Ibuprofen PM in Germany

A contributor here is a physician and resides in Germany. Hopefully he will see this post.
(edit: I would think the issue will be whether in Germany, and without a prescription, he can get the diphenhydramine, which as I understand it is the sleep-aid constitutent of Advil PM)

In 2012, I was taking Ibuprofen for an arthritic knee, ran out in Germany, and had to buy more. No problem, just know that 'I' in German is pronounce 'E', so ask for E-bu-prof-en.

He is staying in Gresshausen, a village near Hassfurt, with a host family. (Although I imagine he'll be too embarrassed to ask them for help.) I have read some posts that say you cannot buy this OTC in Germany. I'm wondering if Dramamine would be more available and would help. He doesn't want something for every night - just something to help him through insomnia the first few nights.

Lee, what type of store did you buy this? Did you just ask the pharmacist? What type of store should he ask his host parents to take him to?

If I understand the situation you describe, he's really taking it for the sleep medication component, diphenhydramine citrate.
The question is whether he will be able to get the diphenhydramine component over the counter--in other words, the difference between Advil (for pain) and Advil PM (a sleep aid).

Yes - that's exactly right. When he has trouble sleeping he usually gets a headache, which is why Advil PM has worked so well for him.

Cindy, it was just a store front drugstore (Apotheke) in the small town of Zwiesel, near the Czech border. Note, it was not Iboprofen PM, just plain Iboprofen. But, from what I have seen, an Apotheke is the equivalent of our pharmacies.

Interesting that you prescribed a combination NSAID and antihistamine drug for your son's occasional insomnia.

I'm neither a physician nor pharmacist. But reading the literature on so called ibuprofen PM, the combination is used for insomnia associated with pain. The Advil PM caplet label indicates that the active ingredients are 200mg ibuprofen + 38mg diphenhydramine citrate.

Your son could obtain a comparable effect with a generic 200mg ibuprofen and one or two 25mg Benadryl or generic diphenhydramine citrate tablets. ( A number of OTC sleep aids are basically two 25mg diphenhydramine citrate tablets). Your son could try a German pharmacy (Apotheke).

Edgar, Yes, you're exactly right. It just happens that we had Advil PM for some other ailments at home and when he took them, they did the trick. I realized that he could just get Diphenhydramine in another form and he may end up doing that. My main question is whether or not he can get this OTC in Germany....... thoughts? (Thanks for your feedback and reminding me that he can get this in something like Benadryl.)

Whether he can get diphenhydramine in Germany is going to be difficult to research. That's why I'm hoping "our" physician residing in Germany will see this--it's only early morning there, so if tomorrow you see a post from someone in Germany....

Given that your son is already in Germany, the simple answer will come from a pharmacist. He can go to an Apotheke (big red A) and ask. If a prescription is required, the pharmacist may be able to offer an alternative OTC medication.

Tell your son to go to an Apoteke and ask. You can purchase some non-sedating antihistamines without a prescription, but I'm not sure about diphenhydramine.

PS- If this is a long term problem, he should probably consult his physician.

Yes, of course he can. It's just got different names. He should go to the next Apotheke (pharmacy). The brand names are "Hervert Dorm", "Halbmond" or "Nervo Opt N". They all are based on diphenhydramine. A box of 20 tablets costs around €3.

He went to a pharmacy and asked for Ibuprofen PM. They said they didn't have anything like that and asked what he needed it for. He said it was to help him sleep so they gave him Moradorm S. In my google search, it looks like an herbal remedy to help you relax. Any clue?

Thank you, Andreas! Apparently there is no pharmacy in the village where he's staying, but hopefully he can get to a larger town tomorrow. I'll have him ask for the names you suggested. Thanks!!!!!

Good luck.

Hmmmmmm..... he's going to go back to the pharmacy tomorrow, so I'll see what he finds out. For tonight he has the Moradorm S the pharmacist gave him as a sleep aid. Does anyone know anything about it?

Cindy, My doctor moved to an herbal medicine to help with my insomnia. It's better than nothing and can help you get to sleep. It hasn't been as good about keeping you asleep if you're stressed.

Cindy, what's the name of the village? It's hard to believe there is no pharmacy within a one-hour's reach by public transport.

Andreas, he is staying in Gresshausen, a village of about 100 people near Hassfurt. Today they're going on some type of outing so he's going to try to get to a pharmacy while they're out. (I don't know where they're going - a garden or park of some type.) Thanks so much for helping!

There are 3 or 4 Apotheke in Haßfurt, and 2 or 3 others nearby on the same side of Main River according to GoogleMaps...

Wow! Thank you Nigel! I will text him right now and let him know. Thanks so much!!!

I really want to thank you all for your gracious help. This has really turned my son's trip around. I am a Counselor and he has talked with his Physician about this several times. He only has trouble with insomnia when he's in new surroundings and starts to feel anxious at night. His Physician does not feel he needs other medication, just a sleep aid once in awhile. But it made him even more anxious when he discovered he had left his Advil PM on the plane. Eeeeks! I am confident that he will be able to pick up some Diphenhydramine today and another student on this trip gave him Benadryl (they had brought for the same purpose) last night. Again, I can't tell you how much the info you gave me helped. Thanks for letting me know about Pharmacies and the names that Diphenhydramine would be under in Germany - a huge help! Thanks!

Google maps shows three Apotheken, Löwen, Hasen, and Einhorn, on Hauptstraße west of the Haßfurt Stadthalle.

Cyndy,

This has been a useful discussion reminding readers that OTC medication rules/laws differ by country. Lesson learned is to carry a personal supply of both OTC and prescribed medications and not be dependent on local resupplying. And of course, don't leave them on the plane (or in checked baggage).

As an aside, I discovered that generic OTC drugs like ibuprofen are a lot cheaper in bulk in the States than in small villages in Europe.

The other aspect is that a brand named drug will not necessarily have the same formulation. Benadryl available in the UK and much of Europe doesn't contain Diphenhydramine.

I agree. One of the lessons for us was that if you definitely need something for your trip to go smoothly, carry two supplies - one in your carry-on and one in your checked baggage. We will definitely do that next time!

The German brand names I listed contain Diphenhydramine.

But it's true that one has to be careful about brand names of medications. European Aspirin is different from American (Bayer) Aspirin, as it dissolved in the stomach rather than further downwards. People with stomach conditions can't handle European Aspirin very well therefore.