May 2011 Moms

Pharmacy refused to sell me medicine (little long)

So I have a cold. I talked to my doctor and she said I could take 60mg of Sudafed every 12 hours. So I go to WalMart and ask for Sudafed. Knowing I don't want to risk getting something "like" Sudafed because it wouldn't be what the doctor said I could take. They keep it behind the counter because of meth.

The lady who works in the pharmacy (maybe a pharm tech) takes me to the generic "compare to Sudafed PE" crap. I then told her I can't take that because I'm pregnant. She proceeds to tell me that she can't suggest I take any of it because I'm pregnant. I tell her my doctor told me to take Sudafed. She said that can hurt the baby and our pharmacist said not to take it. So I get a little rude at that point and say "So my doctor is wrong but you people at walmart who aren't doctors know best?" 

She then goes and gets a print out about Phenylephrine. That's the stuff that she suggested I take. Which is not Sudafed (pseudoephedrine). The printout told me what can happen to my unborn baby if I take it. Too bad I didn't want that! I was so irritated. So we walked out of the store and my mom got me SUDAFED. I didn't think they would get the Sudafed from behind the counter for me. 

 



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Re: Pharmacy refused to sell me medicine (little long)

  • Well thats some BS.
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  • I would complain in a big way. That's terrible! And yes, Sudafed is what you should be taking.
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  • image*LisaFrank*:
    I would complain in a big way. That's terrible! And yes, Sudafed is what you should be taking.

    Yeah so I have Sudafed now and I'm glad. I seriously wanted to cry at the store. I've been miserable and putting off getting anything at all because I hate the thought of taking anything and then they try to tell me I'm going to kill my baby. 



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  • I actually got a lecture from a pharmacist about ginger ale!  The first few weeks I was pregnant I asked where to find it since I was closest to them in the grocery store.  I said "I'm not feeling well from morning sickness so I really need to find this ginger ale fast!!  I heard this will help a lot!"   So the lady says to me "Well we can't recommend anything like that for a pregnant lady" and then refused to tell me where I could find it!!!  I was so mad!!!
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  • imagefragglefan:
    I actually got a lecture from a pharmacist about ginger ale!  The first few weeks I was pregnant I asked where to find it since I was closest to them in the grocery store.  I said "I'm not feeling well from morning sickness so I really need to find this ginger ale fast!!  I heard this will help a lot!"   So the lady says to me "Well we can't recommend anything like that for a pregnant lady" and then refused to tell me where I could find it!!!  I was so mad!!!

    Oh my gosh!! That's so ridiculous. DH just said they are probably legally bound to say that but seriously? Ginger ale? That's ridiculous. 



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  • I sure hope you taking Sudafed isn't going to hurt your baby since I have had to take it all along at least twice a week for horrible sinus headaches since I can't take Allegra-D.  Feel better.
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  • I'm missing the part where they actually refused to sell it to you.  It sounds like the pharmacist or tech or whatever she was told you "she can't suggest you take any of it" to cover her ass.  But did she actually say "I won't sell you this medicine?"

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  • imageiris427:

    I'm missing the part where they actually refused to sell it to you.  It sounds like the pharmacist or tech or whatever she was told you "she can't suggest you take any of it" to cover her ass.  But did she actually say "I won't sell you this medicine?"

    You're right. I didn't make that clear. I repeatedly asked for the Sudafed because it was kept behind the counter. They didn't give it to me. They just kept telling me I shouldn't take that and then they gave me that stupid printout that had nothing to do with Sudafed.



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  • I can not stand it when non-MD's pretend they know it all.  Watch out at coffee shops too....sometimes they won't give you CAFFEINE!
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  • Wow. What part of planet stupid is that person from?  Did she need your doctor to call in a prescription for Sudafed for you or something? 

    I'll keep this in mind of I ever need something.  I'll just send someone else to get it. 

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  • imagecroberts22:

    Wow. What part of planet stupid is that person from?  Did she need your doctor to call in a prescription for Sudafed for you or something? 

