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Thread: Chestal and other cough syrups

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    Default Chestal and other cough syrups

    Quote Originally Posted by Debra C View Post
    Pred is also giving me problems with my esphosagus (sp) and stomach, I have since been on 40mg protonix and a take a strong probiatic every day and this seems to have helped. They need to find something you can take for the inflammation.I just had a bad cronic cough and the meds they gave me I couldn't take and I happened to find a homeopathic cough syrup with honey, called Chestal And it worked wonders...used it twice and my cough was about gone the next day. It is all natural and has no drug interactions. Good luck to you ,I hope that the can the infusions work although they will take awhile to kick in
    Deb, I'm pirating your quote from another thread because it was getting off topic. I bought some of this Chestal and have been using it for a couple of days... not every 2 hours like they say, but whenever I think of it. I hadn't been coughing all that much but just have had this thick mucus in my windpipe that makes it hard to breathe, and I have trouble coughing it up when I do try. The label on Chestal says it works to thin and loosen mucus, making coughs more productive, in addition to calming dry hacking coughs. It got lots of good reviews on Amazon.com. So, for what I am using it for, loosening the thick mucus, I will say it is taking a few days but it seems to be helping. My friend the homeopathy naysayer would say it's a placebo. But I'm not yet convinced either way. I'd been using liquid guaifenesin, like is in Robitussin, and it was sort of working, but why couldn't we then say that it was also a placebo? The Chestal tastes a lot better and still seems to loosen up the mucus, although I'm not sure it's been long enough to tell how well. I'll finish the whole bottle before I form a conclusion.

    I might also point out to people a reminder that I always mention... when choosing cough medicines, I really avoid the ones with dextromethorpan in them, which is the main cough suppressant used. They are marked DM and it is hard to find one that doesn't have it. It may be useful to suppress a really nagging cough for a couple of days but after that it will have a rebound effect and start to make your cough worse. If I'm getting liquid guaifenesin, the ingredient in Mucinex which is in most cough syrups, I have to really read the label and get one that says Tussin or Expectorant, but not DM. The Chestal is all natural and one doesn't have to worry about that stuff being in it. Although the guaifenesin comes from a tree bark and thus is also "natural". I'll still probably use some of that nasty tasting stuff, but am giving the Chestal a good try, even though it is homeopathic and I haven't a clue how it works. So thanks for that, Deb. So far I'm liking it and have seen some improvement.


    Anne, dx'ed April 2011

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    I hope it works for you Anne. The drs at the er prescribed me robitussin dm when they thought I had broncitsis,which I didn't ! and for some reason I just couldn;t take it. It made me feel really out of it and worse But like I said that Chestal just took it twice and no more cough. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon
    Life isn't about how you survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain !

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    DM is hideous stuff.I took robitussin once and also mucinex DM...thank goodness not on the same day. I was awake all night and my lungs felt like they were quivering constantly. It was a horrible feeling and lasted for hours!! I plan to try the chestal just as soon as i get congested again.
    Jacquie (aka Lifelong Booknut)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Debra C View Post
    I hope it works for you Anne. The drs at the er prescribed me robitussin dm when they thought I had broncitsis,which I didn't ! and for some reason I just couldn;t take it. It made me feel really out of it and worse But like I said that Chestal just took it twice and no more cough. Good luck, I hope you feel better soon
    Thanks, Deb. I think it has helped some but I seem to need to take a lot of it, which could get expensive. I don't have bronchitis, but think that grass season has just started, which I'm very allergic to. I have better and worse days and my main goal is to have coughs be productive. If there is asthma going on, too, from the allergies, then the cough will not be productive. But the Chestal seems to be loosening up the mucus a bit. I'm dealing with it a day at a time. I see my doc on Wednesday and will talk to him about it, although he always seems to think it's from the Wegs and not the asthma. Jacquie has heard all about this so I won't go on and on. But I do appreciate the Chestal and will look for a deal on it on Amazon or something, or when grass season tapers off, maybe it will be less of an issue. I do have part of a steroid inhaler I can use, too... otherwise, I'll just take more pred if I have to, and I have been!

    As for Robitussin, you might try it sometime WITHOUT the DM. It is harder to find that way. I explained about all that above. But it, too will loosen and thin the mucus, in most cases, maybe not for those as extreme as Jacquie's. It also has more artificial crap in it than Chestal, and tastes worse, but if you are ever in a pinch, try it, and just stay away from anything that says DM or dextromethorphan . That is the really crappy stuff, though it does suppress coughs for a couple of days. If it makes you feel like crap, not worth it. Look for Tussin or Expectorant, either Robitussin or a house brand, with no DM.
    Anne, dx'ed April 2011

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    Quote Originally Posted by BookNut View Post
    DM is hideous stuff.I took robitussin once and also mucinex DM...thank goodness not on the same day. I was awake all night and my lungs felt like they were quivering constantly. It was a horrible feeling and lasted for hours!! I plan to try the chestal just as soon as i get congested again.
    The problem is that it's very hard to find anything without DM in it.... even if it is there, it all looks the same, unless you read the labels very carefully, and people take home the DM stuff without even knowing the difference. Robitussin comes in a non-DM version, but you wouldn't want it because of the red dye, probably. I've taken lots of Mucinex or the generic, but never get it with DM in it..... that is easier to find without DM than cough syrups are. But Mucinex is not for everyone, either.... I don't take it in pill form anymore, just the liquid non-DM guaifenesin (expectorant or tussin) here and there.

    If you think DM is bad, try pseudoephedrine! Sudafed, that is. In fact I wonder if any of that could have been in your cough syrup. Sometimes it is. In fact, not infrequently, along with the DM. We really have to read the labels. I've actually gotten used to sudafed now and use some every day. But that is another story.
    Anne, dx'ed April 2011

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    Thanks! I have never seen any without the DM - but will look a little harder.
    Jacquie (aka Lifelong Booknut)

    Updated status: "Honorary Weggie"

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    Quote Originally Posted by BookNut View Post
    Thanks! I have never seen any without the DM - but will look a little harder.
    I get plain Tussin/Expectorant without DM at Rite Aid and Walgreens and saw that they have it at Safeway but the stock of it was empty. It would probably still have red dye in it, though, either with a house brand or with Robitussin. I've seen a kind from Canada mentioned on here and it may not have all the dyes and additives but I don't remember the name. The ones without DM won't suppress the coughing as much but will loosen the mucus. i just bought some more Chestal today. You might like that better. Good luck.
    Anne, dx'ed April 2011

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