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Caught by the Pseudoephedrine Law
January 22, 2008Another odd chapter in my war against mountain cedar and my ongoing sinus problems.
I was turned down from being able to buy Sudafed today at Walgreens.
Basically put... the 2005 State and 2006 Federal laws that are meant to help fight the wave of meth users are hampering my efforts to feel better.
Now, sure that sounds selfish. But that's not really the point.
But in short... here are a few of the highlights that are keeping me from feeling better tonight.
In Texas as of 2005:
Before completing the over-the-counter sale of a product containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or norpseudoephedrine, a pharmacy must require the person making the purchase to:n display a driver's license or other form of identification containing the person's photograph and indicating that the person is 16 years of age or older; and
n sign for the purchase.
The pharmacy must make a record of the sale including:
n the name of the person making the purchase;
n the date of the purchase; and
n the item and number of grams purchased.
Now... that is basically the law that moved all of that stuff behind the counter. I have no problem with that.... except the part about the number of grams purchased.
Okay first off, I don't have a calculator handy, but I know that 1 milligram equals 0.001 grams of this that or the other.
The Federal measure says:
n Effective April 8, 2006:§ Daily sales are limited to 3.6 Grams of the base product; and
§ Monthly sales are limited to 9 Grams of the base product.
I didn't know that. And the worst part about it it... with the new batch of all sorts of Sudafed Max, Mucinex Max and the like with a full 120 milligrams of pseudoephedrine, it can get really confusing really quickly just how much of the stuff you have purchased.
I blame the pharmacy for that. Both of the Walgreens I've made purchases at in the last month have swiped my D.L. so I can be entered into their system. Today, the card came back saying that I could not be allowed to purchase the Sudafed Max that I wanted/needed to help curb the ridiculous sinus headache and pressure I had today.
The girl at the counter asked me if I had purchased nine grams of the stuff in the last month. Well how the hell am I supposed to know that. I do know that the 120 milligrams in the Mucinex I've been taking basically twice a day only lasts me 12 days if I take the recommended dosage.
When you start combining purchases of medicine with varying amounts of the chemicals that may or may not have restrictions, I think that it should be up to the pharmacy folks to let you know... according their online records they keep.... how much you can purchase, and how much you have left in a month and frankly, just how many grams of pseudoephedrine are in each of the varying types of meds behind the counter.
They can flat out keep me from buying the stuff, but (despite being legitimately sinus clogged) they can't tell me what I can buy that will help. I mean come one.
I know that the whole thing is in the spirit of helping society and curbing meth cookers.... although frankly I with they'd just put some chemical compound that is harmless on it's own, but when combined with the other ingredients of meth just kills the folks taking it.... but they should also be willing to help those who are looking for a medical reprieve from not being able to inhale air through their noses.
I fall into that category pretty much every morning. And now... I have no freaking clue when I'll be able to buy the medicine that I know actually works for me.
And don't give me that crappy Sudafed PE stuff. As far as I can tell, the rumors in the medical industry about phenylephrine (the alternative chemical) being no better than placebo in the dosages found in the alternative meds. I believe that statement.... I've tried.
I've tried a lot of things lately to get through the endless winter runny nose and clogged up head.
'Course, I haven't tried one of those Neti Pots and honestly, I can't think of anything more disconcerting than pouring hot salty water up my nose.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Comments
I have to drive 35 miles to Wichita Falls to even find Sudafed, Mucinex, etc. Small town Oklahoma pharmacies won't stock it or sale it.
Maybe your doctor can prescribe something? As a widowed mom of a 5 yr old I can only afford major medical insurance for my daughter so no doctor visits for me.
Meth users are still using at the same rate they were before the law. The kicker - meth users weren't effecting the quality of time spent with my daughter. Thanks to the new law, the quality of time I spend with her is now controlled by how bad my sinus headaches are on any given day.
Its a shame that things that will work you have to go through all that crap.I just go to my Dr. and get what works.I feel for you Jason.Get your Dr. to prescibe what works and mail it in if you have mail order prescription available and the heck with the pharmacy!!!
maybe you need a climate change?
I feel for you. I'm in a similar boat. Allergies, in case anyone hasn't heart, run in families. So if something is affecting one of us, it's probably affecting all of us. So, should we take our alloted little pill and divide it up amongst the entire family??? When I've got the whole house sick or reacting to something (and the mountain cedar has been awful this year!!) it's impossible to keep everyone from being miserable with that ridiculous law.
