Drixoral Substitute (Top voted first)

Great news! I have FINALLY found the substitute for Drixoral Cold & Allergy and wish someone had told me before I had to suffer with allergy symptoms for so long. It's a combination of one Mucinex DM tablet and one Aleve-D Sinus & Cold tablet; take one of each at the same time and within an hour you'll feel like a brand new person! Mucinex DM is an OTC expectorant and cough supressant and Aleve-D (an extended release medicine) can be found behind the counter (you have to ask for it and show ID), but I found both at Walmart. I know the name brands cost more, but do not bother buying substitutions because they simply will not work; since Drixoral has not been available, I already have tried soooooo many that didn't help at all. Good Luck and I hope this works as well for you as it did for me.

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I live in western New York and I have allergies (LOTS of them) that are unbearable in the Spring and Autumn. Several years ago, I found Drixoral Cold & Allergy and taking one pill in the morning and one at night during peak allergy times eliminated my symptoms and was a lifesaver for me. A couple years ago I discovered that I could no longer find Drixoral in stores, so I checked their website and found that it was no longer being manufactured; of course, I panicked at the thought! So, I went to every store in my area and purchased every box I could find ~ only four of them. Since each package contained 20 extended-release tablets, I then had 80 tablets; but with taking two per day, I knew this reserve was only going to last me 40 days and I had to find a substitute. I guarded my last few tablets as though my life depended upon it and tried a variety of other so-called allergy medications; some helped a little bit, but most did nothing at all. So I wound up using all the Drixorals that I had and the nightmare began; I either had a runny nose or a stuffy nose all the time, my eyes were red and draining constantly and I was coughing more often than not, even though I was trying other products that were supposed to relieve these symptoms. I had saved an empty Drixoral box to periodically remind me to check if Drixoral was being manufactured again and each time realized that it was not. So I looked at the ingredients and saw that the active ingredients were 120 mg Pseudoephedrine (a nasal decongestant) and 6 mg Dexbrompheniramine (an antihistamine); I then began a search to replace these two particular drugs. I found that Aleve-D Sinus & Cold caplets contained 120 mg Pseudoephedrine per dose and I promptly bought some (at Walmart it's kept behind the counter and I had to show ID to buy it). I tried the Aleve-D and surprisingly it did relieve my sinus and nasal congestion and pressure so I could breathe again, but I still had chest congestion and a cough. Then I discovered 12-hour Mucinex DM: one tablet twice a day cleared out the mucus and, in turn, the coughing ceased. So, now I take one Aleve-D Sinus & Cold caplet and one Mucinex DM tablet twice a day during peak allergy times and feel that this combination substitutes very well for a Drixoral Cold & Allergy pill ~ at the very least it works for me and I hope this information will also be helpful for another allergy sufferer who may still be searching for relief.

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That's crap. I've used drixoral for years. I have tried many products over the years. Drixoral is the only thing that has ever worked. The comment about getting high is nonsense.

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I ordered Drixoral from Canada at CanadaMedicineShop on 9/26/2010. It's 10/13 and I finally received my pills --- from THE UK! So now Canada doesn't appear to have Drixoral either. The European medication is named Disophrol. Just order 3-4 weeks prior to any allergy outbreak and you're in good shape! I've never found any medication that comes close to the relief I receive from Drixoral (or now Disophrol).

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Disophrol is from the Turkish branch of Schering-Plough, but it's very hard to get. I've had it and it's superior to Drixoral for me. because it doesn't have the corn starch filler, I'm allergic to !

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I do not feel “higher than a kite.†Often I take Drixoral in the middle of the night when I am suffering. I am always able to go back to sleep immediately after taking it. My nose and chest congestion clear very quickly.

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My experience with CanadaMedicineShop.com is that I order as Drixoral and it comes to me in generic packaging via Europe as Disophrol. Freaked me out at first but read thoroughly about Disophrol and I feel comfortable that it is the same. I just visited the site and it still sells under the Drixoral packaging. The price is the same, but it’s the best price I’ve found. I ordered a large quantity last time should it become harder to get. Like I said, it’s the only medication that clears my severe ragweed allergy in the Fall in Austin, TX.

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what strength of the Mucinex is used?

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Re: Susan (# 47)


Ala-hist is made with the same ingredients. It can be found on the website for Ala-hist by Poly Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Their number is 1-800-882-1041 and they are located in Huntsville, AL 35763.

National Drug Code: 50991-814-16

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Susan (#47) --

The information Robyn gave is correct. Let me add a couple of things.

We bought Ala-Hist IR (2mg dexbrompheniramine - DBP) from Poly Pharmaceuticals a couple of weeks ago. They have an online store for Ala-Hist products (alahist.com). IR is available over-the-counter.

My wife takes it together with pseudoephedrine (PE), which duplicates the original Drixoral formula, but I believe the strength is less. I seem to recall that the old 12-hour Drixoral was 6mg DBP and 120mg PE, but I can't find the information online anymore. I mention it because Poly also offers Ala-Hist PE, which is 2mg DBP and 10mg PE, for the same price as IR, so that's worth considering.

They were very easy to order from, and I've exchanged emails with their operations manager. Apparently the online store is fairly new.

