paragoric...anybody remember?

[splendra]

Paragoric is an opium derived product that at one time was available over the counter to treat diareaha...

My mother gave this to my brothers and I for quite awhile when we were young. I wonder if this contributed to our addiction issues? I can remember having to climb up looking for it in the cabinet and also that I did like the taste. I also remember when it was no longer available over the counter.

Does anyone else remember being dosed with paragoric? DO you feel it contributed to your addiction issues?

[Hopefloats]

I hope I am not double posting I DO remember being given that medicine. I am not an addict, but what if I had the "gene". Very interesting question. I will be interested in seeing what others think about this matter.

OH Splendra! I remember hating the taste!! I wonder why one liked it and another did not. I remember RUNNING from my mom as she came at me with the dose..LOL
(((Hugs)))
Hopefloats

[cwohio]

yep - my addict brother told me he would drink it as a kid.

[Alera]

Not that I know of, but my mom would give me a little of her robitussin C (Rx that contained codiene) every once in a blue moon to sleep.

[splendra]

My mom started using it for stomach problems but, when she realized it induced sleep she started using it more on us.

[reader]

I knew of an alcoholic woman who would put it in her childs bottle. The kid would fall asleep and she would go out to bars. Leaving the child alone. She did this for along time until the child was taken away from her. I thought it was used for coughing not diarreah.

[Don W]

Oh my God splendra. I was just thinking about this the other day, when I posted about another issue. All eight kids in my family were given paragoric, when teething etc. Not only that but, you could just buy it over the counter. I remember my mother sending me to drug store for the youngers ones. " Could I have a bottle of Paragoric?"
Reader alos mentioned another use widely used by my mother, in our bottles. We all continued this with our own kids until they tightened up. Did it contribute to my addiction? I don't know but, all eight kids and most of our kids were/are addicted. There seems to be a break with the grandchildren, that didn't recieve Paragoric. Might be why, I was told, when 5 years old at a restraunt with mother and father. The waitress made my ginger ale to look like my father's coctail. The were talking and when done my father took a sip and found the ginger ale. They looked and I'd emptied the coctail glass with the Segram 7. I fell asleep with my face in my food. A practice I'd continue for many years. Don W

[splendra]

I have a cousin who is a very bad herion addict that was given paragoric and all my other siblings were given it as well I am the only one so far who has recovered.

I can't help but wonder how many of the older addicts received paragoric when they were young...I wonder if anyone would do a study on that one and could we sue?

[Don W]

As long as you/I understood win or lose, you'd/I'd still be an addict. Not only that but, there were kids given Paragoric,I'm sure, that didn't become addicts. I'm sure there must be studies on this practice. This is why they stopped it. Don W

[splendra]

I posted this same post in the "Substance Abuse" forum sans the poll you ought to go read what those people are saying about paragoric and what they are using it for these days...

[Don W]

Splendra, I'm afraid to both look and know. Don W

[shanehaws]

I was talking with a friend the other day and asked if they had ever heard of paragoric. I remember as a child when I had a sore in my mouth or when a child was teething how wonderful this worked for the pain . It's a shame people abused this so we now have more government control.
I also read some posts that said this contributed to their substance abuse. I don't understand how they can blame their shortcomings on using paragoric as a child for teething and then their adult addictions to their childhood. I thought addiction was a disease, not a way to blame their parents.
shane

[concolor1]

I remember the taste; reminded me of black licorice (which I still like).

I dunno about whether it contributed to my alcoholism, but there is evidence that straining to pass stools is a contributory factor to hemmorhoids, and opiates cause constipation . . .

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get up and walk around. I've been sitting too long . . .

[GrouchoTheCat]

Interesting thread.

I have wondered for years if something I was given as a child might have contributed to or 'jumpstarted' my alcoholism.

You know, a sugar cube dribbled with whisky for teething or something.

Now paragoric, I would not be suprised at all if I had been given that stuff by my mom or grandmom. Back then it was very available and no-one really knew that it could be a terrible thing.

I do believe that I am genitically pre-disposed to addiction, that my brain is simply 'different' but giving a child alcohol laced with morphine during the formative years, who knows?

Ted

[BigSis]

Splen, I just saw this post... interesting, to say the least!

