Monday, January 5, 2009

Feeling like a criminal ...

Have you encountered the nasty PITA requirements for buying "OTC" drugs containing pseudoephedrine? If not, you are lucky! Obviously YOU don't live in a family with chronic drippy sinuses or allergies. Lucky you.
But I do.

First, the drugs are available only by prescription. Then they make them available over the counter - Benedryl, Allegra, Claritin, you name it. Suddenly these are so safe, we don't need a doctor's note to obtain them. This stinks, since OTC prices are higher than my co-pay was. This is nice; no more doctor's visits just for a piece of paper with illegible Latin scrawls on it.

Then the brainiacs realize the drugkings are making meth using the pseudostuff from the now OTC drugs. That is so not good; we are still in a war against drugs, ya know.

So what does the gov't do? Establishes the honkin' big book, which makes you feel like a criminal every time you need to buy formerly prescription drugs which are now OTC. I sure don't recall ever giving a pharmacist or cashier my Driver's License number and more info to get my Rx drugs.... maybe all the drugs have fried my brain??

Oh, and do not decide you want to pick up some anti-sniff drugs along with some prescriptions at a pharmacy like CVS. You can't get the OTC - ha! - drugs from the pharmacist; you must go to the FRONT of the store for those.
Hello? Tell me this again.
  • To get good anti-drip drugs, you have to ask the cashier in front - the one with the long lines of grumpy, sneezy, wheezy people.
  • She hauls out the biggest black binder I've ever seen.
  • She takes your DL, writes a novella, then s-l-o-w-l-y turns the beast around.
  • You add another novella.
  • Only then will she get the drugs and sell them to you.
  • You must remember to get your DL back, for next time.
Oh - don't ask for two packages. So not happening. Be forewarned - if you go to several stores over too few hours, someone is gonna come knocking on your door. You better have those sniffling kids, your DH and the dogs ready as Exhibit A.

So far, we've avoided the knock on the door.
And DH buys our drugs; I refuse to deal with the mess.

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