Condition	Instead of…	Consider…
Upper respiratory infections	Sedating antihistamines (may cause fatigue and sedation, or alter judgment)	Nonsedating antihistamines (loratadine [Claritin], cetirizine [Zyrtec], fexofenadine [Allegra]), nasal steroids, azelastine (Astelin) nasal spray, ipratropium bromide (Atrovent) nasal spray (be careful using nasal sprays in addicts who snorted their drug of choice)
	Decongestants (may be stimulating and trigger relapse)	Saline nasal spray, sinus irrigation
	Dextromethorphan or opiate cough medications (may cause sedation and alter mood)	Benzonatate (Tessalon Perles), 100 to 200 mg three times a day as needed for cough; guaifenesin (Humibid L.A.), 600 to 1,200 mg twice a day as needed as an expectorant
Gastrointestinal conditions	Diphenoxylate-atropine (Lomotil)	Over-the-counter antidiarrheals, including loperamide (Imodium), or bismuth compounds
	Chlordiazepoxide; clidinium bromide (Librax)	Dicyclomine (Bentyl), 20 mg four times a day as needed; hyoscyamine sulfate (Levsin), 0.125 mg to 0.250 mg every four hours as needed
	Belladonna alkaloids; phenobarbital (Donnatal)
Obesity	Stimulants (e.g., ephedra, phentermine [Fastin], sibutramine [Meridia])	Orlistat (Xenical)
Pain disorders	Opiate medications (may cause sedation and alter mood)	Acetaminophen, 500 to 1,000 mg orally every four hours as needed, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
	Acetaminophen, dichloralphenazone, isometheptene mucate (Midrin) and migraine treatments containing butalbital	Triptans
	Carisoprodol (Soma)	Orphenadrine (Norflex), 100 mg twice a day as needed