    I'll keep this in mind of I ever need something.  I'll just send someone else to get it. 

    Either that or don't tell them you are pregnant. I shouldn't have said anything. I don't look pregnant yet. I should have just asked for Sudafed and when she showed me the other I should have insisted on the sudafed instead. Oh well. I have it now. Just PSA I guess.



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  • imagemeimsx:
    imageiris427:

    I'm missing the part where they actually refused to sell it to you.  It sounds like the pharmacist or tech or whatever she was told you "she can't suggest you take any of it" to cover her ass.  But did she actually say "I won't sell you this medicine?"

    You're right. I didn't make that clear. I repeatedly asked for the Sudafed because it was kept behind the counter. They didn't give it to me. They just kept telling me I shouldn't take that and then they gave me that stupid printout that had nothing to do with Sudafed.

    OK well that is BS.  I think you should call the store manager or head pharmacist and complain, if you are so inclined.  There are a ton of medicines that have potential adverse effects in pregnancy that OBs will prescribe for their patients, because it's all about risk-benefit analysis.  Very few medicines are conclusively proven safe in pregnancy, and pseudoephedrine is Category C, not Category X.  It's not the pharmacy's place to second-guess a physician.  

    Unless you were asking for 20 boxes of Sudafed.  LOL

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  • This makes people nuts....  I cut the tip of my finger off, and the ER wouldn't give me anything... Told me to take tylenol.  So I called my OB and they said to first try my regular doc, since this wasn't OB related.  My doc wouldn't give me anything, so my OB wrote my a perc prescription.  They said people get really nervous about giving us something.  I also had to bring a note to the dentist.
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  • imagesnoopy5512:
    This makes people nuts....  I cut the tip of my finger off, and the ER wouldn't give me anything... Told me to take tylenol.  So I called my OB and they said to first try my regular doc, since this wasn't OB related.  My doc wouldn't give me anything, so my OB wrote my a perc prescription.  They said people get really nervous about giving us something.  I also had to bring a note to the dentist.

    This is very true. I suffer from migraine headaches and during both pregnancies my neurologist has referred me straight to my OB.  The OB tells me to talk to the neuro...ugh. So frustrating.

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  • Hopefully your OB's are understanding of this and write those scripts.  It was nice, my monthly appt was about a month after my finger thing, and my OB asked how I was doing, so I showed it to her.  She told me that it was obvious tylenol wouldn't have been enough, so I felt justified. Then again, I don't get the impression that my ob thinks I am a druggy Stick out tongue
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  • Pain in the butt. I haven't run into this and I hope I don't, I plan on talking to my doctor about sudafed today and if I get the okay getting some tonight. 

    I had an incident a few years ago where my doctor prescribed me a medication and when I went to the pharmacy they actually made me sit down and talk to the pharmacist about it because they didn't think I should take it. I find it funny that they wouldn't sell you sudafed and as another PP said, some places wont sell you coffee, but plenty of pregnant women smoke a drink, how the heck do people sell them that stuff but not sudafed and caffeine?! 


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  • Why wouldn't you trust what a pharmacist tells you over your doctor regarding medications?  Drugs are their expertise!  Pharmacists usually know more about drugs than doctors do!

    And Sudafed PE is phenylephrine! Maybe there was a miscommunication between the two of you over which formulation of Sudafed you were looking for (i.e. sudafed vs. sudafed pe), but the pharmacist wasn't wrong here. 

    I too am missing where they refused to sell it to you.

  • imageBoomSmash:

    Why wouldn't you trust what a pharmacist tells you over your doctor regarding medications?  Drugs are their expertise!  Pharmacists usually know more about drugs than doctors do!

    And Sudafed PE is phenylephrine! Maybe there was a miscommunication between the two of you over which formulation of Sudafed you were looking for (i.e. sudafed vs. sudafed pe), but the pharmacist wasn't wrong here. 

    I too am missing where they refused to sell it to you.