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**NEW From Wikipedia: ...."Since 2015, many allergy sufferers have searched compounding pharmacies in an attempt to replicate the original tablet formulation of Drixoral. However, few, if any compounding pharmacies have been able to obtain the pseudoephedrine component in sufficient quantities to approach any meaningful order fulfillment. The other component active in Drixoral, dexbrompheniramine maleate, has been proven scarcely available. For the prolonged, or longer lasting antihistamine/decongestant relief that many allergy sufferers pursued, Drixoral included the now popular 12-Hour timed release tablet formulation, or coated process of ingredient dissemination. The patented timed-release tablet formulation is another process that has proven tricky for many a compounding pharmacy to exactly replicate. Yet, while the precise Drixoral tablet replication remains somewhat elusive, the pairing of the two active ingredients in Drixoral, pseudoephedrine and dexbrompheniramine maleate, remains possible, though in a less timed-release form.

A small Alabama based pharmaceutical company known as Poly Pharmaceuticals, polypharm.net, markets the dexbrompheniramine maleate component under the name "Ala-hist IR", alahist.com. The 2mg tablet Ala-hist IR form of the major Dixoral antihistamine ingredient dexbrompheniramine maleate, comprises one third of the 6mg timed-release dosage of the Drixoral tablet. Thus, it is possible to use the 12-Hour timed-release Sudafed tablet, the most widely available tablet containing the same 120mg Drixoral dosage of pseudoephedrine, along with the ALa-hist IR 2mg tablet in three separate steps (one 2mg tablet every 4 hours), to obtain a similar delivery originally found in the Dixoral Cold & Sinus formulation."

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexbrompheniramine/pseudoephedrine

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I am curious to know if Disphoral is a lot cheaper than Drixoral? I have taken Drixoral since it first came out, and it is the best and only thing that works. I order it from Canada. I've never found a substitute that does not have unacceptable side effects. Thank you for sharing.

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Entirely agree with you. When I first used Drixoral (in the late 1960s), it made me extremely sleepy. However, after a time, became used to it, and simply had symptom-relief.

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Oh Brother... I feel your pain. I have been taking Drixoral since my doctor prescribed it for me when I was eight years old. I've heard so many excuses why Schering-Plough stopped making it, but the bottom line is I can no longer find any more. I had been ordering from Canada and then Germany, but they appear to have dried up. I got my last order through some guy in Japan off of eBay. But I can no longer find him. I was paying through the nose for it but alas I guess no longer. :-(

I can really appreciate your struggles in trying to find an alternative. I've been trying your "formula" of Aleve & Mucinex but it's just not working the same for me. I've only been trying it for a couple days and will continue in hopes that it kicks in. Thanks for posting your solution. There are many websites posting info on the subject. With so many people wanting it at least I know I'm in the good company of other sufferers. I just can't believe with such a market that there isn't something similar out there.

It's so frustrating! I don't know if the decision to stop producing Drixoral is based in government regulation or some other reason, but I wish the folks who made the decision to stop manufacturing it needed it as bad as I do! I feel so angry, like Clark Griswold getting his Jelly of the Month Christmas Bonus!

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Do you know why Drixoral isn't available anymore? It's because it worked to well. The makers of the drug took it off the market and reformulated it and put it back up under a different name. A pharmacist told me this. This is a perfect example of the corruption in the pharamacuetical industry. I remember when it was still available. It didn't matter if you were taking it for allergies, or even coming down with the flu, the Drixoral would kick it with only 1 or 2 doses.

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I purchased bromphed sr 12/120 capsules from Dick's pharmacy in Twin Falls, ID. Compounding pharmacies in Idaho require a prescription. It works the same as drixoral because it is the same.

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Another substitute for Drixoral is Bromfed DM liquid. It is by prescription. But I got some today and it seems to work like the Drixoral did. Same ingredients but not as many mg of them. It is a nice butterscotch flavor and no nasty after taste to it. I hope that helps everyone until we find Drixoral again somewhere.

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Why can't they just make it a class A drug and require a prescription ?

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To those who are struggling and can’t order from Canada or Alahist.com, I offer a simple solution. Pseudoephedrine, is the decongestant in Drixoral. We all know what sudafed or sudafed pe are. Take that. One red pill every 4 hours is the dosage. Then, Chlorphenarimine is a chemical analog of bromphenarimine. Both are antihistamines, and more alike than other antihistamines being recommended here. One little yellow pill every 4 hours. Closest chemically, if you don’t want to order online. Walmart has 50 for $3.

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I have had the same problem with Drixoral being unavailable. After getting so sick at work that I had to leave with symptoms of breaking out in a sweat, nausea to the point of throwing up, dizziness and general misery which made me unable to drive so that my husband had to come get me, I am thoroughly disgusted with the unavailability of Drixoral. I hve been trying other medications, but they are just not as effective. Claritin D seems to come closest, but still less effective. We have been ordering Drixoral from Canada for some time now until it was no longer available there. I will check into the Disophrol mentioned by others to see if I can get it. If anyone else knows where it can be obtained I would greatly appreciate it.

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Hi Sheri (Response No. 12), couldn't agree more re being disgusted by the unavailability in the States. NOTHING ELSE WORKS. I've been suffering from seasonal allergies since I was 20 (am now 64) and Drixoral is the ONLY thing that works, and now my fave Canadian pharmacy, 77canadapharmacy, is no longer carrying it either. I'm going on a websearch right now and will report back if I find the real thing anywhere closer than the UK. PS. I've been trying the "local wildflower honey" cure but so far nada; I do realize it's homeopathic and takes weeks to kick in, but as it's March 2013 now, I don't have weeks. Next year I'll start it in January and see if that works.

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