.rxlist.com/ambien-drug.htm

My goal is to fall soundly and quickly asleep, and this approach works very well for me. I wait until we're well on our way and the captain's turned off the seatbelt sign so that I can empty my bladder one last time, and then and only then do I take the Ambien. I do fall asleep pretty quickly, and since I sit in an aisle seat (claustrophobic) I do sometimes have to be pulled out of the way of the drinks cart. On one particularly memorable occasion the flight attendant managed to convince my daughter (who was probably about 12 at the time) to let her serve me my meal, not believing her when she said that I'd already eaten. My daughter took her advice to heart and actually tried to feed me. Her efforts met with failure, but I did have the strangest dream about lasagne, and it was only much later that I realized it wasn't a dream at all.

I do make a point of telling the person sitting next to me that I'll be sleeping very soundly and not to worry in the least if he/she needs to get up, but to just step right over me as if I were a pile of laundry.

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, those of you who use an over-the-counter prep that contains a sleep med and Tylenol together should avoid adding alcohol to that mix. Much worse, for instance, than combining alcohol with something like Ambien because Tylenol (acetaminophen) is toxic to your liver in much lower doses than you might expect, and alcohol exacerbates the problem. And when I say toxic I mean "acute liver failure with ensuing death unless you get a liver transplant right away" kind of toxic.

I am another Ambien lover. Ty;lenol PM has a longer half life and I miss an entire day in Europe. Ambien works only on the sleep center in your brain and has a short half life. My husband can only take 5 mg, I require 10. Again, this should be attempted at home first.Ambien is not in the same class as Valium or other narcotic sleep agents or muscle relaxers. It doesn't have the same action on your central nervous system, Still, every person reacts differently to drugs. I just picked up my Ambien today, bte. Countdown is 6 days!!

I take benadryl - it seems to work without the after effects and I have sinus issues as well.

I also sleep forward. I have started to bring my own pillow on long haul flights when I am not in business class. I lean forward to sleep and the pillow helps a ton.

Try melatonin. It will make you sleepy. It is what your body makes naturally to sleep. It's an over the counter supplement. Many children take it to fall asleep. Non habit forming and won't hurt you.

Travelnut - love the beach ball idea!

Whatever it is YOU need to try it yourself.

I also am in the camp that the OTC sleep meds make me really REALLY "wired". It would be the WORST thing in the world for me on an overnight flight. My doctor let's me use Xanax for flights (a prescription anti-anxiety drug similar to Valium).

Also know that some people simply cannot sleep on planes. I never have. Not once, ever. Doesn't matter what I do, how long the flight, whether it's the day time or night time. My doctor mentioned some people simply cannot sleep sitting up, so that may be part of it. But I have learned to sit back, put on an eye mask, relax, and "pretend" to sleep... which is at least somewhat more relaxing than figiting around all night like I used to do on flights to Europe.

Nyquil also works.

And I wouldn't worry overly about the side effects. Should you make a habit of (over)using these drugs? No. But within the recommended dosages, they should be safe. All of these products have been used for years (including chasing Tylenol with booze) and you don't see people keeling over from them.

I am one of those who never sleeps on planes to Europe. And since the demise of the Air France plane over the water last week, I'll definitely not improve my record. I once took Tylenol PM and it had exactly the opposite effect it was supposed to have and made me totally hyper for about 24 hours - never again. I do sometimes use a wonderful French sleeping pill called Donormyl that allows me to sort of drift off and at least relax my normal tension about flying for 3-4 hours. But basically unless I am on a plane with 3 free seats in a row and a good dose of Donormyl, I'm not sleeping. And I've come to terms with that. I'm fine the first day over, just don't ever nap and go to sleep around 10 pm and am fine the next day. Coming home westward sometimes practically kills me, though my October flights - 6 of them total - back to DC from India were so good I felt no jetlag whatsoever, but I attribute that to the fact that I was in so many time zones in such a short time and flew for more than 40 hours (a full work week!) that my body didn't know WHAT the hell was going on and just coped.

Suze - my dd gets wired from benadryl so I really suggest as you do to try it out. My dd also has a VERY hard time sleeping on planes - she rarely does. I did give her tylenol PM for the flight to Europe in December - and it was a late flight (around 11:00 pm ) and she did manage to finally get some sleep. Come to find out she got very ill in Paris so she might have slept because she was sick.She is tall for her age (5'4 at 11 years old) and has long legs and it is very hard for her to get comfortable. :(

And one more Xanax (valium, etc.) story - when I first got this prescribed I didn't realize what I was taking. I had asked my doctor for something to help me sleep since I was SO fearful while flying and the thought of being awake and scared for so many hours was getting me even more anxious about our trip. So he gave me my Xanax Rx - 4 pills so both husband & I could take one on the way over and one on the way back. Well, since my husband's problem is sleep and not anxiety, the Xanax did basically nothing for him at all. He has had insomnia issues since he was 13 and the "relaxing" effect of the Xanax did nothing to help him stay asleep with all the noise, movement, etc. of the airplane. It took me a few years to realize that I was taking an anti-anxiety pill and that is when I started taking it for short domestic flights as well. Since it is NOT a sleeping pill it has helped me to overcome my fear of flying to the point where I still ask for an annual Rx, and I still carry some in my purse but haven't used them for the past several flights!

I took a valium on a flight to Japan last year. I didn't sleep at all. But for some reason the valium I took seemed to affect my wife more than me. She wasn't nearly as irritating as she usually is.

Whatever sleep aid you choose, do not take it until the plane is airborne. You do not want to be already conked out if an emergency occurs and you need to be able to follow the FA's safety announcement/instructions.

Be careful with melatonin. Several years ago someone suggested that I try it as I used to have trouble sleeping on airplanes. Fortunately I tried it at home first because it gave me awful night terrors.

After some research, I learned that natural melatonin levels are often low during flight because of the ambient light in the cabin and the constant motion and noise. Wearing a sleepmask will help keep your natural melatonin levels up without the jolt of melatonin you get from pills--coupled (tripled?) with Tylenol PM and earplugs, I now sleep well on airplanes with no problems when I wake up.

If you do take melatonin, the synthetic forms are probably safer than those from animal pineal tissue. There haven't been extensive tests of melatonin taken as a supplement, so it's not recommended for pregnant or breast feeding women.

Sorry to be dim, but what is the sleep forward method?

I haven't previously been able to sleep on planes, but I have discovered Nyquil in my regular life and will definitely try it on my next trip!

Sleeping forward involves leaning forward to sleep in your seat on the plane, rather then leaning back. Typically people bring a pillow or something like a beach ball to lean forward onto. There are also inflatable pillows specifically designed for the purpose.

I sleep on my back, so don't find sleeping forward to be very comfortable at all. It's also better to choose a window (rather than aisle) seat, as otherwise you block the window person into his seat.