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CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

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Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#141

Post by wutwutwat »

heavyset_go wrote: post #103
nkozyra wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Rate-limited...at a quantity too low for a household that has a sinus infection running around. I don't think so. I actually buy this stuff for allergies because it's the only thing that works for me and doesn't disrupt my sleep one way or another. I get 60 pills which are 2x what's in cold medication. I get that it's annoying but for an illness it's more than enough for a large family.

If you have two people who take it everyday for allergies, you've already hit your limit with 60 pills.

And yet still had enough for both of you, and that's if you both don't purchase the meds, and go to a 2nd store, or go to the same store the following day or week. 9 GRAMS every 30 days. The 20cnt box of Sudafed is 120mg pills, so 2400mg total, or 2.4 grams per box, and that's not all phseduo, which I think the 9 grams is only concerned with. So you'd have to look at how much of that 120mg is the limited material if that's the case. Assuming they mean the entire pill. That means every 30 days, each adult in your family can buy 3 boxes each (3.75 technically but I rounded down) from the same store. So 60 bills, to cover 30 days, per adult. How is that not enough for your daily single dose? 3 boxes just you can buy covers 2 adults taking it daily. This is where all the complaints that it's too restrictive fall apart. When you do the math, there is room to stockpile and STILL take it daily...

The rate limiting is just that, limiting the rate, making it more effort to obtain mass amounts so it's more time consuming to gather up for abuse. The goal was never to stop meth production with the limit, it was to seriously slow it down, which it has, which equates to less of it overall on the streets. And the limits as we just calculated are more than a single person should need if taking the pill daily, which is the max allowed dose. So, it's not an issue, and we just proved it with math, now excuse me I have to go beat my own ass for saying we just proved something with math.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#142

Post by pyrophane »

cma wrote: post #98
pyrophane wrote: post #90

My understanding is that they are only removing products that ONLY contain Phenylephrine, which means they will still sell it when it is part of multiple-ingredient formulations, which are in themselves kind of a scam. For example, many OTC "severe cold/flu" formulations contain: - Acetaminophen. Potentially helpful for the body aches that come with the flu, but a lot of the time when I'm sick, I don't exactly need o…

Not harmless with Acetaminophen of they don't realize it and also take pills at the same time, pretty narrow range to liver damage.

Ah, good point. People combine alcohol and other meds with that all the time, which can be not so harmless. We shouldn't be putting that in random meds for people who are stuffed up or have a cough.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#143

Post by pdonis »

PumpkinSpice wrote: post #130
shanewilhelm wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might be thinking of aspirin, which is toxic at fairly low dosages. Acetaminophen (aka Tylenol) is much, much safer.

Acetaminophen has a narrow therapeutic index and can cause severe and irreversible liver injury in doses around 10 g. A single tablet usually contains 500 mg, but because it's a component of so many other "combo" cold meds, including some syrups, it's easy for people to overdose while mixing OTC products to get over a flu. Aspirin has a lower standard dose (325 mg), higher LD50 (probably around 20-25 g), and is gener…

> Ibuprofen is probably the safest option?

Ibuprofen can also be liver toxic, but I believe the LD50 is significantly higher than the other options. I have not been able to find an exact number online.

As has been mentioned by others in this discussion, ibuprofen can also cause stomach upset (my wife has this problem, even when she takes it with food).

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#144

Post by clipsy »

vGPU wrote: post #120
sixothree wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. But the sad joke is you can buy 20 guns without presenting your license or having the state tell you no. But if you got a sinus headache? You’re a dangerous individual. You gotta get registered and in the system so we can track you.

> Under federal law, federally licensed gun dealers, importers and manufacturers must run background checks for sales to an unlicensed buyer. Specifically, a potential purchaser must show identification, complete a federal document known as a Form 4473, and pass a National Instant Criminal Background Check System check. Any licensed firearm dealer MUST run a background check at ALL times. Stop your misinformation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_show_loophole

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#145

Post by Jeff_Brown »

jstarfish wrote: post #132

Heh. I'm at the tail end of either COVID or the worst sinus infection of my life. I asked my wife to grab some (real) Sudafed from the CVS, which they also were not stocking (they are constantly robbed), but the pharmacist recommended "oxymetazoline hydrochloride" (Afrin?) as being just as effective without the side effects. Gotta say, she wasn't wrong. As a nasal spray it works way quicker than Sudafed pills and wit…

The day before I flew from Europe to South America a few weeks ago I had a completely stopped nose. Solid brick. I was terrified of damaging my ears. I took Afrin and some real Sudafed, starting about six hours before flying, and was careful to start balancing my ear pressure as soon as the plane started to descend (which was about 25 minutes before landing and 10 minutes before they announced descent). Zero problems. One or both of those two drugs is a miracle.

