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The Uselessness of Phenylephrine

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Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine

#201

Post by tshaddox »

hammock wrote: post #57
munificent wrote: post #43

My drug of choice for colds is NyQuil. It's always been great for opening up my nasal passages enough to let me breathe easily and then knocking me the fuck out so I could sleep off most of the cold. I remember several years ago when all of a sudden NyQuil stopped doing anything useful. I had no idea why but I directly observed that it was like it had been replaced with a non-functioning placebo. Only a couple years…

NyQuil is a combination medicine. The cough, cold and flu formula contains Tylenol (fever/pain reliever), DXM (stops cough) and an antihistamine (dries out your runny nose/postnasal drip). NyQuil can be a great all-in-one product when it's what you need. It's useful to know what it is composed of and why. All of the medicines in it treat symptoms, not the underlying cause, which will be fought off by your immune syst…

DXM doesn’t actually suppress cough either, right?

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine

#202

Post by orthecreedence »

reincarnate0x14 wrote: post #48
Zak wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time she's mentioned, there's something to make me dislike Feinstein more than I already did. It does seem likely her strong opposition would be a high bar to clear, though as the oldest current senator, she may not be a factor for a long time.

It really is amazing how someone manages to be on the wrong side of seemingly everything, and yet is locked into office past the point of senility.

Yeah once in a while she does something and I think "ok, that makes sense." But she's generally a broken clock.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine

#204

Post by orthecreedence »

vkou wrote: post #110
reincarnate0x14 wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It really is amazing how someone manages to be on the wrong side of seemingly everything, and yet is locked into office past the point of senility.

This means that either your calibration mechanism for 'wrong side' is flawed, or the system is rigged in a way that it consistently produces bad outcomes. Speaking for myself, am shocked and outraged that red senators and other congresscritters are consistently on the wrong side of seemingly everything, yet they keep getting elected. Of course, my political calibration mechanisms are quite in tune.

> the system is rigged in a way that it consistently produces bad outcomes.

Yes. That one.

"Real" change (ie, still a useless liberal democracy, but at least a bit more in service to the people) would start with voter reform and getting rid of FPTP entirely.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine

#205

Post by genewitch »

cperciva wrote: post #116

Pseudoephedrine is wonderfully effective, but beware of its side effects. I used to take it regularly due to congestion related to seasonal allergies, but at a recent medical visit I discovered that my blood pressure had jumped from its usual 120/75 up to 150/105. (My doctor was also alarmed!) I no longer take pseudoephedrine. I'm told that the effect on blood pressure is usually mild, but based on my experience I'd…

there was a study published february 2022 that showed that acetaminophen also increases blood pressure. I was pretty aware that both pseudoephedrine and ephedrine raised blood pressure slightly - but it's always good to see it mentioned online where other people may not have known.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine

#206

Post by cwkoss »

I had a friend who would keep pseudoephedrine in his glovebox to be used for alertness in case he became drowsy driving. He was a chem nerd, so was not particularly remarkable to me.

I have to wonder if the restrictions on pseudoephedrine have driven anyone to purchase meth. The safety profile of pseudoephedrine is pretty good - I think it could be argued its a good legal stimulant to offer to the public.

Could increasing it's availability be a legitimate harm reduction measure that would displace/prevent meth use among some populations?

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine

#207

Post by thedailymail »

genghisjahn wrote: post #182
caymanjim wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> OTC medicines that by current standards would not be made OTC Acetaminophen would almost certainly be in this category, if it could even get FDA approval at all. The effective dose is dangerously close to a toxic dose that causes liver damage, and not comfortably-far from the LD50. The only reasons acetaminophen is OTC is that it's been informally grandfathered in, makes an absolute fortune for pharmaceutical compa…

How is this "dangerously close to toxic"? Extra strength is 500mg. Adults should not take more than 3000mg in a day. Taking 7000 more more can lead to liver problems. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002598.htm Common dosage forms and strengths: Suppository: 120 mg, 125 mg, 325 mg, 650 mg Chewable tablets: 80 mg Junior tablets: 160 mg Regular strength: 325 mg Extra strength: 500 mg Liquid: 160 mg/teaspoon (5 mill…

My understanding is that acetaminophen toxicity has been a problem particularly for children, because 1) the toxic dose is lower, 2) many common OTC products for children include some amount of acetaminophen among their active ingredients and 3) parents may give their children multiple such products (one for runny nose, one for fever reduction, one for nighttime relief, etc.) over the course of a day and end up exceeding the safe dose, leading to liver toxicity. That was the situation a few years ago at least.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine

#208

Post by egberts1 »

hammock wrote: post #81
ericbarrett wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not get a non-motorist ID card? Every US state has these; here's Washington's: https://www.dol.wa.gov/driverslicense/gettingidcard.html

Many Americans have difficulty obtaining ID, because they cannot afford or cannot obtain the underlying documents that are a prerequisite to obtaining government-issued photo ID card. Underlying documents required to obtain ID cost money, a significant expense for lower-income Americans. The combined cost of document fees, travel expenses and waiting time are estimated to range from $75 to $175. The travel required i…

All you had to do is ask for a free state ID card.

- It’s Federal law.

I don’t know why people keep forking over money for state ID. It’s a state government scam.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine

#209

Post by jl6 »

travisathougies wrote: post #159
dataangel wrote: post #146

I've recently had to deal with the medical profession a lot more than in the past and I'm finding this sort of thing everywhere. OTC medicines that by current standards would not be made OTC, surgeries that are extremely common but have never had quality randomized trials, official sounding diagnoses that on inspection are actually defined as "we have no idea", lack of consensus about how to treat some of the most co…

You seem to be under the impression that there is some 'advanced technology' out there that will magically solve your problems that the US fails to have. In my experience, many people have a quasi-religious belief in the capability of modern medicine to perform what would otherwise be called a miracle. This belief is typically held without any evidence whatsoever. In reality, there are a plethora of conditions, some…

I feel proponents of evidence based medicine are perfectly aware of the enormity of the problem, and are working hard to improve the situation.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine

#210

Post by afiori »

munificent wrote: post #196
nostromo wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

American law is so disjointed. On one hand, we're decriminalizing drugs. Pot is widely legal now. Other states are allowing mushrooms and LSD. Cocaine and heroin are not legal, but have all but been decriminalized on the West Coast. Meanwhile it's harder than ever to get pain killers from your doctor, even when you have a demonstrated need for them. Same with ephedrine -- a very useful drug -- it's very difficult to…

It's not inconsistent to treat different things differently and different drugs are radically different in their individual health and societal effects. I live in Seattle where marijuana is legal. Alcohol and marijuana are widely consumed and I rarely see any large-scale problems from it. Obviously, there are many people who can't handle either of those, but their failure to handle it well seems to not impinge on oth…

I believe the parent is referring to policies about how addiction is defined; a good article on the matter is

https://slatestarcodex.com/2019/09/16/against-against-pseudo...

Essentially by rules a patient asking for higher dosage of an addictive drug is automatically seen as a sign of addiction, even if sometime it might just be that the current dosage is too low.

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