sudafed is not ACTUALLY a prescription drug, you know?
Spring must be getting nearer, because we had one of those days where we went from rain to blue sky and sunshine and back and forth several times. The last bout of rain included hail, even, and now the sky is largely clear (bit too late for sunshine though). Crazy.
Do you know how hard it is to get sudafed in Oregon?
I seriously can't live without it in the winters here in Portland; it's the only thing that seems to be able to help my ridiculous allergies enough so that I can actually function. Vertigo accompanied by severe nausea is very hard to cope with.
So anyway, here in Oregon they decided that putting the sudafed behind the pharmacy counter, restricting the amount you're allowed to buy, and requiring and recording ID from purchasers were not sufficient to control the meth problem. (I'm pretty sure that's a decent description of what they do everywhere else though.) No, here, we have to have a prescription in order to get sudafed.
It doesn't seem like that would be that terrible a thing, but there are some big problems. One, sudafed is not ACTUALLY a prescription drug. Therefore not only does insurance not cover it, you're stuck paying whatever the pharmacy charges. There's no choice, no shopping, so there are no sales.
Two, which I just realized this week, the doctor doesn't write a prescription for generic "sudafed in xx dosage"(or at least MY doctor never has!), she writes it for a specific version. So in various years I've had a prescription for actual Sudafed brand, Zyrtec-D (Zyrtec + sudafed), and this year Sudogest. The result of this? If the pharmacy runs out of the specific brand my prescription is for I'm SOL until they get more in. No substituting, no driving down the street to another pharmacy since I can't just grab it off the shelf. (Yes, the pharmacy could probably transfer my prescription to another one, but just how much do I have to chase this crap around town??)
Talk about making the law-abiding feel like a criminal. Sigh.
No doubt you've read between the lines enough to realize that I ran out this week. Down to only one dose a day (I should be taking two) for a few days, then today I ran out completely while waiting for the pharmacy to fill my prescription. Luckily, I called them after work today and found out they'd just gotten a shipment in and I now have some again--I was beginning to worry quite a bit. It only take a few days for it to wear off enough for the vertigo and nausea to ramp back up. *Whew*
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ANYWAY. Chat is live and waiting for anyone who wants to say hi to pop in. It's there every night (and, actually, anytime but you're more likely to find someone there in the evening) so drop in whenever you like. :)
If you'd rather use an honest-to-god IRC client instead of the web client, just pop in and I'll give you the info you need to find us.
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And FINALLY.
celli is hosting a Hawaii Five-0 Ficlet-a-Thon over at her journal (DW | LJ). Go leave prompts! Fill too if you feel like it! But especially, LEAVE PROMPTS!!
Thanks. :D
Do you know how hard it is to get sudafed in Oregon?
I seriously can't live without it in the winters here in Portland; it's the only thing that seems to be able to help my ridiculous allergies enough so that I can actually function. Vertigo accompanied by severe nausea is very hard to cope with.
So anyway, here in Oregon they decided that putting the sudafed behind the pharmacy counter, restricting the amount you're allowed to buy, and requiring and recording ID from purchasers were not sufficient to control the meth problem. (I'm pretty sure that's a decent description of what they do everywhere else though.) No, here, we have to have a prescription in order to get sudafed.
It doesn't seem like that would be that terrible a thing, but there are some big problems. One, sudafed is not ACTUALLY a prescription drug. Therefore not only does insurance not cover it, you're stuck paying whatever the pharmacy charges. There's no choice, no shopping, so there are no sales.
Two, which I just realized this week, the doctor doesn't write a prescription for generic "sudafed in xx dosage"(or at least MY doctor never has!), she writes it for a specific version. So in various years I've had a prescription for actual Sudafed brand, Zyrtec-D (Zyrtec + sudafed), and this year Sudogest. The result of this? If the pharmacy runs out of the specific brand my prescription is for I'm SOL until they get more in. No substituting, no driving down the street to another pharmacy since I can't just grab it off the shelf. (Yes, the pharmacy could probably transfer my prescription to another one, but just how much do I have to chase this crap around town??)
Talk about making the law-abiding feel like a criminal. Sigh.
No doubt you've read between the lines enough to realize that I ran out this week. Down to only one dose a day (I should be taking two) for a few days, then today I ran out completely while waiting for the pharmacy to fill my prescription. Luckily, I called them after work today and found out they'd just gotten a shipment in and I now have some again--I was beginning to worry quite a bit. It only take a few days for it to wear off enough for the vertigo and nausea to ramp back up. *Whew*
-----
ANYWAY. Chat is live and waiting for anyone who wants to say hi to pop in. It's there every night (and, actually, anytime but you're more likely to find someone there in the evening) so drop in whenever you like. :)
If you'd rather use an honest-to-god IRC client instead of the web client, just pop in and I'll give you the info you need to find us.
-----
And FINALLY.
celli is hosting a Hawaii Five-0 Ficlet-a-Thon over at her journal (DW | LJ). Go leave prompts! Fill too if you feel like it! But especially, LEAVE PROMPTS!!
Thanks. :D