(It probably helped that the second leg of the flight landed in Bogota, where air pressure is less than it is in a commercial jet. But the first leg landed near sea level.)

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#146

Post by bhaney »

wutwutwat wrote: post #129
jrockway wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only reason I have a state ID is for buying Sudafed. I was tired of "my system won't scan your passport". I disagree with the person that replied to you, you really don't need a state ID for anything.

Well if you have a passport, which is federal ID, of course you don't need a state ID. But there are plenty of people who have criminal records that would prevent them from getting a passport, as well as plenty of people who just don't want the couple week process and complexity of getting a passport, or don't want to carry a bulky book when all they need is 1 page from it, and who have no intention of leaving the co…

> or don't want to carry a bulky book when all they need is 1 page from it, and who have no intention of leaving the country

US passports are available in card form for exactly these people. They work the same as a book-style passport within the US, but can't be consistently used for international travel.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/need-pa...

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#147

Post by jtbayly »

jstarfish wrote: post #132

Heh. I'm at the tail end of either COVID or the worst sinus infection of my life. I asked my wife to grab some (real) Sudafed from the CVS, which they also were not stocking (they are constantly robbed), but the pharmacist recommended "oxymetazoline hydrochloride" (Afrin?) as being just as effective without the side effects. Gotta say, she wasn't wrong. As a nasal spray it works way quicker than Sudafed pills and wit…

Works great, BUT easily habit forming. Beware.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#148

Post by bmurphy1976 »

techsupporter wrote: post #57
tptacek wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's already easy to buy the stuff that works. You just have to go up to the counter and ask. You have to show ID, just like you do for liquor (and, because purchases of psuedoephedrine are rate-limited, they're going to log your purchase). You'll need to get over that, because I don't think the rate limit is going anywhere: psuedoephedrine essentially is methamphetamine, and it's the worst conceivable kind: the kind…

> You just have to go up to the counter and ask. You have to show ID, just like you do for liquor (and, because purchases of psuedoephedrine are rate-limited, they're going to log your purchase) Up to the counter and ask...when the counter is open that is increasingly a problem as pharmacies close and hours are limited (the two nearest me close at 6pm, right at the end of working hours). Show ID...that the pharmacist…

> Rate-limited...at a quantity too low for a household that has a sinus infection running around.

I know all of this is annoying (and I agree) but many people don't think to stock up when they are healthy. You should! You can avoid a lot of problems with a little preparation ahead of time.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#149

Post by epage »

titanomachy wrote: post #99
crtracker wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not easy in my state. It goes like this: go to inside counter of an open pharmacy (can't use drive thru for it). Wait, for a long time (aren't all of your pharmacies massively overloaded with 30-60m lines? ours are). Ask for a 96-count sudafed (generic or regular) and hope they have it. If they don't, get 48. If they don't, get 24 (forget that I need 2 tabs every day as prescribed by my doctor -- yet can only bu…

Do you usually take decongestants for 12+ days? I usually just take them a couple of times on the worst days of a cold, maybe 5 pills every time I get sick. And pharmacies in my city don’t usually have more than 1 or 2 people ahead of me in line.

All males in my family over produce muccous and have perpetual post-nasal drip leading to a frequent cough that is slowdy taking away our voices. Sudafed access would be great!

I've gone to an ENT to try to reduce things but no luck so far.

Re: CVS ditches common cold meds after FDA advisers say they're useless

#150

Post by pyrophane »

xienze wrote: post #126
pyrophane wrote: post #90

My understanding is that they are only removing products that ONLY contain Phenylephrine, which means they will still sell it when it is part of multiple-ingredient formulations, which are in themselves kind of a scam. For example, many OTC "severe cold/flu" formulations contain: - Acetaminophen. Potentially helpful for the body aches that come with the flu, but a lot of the time when I'm sick, I don't exactly need o…

> People feel sick and they go in and just say "I'll take whatever is strongest" and they get overcharged for these weird formulations that are sort of kitchen-sink type things. Well, it doesn’t help that most states require you to go to the pharmacy counter for the stuff that actually works (pseudoephedrine), and in some states you actually need a prescription.

It is true. It created an incentive for people to avoid putting pseudoephedrine in things because most people weren't going to buy a formulation that they had to go to the counter for.
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