I'm a 66 year old male that has been suffering with diarrhea for 44 years now. All I ever hear from doctors is I have IBS. Every time I get a new doctor they always want to do the whole battery of GI test. I am so over these tests that I won't do another one. The only thing that has ever helped me for short periods of time has been Imodium or Loperamide. The problem is I have had to increase the dosage to 4 Caplets at a time and it has diminishing results as time goes by. I have been talking about Peregoric with my healthcare providers and all they see is DEA agents behind every tree. Help! Where do I find Perigoric and how to take it in terms of dosage? Thank you. From a desperate walking diarrhea bomb!
Is Paregoric still available for purchase? Where do you get it?
Question posted by detroit1945 on 19 May 2012
Last updated on 23 October 2020
Added 22 May 2012:
My original questions that I had when I discovered this website were fairly specific. Is Paregoric still available for purchase? Where do you get it? The knowledge I had when I got here was that Paregoric is available for sale in Brasil and Trinidad. And, that with a proper prescription Canadian pharmacists will mix up a batch from scratch and ship it. I was hoping that there would be at least one person that might have experience with this method of dealing with the symptoms of IBS specifically the diarrhea part. But, to date no one with experience in that area has come through. Maybe over time someone will come forward with information about this specific use of narcotics for relief. My regular healthcare provider at the VA is a nice lady but she doesn't have a clue about how to deal with the symptoms of IBS. So, I see her every 3 to 6 months and she comes up with another suggestion. I did that for a long time with her until I figured out she didn't have a clue about how to deal with my condition. I asked her for a consult to GI doctor. He's what they call a fellow which I think means that he was the top guy in his medical school class which also means he doesn't/didn't have a lot of practical experience but he's real smart. I came up with the same method that my primary healthcare provider had with me which was to throw a lot of s**t on the wall and see what sticks. Unfortunately, none of it stuck other than they took my gall bladder out but it didn't do any good. The point being that every time I turn around each person has a suggestion or has heard about a suggestion that are all mainstream procedures or meds or treatments and they just do not f**k**g work! There are only two outcomes as far as I'm concerned either it's going to require some kind of exotic cure which is ify at beast. The Paregoric solution is the most long standing solution to the problem -- there is cryptic references to meds like it going back to the ancient Egyptians; Napoleon had the problem and used Paregoric like meds, the same ingredients were in his meds; William Wilberforce the British man that effectively ended slavery in England with the help of Prime Minister Penn had severe IBS that was aggravated by all the stress he was under on his quest he was on but he definitely used Paregoric like meds which was probably closer to Laudanum and up till recently, in my lifetime it was used extensively to control diarrhea. Then a certain group in this country, and, you know who you are, made it not just difficult but near impossible to use meds like Paregoric to help people with severe health problems because the devil was in those ingredients. My brother died at 33 years of age of cancer that had excruciating pain that went along with it. Yet, the people that control those pain substances would not allow anything more than a 7 day supply of the pain meds because they were a controlled substance and that group, and, you know who you are, controlled the distribution to the point that we would run out and we couldn't find a drug store to fill the prescription. So, again, I will wait and maybe some with the right experience with Paregoric, Laudanum or whatever will come along and share that information with me. Mike
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Answers Page 3
Lisa01
19 May 2012
I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with the medication that you're asking about. However, I've suffered with IBS since my teens ( more years ago than I want to admit!) and I use a medicine called Bentyl, or rather the generic version which is Dicyclomine. It's worked well for me for 20+ years. However, it is a medication that you take every day, not per episode so I'm not sure if that's something you'd be interested in or not. Good luck in your search for relief. As a fellow sufferer I know exactly how miserable IBS can be.
Lisa
detroit1945
19 May 2012
Thank you for your response, Lisa. I on more than one occasion and for more than a year both times took Bentyl/Dicyclomine with absolutely no positive impact at all. As I said in my original question I have been suffering with this condition for 44+ years. There is not much I have not tried nor diets also tried that are all mainstream aids for my IBS condition. That is the reason that I am looking for some non-traditional aids for my problem. I don't use the word cure for my condition because I don't believe one exists. I believe that the most realistic expectation I can have is to assist in controlling my symptoms. Thank you, again for your response. Mike
Lisa01
19 May 2012
Mike,
I did a little research into your question and found out the following. Paregoric is no longer available in the US or Canada. It is available in Brazil, but that's a bit more than a trip to the corner drugstore. Instead, your Dr could write you a prescription for Tincture of Opium or Opium Deodorized. This would be basically the same as Paregoric only stronger, so your dose would have to be adjusted accordingly. I'm not sure how readily available it would be in most pharmacies, but you would probably have more luck with it at a compounding pharmacy. You should be able to google compounding pharmacies for your area. I hope this is helpful to you. Best of luck!
Lisa
detroit1945
20 May 2012
Hi Lisa,
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, again. I have been doing some research myself. I am familiar with the information you came up with about Brazil being a country where Paregoric is still available. I have also found that Trinidad is another country where it is still available. I have checked further into the Canadian connection as I have many family members and friends that live in Canada and where I used to play a lot of hockey many years ago. So, I guess I'm saying that I have many strong contacts in Canada. Anyway, one of my relatives has found that a pharmacist in his town will mix up a batch of Paregoric but only with a prescription. But, it appears that it can be available. Getting drugs of any sort from foreign countries needs to be scrutinized very carefully because basically you have little recourse if their are ANY kind of problems.
China is a case in point there have been serious problems in getting prescription type medications or medication ingredients from China. There has been at least one 60 Minute show that did an in depth researched story where they followed back to the sources in China and they were coming from hideously inept providers with little or no oversight. I am moving forward and following every lead I can because I refuse to allow my difficulties to stop the forward progress of my life. I have too many things left to do in my "bucket list"! I have too many churches around the world to still photograph!!
Mike
debbiedoll0918
12 Jan 2017
I was on Paregoric from 1953 to 1973. I also have Spastic colon/IBS. It is only a short fix. I was born with the disease. To this day if you say to me paregoric I can still taste the peppermint flavoured pink medicine and I can smell it I was hooked on opium from their drug they stop making it in the United States in the early 70s I take Imodiam A.D. once-a-day it still doesn't fix it all the way but I am on a very strict diet I do not eat any meat no sauces, gravy or spices . Lots of water, no pop, no alcohol. You have to just live with it. If you follow a very bland diet you'll have very few problems maybe two or three times a year .
debbiedoll0918
12 Jan 2017
I was on Paregoric from 1953 to 1973. I also have Spastic colon/IBS. It is only a short fix. I was born with the disease. To this day if you say to me paregoric I can still taste the peppermint flavoured pink medicine and I can smell it I was hooked on opium from their drug they stop making it in the United States in the early 70s I take Imodiam A.D. once-a-day it still doesn't fix it all the way but I am on a very strict diet I do not eat any meat no sauces, gravy or spices . Lots of water, no pop, no alcohol. You have to just live with it. If you follow a very bland diet you'll have very few problems maybe two or three times a year .
English maiden
12 Sep 2017
I have also been tormented with ibs ibd to such an horrific degree, that leaving the house in the mornings became impossible. I finally took to eliminating any food whatsoever that created gas and bloating... Which leads to diarrhea, and worse, urgency, Eventually settling on a low FODMAP diet. The difference is worth the deprivation I also have removed gluten and milk, except for lactose free.
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paregoric, irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, doctor
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