In rehab we were told that the disease/condition of alcholism could lie dormant... that the Mormon church was filled with folks who came in alcoholic, and passed those genes on, but the gene was never "activated" in subsequent generations due to the religion's "no alcohol" rule.

They also mentioned that up through the 80's, things like Triaminic and other baby cold medicine contained alcohol.

Me? I don't believe even the combination of the gene and early exposure to drugs is THAT big of a factor in the eventual condition of addiction. I think the gene changes how we react to any drug at any point in our life... early exposure not making much of a difference as far as I can tell.

The one thing maturity gives us is a frame of reference from which we can conciously make choices around things that distress us... including addiction. For a very young addict - those exposed and deliberatley addicted...say at age 9 and below... those kids don't have a frame of reference from which they can make better choices. All they know is what they experience.

Our crazy families contribute to our addiction by contributing to our beliefs about it and to our beliefs about ourselves. Thank goodness those beliefs are not set in stone.

Ok... that's my 2 cents...

PS - Been missing you, Splen... sending prayers you are doing ok (((Splendra)))

[livefree]

I've never heard of it. I'm 23. I wonder if I was given it. Glad to hear it's not an OTC anymore.

[GrizzlyBear]

I'm 65, and when I was a kid we always had paragoric in our medicine cabinet. We used it only when someone was nauseous, and it worked extremely well. Wish I still had access to it today, because nothing I've ever tried can touch it for effectiveness. I don't think my parents were ever aware that there might be a danger of addiction or even knew the ingredients. It was just a standard cure that was handed down from generation to generation. The bottle was small and the dose was one teaspoon, just once. You didn't need more because you generally got well right away, or at least stopped being nauseous. Last time I recall being given it was when I was in my teens in the late 1950s. Then it just seemed to disappear. My guess has always been that it was outlawed because the drug companies can't make money off of it (not patented, anyone can make it, and it took sales away from their patented and less effective proprietary products). I miss the quick relief of paragoric but guess I'm glad it's gone if it led to problems for people.

[kitten6550]

not for us...my mama gave us codliver oil everyday for good health.
No WAY that could lead to addiction...LOL. Seriously though, my dad was an
alcoholic and we inherited the addictive gene

[ggb2864]

Hi I could not pass up the chance to voice my opinion on this subject. I was given paragoric on a regular basis as a child and I have had an opiate addiction most of my life. I believe at that young age it chemically changes our brain chemistry to the point that we feel normal oonly when the opiate is present. Especially when we are given such a drug as paragoric at a young age regularly.

[ggb2864]

What is Image shack?

[Doug]

You folks found an oldie. LOL. This thread was started over two years ago.

[Rella927]

Nope never heard of it! My mom was a nurse and Dad a Doctor-Hmmmmm odd I never heard of it until now-

Interesting about it putting you to sleep!

[cordelia]

Yes.. my grandmother used to take paragoric .. And she gave me one too.. but I didn't like the taste .. Lucky me I don't like the taste of cigars either.. So I don't smoke either.. That's good.. because it's hard to give up something you like..

[tanyapmc]

I was given Paragoric as a child. I did not like the taste but loved the effect, even as a small child

[Mpls_Rain]

In the 50s and 60s my parents used to rub paragoric on our gums when we were teething. My brother and I were chronic in our alcoholism. My brother used drugs and ended up on Methadone. I am convinced that the use of opiates on babies and children is very damaging. When I was in college I learned about the receptors in the brain. In layperson's terms:

There are receptors made ONLY FOR OPIATES. When the brain finds opiates in the bloodstream a certain receptor is stimulated. The opiate finds the receptor and they join. The problem is that once the opiate receptors in the brain are stimulated, they WANT MORE. They ALWAYS WANT MORE, no matter how many years or decades go by, those receptors are waiting for more opiate.

My parents also used to buy over the counter cough syrup that had codeine in it. It's no wonder that so many children of my generation are predisposed to opiate addiction. When I was a teenager I always preferred the opiate drugs and also sedatives like seconal and percocet. I never liked speed. I was always trying to get that good buzz and feel mellow. I've been clean and sober for 22 years. My younger brother died of alcohol poisoning in 1989. I love you Paul.