I am a 51 year old healthy man. i cant sleep for the last 6 months. my dr. is trying to help me. sleep meds dont help. for the last 6 months ive taken 6 benadryl tablets, 25 mg each tablet, every night to help me sleep. is this okay? if not why?

Benadryl: Relying on Benadryl for sleep is a bad idea and also you are using 250mg each time- also your use is excessive. When you try to get off the Benadryl you will have rebound insomnia. Get a sleep study done first to see if there are any treatable causes.

A bit much: The ~150 mg dose you cite is 3 times the upper dose recommended for sleep. That dose is used therapeutically for some conditions, but without reviewing you other medical history/chronic issues it is difficult to accept this as safe. You should discuss this with your doc who knows your issues & certainly never drive or operate machinery after taking this amount.

Need to examine: It is not feasible to provide a meaningful opinion without additional history, physical examination and may be some tests. We cannot prescribe medications on this forum. Visit this site for information on sleep hygiene: https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/sleep_hygiene.html Wish you good health!

Sleep hygiene: Including balanced activities during the day with at least some physical activity, ideally outdoors, no tv or computer before bed time, light dinner hours before bed time, avoiding or reducing coffee and alcohol are only few suggested changes. Nights mirror our days and they are not all meant to be the same.

Wrong directions: "Sleeping pills" eventually fail due to tolerance, which you clearly have and are taking 6 times the amount of recommended Benadryl. This is NOT going to help. Instead, get a second opinion with a sleep specialist, and consider even an overnight sleep study. This will be difficult, but if you persevere, things will get better. Find a new direction!