Preventative diarrhea meds for Turkey?

Our MD recommended we take over the counter PeptoBismol tablets three to four times a day while traveling to more exotic locations. It worked on our trip to Egypt and Jordan. Our tour mates suffered with diarrhea but not us! The doctor uses it himself when traveling to those places.

Like Suki, I also took (chewed up) two Pepto Bismal tablets a few minutes before almost every meal during a two week trip to Egypt in 2022. This has been my practice for years and has, I think, helped prevent issues when in Mexico and in Turkey. During the Egypt trip I also took a Travelan tablet every morning before breakfast. The latter was, I think, suggested on this forum and I ordered that OTC medication on the mega-website Axxxzon. The box says "high in the antibodies that can help support and maintain your gastrointestinal and digestive function and health." I managed to stay well although another member of my small tour group, who ate the same foods that I did - more or less? - did develop, let us say, digestive issues. I also assiduously avoided all raw veggies and fruits unless it was something that I could peel myself, although I did eat the salads served on our dahabiya boat, where I was assured that all fruits and vegs were washed in purified water.

I read this on Sarah Murdoch's blog awhile back.
The regimen starts before you travel to risky areas for intestinal troubles.

The Traveler's Diarrhea Companion

Travelan! That’s it, that’s what we brought to Turkey. Thank you so much!

Just got back for Istanbul. I did take 2 pepto Bismal with each meal for a few days and then decided I didn't need it. ( it can cause constipation) No problems. I did drink bottled water but did shower and brush my teath with hotel water.

We were in Turkey last month. We enjoyed several meals (at local restaurants and a dinner cruise), no problems at all. PS - I don’t drink tap water anywhere when traveling.

I'm allergic to Lomotil so I need to be quite proactive. I've used the pepto bismal (generic) regime for 35 or so years. Prior to that, every time I went to Mexico I'd get a minor bout of illness. Like recommended in the article from Adventures with Sarah, I've added the probiotic. My MD said the probiotic would be beneficial to me and many others as an aid to preventing GI bugs and GI issues more related to changes in diet and routine. I'm going to look into adding the charcoal.

As a side benefit, I think the pepto bismal prevents the heartburn I sometimes get with more adventurous travel eating.

I found what I used on our trip to Turkey: Symbiotics Colostrum Plus Chewable tablets. They are very similar to Travelan which should work well for any riskier meals in Bulgaria. I’ll report back after our trip in May.

Their past 2 weeks, drank bottled water, brushed teeth with hotel water. Not aware of any issues within our group

We are now heading to Bulgaria
I took the RS Best of Turkey tour in 2022 and the RS Best of Bulgaria tour in 2023.

In Turkey, I drank only bottled water and used it to brush my teeth. I ate everything in our hotels and during group meals, including fruits and veg. I ate street food from local vendors. I took stomach meds the first few days and didn't need them for the rest of the 3+ weeks.

In Bulgaria, I used tap water to brush my teeth, had drinks with ice, and ate everything in our hotels and during group meals, including fruits and veg, as well as meals during 12N on my own. I took stomach meds 2 or 3 times during my 3+ weeks.

So, I was far less cautious in Bulgaria to achieve the same result.