Cold Medicine Registry

[SovereignAxe]

JT, don't do that. It's not the cashier's fault, so please don't take it out on her. I work as a cashier at Lowe's, part time, and believe me, we put up with enough sh*t as it is.

This is the result of more meddling by the government. They want to track who buys what. I understand it can be misused, but I object to having my purchases tied to my driver's license. They've already decided what kind of light bulbs we can buy and are gradually phasing out the incandescent ones. Never mind that the new ones contain many more times mercury than what's in the incandescents. And if you break one, you get to call Hazmat. As someone else said, it's just a thousand little "cuts" that eventually bleeds away freedom and liberty.

Just my .02.

You're leaving out the fact that if you get your electricity from coal, the burning of coal to power your incandescent lights over their lifespans releases just as much mercury into the atmosphere.

Granted, if you break one, all that mercury is going into your home instead of a recycling center (which is where those bulbs should go)...but whose fault is that?

btw, you do NOT need a hazmat crew to cleanup a broken CFL
- http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html
- http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp

 

[Brimstone Baritone]

I was left with Primatene Mist at $16.00 a bottle. That also ends this year, not because of ephedrine, but because of a U.N. treaty to end CFC's.

Last I checked, Primatine Mist was epinephrine. Primatine tablets are ephedrine. You have to jump through the same hoops for those as for pseudoephedrine.

The real problem I have is, that making Mini Thins illegal and banning ephedrine didn't put an end to Meth. It only drove the cost for me to treat my breathing disorder up.
There's government efficiency for you.

Amen to that.

As for whoever said they would take it out on the cashier:

You don't want to show your ID? Fine by me. I respect your choice. Have a nice day. I'm not losing my job because you let your politician take away your rights for your own 'safety', and I'm sure as hell not putting away all the crap you pulled off the shelf to try to troll me. I hate when people think that just because they are the 'customer' that they can treat the employees with disrespect. If you are the kind of person that would leave your stuff on the belt, don't even bother coming in my store. You'll be in for a rude awakening.

 

[MilProGuy]

Last I checked, Primatine Mist was epinephrine. Primatine tablets are ephedrine. You have to jump through the same hoops for those as for pseudoephedrine for the same unlawful purpose.

The reason for that is because the same degenerates who are using pseudoephedrine in the manufacture of crystal meth, are also using the other products you have mentioned.

It's a shame that the lawless element of our society is bringing about unfair impositions on the rest of us.

My twenty-year-old, drug-abusing, granddaughter and her punk boyfriend (who is now in prison), were into the prescription drug-garnering racket for a good while, buying up every sudafed-type product they could get their hands on to sell to the meth lab two counties away from us. Her mother is addicted to bronchaid, and that over-the-counter drug is also now one that folks have to sign for due to the addicts who abuse the drug. Mom takes 24 bronchaid tablets a day, so you can imagine how many people she has to get to use their driver's license to fraudulently obtain the drug so she can continue to abuse it. I can guarantee you that I'm not one who is helping support her drug addiction.

 

[since9]

I stopped using cold medicine about 20 years ago. Instead, I use a hypertonic saline solution. Normal saline is 9 g NaCl per liter. That produces a 0.9% weight/volume NaCl/H20. Hypertonic saline is anything above that, and up to 3.5% works well. In fact, seawater itself is 3.5%. That translates to 35 grams of NaCl. Most nasal rinses are 0.9%, but I use 20 g of Na, which produces a 2% solution. Which is both hypertonic yet still very comfortable.

Table salt is fine, but you might find the added iodine a might irritating. Sea salt seems to work best. I add 1 tsp of sodium bicarbonate per liter as a buffering agent.

It accomplishes several things:

1. Flushes foreign particles and residue from any infection.

2. Draws sermi-sterile body fluids into the nasal cavity, which further flushes out the seawater. As these fluids contain bacterial-fighting agents, it reduces infection.

