# Opium Tincture



## 15740 (Jun 30, 2006)

My miracle drug, tincture of opium, is apparently not being manufactured anymore. No pharmacy in my area has it, nor can they order it. This tincture, in combination with levsin, have given me back my freedom and my life. Is anyone else out there having the same problem?


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## Twocups424 (Mar 26, 2002)

wow , good for you, where did you find a dr. who would give it to you.?????? Can't you use codeine instead maybe with the levsin. Whenever I use codeine it helps greatly with the D.


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## 14416 (Jun 21, 2005)

You might want to call the local pharmacies and see if any of them do their own compounding- it might be a little bit more, but they could more than likely compound it for you.There are like 4 national drugstore/pharmacies in my area, and they don't compound... the one that does is a small "mom and pop" type of drugstore that's been there for like 90 years... I would advise you to do that.


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## echris (Jul 19, 2000)

Rhonda:I've been taking DTO (deodorized tincture of opium) for at least the past 20 years, probably more like 25 years. I had not heard that is was no longer being marketed. However, the drug companies don't like to supply drugs like DTO that are generic and relatively inexpensive.I guess this is just one more thing to worry about. I have finally ended up on a regimen that I hate but that controls things and then they stop producing one of my medications.


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## Twocups424 (Mar 26, 2002)

again I say good for you, but where did you find a doc who would give you that med?????? I have suffered repeatly for 20 years and NEVER HAD A DOC OFFER ME THAT. I've had to fight for a few pain pills now and then when I couldn't possibly function. I felt so much better on then on a minimal amount because we know that such pain meds usually slow down transit time. I am finding myself a pain clinic soon!!!! Pray my GP will give me a refferral.


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## 14416 (Jun 21, 2005)

Hey Twocups, we've spoken before, but I really hope that you can find your way to a pain clinic. Like I said before, both pain clinics had no problems prescribing pain medication... They had no problem giving me morphine if it helped me regain some quality of life- guess what, it has.


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## Twocups424 (Mar 26, 2002)

your so great and encouraging. I'll not repeat myself any further until I find a pain clinic. Thank you for acknowledging my pain. But I guess we should be forgiving of others CAUSE THEY JUST DON'T REALIZE WHAT WE DEAL WITH. Bless you.


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## 14416 (Jun 21, 2005)

I definitely hear you! I had SOOOOO much trouble, like you, until someone on here mentioned that it might be wise to visit a pain clinic. I honestly hadn't even heard of one until I heard it here.Luckily, I received the referral! I really, sincerely, hope that you get the referral you need! God Bless you!! I pray your pain subsides; I wish you very well.Bye


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## Twocups424 (Mar 26, 2002)

my husband is taking it in his hands ( he's been to pain clinic himself) and helping me get refferal etc.


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## echris (Jul 19, 2000)

I went to a GI doc who specializes in IBS. That seems to be the secret. He tried me on a number of useless medications before he recommended DTO. The nice thing about DTO is that it is prescribed in a liquid so dosing is easily adjusted. At one time, I was taking 6 drops four times a day. Now I am down to one drop three times a day. I even had one year where I did not take any DTO. Some people on the forum will say that you should not take DTO because of it's potential for addition. However, I don't know any of them who have taken it so I guess they don't count.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

I haven't tried crack or crank or cigarettes either, but I know they have addictive potential







There are some people who can use even the most addictive of drugs and not get hooked as there are some that get severely hooked to things most humans can have without addiciton, like alcohol. Just because you, personally, do not have a problem with something does not mean that no one on the planet will have a problem with it. One of the reasons they don't presribe it freely to everyone as a first line treatment of choice is the addictive potential.All opiates have some addictive potential. If you find that you, personally, get in a cycle of needing more and more to get the same effect then you need to get off that train sooner rather than later.Even Imodium which has almost zero (not zero, almost zero) addictive potential has a case study of an opiate addict that managed to figure out how to take Imodium and get high and he was addicted to it. (although how you get to where you survive 160 pills of Imodium at a time I do not want to know, I mean what the dude must of had to do to himself to avoid impaction couldn't have been fun) He needed to be put on Methadone in order to get off the Imodium.K.


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## echris (Jul 19, 2000)

My GI doc had prescribed a number of medications over a period of years and had done a number of studies, including Thyroid, upper and lower GI, blood work, and breath tests for malabsorption. I'm not sure that I can remember all of medications he tried, but I assure you that DTO was NOT his first choice. I had been on Immodium, Calcium, Questran, Donnatol, Gelusil, Valium, Levsin, Levbid, Lomotil, and, in recent years, Lotronex. I had also tried hypnotherapy, relaxation, even acupunture (although I wasn't that impressed by the chiropracter who administered the acupuncture).My point was NOT that DTO should be the first therapy tried, but that, when multiple regimens over a reasonable period of time have been unsuccessful, GI specialists may well recommend a medication like DTO. I have always had follow up appointments at 3 month intervals with routine testing at appropriate intervals. I have had 3 endoscopies (the last one with biopsy) and 5 colonosopies.I have not found any fault with the manner in which my GI specialist has conducted himself. And, since I was able to consistently reduce my dose of DTO, the likelihood that I was addicted to it, particularly when you consider that I was able to stop the DTO on several occasions without any negative side effects, is extremely low.So, what I'm trying to say is that, if you have chronic diarrhea that does not respond to reasonable interventions over an extended period of time, GI specialists may well recommend a drug like DTO. Should DTO be the drug of first choice? Of course not. Not even from your neighborhood pain clinic.


