I get bronchitis every winter and always end up having to get antibiotics and prescription cough syrup (usually with codeine or hydrocodone) as no OTC cough meds have ever given me much if any relief from the constant coughing. Seems antibiotics are easy to find around here, but having trouble with the cough meds.. any suggestions?

Good Luck.. I get Br. every winter also.. The only way these days to get cough syrup of any kind is through your PCP. Tussionex is the gold standard of cough syrups if you can get your hands on some, but it's very expensive ( even with insurance). Hycodan is the next best thing when it comes to Hydro unless you prefer codeine based syrup and Dr.'s are more willing to prescribe those first. Your best bet is probably a F2F?? I'm not 100% on that, but if you go in there sick I'm sure there would be no problem..
Take Care,
Lou

I know that www.pharmacy2u.co.uk has cough syrup with pholcodine. Not sure if they carry other types. They do accept cc and their package is discreet. Never had problems with customs. Although I do think you can only order 1 item with opoids per order.

Acute bronchitis is usually viral, so antibiotics aren't appropriate unless the sputum has been tested positive for bacteria. Not only that, but it will contribute to resistant strains of bacteria.

If there is sputum in there, then it needs to be coughed up, thus helping to get rid of the infection. Cough suppressants such as the opioids are only indicated if the cough is dry and/or keeping you awake at night.

Evidence for the efficacy of expectorants is lacking. Inhaling steam from hot water is about the best treatment, whether it includes aromatic oils or not.

The condition (if acute) is usually self-limiting.

Louis, I had the same GP from the time I was a child until I moved away in my early 20's and those two that you mentioned were all he ever prescribed me for the persistant cough. Hycodan (mainly), then during the last couple years before I moved away, it was Tussionex. Lol! They worked great! Tussionx a bit better... but either/or. As a matter of fact, I'd known him my whole life, and after so many years, I didn't even need to see him for bronchitis, I would just call the office (usually sometime in November), and ask them to have him call me in the standard. It was no prob back then. This is where I have returned to now, he has long since passed away, and things are much different in general now.....

Thanks though and I know you're right. I just am trying to avoid those doctor visits for something I've dealt with for my whole life and know what works and what doesn't.

Nephro, you are absolutely correct in what you are saying. I am so used to going through this, I wasn't quite specific. Acutally, I usually get a regualr cold, it goes into bronchitis.... but then rather than getting better after coughing up all that yuk, etc... it ends up going into what they call a "secondary infection". That is where the antibiotics come into play. Also, at that point, the cough is no longer productive, but is then a constant annoyance - not only to me, but to everyone around me. It keeps me awake at night and I end up with very sore stomache muscles, etc...
It's getting to be that time of year, and am just thinking in advance for once about the possibility of getting prepared ahead of time...


rowdychick, thanks - I'll look into that IOP. I really only need one bottle per instance, and usually it only happens once a year. So yeah, I'll definately look into it. Much appreciated!

rowdychick, I looked at that site you mentioned and found that cough syrup. I'm all for low prices, but at £1.69 (not sure what that translates into in USD, but can't imagine it to be a huge difference), it kind of makes me wonder if it works. I think the last time I got cough syrup was from a doc at a walk-in clinic, and it was Robitussin AC - barely a step up from OTC, but has a little codeine. That didn't work terribly well - but a little better than OTC - and I don't remember the exact price, but am pretty sure it was around $18.00 - $20.00. And that was US pharmacy price from a Rx from a local doc.

Have you experience with this pholcodine? If so, does it work? Thanks!

I had a bottle of Histussin HC filled (basically generic of Tussinex) and it was $7.50. This was before whoever owns Tussinex changed their formula just enough that the generic no longer matched the brand and therefore Histussin HC had to be pulled from the market.

My preference is Histussin HC over Tussinex anyway. It's immediate release hydrocodone versus timed release that Tussinex is... When you've been coughing nonstop for days, the Histussin HC stopped it dead within 15 minutes.

As to where to get it? Good luck. My last bout with bronchitis was a year ago and my doctor studied me for 10 minutes before he gave me a very miniature bottle of the Tussinex. And I didn't think it worked anyway.

Pholcodine is technically an opioid, but has very little, if any, of the analgesic, sedative or euphoric properties of codeine or other opioid analgesics.