3. The sodium and chlorine ions in solution tend to be reactive with bacteria and viruses, further reducing septicism.

The biggest benefit is that instead of having drippy yet dry-feeling sinuses in a very dry climate, they feel much, much better.

Besides, the colds usually last about 3 days when I do this, instead of 7 or more.

***

Having said all of that, absolutely none of which has anything to do with the OP, I'd like to add that I believe even convicted meth labbers have a legitimate need for purchasing cold medicine i.e. to treat a cold.

 

[Metalhead47]

I stopped using cold medicine about 20 years ago. Instead, I use a hypertonic saline solution. Normal saline is 9 g NaCl per liter. That produces a 0.9% weight/volume NaCl/H20. Hypertonic saline is anything above that, and up to 3.5% works well. In fact, seawater itself is 3.5%. That translates to 35 grams of NaCl. Most nasal rinses are 0.9%, but I use 20 g of Na, which produces a 2% solution. Which is both hypertonic yet still very comfortable.

Table salt is fine, but you might find the added iodine a might irritating. Sea salt seems to work best. I add 1 tsp of sodium bicarbonate per liter as a buffering agent.

It accomplishes several things:

1. Flushes foreign particles and residue from any infection.

2. Draws sermi-sterile body fluids into the nasal cavity, which further flushes out the seawater. As these fluids contain bacterial-fighting agents, it reduces infection.

3. The sodium and chlorine ions in solution tend to be reactive with bacteria and viruses, further reducing septicism.

The biggest benefit is that instead of having drippy yet dry-feeling sinuses in a very dry climate, they feel much, much better.

Besides, the colds usually last about 3 days when I do this, instead of 7 or more.

***

Having said all of that, absolutely none of which has anything to do with the OP, I'd like to add that I believe even convicted meth labbers have a legitimate need for purchasing cold medicine i.e. to treat a cold.

Riiiiiight, so when my nose is raw and near bleeding from constant sneezing/blowing, you want me to spray concentrated salt water up into an open wound? I've had seawater up the nose before, it's not pleasant and didn't do a durn thing for my sinuses. Maybe works for colds, I think most decongestants go to folks like me with chronic allergies.

And yes, even a convicted meth labber had a legitimate reason for purchasing sudafed: producing meth. If the govt would just leave him alone in the first place, the rest of us wouldn't have our rights trampled in a futile attempt to stop him doing something he's gonna do anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OlGutshotWilly]

I believe he may be referring to utilizing a Neti Pot. Essentially irrigating the sinus cavities and nasal passages with a Saline solution as he described above.

Supposed to be very effective, particularly for chronic allergy sufferers. I've not tried it yet, but have kept it in the back of my mind. I only get about one cold a year so have very few sinus problems.

Learned about it from a Dermatologist of all people.

More info:
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/sinus-pain-pressure-9/neti-pots?page=2

http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/products-publications/neti-pot-products/

 

[since9]

Riiiiiight, so when my nose is raw and near bleeding from constant sneezing/blowing, you want me to spray concentrated salt water up into an open wound? I've had seawater up the nose before, it's not pleasant...

20g is not "concentrated." Nor is it seawater. You did read my post after you quoted it, right?

Personally, I think this is definitely not for you. I think you should do nothing other than allowing your nose to continue being raw and near bleeding. Soothing it with this simple solution would be a waste. You're too tough to actually do anything positive for your condition. Toughing it out is what you want to do! None of this soothing solution for you, my friend - No Sir-ee!

And yes, even a convicted meth labber had a legitimate reason for purchasing sudafed: producing meth.

Producing meth, a dangerous drug that destroys the lives of those who use it, isn't a legitimate reason.

 

[Badger Johnson]

Badger,
Please tell us what drug that would be?? I would like to know.

Your pet peeve is well justified for many of the more serious maladies that befall us, but cold medicine is just cold medicine. No big advances in that field of study for quite some time.

