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The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

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Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

#141
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can buy 6 boxes of sudafed per month (24 doses each). Isn’t that more than the recommended (and probably safe) daily limit? I dont doubt your intentions but I don’t think you actually need 6 boxes per month + a stash.

The point is more to not be in a position to have to go out and buy some when I'm feeling cruddy. Since it's controlled, I can't just have some shipped to my door when I'm laying in bed sick. I just got in the habit of picking it up periodically to ensure that it's on hand when I need it.

Yup, nothing says fun times (and mass spreader) like sitting in line and doing paperwork while sick.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

#142

Probably will get downvoted for this, but a bunch of my family members are pharmacists. Their quiet opinion is that most pharmaceuticals don’t work. Even the ones that are thought effective. The data is anecdotal, but is over 15 years of watching people come in for prescriptions. The other aspect, is they say it’s mind boggling to see what kind of drugs people are on.

As a pharmacist, I can't help but laugh. I'm guessing they're quiet because their peers see them as quacks. Most don't work huh? Cancer death and morbidity rates are falling like a rock. Antibiotics? Antifungals? Hep C cured? HIV/AIDs guaranteed death turned to decades of symptom free life? Hell, we wouldn't have an opioid crisis if the damn things didn't work. The premise is just laughably silly.

It seems some people see that placebo's can have effects in a select few paradigms of care and extrapolate that to "all drugs must be placebos." Which is just smooth brain conspiracy talk.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

#143
post #34

Probably will get downvoted for this, but a bunch of my family members are pharmacists. Their quiet opinion is that most pharmaceuticals don’t work. Even the ones that are thought effective. The data is anecdotal, but is over 15 years of watching people come in for prescriptions. The other aspect, is they say it’s mind boggling to see what kind of drugs people are on.

I think american medicine just chooses prescribing medication first. Patients are definitely more likely to take a medication than change their behavior. Patients also ask for medication. And then there's the whole pharmaceutical system. My personal experience is that many older people I've known have a startling number of bottles of medication they take every day. I also know some older people that have exercise and…

>I also know some older people that have exercise and eating right as part of their regimen and rarely take any medication.

Not to be pedantic, well actually let's be. But this is pretty poor medical thinking. Are patient's not on meds at advanced age because they exercise? Or are they able to exercise because they're otherwise healthy and feel good? This kind of simplifying causes a lot of harm in medicine and a lot of patient blaming.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

#144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, if the concern isn't that I'm trafficking, then why am I being told no? Isn't this the logic the government used to assert this right for itself in the first place? Otherwise, what right is it of the government to enact this rate limit? What interest are they protecting? How is the rate limit decided? What can I do if I disagree with the rate limit? Why is a private business being burdened with the governments ag…

You're not being told "no". You can just go buy some Sudafed right now if you want to. It's not like there's an application process. There is a rate limit; that's it.

In order for a rate limit to be effective, at some point it has to apply, and at that point, I'm told "no." More concretely, in order to implement a rate limit, you have to sign an electronic log book, and the government can view that log book whenever it likes, without any sort of review or auditing, of course.

This isn't the primary concern anyways, the point was, in order to implement this seemingly simple action, many liberties have to be sacrificed and the boundary between innocent and criminal and government and private business become significantly marred.

Perhaps those sacrifices are immaterial to most lives and could be ignored without consequence, but the originalist in me says this is folly, and as I've shown it's easy to think of the dangers that some innocent people might endure as a result. Worse, comparing these dangers to the outcomes of the system itself, the whole endeavor seems to have negative value.

Finally, as we've seen in history many times, now that this electronic logbook exists, it's use will naturally continue to expand until the government has secured for itself the right to view nearly every single "questionable" purchase you make at a pharmacy.

It's an entirely unaccountable act from the government. I'm not sure why anyone would expend effort minimizing it.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

#145
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s worth a try. I’d recommend buying a separate spray for your nose though.

Reminds me of the old joke: what's the difference between an oral thermometer and a rectal thermometer? Answer: the taste

"Oh, Dad..."

Seriously, my late father _loved_ that joke, as do I.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

#146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't fight a war against inanimate objects. You can fight a war against drug addicts. You cannot possibly win a war against drug addicts without addressing the fundamental problem.

The "fundamental problem" is the breakdown of community (drug abuse being primarily being a function of the existence or lack of interpersonal involvement and responsibilities that would preclude spending time and money on them). People who are comfortable huddling in their cars, homes, and exclusive social clubs, and who would rather spend money on cops rather than social programs, aren't going to like the fix for t…

Do you have a source for this?

> drug abuse being primarily being a function of the existence or lack of interpersonal involvement and responsibilities that would preclude spending time and money on them

AFAIK there have always been addicts in every culture. Alcohol, various drugs, and strongly self destructive behaviors are not recent additions to the human experience. But I don't know any if the numbers or the research on this root cause you mention.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

#147
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every database that contains your PII increases your exposure to a breach and likelihood of having to deal with it. It's not the sudafed use that makes it a target: it's the driver's license.

Right, but this particular database presumably doesn't have anything especially sensitive in it, apart from your Sudafed consumption. I don't mean to dismiss that point, it's a valid point, I'm just considering it closely.

It's none of their business. Simple as that.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

#148
post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The primary question to me is whether the risk of data breech outweighs the harm from not keeping the data, and while 20 years ago this tradeoff may have made sense, I'm not so sure it makes sense now.

If the data is breached, an attacker learns... that sometimes you have a cough?

...and your SSN, and your driver's license info, and all the other personally identifying information they collect and store in the DB.

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

#149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is a US federal law (the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005)

And now we've got a fentanyl epidemic filling the void and even more power handed to Mexican cartels since meth got harder to produce domestically. Drugs continue to win the war on drugs.

I would like to see “taxes” be the winner of the war on drugs

Re: The Uselessness of Phenylephrine (2022)

#150

"Phenethylamines I Have Known and Felt Kind of Meh About"

I laughed out loud. For those unaware, "Phenethylamines I Have Known and Loved" (aka PiHKAL) is Sasha and Ann Shulgin's book that is half semi-fictional autobiography and half detailed synthesis and in-vivo effects observed in the enormous family of psychoactive phenethylamines. The autobiography part is only available in print, but the chemistry section is freely available[0]. There is a sequel, a similar book for t…

Psychoactive phenethylamines??? I've never heard of that, I'm just really into nasal decongestants.
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