Substitute For Drixoral (Page 4)

Are any of the meds with same formula as Drixoral available anywhere? (Desihist SA, Dexaphen SA, Dexophed, Disobrom, Disophrol, Dixaphedrine, Drexophed SR, Drixomed, Drixoral, Duomine) Is the effect of Brompheniramine Maleate the same as Dexbrompheniramine Maleate? If so perhaps, Lodrane D-24 will work. Has anyone tried it yet? I'm fighting nausea, popping ears & wheezing while waiting for my pharmacy to get some. I'm so relieved to find I am not alone in only finding relief with Drixoral. Over the years, especially recently, I have tried others, but none do the job. Anyone having success with a substitute?

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REPORT

I have contacted Schering-Plough (phone number available at their website). Drixoral is off the market until sometime in 2009 while they move to a new manufacturing site. They will take your name and address to send you a letter when it becomes available again.

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I tried what Gene had suggested 10 mg of zertec with 120-240 mg of psuedoephrine. I took them before going to sleep last night. It made me very sleepy and my mouth was a little dry. I should have taken them earlier but it did work and I am feeling better. I also had some over the counter nose spray that helped me through the day at work. Thanks Gene

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Very interesting that others, like me, have found only Drixoral effective for well over 20 years! I just ordered some from Canada, but hate having to pay so much!!! I think I might try Gene's suggestion until they arrive, and maybe use it as fillers in between. Then I can ration my Drixoral for days that I REALLY need it! It's a pity that they take away drugs that really work for honest and dependent users!

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I've been on Drixoral since I was 12 (now 27) and just finding an antihistamine that finally worked made a HUGE difference in my attitude and my family and I joked for years about my 'little green happy pills'. It's amazing what a difference not feeling bad made. But now I can't believe the trouble I'm having trying to get my doctor to put me on Lodrane. I went yesterday and explained the whole situation including the horrendous sinus headaches I'm having 3 times a week since I haven't had Drixoral and that I've tried basically every OTC on the market with no success. He told me that he doesn't agree with antihistamines like Drixoral that cause sleepiness (I never experienced this) and he decided to send me home with samples of Xyzal. Once I got it home I discovered it doesn't even contain a decongestant. I knew I was in trouble when he told me that my sinus headaches were actually migraines (which I have but I know the difference). His office was sooo helpful when I called back. They recommended I try ibuprofen and maybe Benadryl. Still waiting to hear back from the doctor and looking for a new doctor who HAS allergies.

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Can anyone confirm the fact that Drixoral will resume distribution once a new Mfg location is found.

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Drixoral is a phenomenal product. I have used it, as well as the other prescription versions, Drexophed SR and Disobrom, but those were unfortunately discontinued by their respective manufacturers. I've tried just about every product on the market at one time or another, but nothing has worked as well as Drixoral. I've been trying to figure out for the past 10 years why they no longer advertise the product. It is one of the best products that I have ever used. I've been using it since 1982. Their commercial used to advertise Drixoral as the pharmacist's choice, and it really was. The dexbrompheniramine component is unfortunately not available in any other OTC cold or allergy preparation in the U.S. Until the manufacturer decided they would move the facility and give up their market share to their competitors during the interim period (one of the dumber marketing strategies I have seen), I recommended it (I'm a pharmacist) to all of my customers suffering from allergy or cold related sinus conditions. My customers always came back and thanked me. I hope they bring it back soon. It would be a great money maker for them if they were smart enough to advertise it. It works significantly better than Claritin and those other non-drowsy antihistamines.

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I had no idea there were so many fellow sufferers out there! I have been taking Drixoral for about 30 years. I was told by a pharmacist that it was discontinued...I am glad to find out it will be available at some point in the future. I was buying it from Canada until it went up to $40 a box. Meanwhile, I am using Zirtec-D and getting sicker by the day. This is really unbelievable!!

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I was told by Schering-Plough to contact David Stidham at
(901)320-2130 this number was given to me by Betty per the ceo Mr. Hanson 908) 298-4000 I encourge everyone to call both number daily we need our medicine.

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Drixoral is the only thing that works for me also, but I did find one other OTC that is almost as good: Aprodine. Yes, I've tried everything under the sun also, and this was the only thing that even came close. Hope this helps others as much as it did me until the factory comes back online!

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Thanks to all for your comments. I've been using it since 1972 when it was given by a AF flight surgeon. It was the ONLY such drug that he'd let me take and remain on flying status. It's hard to beleive that Schering would not make enough to supply its customers during a major manufacturing move. My cousin's husband is in the industry and used to work for Schering. When I told him what was going on, he commented that the company often made dumb marketing decisions. A note by Sinus Cold gives names/tel no's for Schering people. Does anyone know who tthey are? The patent has got to be expired by now; why can't someone else make the stuff? Obviously there's a market for it, since all of us here agree: NOTHING works like Drixoral.

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Pete Hartwick
Schering-Plough says contact David Stidham at
(901)320-2130 this number was given to me by Betty per the ceo Mr. Hanson 908) 298-4000
these people are in administration at Schering-Plough. if you want answers contact them both.

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I just called the number that was listed in the last reply as being for the CEO and got customer service. I was told that the expected market date has now been pushed back to sometime in 2010. But the lady I spoke with in customer service is 'sorry for the inconvenience'.