Hell of an interesting discussion for a gun forum.......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terfenadine

Removed from the market in 1998 due to the potential for Cardiac arrythmias. Was prescription for a while. There are plenty others, you can google if you like.

 

[Metalhead47]

20g is not "concentrated." Nor is it seawater. You did read my post after you quoted it, right?

Personally, I think this is definitely not for you. I think you should do nothing other than allowing your nose to continue being raw and near bleeding. Soothing it with this simple solution would be a waste. You're too tough to actually do anything positive for your condition. Toughing it out is what you want to do! None of this soothing solution for you, my friend - No Sir-ee!

I see nothing soothing about shooting salt water up my nose

Producing meth, a dangerous drug that destroys the lives of those who use it, isn't a legitimate reason.

But producing alcohol, a dangerous drug that destroys the lives of those who use it, IS a legitimate practice?

History has demonstrated over and over again that some people simply want to abuse dangerous drugs that destroy their lives. They will do this regardless of any laws. Laws that try to prohibit this do nothing to help the sick people who abuse, and merely make very bad men very rich.

 

[OlGutshotWilly]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terfenadine

Removed from the market in 1998 due to the potential for Cardiac arrythmias. Was prescription for a while. There are plenty others, you can google if you like.

Badger,
Appreciate your reply. Yes, terfenadine was pulled for elongation of the q-t interval. Astemizole ( another 1st generation "non-drowsy antihistamine) was also pulled back in the day. I was a guinea pig for one of the Astemizole studies when it was coming to market. Lucky for me I was in the placebo group!

You will notice that Terfenadine is however, still on the market as Fexofenadine (Allegra). All they did was remove the offending molecule that caused the QT problems and then put it back on the market.

The subtle issue here is that I was referring to cold medicines. Terfenadine/fexofenadine/Astemizole are antihistamines used for Allergic rhinitis, Hayfever and the such.

However, your point is taken, in that in my reply to you I did state that, as in the OTC drugs, the prescription cold drugs do contain Rx only or larger doses of an antihistamine, in addition to the phenylephrine/ ephedrine etc. Most use only the cheap and plentiful diphenhydramine (benadryl) and chlorpheniramine, which maximize their profits on the OTC stuff.

Along the same lines, and to back up your pet peeve, when the patent ran out on Prilosec (omeprazole), the company simply changed one molecule to make the drug Nexium which they sold as "improved" and cost big bucks. Nexium is just the "second pass" molecule that your body makes on its own with Prilosec after it has passed through your liver once.

Cheers.

 

[since9]

I see nothing soothing about shooting salt water up my nose.

It's the alleviation of cold and sinus infection symptoms I find soothing.

But producing alcohol, a dangerous drug that destroys the lives of those who use it, IS a legitimate practice?

Your statement, "a dangerous drug that destroys the lives of those who use it" is false. To render it true, you must add the word "some of," as in: "a dangerous drug that destroys the lives of some of those who use it."

History has demonstrated over and over again that some people simply want to abuse dangerous drugs that destroy their lives. They will do this regardless of any laws. Laws that try to prohibit this do nothing to help the sick people who abuse, and merely make very bad men very rich.

Two more false statements:

1. "Laws that try to prohibit this do nothing to help the sick people who abuse..."

2. "...merely make very bad men very rich."

The issue isn't that you're wrong, but rather, that your statements are absolutes, along the lines of extremism in marital fights, saying "You ALWAYS do that!" when in truth, the individual sometimes does that.

How might you rephrase them in a way that better relates them to the topic of this thread?

 

[since9]

However, your point is taken, in that in my reply to you I did state that, as in the OTC drugs, the prescription cold drugs do contain Rx only or larger doses of an antihistamine, in addition to the phenylephrine/ ephedrine etc. Most use only the cheap and plentiful diphenhydramine (benadryl) and chlorpheniramine, which maximize their profits on the OTC stuff.