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## Twocups424 (Mar 26, 2002)

absolutely, its not a first choice, but it has its place and if your life is sucking as it is and you can have a LIFE with minimual usage THEN GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

It was the attitude that anyone that thinks it is addictive doesn't know what they are talking about attitude that set me off.It can be addictive for some people and must be used carefully. to say it cannot be addictive because you have no problems is IMO irresponsible.I'm glad you use it and it works for you with no problems, but that doesn't mean it is the a safe choice for everyone, and the "well they haven't tried it thing" just really sounded like you cannot understand why it isn't used all the time, and that anyone who thinks it should be used carefully has no idea what they are talking about.I don't know why for some people Imodium doesn't work even though it should be way more constipating than something like codiene or opium. It may be that some people need a bit in the central nervous system rather than only effecting the enteric nervous system. However, one of the reasons is isn't in all the pharmcies any more when it used to be standard treatment for diarrhea is because Imodium is a better and safer alternative for the vast majority of people.I just don't like to see what I feel is the "it can't be addictive" attitude about something that in fact can be abused.K.


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## Twocups424 (Mar 26, 2002)

same reason CBT doesn't work for everyone either. Because its a physical reason and not a behavioral one


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## echris (Jul 19, 2000)

I neither stated nor intended to imply that DTO can't be addictive. It has a significant potential for addiction. However, in my 35 years of practice in pediatrics, I have come to appreciate that a well trained physician, working with a reasonably intelligent and compliant patient, is the best combination. I can assure you that if I could have taken a couple of Immodium, instead of all of the procedures that I have been through, as well as the medications that I tried with little or no relief, I certainly would have.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

No you just said someone like me (and I may have taken it as a jab at me because I am one of the main people that expresses concern about using addictive opiates to treat IBS for both addictive and narcotic bowel syndrome issues) that says it is addictive can't know what we are talking about because we obviously didn't try it ourselves.That implies it isn't addictive and anyone who doen't use it and says it coule be addictive must be an idiot or something.IMO.I don't want to argue it anymore, can we move past this now?If you noticed I did agree that for some reason (maybe needing something in the CNS as well as ENS) a few people don't get help with Imodium, but that is generally only a few people out of the whole population.Sigh. Again, I am glad it works for you, but I do think we need to be careful about the downsides of these types of medications and be careful about how we talk about them, they need to be last resort, and there are darn good reasons why they don't have it on the pharmacy shelf or doctor's don't prescribe them easily, even if many people can use them safely.K.


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## echris (Jul 19, 2000)

It didn't occur to me that you would take my commment personally. Actually, I was referring to to a gentleman on this forum who goes by Flush or Flex or some such name. No offense intended. He's always cautioning about medication and making the point that diarrhea is not due to diet. In my case, that was incorrect because I have Celiac Disease and get quite ill if I eat wheat, oats, rye or barley.A drug like DTO should, I think we will agree, only be taken as a last resort after other options have been tried, and then only with very careful medical supervision, very careful.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Thanks, sorry if I took it personal when it wasn't.Yep, in conditions like Celiac the diarrhea is related primarily to diet, but if you have IBS, and just IBS, it is often more of a reaction to eating food in general that due to any particular food item you ate. Some people drive themselves nuts trying to eliminate from their diet any food they ate where they had diarrhea afterwards when it was more an issue of how many fat grams the meal had or how many cups of food they ate. Some people have food triggers that do set the IBS off, but too often we blame the food when it was merely an innocent bystander.K.


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## 16240 (Jun 30, 2006)

I agree with using any type of med that helps. we all know how it feels(urgency, pain, bloating) I say stick to what works, unfortunately many of the meds that do work have the addiction potential but like I say quality of life is more important than the small chance of the addiction potential. I also think that some people are talking about dependency rather than addiction.


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## 23459 (Jul 24, 2006)

I'm new to this site. I have been taking dto for a few years now. Lately, I have been having a hard time finding a pharmacy that stocks it. They say it's a "manufacturer's backorder." This is terrible news & a major worry. I'm from Massachusetts. I wonder is this is a widespread problem & if they will, indeed, stop the manufacture of this drug. Good luck to you, Rhonda. I actually had my prescription filled today. The "medicine hunt" took me many miles, much time & frustration. The 8th pharmacy I went to had it! I will say one thing, though. I will never live in my life the way I did before I started taking this medicine. Believe me, that was after many years of trying other medicines, slews of invasive tests, etc. With D 40-50 times a day, I was housebound. Never again.