If you walk into a UK pharmacy and ask for something for a dry cough, the ethical pharmacists throw this stuff at you. In fact, if you ask for codeine linctus, they will try to sell you pholcodine linctus instead, and as a customer, there's little excuse for not accepting it.

It does compare favourably with codeine in terms of stopping a dry cough, but that's about all it does. It does taste nice, though.

Does anyone know when Tussionex is going to be available in generic form?? And has anyone tried the TussICaps and at what cost without insurance??
Thank You..

I don't know that Tussionex will ever be. It's been on the market way past the time for generics to be allowed.

You can check a general price at www.drugstore.com

I haven't personally used the cough medicine that you're referring to so I can't say whether or not it works. I have used the cough nurse night time a year or so ago. It seemed to work pretty well and helped me sleep. Sorry I can't be more help - maybe someone else knows a place with the kind you're looking for. Good luck and let us know if you do, cold season is almost here.

This is the only cough med that ever worked for my kids and now the Dr. really does not like to script it out.

Do you mean Cough Nurse Night Time? If so, it's OTC in the UK and a UK online pharmacy should be able to ship it to the US.

So I suppose there's no one that offers Tussionex or anything HC? I too get bronchitis often and that's the only med that helps.

Hey guys, thanks for all the suggestions. I've been offline for a few days - almost like I conjured up my yearly cold/bronchitis/secondary infection early by having brough it up! Unfortunately, from what I've been reading here, there is a bigger problem getting decent cough syrup (of all things!) than I had originally thought! I actually found out for myself about the pholcodine syrup. I'm in the US and don't think they sell it here OTC, but turns out the people who just moved in next door to my Dad are from the UK and have bottles of the stuff. Unfortunately, it was not good for me - I tried it. I know that sounded weird. I'm "allergic" (I use the word loosely, mainly menaing that something does not agree with me) to Benedryl. They had a couple of kinds with the phlcodine, one that said Benedryl (or the active ingredient, I forget what that is technically called and don't have the bottle here to look at), the other did not. But it seemed to have the same icky effect on me. Itchiness, headache, jitters... everything opposite from what it's supposed to do. Anyway, I do appreciate the suggestion, as it seems there is not much out there for persistant dry coughs w/o paying for a doctor visit.. and seems nowadays, they don't like to give more than Robitussin AC which actually I believe used to be OTC in the US years ago - it has a small amount of codeine, but to take enough to stop the cough, you also get too much of the "junk" that (at least for me) puts my head in a tunnel.. Tussionex or Hycodan worked just fine when I was in my late teens, early 20's. Never abused it or felt like it.. and it worked! *sigh*... well, anyone comes up with anyplace, please add it to this thread, it would be much appreciated as I'm sooooooooo sore from coughing!

Thanks again!

Is it a barky cough? My DD gets those and she is put on a combination of albuterol (broncho dilator) and flovent (inhaled steroid) and it goes away in a couple days. We just have to catch it early.

Also my sister had a similar cough that never went away and it kept her up at night. Turned out is was a side effect of her blood pressure medicine. She stopped taking it w/docs ok and the cough went away.

Lastly, hyrdo is a cough suppressant, just taken in pill form. Not the best use of a pain killer, but may be helpful in the short term.

For the last 2 Winters I have gotten a prescription for a single bottle of codeine cough syrup from my doctor, but the last time she hesitated a minute and said, "well I guess you won't get addicted..." and THAT is what most of us are up against, that is, medical professional that thinks that a single bottle of codeine cough syrup might addict us...sigh. Of course, the best cough syrup is tussionex, but many doctors will not write for it alas.

"Lastly, hyrdo is a cough suppressant, just taken in pill form. Not the best use of a pain killer, but may be helpful in the short term."

Agreed, and not only that, but I can honestly say that I feel that my asthma is suppressed when I take my hydro (and it goes into overdrive when I run out.)

My doctor prefers tussinex because it's time released. He used to give me regular cough med that had a come and go effect like hydros (pill form) I liked that one because I felt it right away.

I feel the tussinex right away but I can't take again for at least 8 hrs, it's scripted for every 12 hrs. So, though it feels good and works for cough, it does lose effect at about 6 hrs for me.

I love the way tussinex tastes!

The exact same thing can be said of codeine. 15mg is usually enough to treat a cough, and 2 x co-codamol tablets will provide 16mg. Branded versions contain more codeine. Same with Nurofen Plus, which has also has more codeine I think. Paramol contains enough dihydrocodeine to suppress a dry cough, and 2 pills can be taken. These formulations should be available via the net since they are OTC in the UK.