Yet another reason to use something else which has proven as effective as cold medicines yet costs just pennies per use.

Along the same lines, and to back up your pet peeve, when the patent ran out on Prilosec (omeprazole), the company simply changed one molecule to make the drug Nexium which they sold as "improved" and cost big bucks. Nexium is just the "second pass" molecule that your body makes on its own with Prilosec after it has passed through your liver once.

As one who occasionally suffers from heartburn, I've found the most effective relief comes from eating moderately and avoiding certain foods. My point is that people spend as much on unnecessary medicines throughout their lives as they'd spend on a brand new car.

I'd rather have a second car.

 

[OlGutshotWilly]

Yet another reason to use something else which has proven as effective as cold medicines yet costs just pennies per use.



As one who occasionally suffers from heartburn, I've found the most effective relief comes from eating moderately and avoiding certain foods.

Your statement is generally very true. For the occasional sufferer it can be curative. However, using the proton pump inhibitor to minimize the effects of a malfunctioning Cardiac sphincter (IE: chronic GERD ) can be safer than the risks of the current state of surgical repair of said anatomy. Utilizing moderation and diet does work wonders as a first adjunct.

 

[sudden valley gunner]

Your statement is generally very true. For the occasional sufferer it can be curative. However, using the proton pump inhibitor to minimize the effects of a malfunctioning Cardiac sphincter (IE: chronic GERD ) can be safer than the risks of the current state of surgical repair of said anatomy. Utilizing moderation and diet does work wonders as a first adjunct.

Proton inhibitors have nearly killed me a few times, I adjust my diet.

The funny things the doctor hardly believed what it would do to me and give me another brand to try with same effect after several of them, nearly killing me I stopped using most of them.

I did try the 14 day prilosec course from Costco and that seemed to work better than all the prescription ones.

 

[OlGutshotWilly]

What's funny is that Prilosec (omeprazole) used to be by prescription only until the patent ran out. By then the safety of long term use had been fairly well documented, so the over the counter stuff you buy now is the same dose that used to be available only by prescription.

Most over the counter doses of current prescription meds are just smaller than the prescription doses so you are not as apt to poison yourself.

 

[MKEgal]

I think most decongestants go to folks like me with chronic allergies.

They'll lose their effectiveness, then you'll have to go to dangerously high doses, or natural remedies (saline).

alcohol, a dangerous drug that destroys the lives of those who use it

Really? I don't see how alcohol has destroyed my life.
Never killed anyone OWI, never got in trouble for drinking on the job, never malnourished because of overuse, etc.
Then again, I have the self-control to enjoy it in moderation...

Nexium is just the "second pass" molecule that your body makes on its own with Prilosec after it has passed through your liver once.

Cool to know, & am I a geek for understanding "second pass" without your explanation?

 

[Metalhead47]

Really? I don't see how alcohol has destroyed my life.
Never killed anyone OWI, never got in trouble for drinking on the job, never malnourished because of overuse, etc.
Then again, I have the self-control to enjoy it in moderation...
P

Ugh, both y'all go back and read that original post, and the one I was quoting. You're missing my point.

Point is, alcohol does just as much damage to society and individuals, if not more, than illegal drugs. Just as one can use or ABuse alcohol, one can use or ABuse illegal drugs, or ANYTHING that is enjoyable. There actually is a subculture out there that uses illegal drugs recreationally WITHOUT turning to crime or becoming addicted. You never hear about them because they're not the ones who make the news.

This whole idea that Joe Schmoe can "responsibly" use alcohol, but "illegal" drugs will instantly turn him into a raving, robbing, addict is pure bull.

 

[sudden valley gunner]

What's funny is that Prilosec (omeprazole) used to be by prescription only until the patent ran out. By then the safety of long term use had been fairly well documented, so the over the counter stuff you buy now is the same dose that used to be available only by prescription.

Most over the counter doses of current prescription meds are just smaller than the prescription doses so you are not as apt to poison yourself.