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## Albion (Feb 14, 2001)

The problem is that there's only one manufacturer in the US -- Ranbaxy pharmaceuticals.In any event, oral morphine solution should work just as well, since the only active ingredient in deodorized opium tincture in a therapeutic dose is anhydrous morphine.You could ask your MD to write a script for Roxanol, which contains 20mg/mL of morphine (as opposed to 10mg/mL for opium tincture). Obviously, you will need to cut the dose in half. Roxanol has several generics, and is much easier to obtain than opium tincture.


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## 15740 (Jun 30, 2006)

Thanks to everyone who replied. I have found this website to be a great source of support. I don't feel all alone anymore...and for what ever reason, that helps deal with IBS. Iam with you Stones611...Iam enjoying my new found freedom and refuse to go back to the way it was. I have written Ranbaxy and so far no reply. I recently obtained what is probably the last bottle of DTO in Florida, that should last me close to a year. Iam hoping by then the manufacturing problem will be over. Good luck to all.


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## Albion (Feb 14, 2001)

Rhonda-- have you tried calling them? Their info is below, including a toll-free number. I called several years ago to obtain a copy of the package insert, and the rep was very helpful and responsive. Like you and others on this Board, I have used DTO for 4 years now. I used to post on this board almost daily prior to that time, but with the DTO, my IBS has been under control for the last 4 years. It's the only thing that has helped me live a normal life. I ran out of DTO last week, and just got a new script. I hope my pharmacy will be able to locate the medication. If not, I'll call Ranbaxy myself. Another case in point for having more than one manufacturer of a drug. Similar shortages occurred a few years ago with nitroglycerine -- can you imagine --people can DIE without that med. And we all remember the flu vaccine shortage 3 years ago. With Afghanistan having a record opium poppy crop, you think Ranbaxy would be able to keep itself supplied. Unfortunately, Ranbaxy's parent is located in India, and they generally used opium poppies cultivated in India, so if there's problems with the crop, etc., a shortage could result. If DTO isn't available, I'll ask my MD for oral morphine solution or codeine sulfate tablets without the Tylenol. Take care, and glad you found your DTO.From Ranbaxy's website: Contact UsIf you are interested in contacting us, you can reach us at:Ranbaxy Inc.600 College Road East, Suite 2100Princeton, NJ 08540 USAMain Phone: (609) 720-9200Fax: (609) 720-1155 Sales & Marketing - Prescription ProductsPhone: 1-888-RANBAXY Sales & Marketing - OTC ProductsPhone: 1-877-OHM LABS


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## Albion (Feb 14, 2001)

Just filled my script today -- was able to obtain 960 cc (two pints) from my pharmacy. No backorder or other issues. Take care, everyone.


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## 18024 (Aug 6, 2006)

Rhonda, Opium Tincture (not paragoric is still produced by RanBaxyPharmaceuticals Inc., Jacksonville, fl 32257, by Ohm Laboratories Inc., Gloversville, NY 12078 USA (right of my prescribtion bottle) 10 mg/ml. Large retail pharmacy's won't carry this usually because they make no money off it because few people are prescribed the medication. Find a local independent pharmacy or hospital pharmacy who will order it for you, or call the company.


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## Albion (Feb 14, 2001)

Uh-oh: found this on an HIV-related website -- does not look promising. Looks like others are having problems obtaining DTO as well.*QUESTION: Availability of "Tincture of Opium"Jul 21, 2006*I have recently had a protracted issue with being able to get my opium due to Mfg. breakdown and regulatory issues (at least that's the crux of the story I am getting from the Mfg.).Can you give me any advice on how to proceed with making sure that a LAST STAGE Medication for many patients is fully available 100% of the time when it's needed not only for quality of life, but to stay out of the hospital as well.I personally use quite a lot of opium because I've been using it for quite some time (aprox. 10 years), my monthy intake is aprox 20 to 24 oz.Also, given that Johns Hopkins has recently published an article on unsupervised withdrawl from HIGH dose's of opiates can cause other medical complications.Any help or direction would be greatly appreciated,Thank you, Dave Finney Santa Barbara, CA*ANSWER: Response from Dr. Henry*You raise a good point for which I have no ready answer. Interruption of supplies of various antibiotics, vaccines and other key drugs occurs periodically for a variety of reasons that can be very frustrating for patients and the medical community. Your HIV specialist and you may want to discuss with your pharmacist and even contact the manufacturer of your particular opium product. Any other helpful ideas out there is cyber space would be appreciated. KH	http://www.thebody.com/Forums/AIDS/SideEff...nt/Q176501.html


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