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FYI:

I got a Drixoral substitute from a Canadian pharrmacy. The product is made by Schering-Plough in Turkey. The product name is Disophrol. The labeling and package insert are written in Turkish. However, the listing of the two active ingredients are discernable and they are the same as that in Drixoral. The pill is white, not green, but is shaped the same as Drixoral. The pills arrived just in time to deal with an obnoxious sinus headache. It seems to be working. I sure wish the Canadian pharmacies didn't jack up their prices as they have, but it's completely understandable: scarcity, whether real or designed, always produces price increases.

I have several friends who travel internationally quite often. I didn't have this product name to give them to search; now I will. I'll post the results of my experiments with Disophrol.

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Dear Pete H:

I just received my Drixoral substitute also. It's Disophrol and like you said, Schering-Plough made in Turkey. I am extremely hesitant to use - so when you have your results please post! *I'm frustrated with the pharmacy, it should have been made clear there was a product substitution occurring.*

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Dear Junipersmom!

Good news! I've tried the Turkish-made apparent equivalent on two occasions just at the onset of the notorious symptoms of pre-headache, tightness in the nasal area and the incessant sniffles. IT WORKED! I suspect, however, that there may be a slight difference between Drixoral and Disophrol in the way they structure the layers to affect the time-relesae properties of the pill's ingredients. Drixoral, I think, has a fairly quickpacting ramp-up layer, followed by the fairly constant sustained action 12 hour release. Disophrol seems a little less agressive initially. However, the end result was entirely satisfactory. I've sent the package insert to someone who'll get it translated and I'll make it available to anyone who wants it via a email request. Sadly and unfortunately, I simply don't trust Schering-Plough to bring Drixoral back on the market in the same chemical configuration as it was.

There obviously was no sense of urgency or commutment to what seems to be a significant patient segment to even provide information to its distributors as to the reason for unavailability, etc. No company that relies on providing products that its customers use and are willing to pay for can afford to operate in what seems to be a haphazard, unresponsive manner. The story about relocating its manufacturing facilities just doesn't ring true.

It makes it sound like Schering is a mom-and-pop store with four full-time and 10 part-time employees working out of a strip mall in Fargo, North Dakota that suddenly lost its lease and are scrambling to find another store to set up a chemistry set in the back room.

Then there is the whole issue of the heavy, indiscriminate, usually wrong, but never in doubt heavy-handed role of the politically almost unresponsive inertia of federal bureaucracy. If the average citizen had even the smallest unkling of the extent to which the government acts like a mafia don running a protection racket, they'd spit nails. The government deals itself in on every business, uninvited, and it lays claim to around half of the businesses gross income before anyone gets paid or expenses get taken out. What's their role in this? we know that Drixoral is no longer a big seller for Schering, which means low margins, so it would be very easy for them to conclude its not worth it to have this new overhang of the crystal meth problem and all the fiat regulations that produced from the DEA. Any rational person would probably make the same decision.

I strongly suspect that the only way we're going to see Drixoral again available is for all of us to write impassioned pleas to the company for reconsideration.

They know very well how much they've been selling, so we can't invent a story about being a huge, unidentified market segment.

PJH

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this was the only pill that would work for me...
i ended up ordering a couple boxes from canada (where it is still available).

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I too am a long-time user of Drixoral and am currently trying other products to help relieve my allergies which can be debilitating when full-blown. Forget Claritan-it doesn't work (don't waste your money as I did). Am awaiting an order from Canada of Drixoral Cold & Sinus hoping it will do the job although the Cold & Allergy formulation is what I really need. Okay--Here's what I've been told after talking to both a VP at Schering-Plough and a customer service rep. They are not currently manufacturing Drixoral Cold & Allergy in the USA since they are currently relocating their manufacturing facility and hope to have it available toward the end of 2009. It has not been discontinued. (This if from the customer service rep). The VP said that they are phasing out the product and are working on a new product and that your pharmacy can special order the product from them. The customer service rep said that the VP is misinformed. And, you certainly can't order it since they are not making it. I tend to believe the customer service rep in this instance since it makes no sense to stop selling a product before a replacement is ready to go. Meanwhile, I asked for their Canadian facility phone number and have contacted them to find out if they manufacture the Cold & Allergy formulation. They are getting back to me later today. Turns out that the manufacturing facilities outside of the US cannot ship product to US pharmacies because of FDA regulations so the best we can hope for is that Canada manufactures the Cold & Allergy formulation and that we will be able to order it from pharmacies there soon.

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Rite-Aid suggested using ALAVERT D-12 So far seems OK. I'm only onto my 2nd usage. It's non-drowsy. So far it's working.

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I too just received the order I placed with Canada Meds....they sold it as Drixoral, packs of 20, but sent me generic packs of 10 in a foreign language. When I called, the sent me a poorly written email saying the substitute is the same thing as Drixoral. Interesting how they are able to show a picture of the brand name version, charge an arm and a leg for it, and then send a foreign generic version instead. I guess that's one thing they wouldn't get away with in the good old USA. Sure hope this doesn't kill me.

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Hi Pete H!

Sorry to take so long to respond. I am hoping you are doing well and that the Disophrol has worked for you.

Does anyone know if any of the news networks have been brought in on this? You would think it would make an interesting news story - medications don't usually just drop mysteriously off the market.

And no, I don't believe the relocation story either.

Thanks Pete - your experiments are sure to have helped others and your commentaries are spot on.

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