    Like Iris said, it's not the pharmacists job to weigh the risk vs. benefit when talking about drugs and pregnancy. That is the OB's job.  

    I take a Cat C med for my migraine headaches.  In this case, the pharmacist would probably tell me not to take the medication, but my doctor and I have weighed that the benefit vs. the risk is worth it in my case.  

    And Sudafed PE is not recommended by my OB.  She recommends regular Sudafed.

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  • imageBoomSmash:

    Why wouldn't you trust what a pharmacist tells you over your doctor regarding medications?  Drugs are their expertise!  Pharmacists usually know more about drugs than doctors do!

    And Sudafed PE is phenylephrine! Maybe there was a miscommunication between the two of you over which formulation of Sudafed you were looking for (i.e. sudafed vs. sudafed pe), but the pharmacist wasn't wrong here. 

    I too am missing where they refused to sell it to you.

     This is what I'm wondering.

  • image*LisaFrank*:
    imageBoomSmash:

    Why wouldn't you trust what a pharmacist tells you over your doctor regarding medications?  Drugs are their expertise!  Pharmacists usually know more about drugs than doctors do!

    And Sudafed PE is phenylephrine! Maybe there was a miscommunication between the two of you over which formulation of Sudafed you were looking for (i.e. sudafed vs. sudafed pe), but the pharmacist wasn't wrong here. 

    I too am missing where they refused to sell it to you.

    Like Iris said, it's not the pharmacists job to weigh the risk vs. benefit when talking about drugs and pregnancy. That is the OB's job.  

    I take a Cat C med for my migraine headaches.  In this case, the pharmacist would probably tell me not to take the medication, but my doctor and I have weighed that the benefit vs. the risk is worth it in my case.  

    And Sudafed PE is not recommended by my OB.  She recommends regular Sudafed.

    This.  Pharmacists are not physicians.  A pharmacist's expertise may be drugs but an OB's expertise is in managing pregnancy, including weighing the risks and benefits of any drug or procedure for this particular mother and child.  Tons of pregnant women take category C drugs, sometimes for the duration of their entire pregnancy.  

    It's not like meimsx was trying to fill a rx for Accutane FFS.  

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  • My comment was is response to the two comments that basically implied doctors know more about drugs than pharmacists, like the OP saying "So my doctor is wrong but you people at walmart who aren't doctors know best?" and then jeffrae saying "I can not stand it when non-MD's pretend they know it all."

    I agree that the doctor has the responsibility of weighing the risks vs benefits, but I totally disagree that doc knows best when it comes to drugs. If a pharmacist advised me not to take a certain medication that was prescribed, I'd definitely go back and discuss other options with the doctor.

    I'm talking in general here also.  We all know that Sudafed is okay to take while pregnant. 

  • I didn't say that a pharmacist doesn't know anything about drugs. For the record, I used to be a pharmacy tech. I know pharmacists know drugs. I not oblivious to drugs either. But when my doctor tells me I can take Sudafed and I ask for Sudafed and they don't give that to me because I'm pregnant I take issue. My doctor is the person who determines what I can and cannot take. Its not the pharmacists job to tell me what I am allowed to take. Tell me the risks if you feel the need but you can't refuse to sell me the medication my doctor wants me to take.

    Also when I told the pharm tech that I didn't want the Sudafed PE (which doesn't contain any Pseudoephedrine) because I was pregnant she shut down. She didn't even consider that there was a difference between the two and that one was considered safer.




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  • The same thing happened to DH when I had a cold. The lady told DH that I could take Sudafed PE and that I would be totally fine. He had to argue with her (and then a manager) for 15 minutes to finally get regular Sudafed.
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  • imageKimmer123:
    The same thing happened to DH when I had a cold. The lady told DH that I could take Sudafed PE and that I would be totally fine. He had to argue with her (and then a manager) for 15 minutes to finally get regular Sudafed.

    Thank you. I feel vindicated in a way now. They thought it was the same thing. It is not. I understand they have to be careful with the Sudafed because of meth addicts but one box is not going to make me a bad guy.



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