I don't know why but when prescribed it several years ago, it nearly killed me, maybe the "course" is a limited dose design that worked better. Oh I also learned to take it first thing in the morning and no later than 7 am. On second thought maybe that's why it didn't have the same effect on me, because I don't eat breakfast and rarely eat lunch. Now you got me thinking dammit.....lol.

 

[Brass Magnet]

I was recently a victim of this stupid policy last Thursday when I went to buy some mucinex so that I could unclog my URT and actually get a wink of sleep. I was a little dazed at the store and it didn't really register until I got home that they scanned my ID and I probably wound up in some database. Now I come on here and see this post, confirming it. How freeking stupid.

Ugh, both y'all go back and read that original post, and the one I was quoting. You're missing my point.

Point is, alcohol does just as much damage to society and individuals, if not more, than illegal drugs. Just as one can use or ABuse alcohol, one can use or ABuse illegal drugs, or ANYTHING that is enjoyable. There actually is a subculture out there that uses illegal drugs recreationally WITHOUT turning to crime or becoming addicted. You never hear about them because they're not the ones who make the news.

This whole idea that Joe Schmoe can "responsibly" use alcohol, but "illegal" drugs will instantly turn him into a raving, robbing, addict is pure bull.

+1

I don't know why but when prescribed it several years ago, it nearly killed me, maybe the "course" is a limited dose design that worked better. Oh I also learned to take it first thing in the morning and no later than 7 am. On second thought maybe that's why it didn't have the same effect on me, because I don't eat breakfast and rarely eat lunch. Now you got me thinking dammit.....lol.

I've had problems with too much acid in my stomach and the pain it causes after the removal of my gall bladder. I was first put on Prilosec (a double dose) but it resulted in bad leg cramps which was a side effect not listed on the box but found on their website. My doctor didn't really believe me but I stopped taking them and they went away. For a year or two I contented myself by eating a crapload of Tums but then decided to try some of the other acid inhibitors. I had to increase my doses after a while with them as they lost their effectivness. Now I'm back to generic Prilosec, but only the recommended dose and haven't had any bad cramping but am worried it'll lose it's effectiveness too; then what?

Anyway, what exact problems did you have taking the inhibitors? Have you found other options? You can PM me if you'd like.

 

[OlGutshotWilly]

I've had problems with too much acid in my stomach and the pain it causes after the removal of my gall bladder. I was first put on Prilosec (a double dose) but it resulted in bad leg cramps which was a side effect not listed on the box but found on their website. My doctor didn't really believe me but I stopped taking them and they went away. For a year or two I contented myself by eating a crapload of Tums but then decided to try some of the other acid inhibitors. I had to increase my doses after a while with them as they lost their effectivness. Now I'm back to generic Prilosec, but only the recommended dose and haven't had any bad cramping but am worried it'll lose it's effectiveness too; then what?

Anyway, what exact problems did you have taking the inhibitors? Have you found other options? You can PM me if you'd like.

It should not "lose it's effectiveness" for you. The double dose obviously didn't agree with you for whatever reason, but you are doing well on the regular 20mg dose. You should be able to take it for a long time if needed. I know many people as well as myself who have been taking it for years. I have managed to cut back on it with strict dietary intake as mentioned above. All the Proton Pump inhibitors work at the cellular level in the lining of the stomach to slow down the pumping of acid out of the cells into the stomach. [ in laymans terms ]
The drawback to taking a PPI is that unlike the Calcium based Tums or the Histamine 2 blockers like Zantac ( ranitidine ) which are relatively quick in their effectiveness, the Proton Pump Inhibitors can take up to several hours to begin working.

And as SVG stated, all drugs are essentially therapeutic poisons that can have deleterious effects on various individuals. Sometimes you have to try different drugs to get the desired outcome with minimal side effects.

At least with the Tums, you are getting a healthy dose of Calcium for your bones