The only downside is that you're also taking paracetamol or ibuprofen when you don't really need it, but for 3 days or so it shouldn't be considered that unethical. Indeed, some coughs are accompanied by pain, temperature rise or inflammation, so paracetamol or ibuprofen may be appropriate.

Also bear in mind that one could take 2 x co-codamol pills AND 2 x Nurofen Plus pills, which would get the codeine up to around 50 mg in some cases, depending on which brands of compound analgesic you purchase.

Hello! many of you have mentioned the fact that hydro and codeine in pill form will stop a cough pretty much the same as will the syrup. I know that too. Once it's in your system, it will work about the same regardless if it went down in a sticky syrup or in a pill. And, I've used them (either/or) in the past for coughs when they were available. But, I don't know where to find those anymore than I do they syrup! It's really annoying too, I've been coughing non-stop for about 2 weeks now. That last week, just that dry, scratchy, unproductive cough that causes me to have to sleep half sitting propped up on a bunch of pillows, wake up with a stiff neck, sore muscles.... all because it would be just a terrible risk now a days that I might become addicted from one bottle of decent cough meds.... sheesh! Also, as one (or maybe more) of you mentioned, with the pill form, there is all that APAP. I've got a liver condition, so I avoid acetaminaphen (Tylenol), as well as several bleeding ulcers in the past so I also avoid aspirin as much as possible. Still, I'm at the point where if I could just have a break from all this hacking away, APAP or not, well it would be just great! Sorry that some of you are having similar problems... guess it sorta goes along with winter.
*sigh*

List of brand name cough syrups with codeine:

Brand names
Brontex®
Capital and Codeine®
Cheracol® with Codeine Syrup
Fiorinal® with Codeine (as a combination product containing Codeine Phosphate, Aspirin, Butabarbital, and Caffeine)
Gani-Tuss® NR
Guiatuss AC® Syrup
Guiatussin® with Codeine
HaNew Riversin® AC
Mytussin® AC Cough Syrup
Robafen AC® Syrup
Robitussin A-C® Syrup
Tussi-Organidin® NR
Tussi-Organidin®-S NR
Tylenol with Codeine (No. 2, No. 3, No. 4)®

Phenergan with Codeine
Generic name: Promethazine hydrochloride
Worked well for me.
Tasted great too.

Hi, and thanks for the list of names. I mean that. Just wondering though if you know of any IOP who sells any of them? If not, at least having the exact names might help me in my search though.... much appreciated.

Hmmm...I think you can buy some cough meds with cod from NZ and AUS.

Let me check a couple of things.

Also from the UK.

I don't have any links anymore to some that do, but if you do a google search of "uk online pharmacies" and "nz online pharmacies" you can go to each one and they will tell if they ship to the US.

there are several online UK pharmacies that you can order from legally. codeine is sold at the drugstores there i think if they contain at least one other ingredient. i've had no problems ordering their cough meds before.

Good to see you on the board! Do you have any idea who carries some of the above medications? Thanks in advance.

-MARLEY

They don't even need to contain any other ingredient unless in pill form. Generic codeine linctus contains 15mg codeine in 5mL, and costs around £2 for 200mL. Sugar-free and tartrazine-free formulations are available. The paediatric linctus is somewhat weaker, and is sometimes extemporaneously prepared by diluting the adult version.

Whether UK pharmacies will ship it abroad though, is probably unlikely.

There are also various brand names of codeine-containing syrups available OTC, but are usually more expensive and the rationale for the inclusion of other ingredients is questionable.

Pholcodine linctus is very cheap and is selectively a cough suppressant, and should be available for order online.

There are certain codeine meds that CERTAIN PHARMACIES will ship to the US.

There was a cough lozenge I bought from the UK once nephro and you probably know the name of it. It was not hard, but chewy, sugar coated, brown or black and tasted kinda like licorice.

IIRC, it had a very small amount of morphine in it or something similar. A couple of places wouldn't send it here, but there was another place that did. I can't remember the name of the place, but IIRC, from their website, they were a pretty big store and they carried much, much more than just "pharmacy" items.

Hmmm... Stacy, wish you could remember which one that was.. or the name of the lozenge... But, no matter, you have given me a starting place to work from. I'll try to find it. (I'm assuming that it did the job?) This cough is drivng me CRAZY!!!!!