Hi. My Mum Is 72 And Has A Brain Tumour

Posted on Tue, 7 Jan 2020

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 7 Jan 2020 Answered on

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Question : Hi. My Mum is 72 and has a brain tumour. She currently is taking 16mg of dexamethasone per day. I understand that insomnia can be a side-effect of this steroid, and this appears to be the case here. She is having difficulty sleeping despite feeling constantly tired. Is it safe / advisable to take Nytol to help with this?

Answered by Dr. Olgeta Xhufka (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
She can safely use diphenhydramine for insomnia.

Detailed Answer:
Hello dear, welcome Ask a doctor's service.
I read your query and here is my advice.

Nytol contains diphenhydramine which is an antihistamine. It is normally used against allergies but it has side effects of drowsiness and sleepiness and can be used for insomnia.
It doesn't interact with corticosteroids and can be used while on them. Also there is no contraindication to be used in patients with brain tumours.
So as a conclusion she can use dimenhydrinate for insomnia.

Hope I have answered the question.
Let me know if I can assist you further.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad