MedWorm: Pharmacists and Pharmacologists

Why i escaped retail

The Welsh Pharmacist — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:56:00 +0100

This American chap (I assume) has written one of the best pieces of literature I have ever seen. Anyone who has worked in retail will be familiar. The reason I escaped was because I was fed up of being treated like shit by a bunch of thick arseholes.Read this now: http://www.theangrypharmacist.com/archives/2008/05/friday_start_of_the_month_very.html#comments (Source: The Welsh Pharmacist)

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My secret obession

The Welsh Pharmacist — Sat, 17 May 2008 08:44:00 +0100

Yet another Brett Favre update, courtesy of The Onion this time GREEN BAY, WI—The Green Bay Packers addressed questions concerning the current status, future plans, and whereabouts of recently retired quarterback Brett Favre by announcing Monday that they had sent him to the country to live on a beautiful farm with a very nice family."We know you loved Brett Favre, but he wasn't happy here. He couldn't stay here," Packers general manager Ted Thompson told hundreds of quiet but tear-streaked Packer fans assembled at the televised Lambeau Field press conference. "And he loved you, too—he loved you very much indeed—but he needed to go someplace where he could run and jump and throw his favorite football around. And he couldn't do that here anymore."More here: http://www.theonion.com/content/news/packers_tell_fans_they_gave_favre (Source: The Welsh Pharmacist)

Tap stands up

The Angriest Pharmacist — Sat, 17 May 2008 06:03:44 +0100

So, I got a link emailed to me for this post. I’ve been busy lately, so I forwarded it to The Angry Pharmacist for him to handle….and handle it he did! I really don’t have anything to add other than fuck that doctor’s attitude towards our profession. I’m merely posting this so everyone can read the complete an utter pwnage handed down by the DrugLord. (Source: The Angriest Pharmacist)

Winter is coming*

The Welsh Pharmacist — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:49:00 +0100

People of New Zealand. If the temperature outside is 20C, the sun is shining and everyone is walking around in shorts, then it is NOT FUCKING WINTER!Thank you.*Bonus points if anyone gets the nerdy reference. (Source: The Welsh Pharmacist)

Today, a sincere thank you to the state of west virginia......

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:27:00 +0100

....for reminding me why I got the hell out of that part of the country.Mrs. Clinton defeated Senator Obama Tuesday in a primary where racial considerations emerged as an unusually salient factor.The number of white Democratic voters who said that race influenced their choice on Tuesday was among the highest recorded in voter surveys in the Clinton-Obama nomination fight. Two in 10 white West Virginia voters said that race was an important factor in their vote,Two in 10 is another way of saying 1 in 5. And that's the number of cracker-asses in West Virginia willing to admit to being racists. The real number is much higher, as most racists aren't brave enough to say publicly what they are. Trust me on this. I'm an insider.Here's the funny part. Most of these hillbillies have probably never seen a black person. I was 13 years old when I saw my first black dude. I played baseball and he was the coach of the visiting team. I was probably in college before I saw any more.So, I don't say this often, so listen up West Virginia. Vote for McCain in November. I want to be as much unlike you as possible. I don't want to look like you, I don't want to sound like you, I don't want to like anything you like, and I sure as hell don't want to think like you, when you bother to think. Because you're stupid.Too stupid to see how you, your parents, and your parent's parents parents have been nothing but fucked over by people who weren't black.Did a black man own the coal mine that broke the spirit of your grandfather? No.Is a black man blowing the tops off your mountains and dumping the waste in the holler? No.Did a black man start the pointless war that killed your child? No. Yet somehow you still get all teary-eyed believing the lie that is your daughter Jessica Lynch.I hate to tell you this hilljacks, but you have far more in common with the people dealing with the legacy of slavery than you do with the people spending the profits of king coal.But you're too stupid to see it. Vote for McCain West Virginia. It's kinda funny to watch them fuck you now that I'm gone.The rest of you know what to do. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

Ama no dice

The Angriest Pharmacist — Thu, 15 May 2008 02:30:12 +0100

I got a fax today from the local E.R. “Patient XXX left the ER today at 1800 after receiving a morphine shot Against Medical Advice. At this time it was discovered that a pad of ER prescriptions was found to be missing. All prescriptions from this ER need to be verified via phone call and will hereafter be pink rather than white.” Holy. Fucking. Shit. This drug seeker has found herself a world of trouble. This fax went to every pharmacy in a 50-mile radius as well as every hospital within a reasonable distance. All for what? A fucking shot a morphine that will get her a buzz for less than 6 hours. On top of that, any script she tries to fill at any pharmacy will be scrutinized, verified, and likely canceled. I sincerely hope she has insurance too. If that’s the case, she’ll have to pay the ENTIRE bill. That’s right folks, if you have insurance and leave AMA, your insurance will not pay a single fucking dime. You get to pay the entire ER/Hospital bill…. What’s the going rate on a shot of Morphine these days? My guess is about $600 when all is said and done. (Source: The Angriest Pharmacist)

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Fa cup final!

The Welsh Pharmacist — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:36:00 +0100

Still the most important football match of the year, whatever Sky may tell you. Well, unless it's between Manure and Chelski, in which case, fuck 'em.HOWEVER, this year's cup final has two teams who, collectively, have not been to a cup final for 240,000,000 years. So, it should be a bit more exciting. And there's the chance to tweak the nose of the English again. Here's a proper crap traditional cup final song http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=lApivPlPhkg.Could have done without the reference to that shitbag Ridsdale though. (Source: The Welsh Pharmacist)

A quick question for everyone who works in a doctor's office.

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Wed, 14 May 2008 05:46:00 +0100

Why do you think you need a fax from me to renew someone's prescription? You really don't. You can issue a prescription at any time, in any way you like. You can write it down, you can phone it in, you can leave it on the voicemail. Hell, when I was in Ohio the law still said you could transmit it by telegraph.Yet you'll sit by the fax machine, sometimes for hours, and wait like you need the fax machine's permission to do your job. Sometimes you'll even call me..... tell me what the patient asked you for, and instead of approving or denying the refill request, you'll say something like "WE HAVEN'T GOT A FAX YET!!"Why do you think you need one? I mean, it's a renewal, and you have a record of what you've prescribed the patient in the past....don't you? I mean, when the doctor issues a prescription, you guys do write it down somewhere, right? All that medical type information necessary to provide proper care.....you do keep track of that.....I hope.....If not, maybe you should start. Because I bet your office could save a lot of time if the doctor didn't have to re-examine and re-diagnose every patient every time they came in.Or maybe you do have the information, and would just rather sit on your lazy ass stuffing snacks into your face and talking about the new weight loss fad instead of getting up and finding the chart.I think you know which one I think it is. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

I'm tired of being everyone's soap bitch.

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Tue, 13 May 2008 07:07:00 +0100

I'm going to write something in this post that may at last lift the veil of semi-anonymity that has covered this blog for the last three years. It may also frighten any of you that shop at corpo-pharmacies: When the soap is empty in the store's bathroom, I replace it. There you go. If you work or have ever been in a drugstore, and there was soap in the bathroom, you now know exactly who I am. Because I SWEAR TO GOD I seem to be the only person on the planet capable of putting soap in the bathroom of a pharmacy. This now covers 16 years, three different pharmacy chains, and two states. Tonight however, I have seen the empty suds bottle one too many times. I'm calling a soap strike. This time I put the soap next to the sink in the pharmacy. There's plenty for me. There's none in the bathroom. It'll be an interesting experiment to see how long it stays that way. Just don't interrupt me when you see me come up from the back of the store and head to the pharmacy sink. That really wouldn't be in your best interest. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

I randomly dive into the giant pile of crap mail that never gets opened, and come out with a stupidity nugget

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:11:00 +0100

Many of you will look at this ad and undoubtedly be confused by the model pictured power walking her way to health.You're confused because you can't read the fine print beside her leg:"Hi, Bob? Great job on the Levemir layout. We just have one small problem. When we showed it to focus groups, about 20% of the people who saw it thought the purpose of the model was to explain the intricacies of quantum mechanics, and they didn't get the connection with a diabetes treatment.""What?""Another 15% thought we were making fun of Oprah.""Oh my God!! We're already over budget on this! And we sure as hell can't afford to get sued by Oprah! Jesus, what are we gonna do!!??""Calm down Bob, I think I've got a solution. If we add some microscopic print that should take care of everything. We simply must state the sole purpose of this model in a way most people will overlook.""Do you think it will work Dirk?""It will have to work."Bob walked out of the office frightened, but somehow reassured that the steady leadership of Dirk would once again get the department through another crisis.At that moment Bob realized he was in love. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

Understatement of the day.

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Sun, 11 May 2008 05:03:00 +0100

I live for pharmacy my friends. I breathe it. 24/7 my mind is on the drugs. Like just now I was spending my spare time reading about anticholinergic side effects. There is no better way to spend a Saturday night, and probably no better illustration of why I am single. My commitment to medicine is matched only by my appreciation for stupid proclamations. Which is why I found this statement from our friends at Merck to be so personally fulfilling:Anticholinergic effects include confusion, blurred vision, constipation, dry mouth, light-headedness, difficulty starting and continuing to urinate, and loss of bladder control. Most of these effects are undesirable.A twofer! Informative and idiotic at the same time! Exactly which of these effects is the desirable one you suppose? Maybe the confusion. In a world gone insane, anticholinergic-induced confusion may be the best way to cope.The blurred vision may also help with this. I see no possible role for loss of bladder control though. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

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Sorry

The Angriest Pharmacist — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:05:51 +0100

Dear Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Sorry for banning your entire subnet. Someone at your school must have been a prick. I have removed the ban, hopefully the jerk will not return. Best Wishes! The Angriest Pharmacist PS - Check out this weird story I got from “Wayne” concerning Walgreens. They charged a lady for OJ, sugar, and a glucometer after she passed out from hypoglycemia in line. Or at least they tried to charge her… (Source: The Angriest Pharmacist)

Where's my bloody journal got to?

The Welsh Pharmacist — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:39:00 +0100

£395 for a weekly comic, and it hasn't turned up yet. Although I would expect nothing less from a "governing body" that allows homeopathy to exist, unchallenged. (Source: The Welsh Pharmacist)

Pharmacy in the colonies.

The Welsh Pharmacist — Sat, 10 May 2008 10:16:00 +0100

Based on a whole five days experience, a lot of which was taken up with explaining where the toilets are, and where I hang my coat, I can safely say that pharmacy in Aotearoa is 240,000,000 times better than it is in the shitpit that is the Rhondda.Down here, as I understand it, there is this strange and mysterious beast known as the PHARMAC committee that evaluate each drug on the basis of price and usefulness, and then decides if it is "allowed" to be prescribed. So, for example, the only ACE inhibitors here are cilazapril or quinalapril, neither of which are used to any great degree at home, where there are several hundred ACE inhibitors. Also, there's none of this " I WANT LOSEC!!1111I'M ALLERGIC TO OMEPRAZOLE111!!!1" shit here, you get what's subsidised by the government, and lump it. So far, I think it's a good system.Every pharmacist I've met has said to me"So you worked in retail did you?"Me: "Aye, two years"(not wishing to say anything controversial, on account of being a new chap)"It's shit, isn't it"Me: "FUCK AYE, it's like scrubbing my scrotum with sandpaper."So that's good. So far, so good. It's very quiet though, dispensary wise, so a lot of afternoons are spent warding, scratching, gossiping, or compiling a list of TOP 5 WOMEN/MEN YOU WOULD HAVE IF YOU WERE GAY. Sweet. (Source: The Welsh Pharmacist)

It's a short night so i don't have much for you. enjoy this iggy pop video

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Fri, 09 May 2008 05:08:00 +0100

In an interview with The New York Times last year Iggy said of this performance:"I'm going to be straight, I was more than a little high"The best bands usually are:I love how the whole hedonistic spectacle of unparalleled rock and roll debauchery is narrated by the square in the suit. I can just see him after the show in the hotel bar, tie slightly loosened, a martini in hand bending the barkeeps ear:"Jesus Christ you wouldn't believe the things I saw today Bob"I also love the sidekick....."hello....I'm a doofusy looking young person here to interpret what's going on here for Mr. and Mrs. small town America, and to make it appear non-threatening so we don't get too many complaints. Think of me as your window into the world of todays youth."The youth that would have no doubt eaten him alive had he actually been in the crowd. I was born 20 years too late. Sigh. Goodnight. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

“omnipotent” assholes and dirty ol’ (wo)men….

The Angriest Pharmacist — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:48:48 +0100

This post comprises of the last few weeks of work, which have been unusually uneventful for me…. I start to worry as NOTHING EVER goes quietly for me. I couldn’t write as the last post dive bombed, so I’ll see how this goes, and if I cock up, I shall blog no more. The *Angriest* one’s funniest post to date (IMHO) comprised of a complete arse of a “pharmacist” (no way was that real) trying to communicate with a patient (which makes me think it is a couple of medical students taking the piss out of our profession-because doctors don’t know or care how the drugs work). There are two types of medical students-the chilled and relaxed (the minority) and the stressed and partied out (the majority, that become “omnipotent” assholes). So unfortunate that my little sister will fall into the latter category, though my blog is fast becoming an icon amongst the med students in her class-not quite what I intended!! Though a few have decided to try dentistry instead….as they now fear the wrath of the pharmacist!! Omnipotent….used when describing a god because they are faultless and are never wrong, they know everything. Doctors may play with lives and like to play god, make mistakes like all humans do (otherwise they’d never learn ANYTHING-and usually we pharmacists are their reference guide) yet know FUCK ALL. I always laugh when a patient says they’d rather take their doctors word for it….because the very next week they are banging down your door because the doctor couldn’t be bothered with them! For example, yesterday I had to call for an ambulance for a patient who was suffering from severe dehydration after a bout of food poisoning-which the GP dismissed as “hyperchondrical”…..(fucking knob). A local doctor (the same one as above, ahem) made the mistake of missing a patients adverse drug reaction to ibuprofen (Advil). I spotted it, reported it and did my duty. The doctor said to just dispense the prescription (”omnipotent” asshole). I told the patient that if he had any further trouble to talk to the doctor, as I was overruled. Like Pilate, I washed my hands…. Now, for the Dirty Ol’ (wo)men. Now, you’d think that for all the censorship, rules and regs we have to face in our personal lives, that those that set the standard originally would adhere to it-apparently this is not the case in Bonnie Scotland…. Last week, a woman, in her 70s asked to speak to me. In front of other customers, she proceeded to describe how itchy her lips were and that the doctor had given her a cream for them. I could see nothing wrong, until she uttered the words that nearly put me off sex for life “NO, not those lips dear. The lips DOWN UNDER” and pointed. Nice. Then there’s the “confident” (i.e. limp) men over the age of 60 getting Viagra for free, and they ALWAYS wink at me when I hand them their items (shudder). The worst has to be a man in his 90s (yes, over NINETY YEARS OLD), telling me that my name was very “Victorian” and he imagined me in a corset and crinoline dress… Never have I felt so used…. I think as a pharmacist you develop immunity as you always have to appear professional. When it happens to my staff though, I really laugh. These are women 20 years older than me, and they still get embarrassed, even though they’ve probably seen it all before! A member of my staff got very embarrassed the other day as she was witnessing a man take his trousers off-she froze and didn’t know what to do! Thankfully he had another pair on under them! HAHAHAHAHA! I stood watching her face getting redder and him wrestling with his trousers in front of a shop full of people. Fair enough, I probably should have intervened, but I couldn’t. (Probably the reason why I have an impacted wisdom tooth now, and am on antibiotics-which means that the alcoholic beverages are out for the next week, and the pain of it makes me VERY bitchy.Karma). (Source: The Angriest Pharmacist)

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In the battle against the large breasts of pharmaceutical sales representatives, tonight the drugmonkey scores a small but significant victory

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:56:00 +0100

From the mailbag:I just wanted to thank you immensely for the post you did on Oct. 22, 2006, concerning idiotic doctors who give Pexeva prescriptions instead of paroxetine. My husband was diagnosed as bipolar about a year ago. We have been in terrible financial condition, in large part to his inability to work because of his mental issues. After years of discussion, I finally got him to see a doctor about it. He was diagnosed using the same damn checklist I found online years before and the doctor prescribed Pexeva. It was like a miracle -- he was under control for the first time in a long time. The only problem was that his prescription cost about $200 a month (he's uninsured), and it was very hard to scrape the money together to pay for it.Imagine my surprise when googling around about a generic alternative, I found your post. THANK YOU SO MUCH! Our dumbass doctor didn't believe there was a generic Pexeva (amazing!!) so I printed your post and enlightened him. Incredibly, it took some arm-twisting to get the damn paroxetine prescription from him, but we got it. $4 freaking dollars a month at any Wal-Mart or Kroger's; hell of a difference from $200 a month. Honestly, we can now pay the electric bill thanks to you!!!By the way, the headline of that old post the letter writer printed out and showed to her doctor?If You Are A Doctor That's Ever Written A Prescription For Pexeva, You Are By Definition A Numbnut.BBBWWWWAAAAHHHHAAAHHHAAAAHHHAAAA!!!!!! Oh God I wish I could have seen it......If you guys keep doing things like this, you're gonna put my future in the chicken-fat removal business in serious jeopardy...... (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

Edumacation

FAST FOOD Pharmacy — Wed, 07 May 2008 22:20:00 +0100

I was counseling an elderly lady on the phone. My boss was standing next to me working on the computer. He heard "We did not all go to the same school at the same time so our training may be a little different." He is cracking up and I have to bite my tongue not to laugh.What he didn't hear of the conversation was what a different pharmacist had answered to the same question I just answered and she wanted to know why the two were different. So you don't have to ask in "comments" she wanted to suck on a piece of candy to help with irritation in her throat because she took an 8 ounce glass of water with a heaping teaspoonful of metamucil in it the night before and her throat is kind of dry and rough this morning. Then she wanted to know if drinking water would be better or if she should call her doctor because of the irritation. I told her to either try both or whichever she was more comfortable with but she didn't necessarily need to call the doctor unless the throat irritation got worse throughout the day or she had a fever with it which could be something other than metamucil irritation. She thought maybe she had taken too much metamucil and overdosed. I told her it is not absorbed by the body so it is not a problem for the little over the teaspoonful that she used. It does have several warnings about choking on the package.The reality of modern medicine is similar to that of technology. The advances are coming faster and cheaper as time goes on. It can be baffling to keep up with it all. I don't think any one person could possibly process and effectively use ALL of the information available and becoming available at any given time. The best we can do in pharmacy is keep up with the latest on newly documented bad problems with medications, everything we had been taught previously, and keep up with new treatment protocols and monitoring parameters for better patient outcomes. I would say we need to keep up with new drugs coming out but since most of them have been slight modifications of existing drugs with the same side effects, efficacy, safety, etc. there really isn't any "new drug" info to learn.I always encourage patients to get second and even third or fourth opinions if it is something serious. Hospitals have teams and divisions that treat specific problems. There are even divisions within teams like an infectious disease team having another team that exclusively treats immunocompromised patients. This is necessary because there is a lot to process and a life in the balance. At the end of the day we want every patient to get better and eventually go home OK.I like to complain that the continuing education system in place is not sufficient to supplement our knowledge necessary to give patients the best possible care. Some institutions and chains sponsor their own education programs. Many professional medical groups have yearly meetings that include a variety of continuing education lectures. Is it enough? I am not sure it is. No great all-encompassing solution easily presents itself so keep up with what you can and save some lives. (Source: FAST FOOD Pharmacy)

50 states staffing - travel nursing company

PharmaGazette — Wed, 07 May 2008 21:00:47 +0100

Are you an experienced nurse or therapist? New to the profession and looking for experience? Maybe just looking for a different location to change things up. If so then check out 50StatesStaffing.com.50 States Staffing is always looking for nurses, physical therapists, respiratory and occupational therapists that are willing to travel. Jobs last 13 weeks but can be renewed should you decide that you are really enjoying your new environment. 50 States Staffing boasts the highest salaries and offers free private housing and top benefits to its nurses.The process of becoming a traveling nurse with 50 States Staffing is easy. Simply fill in an online application then a consultant will discuss your qualifications and preferred assignments. Once you find an assignment that suits you, your personal consultant will set up a phone interview with the hospital Unit Manager. Then it's up to you to decide if the position suits you or if you want your consultant to keep presenting new options. Here's a sample of a job description: Travel Nurse Job Profile.50 States Staffing provides a detailed Frequently Asked Question page on their website that should take care of any questions you may have about Compensation, Licensure, Insurance, Continuing Education, Housing, and even retirement. (Source: PharmaGazette)

Cool little website

The Angriest Pharmacist — Tue, 06 May 2008 05:41:29 +0100

I found a cool website. It’s a great time waster, but it impressed me nonetheless. The website URL is http://www.easyjo.com/led.php Enjoy! PS — The video of the BAD Consultation has been downloaded 1500 times since it was posted. Wow. (Source: The Angriest Pharmacist)

A few times a year i'm glad i went to pharmacy school. most of the time though, i'd rather be scraping chicken fat out of restaurant exhaust fans.

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Tue, 06 May 2008 00:27:00 +0100

It's always deceptively warm when I decide to buy a coat. I swear the last three times I have purchased a jacket it's been during one of the 10% of days here when the chill off the ocean doesn't go straight into your spine. This means I spend most of my walks to and from lunch at work shivering like a madman. A madman like the one at the counter trying to get a Z-Pak. I smelled him before I saw him. My intern saw him from the moment he came in the front door, and started snickering immediately. "I gotta get this one" he said. My intern is young and still full of that testosterone fueled kick down to establish your place in the pack desire that comes with adolescence. He came back with the new patient registration form and the prescription and a few more laughs. "Ha ha....he tried to make up an address for himself.....he can't even write! Ha ha.....Jesus he smells....." "Hillary, look at this prescription" I said. "It's for a Z-Pak and Vicodin. He told you he didn't want the Vicodin. What does that say to you?" Hillary gave me a blank look. I went on. "The guy made a couple bad decisions in his life and now he's fucked. In 15 minutes he's gotta go back out there into the drizzle and gloom and deal with the consequences. No matter what he decides to do with his future he's not gonna have it easy, but I tell you what. For the next 15 minutes we're gonna give him a little bit of normalcy." Hillary got quiet. It's a rare moment when I don't happily join in the mocking of customers, and he was probably a bit confused. We got his Z-Pak ready and I went out to ring him up. He was sitting in the waiting room looking as bad as he smelled. Shivering in the warmth of the corpo-pharmacy under a coat that looked like a worn-out version of mine. I called out his name and he stumbled to the counter. I told him how he was going to take two tablets at once for his first dose, then that he would take one tablet a day until they were gone. I told him not to worry if he didn't feel all the way better when he took his last dose, because the antibiotic would keep working for 5 more days. An affluent man who's the type of customer I spend most of my day with walked by and looked absolutely horrified that such a person would be allowed in a store where affluent people shopped. I smiled. And it wasn't a fake customer service smile. I told the homeless dude there was a water fountain at the front of the store if he wanted to take his first dose right away, and that he'd be feeling better soon enough. Then I took too much of the homeless dude's money."Thanks man" Most days I don't feel like I have much to give, but today I gave 15 minutes of normalcy to a guy who could use it. Not to mention a bit of a teachable moment to Hillary. Better than scraping out chicken fat.*Disclaimer: My intern's real name isn't Hillary. The last time I used Hillary as a fake name to help create a negative impression in voter's minds on the eve of a crucial primary, it worked so well I decided to do it again. You know what to do Indiana. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

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I'll call your reverend wright, and raise you another crazy-ass preacher getting himself involved in presidential politics.

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Mon, 05 May 2008 02:10:00 +0100

Dear Republican Friends, You don't want to fight this battle. Especially once we contrast Obama's reaction to his preacher going off the deep end to what we have here:If it comes down to which side has the craziest preachers, I am confident of victory. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

Damn bicycles

The Angriest Pharmacist — Sat, 03 May 2008 05:10:03 +0100

I was driving home tonight, and I came to a “T” in the road. I was turning right. A bicyclist flew across the intersection the same way I was headed. I was nowhere near hitting her, but she ran the stop sign plain and simple. I made my turn, passed her in the left passing lane, and proceeded. She ran another fucking stop sign — passing me up. I made my way past her another time and got to the light….She didn’t run the light, but I rolled down my window. “IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE ON THE FUCKING ROAD, YOU NEED TO FOLLOW THE RULES OF THE ROAD. STOP RUNNING FUCKING STOP SIGNS YOU STUPID BITCH” She rattled off some inane babble about “did you see that red car right in front of me? were you watching that red car???” I think she was implying that since she was tailing a red car very closely, that the red car’s stop counted as her own. Readers, I can assure you that while, in theory, this sounds correct — she is in fact a stupid, dumb bitch and needed a good kick in the cunt…which I would had delivered had I not be on a very important mission to get home and drink beer. Attention bicyclists! I can accept your hippie ways. I can become accustomed to your unwashed hair and your vegan lifestyle for the betterment of ‘mother earth’ — but, when you’re on my fucking roadways, you obey the laws of the road you hippie scum. I don’t give a fuck how much you are reducing your carbon imprint…or mine! If I had hit that fat, pear-shaped slut, my ass would have been in trouble…not hers. The cops wouldn’t have said…”Ohh she ran the stop sign…have a nice day!” They would have said, “You hit a pedestrian? I’ll see you in hell, motherfucker!” Then I would have been locked up. Stay on the sidewalk, off my roads, and off my fucking last nerve. Next time I’m going to door-check that sperm-burping whore…. (Source: The Angriest Pharmacist)

A message from my gardener josé

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Fri, 02 May 2008 04:46:00 +0100

First I must say I have much honor and pride. When Señor Drugmonkey put my name on his poll of blogs I thought he meant to mock me. To rub it in my face that I work with my hands to make his landscape and not my brain. I tried to kill him two times. But yesterday while I was spreading manure around his carport, he called me inside to say he had something to show me. I had never been inside Señor Drugmonkey's condominium before, and I will never go inside again. But he showed me on his computador that people think I can write prescriptions for medicine better than nurses, toothmen, and those that assist doctors. People who went to school far longer than me and who have received many honors and awards in their school. I never thought when I came to this country 5 years ago I would ever have earned this much respect. I thank you all. Sadly, I have had an encounter with La Migra which means I will be leaving soon. But I want to say before I go that I will never forget the people of the United States and the lessons that I have learned here. I will miss many things about this country, but the honor you have given me will be with me always. I will not miss Señor Drugmonkey. He is a bastard. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

Funniest pharmacy video ever

The Angriest Pharmacist — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:09:17 +0100

I just had this video forwarded to me a few minutes ago, and I had to immediately share it with the world. This has got to be the most awkward “patient counseling session” I have ever seen. All pharmacists did these little pretend sessions with a TA at one time or another. This is the absolute worst. I have no idea when the video was taken or who these kids are, but it makes me want to vomit. Some of the quotes the “pharmacist” in this video says: “Uhm” “We’re starting you on lisinopril which will lower your cholesterol.” [The patient's response is classic] “The Zocor could react with the lisinopril you are already taking and I would definitely go see your physician tomorrow morning. If you’re not feeling well have someone take you to the hospital cause we don’t want you in a car accident.” “He wants you to take this at bedtime because Zocor works…is…the way it works by coating the intestine and keeps flushing it out…” “It works very well at keeping obesity in young people down and other factors.” [Pharmacist looks around like a fucking idiot for a knife or something to cut his wrists - hopefully] “The only concern I’m having with your medications is that they may have an interaction. The lisinopril and Zocor could interact and possibly cause death. Might want to avoid that as much as possible.” “Otherwise…we filled it with gelcaps for you cause it’s easier to swallow. We used the smallest that we had. It may be a little more on the copay, but in the long run it’s easier to swallow a smaller pill than a larger.” I sincerely hope this is a fucking joke. Good luck at regaining the prowess and prestige of pharmacy if this is what our future looks like. I think the kid must have taken a roll of ecstasy and cranked one out before this session, because he looks way too calm to not know what the fucking fuck he’s talking about. The real bitch of this is, he has an information sheet (or script for this joke video) sitting right in front of him. If he had the answers in front of him and he thinks lisinopril is for cholesterol, may we all die in our sleep along with our profession. I wonder if all pharmacy students are this fucking stupid. Here’s the video…enjoy: Crappy Consultation The VIDEO IS BACK!!! Delu-Tube saves another! Let this be a lesson — nothing is EVER deleted…unless you demagnetize and BURN the hard drive. Even then, the FBI can probably recover it… (Source: The Angriest Pharmacist)

Let's lighten the mood a bit with some highlights from today's pill counting action, shall we?

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:03:00 +0100

We have Diet Mountain Dew in the store! We have Diet Mountain Dew......in the store!!!! Oh happy day! Dear reader, I cannot begin to explain to you what this means to me. When I switched from regular Mountain Dew to Diet Mountain Dew I instantly lost 5 pounds, that's how much of the stuff I go though my friends. The artificial attempt at citrusiness that is Diet Mountain Dew is probably more a part of my life than my cat Spooky, and now, at last, I can buy it at work. I am free forever from the tyranny of Diet Pepsi. There was no way this could be a bad day.I was in such a good mood on day one of the Diet Mountain Dew work era that when a customer complained that we had only one bottle of the "buy one get one free" hydrogen peroxide on the shelf I offered to just sell her the one we had for half price. I'm not supposed to do this. Official corpo-policy says to issue the customer a raincheck, but I was crazy on the dew, and putting people before policy."But what am I getting free?" was my reward. I spent the next 5 minutes trying to explain how 1 full price + 1 free = 1 at half price. It never sank in. The customer stormed out of the store. I don't say this very often, but maybe there is a reason for that corporate policy.I could have asked my District Manager about this when he made one of his biannual visits to the store, except that he spent the entirety of it on his cellphone. I could have been grinding up Vicodin and snorting the powder off the pharmacy counter and the DM wouldn't have known. He did look in the pharmacy refrigerator while he was talking and say quickly to my keystone tech that we couldn't be keeping our food in there.-------------------------"TODAY IS THE....???????" Said the elderly woman making out her check. She had been making out the check a good 2 or 3 minutes already."30th" I said."THIRTEENTH?"30th""THE TENTH?"I gave up. Like the bank's gonna notice what date she puts on there anyway. Team ignorance scored another point.-------------------------Right about that magical time of day when your legs are telling you for the first time that they'd rrrreeeeaaallllyyy like to sit down for just a bit I got a phone call."Drugmonkey?" came the voice on the other end. I instantly forgot about my legs. This voice was a dead ringer for an ex. An ex I had not parted ways with amicably. I had changed the locks on the front door when this relationship ended."How have you been? We haven't talked in awhile"I began to accept the fact I was going to die soon."Ok.....""Do you have any 75mg Effexor XR?" The tech at the corpro-pharmacy in the next town over who sounds exactly like my psycho ex-girlfriend said. You married people don't know what you're missing.-------------------------"And how do you spell your last name ma'am?""G like in George.......""G LIKE IN GIRL!!!" the woman's husband butted in.-------------------------A woman bought 6 mechanical heel smoothers. Said she was giving them out as presents. I spent the rest of the day wondering what the occasion could possibly be and drinking Diet Mountain Dew. Out of the pharmacy refrigerator.A good day indeed. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

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A tragic happening

FAST FOOD Pharmacy — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:12:00 +0100

For the few men who are forced to use Caverject (penile injectable for erectile dysfunction) a tragedy has occurred. The once plentiful injection kits have been on back order for quite some time now. I have patients calling on a weekly basis, "When will my caverject come in?, Is it in yet?, Have you been given a release date?" Sadly for you we have no release date. We order and it does not come in. Yet somehow, I feel no sympathy, empathy, or other mama bird needing to smother you in her warm feathers feelings.If the only bad thing in your life is the lack of a hard on then you have nothing to worry about. In 121 countries food prices have risen so high that a family of 3 has to go without breakfast and work at menial jobs under unsanitary and what we would consider inhumane conditions to afford something to eat when they get home. In our own country there are families who lose their homes to excruciatingly high property taxes and mortgage interest rates. Rapidly rising food and fuel costs are strangling the life out of the middle class with no end in sight.Your limp weenie is not a problem. So deal with it. (Source: FAST FOOD Pharmacy)

Dilantin linked to bone loss

PharmaGazette — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:00:55 +0100

In a paper in the April issue of Neurology Dr Allison Pack details how research found that women taking the epilepsy drug dilantin showed a bone loss that was eight times higher than premenopausal women who had not taken any drugs for epilepsy."That suggests that if these women remain on this medication and have ongoing significant or accelerated bone loss that over time, they will be entering the peri-menopausal period with lower bone density and therefore a greater risk for low bone mineral density over time and therefore a higher risk of fractures," stated Pack.According to Dr. R. Eugene Ramsay, director of the International Center for Epilepsy at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 90 percent of older people who have epileptic seizures are prescribed Dilantin due to the fact that it's more cost effective.The research is important because it shows that the adverse affect of the drug on bone density makes it an undesirable choice for older patients who are already at a higher risk for bone loss.[Source: MedlinePlus] (Source: PharmaGazette)

Heparin contamination deliberate

PharmaGazette — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 20:00:56 +0100

We've been following the heparin contamination story for a while now. We first reported that Baxter had voluntarily recalled specific batches of the drug, then followed that up with the story of how the contaminated heparin was causing allergic reactions in dialysis patients and then reported on how the FDA had found what had contaminated the batches of heparin. Now we are sadden to report that the Baxter CEO Robert Parkinson stated in a written statement that was prepared for a congressional hearing into the contaminated heparin events that it appears that the contamination was deliberate."We're alarmed that one of our products was used, in what appears to have been a deliberate scheme, to adulterate a life-saving medication, and that people have suffered as a result," stated Parkinson.Parkinson said that it was "clear" that the contaminant, an altered form of chondroitin sulfate, was added prior to the crude heparin material reaching Baxter's Chinese supplier, Scientific Protein Labs. SPL also stated, in separate testimony, that the contamination appeared to be deliberate.The FDA assures the public that all heparin entering the U.S. is now been tested and that the current supply is safe.[Source: Reuters Health] (Source: PharmaGazette)

Merck gets fda warning on violations at vaccine plant

PharmaGazette — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:00:37 +0100

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned Merck & Co. that it has 15 days to correct violations at its plant in West Point, PA.The FDA issued a 9 page warning letter which requires Merck to detail how it plans to correct the violations or face the suspension of the plants manufacturing license and the possibility of the seizure of products.The plant manufactures various children's vaccine and Gardasil, the vaccine that protects against cervical cancer. Last year, Merck was recalled 1.2 million vaccine doses due to a problem with sterility.The entire waring letter, with all infractions, can be found on the FDA website. Warning letter to Merck & Co dated April 28, 2008. (Source: PharmaGazette)

Interesting websites and blogs from across the net

PharmaGazette — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:46:27 +0100

It's been a while since I brought you a list of some of the more interesting website and blogs so I thought I'd make up a new list for you.Some of these are directly related to pharma and some to health or the state of the healthcare system. Each is worth your time so give them a look!Natural News. Great articles! Most recently this one on Drug Testing caught my attention.PsychCentral. Check out the article about Parkinson's disease.Bizmology has interesting articles and opinions on healthcare and pharma.Medheadline's article on using antidepressants to stimulate immune function is a good read.The Wall Street Journal Health Blog has a great article on generics lobbying.Enjoy and if you have any pharma/health blogs you think I should be reading (even if it's your own, lol) feel free to post a comment with the link. I'd be happy to check it out! As with most things in life a blog is a drop of information that comes into our lives and affects us each in a different way. Affect me with your blog!!!! (Source: PharmaGazette)

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Do you share your prescription drugs?

PharmaGazette — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:00:09 +0100

Have you ever passed over a leftover prescription painkiller to a friend? "Borrowed" a prescription antihistamine from a family member?Well, if so you are not alone. A recent study by Richard Goldsworthy of Academic Edge showed that 27% of people interviewed had borrowed prescription medication and 23% had given their medication to someone else.Twenty two percent claimed to have shared pain medication, 7 percent had shared mood-altering medication and about 25% had shared allergy medication. However, perhaps the most concerning statistic was that almost 21% reported sharing antibiotics.While sharing one or 2 painkillers with someone isn't a major deal, people on antibiotics should not have any "extra" to "share". Antibiotics are a full course medication that patients are required to take the complete prescribed dose. There is already concern regarding the overuse of antibiotics and not finishing the prescription can lead to antibiotic resistance."Don't share antibiotics," Goldsworthy advised. "You shouldn't have any leftover. You should have finished them all yourself."[Source: YahooNews] (Source: PharmaGazette)

Observations from home.

The Welsh Pharmacist — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:25:00 +0100

Wales training squad:Backs: Morgan Stoddart, Lee Byrne, Jamie Roberts, Shane Williams, Tom James, Sonny Parker, Tom Shanklin, Stephen Jones, James Hook, Andy Williams, Warren Fury.Forwards: Duncan Jones, Gethin Jenkins, Rhys Thomas, Adam Jones, Matthew Rees, Huw Bennett, Ian Gough, Alun Wyn Jones, Ian Evans, Jonathan Thomas, Martyn Williams, Alix Popham, Ryan Jones.Who is Warren Fury? (Fantastic name though).Sonny Parker. Hurrah!Two tests against South Africa. I wonder if they'll be on New Zealand telly? (Source: The Welsh Pharmacist)

New zealand observations (2)

The Welsh Pharmacist — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:14:00 +0100

1) Rugby rugby rugby Carter Carter Carter Carter Carter2) Netball, far from being a sport solely played by schoolgirls is MASSIVE here. It's on TV and everything. I think this is a bit... odd, but haven't said anything yet in case I get yelled at.3) Watching TV news is a bit like watching an extended Wales Today, in terms of the sheer 'localness' of it all.4) All the trees look like something out of prehistoric times.5) It's bloody beautiful.6) I might have a ticket to see New Zealand play England in June, thanks to a nice girl who has a rather unhealthy obsession with Nick Evans ("He's the back up first five, you know?". "Er, you mean fly-half?") (Source: The Welsh Pharmacist)

3rd generation ocs may increase levels of c-reactive protein

PharmaGazette — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 20:00:55 +0100

A study by Dr Sabina Cauci of the University of Uldine, Italy suggests that newer "third generation" oral contraceptives may increase levels of the inflammatory protein C- reactive protein (CRP) which has been linked to heart disease. This potentially places the women at higher risk for blood clots and heart disease.While both second and third generation oral contraceptives contain estrogen coupled with progestin the difference between the pills is the type of progestin they contain. Newer contraceptives contain either desogestrel or gestodene while older pills contain levonrgentrel or norgestrel. Desogestrel and gestodene were introduced as a means of combating the adverse cardiovascular effects of oral contraceptives however, Cauci's research shows that they may not decrease the risks but in fact increase them."Our study showed that many young, healthy, normal-weight oral contraceptive users have elevated concentrations of high-sensitivity CRP and thus they are potentially at higher cardiovascular disease risk than nonusers," Cauci's team writes. They add, "Because this low-grade inflammatory condition is asymptomatic, it is not normally recognized and/or investigated."The report indicates that of the women tested for CRP levels were significantly higher (27.3 % vs. 8.5%) in women using contraceptives than nonusers.[Source: MedlinePlus] (Source: PharmaGazette)

Amitiza fda approved for ibs-c in women

PharmaGazette — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:00:45 +0100

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that lubiprostone, brand name Amitiza, has been approved as the only prescription drug therapy FDA approved treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation (IBS-C) in women over 18."For some people IBS can be quite disabling, making it difficult for them to fully participate in everyday activities," said Julie Beitz, M.D., director of the Office of Drug Evaluation III, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA. "This drug represents an important step in helping to provide medical relief from their symptoms."IBS symptoms include cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea and the illness seems to affect 2x the number of woman as men.The safety and efficacy studies of Amitiza involved 1,154 patients previously diagnosed with IBS-C over a period of 9 to 13 months. 92% of the patients were women and 8% men. The medication was not conclusively shown to be effective on male patients and thus the approval was granted only for women.Amitiza is manufactured by Sucampo Pharmaceuticals and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. (Source: PharmaGazette)

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Study finds higher hypertension medication needed in winter

PharmaGazette — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 18:00:52 +0100

People suffering from high blood pressure may need to start taking higher doses of medication during the winter months. A study conducted at the University of Guadalajara's Cardiovascular Research Unit, by Dr. Salvador Fonseca-Reyes and José Parra-Carrillo, found that only 32% of patients they were monitoring had controlled blood pressure during the winter months. This was compared to the 50% who were found to have controlled blood pressures during spring and summer. Due to this, it may now be necessary to increase doses of blood pressure medications during the winter months, the coldest months of the year.Temperatures in Guadalajara can range from 6 degrees C (during the winter months) to 34 degrees (during the summer months). The highest blood pressure levels were found in autumn and winter. Weight gain or different adherence to pharmacological treatments during the winters months as a reason for having found higher levels of blood pressure have been not been found and therefore have been disregarded until future evidence is found.Previous studies have found that the timing of taking hypertension medication may be a factor in keeping down blood pressure and these findings could lead to an increase in prescriptions during fall and winter months for those with high blood pressure. [Source: Reuters] (Source: PharmaGazette)

I will try to remain calm in this post. it will be hard. i have issues with medical professionals who think certain classes of people deserve to die.

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:24:00 +0100

From the pages of this month's Mother Jones. An absurdly inexpensive and extraordinarily well written magazine you should go subscribe to right now:One winter night in 2000, Danny, who was 21 at the time, went home with a guy he met at a crowded bar in San Francisco. Random hookups weren't out of the ordinary for Danny, but this one ended badly: As he was buttoning up to go home, his new friend mentioned he was HIV positive. Usually conscientious about safe sex, Danny hadn't been, and he panicked. " I was in shock" he says. "I just couldn't believe it." He vaguely remembered reading about an emergency treatment that could prevent infection, so when he got home he called the California AIDS hotline. Memory served. A monthlong regimen known as post-exposure prophylaxis treatment (PEP)- usually given to health care workers who have been stuck with needles-was available at local clinics and emergency rooms to people who had recently been exposed to HIV. The side effects of debilitating nausea and fatigue were a small price to pay for its potential benefits: A study of health care workers published in the New England Journal of Medicine linked the rapid administration of the drug to an 81 percent decrease in the risk of contracting the virus.Danny went to a city clinic, where after a consultation, he was given a prescription for two antiretroviral drugs-the same kind that HIV-postive patients have taken since the 80'sRemember that. The same kind patients have taken since the 80's"Why did you say you'd have to remain calm Drugmonkey?" some of you are no doubt saying. "This story is what medicine is all about, the prevention of disease and maintenance of health are the very essence of medicine, at the very core of what health care professionals do. This is a happy story Drugmonkey. You must be a bad man. "Read on:Danny was lucky that California is one of the few states (along with New York, Massachusetts, New Mexico, and Rhode Island) where policies ensure that the general public-not just hospital workers who have been exposed on the job-can access the drugs. Elsewhere, the desicion is up to individual hospitals, clinics and doctors.You read that right. The decision as to whether to take action to prevent a chronic, possibly fatal, disease is left up to each individual hospital, clinic, and doctor. Unless you're a hospital worker."Oh cut the drama Drugmonkey. So some egghead rule writer never got around to updating policies no one looks at. What ethical clinician would not try to prevent disease?"Surveying all 50 state health departments and more than 50 ER's nationwide, I (MJ writer Justine Sharrock) encountered STD clinicians and workers at AIDS hotlines and Planned Parenthoods who did not know PEP could be prescribed to the public. An Alabama health department official told me "It's not available" A nurse at a North Dakota clinic said he all but encouraged patients to fly to San Francisco. Let me......go over a few things as those last two comments sink in.It's not like PEP is some sort of exotic, special treatment where the meds have to be flown in from the factory within 72 hours. Remember the part about the drugs being the same ones that patients have been taking since the 80's? Here's a common PEP regimen:Kaletra 400/100mg 1 tablespoonful twice a day.Plus one of the following:Epivir 300mg/day or 150mg twice a day or Emtriva 200mg/dayTopped off with Retrovir 200mg three times a day or 300mg twice a day.There are others, but those of you in the profession get the idea. Any doctor, any Physician's Assistant, any Nurse Practitioner can write prescriptions for these meds. I can almost promise you a pharmacy in your town stocks them. If you have prescription insurance, they're probably covered. They are literally just like any other prescription that goes through my hot little hands in the course of a workday.Yet a nurse in North Dakota tells people to fly to San Francisco, which is more useful advice than you'll get at certain health departments in Alabama.As we ponder why, let's apply what I call the "rabies test." Let's say there was a drug protocol that was shown in the New England Journal of Medicine to be 81% effective in preventing rabies after a dog took a chomp on your leg. There were no other proven ways to prevent rabies. The regimen was FDA approved and widely available, yet there were hospitals and clinics that said "unless you're a dogcatcher, we don't feel like giving it to you."That'd be pretty fucked up wouldn't it?You wouldn't stand for it would you?So why is this allowed to stand?You know why.It's because gays and lesbians are the new niggers of the 21st century, and if you don't think they are in a liberation struggle against the very same forces that held down those of the 20th, I just proved you wrong.And I remained calm for the most part. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

New zealand observations

The Welsh Pharmacist — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 23:27:00 +0100

1) Buying a phone is tricky. I went into the shop, naively assuming that phones came with SIM cards. Not so. You have to buy a separate SIM card. I have been to five shops so far, and they are all out of SIM cards. Is there a great telecommunications crisis in this country that I am unaware of?2) Shortland Street (crappy daytime program that used to be on at the same time as Neighbours) is MASSIVE here.3) It is really, really hot and really, really humid. This makes me really, really uncomfortable.4) Petrol prices hitting $2 a litre is front page news here. This made me giggle, compared to prices back home.5) Los Angeles is a fucking shitpit that I am never setting foot in again. (Source: The Welsh Pharmacist)

One-day valacyclovir proves effective treatment for herpes

PharmaGazette — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 22:00:58 +0100

Valacyclovir has been proven to be an effective treatment for the herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV2), or the virus more commonly known as genital herpes. (HSV1 is the outbreak of cold sores or fever blisters.) Genital herpes, HSV2, can be effectively treated with a one-day course of the drug, valacyclovir, brand name Valtrex, and offers new hope to those suffering from the virus. This virus hides in the nervous system and is a lifelong virus. (Source: PharmaGazette)

New and notes

The Angriest Pharmacist — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:04:40 +0100

- I beat Assassin’s Creed today. I hate it when endings of games or movies are merely setups for a sequel rather than a meaningful ending that makes sense. Now I have to way 2-3 years for the sequel on Xbox 720. I swore more in the last 30 minutes of the game than I did playing the whole thing. - My internet is out so I’m stealing from my neighbor - he must have a different ISP…duh - Last night I pooped something that was the size of a toddler’s arm. It, however, smelled like a homeless person. - I have to go do some laundry or I’m going to get beat up tonight. - Plans are in the works for a Raging Server, Angry Pharmacist, and Angriest Pharmacist get-together. The hijinx plan will end with one of us in jail for the night, one of us in the hospital for alcohol poisoning (just me or TAP - RS doesn’t drink), and many pregnant strippers. Alternate scenarios in my mind end with a midget in the trunk. - Word on the street is that I might be named to The Pharmacy Alliance executive committee. I gave them a REAL hard time recently, so this is surprising…but I bring a rational, logical mind to the table. I can definitely be of assistance - but I’ll have to clean up my language some…and stop being a prick when someone says something stupid. - MAJOR NOTE: I’ve got over 140 posts. People that stumble to the site would be hard pressed to read all of them. I want to compile a “Best of..” Page to go on the top next to CONTACT. I’m gonna read through and pick out some of my favorites. However, if you have some personal favorites, please send them to me via the CONTACT link above. It sends me an email notification. I’d really appreciate the input. THANKS! (Source: The Angriest Pharmacist)

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It's not the coneheads or "cheesburger cheesburger", but for today's "saturday night live?" not bad.

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 07:47:00 +0100

(Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

Mind your own business

The Angriest Pharmacist — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 05:42:14 +0100

The Angriest Fiance and I visited a local eatery tonight. Not a high priced place like PF Chang’s, but we certainly weren’t at McDonald’s. Quite frankly, I think the place is into witchcraft. I saw their delicacy of choice in a large tank of dihydrogen monoxide when I entered, and they were brownish black. Yet, when they served me a dead one to eat, it was obviously bright red. Either they are wikken-kind or someone has some talent with the paint brush in the kitchen. All kidding aside, it was 9pm. It was an odd assortment of customers. We sat across from a black man and woman. It was her birthday. Our waiter was amazing. He was polite, quick, and always around when he needed to be. Anyway, it was the lady’s birthday - she was rewarded with a free daiquiri for her achievements. As our wonderful waiter was serving us our salads and asking us if we needed anything else, our neighbor across the aisle decided that he needed my waiter’s attention more than I did. I guess he didn’t notice the fact that I had a male waiter, while his server was most definitely a female. Nonetheless, he let out a resounding, “Excuse me!” while a salad was being placed before me. In pure Angriest-Pharmacist fashion, the waiter ignored the man like he was a fart in the wind. After we were tended to, the waiter’s response was perfect. He acknowledged the man (barely), told him to wait just a second as he returned the “serving table” to the back, and walked away. He never returned — however their waitress came by a few moments later. I found this absolutely hilarious. Finally, they brought out our main course. I proceeded to chow down on my feast before me. As most may know, there is some splatter involved with food that lives in water. You break a hard shell to get to the sweet, succulent, heroin-like substance within. I’m also a very, very, very messy eater. I got a little on me…and my date. She was not as amused as I was. Our neighbors thought my entire meal was quite funny. They giggled and laughed. Hell, I think they pointed. It was pretty fucking irritating. I’m not sure why someone would spend more time watching someone else eat than staring at their own food and their own wife’s tits. I hope they enjoyed my dinner - I did. Moral: Keep your eyes on your own fucking plate. Tip on $50 check? $15 for service. $5 for ignoring rude ass people. (Source: The Angriest Pharmacist)

Cimzia approved by fda to treat crohn's disease

PharmaGazette — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 21:00:49 +0100

The U.S Food and Drug Administration has approved Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) for the treatment of moderate to serve Crohn's disease in adults who have not responded to other therapies."Crohn's is a debilitating disease that disrupts the quality of life for its sufferers," said Julie Beitz, M.D., director of the Office of Drug Evaluation III for the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. "This drug works to reduce the signs and symptoms of Crohn's, but it also carries risks that will require patients on it to be closely monitored by their physicians or other health care professionals."Cimzia is to be given, by injection, every two weeks for the first 3 injections and once the medication's benefit has been established patients are to receive the injection every four weeks. The most common side effects to the drug are headache, abdominal pain, injection site reactions, upper respiratory infections and nausea.Cimzia is a blocker of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and can cause lymphomas. UBC Inc. will be conducting the required post-market studies and trials to obtain long-term safety data.For a complete explanation of Crohn's please read: What is Crohn's Disease.[Source: FDA] (Source: PharmaGazette)

Relistor fda approved for opioid induced constipation

PharmaGazette — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:00:33 +0100

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Thursday that it has approved Relistor (methylnaltrexone bromide) for use with patients who are receiving opioids to treat pain in late-stage, advanced illnesses to help restore bowel function.According to the FDA news release opioids can "interfere with normal bowel elimination function by relaxing the intestinal smooth muscles and preventing them from contracting and pushing out waste products." Relistor blocks opioids from entering the smooth muscles of the intestine and allows the blowels to function normally.“This new drug will be helpful to patients who experience severe constipation associated with the continuous use of morphine or other opioids, which are an important part of care for patients with late-stage, advanced illness.” said Joyce Korvick, M.D., deputy director of the Division of Gastroenterology Products, FDA.Relistor is manufactured by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and Progenics Pharmaceuticals.[Source: FDA] (Source: PharmaGazette)

5-fluorouracil causes "chemo brain" as side effect

PharmaGazette — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 19:00:33 +0100

A new study out of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York and Harvard Medical School has found that a treatment commonly used chemotherapy drug causes memory problems and other cognitive difficulties which is referred to as "chemo brain".The researchers believe they have discovered how the chemotherapy drug 5-Fluorouracil can affect the central nervous system even long after treatments are completed. "What we found is the damage done short-term is much less than the damage that occurs long-term," said Mark Noble, senior author of the study published in the April 22 issue of the Journal of Biology. "After the drug is stopped, the cellular damage gets worse."Noble exposed cell lines and in mice to doses of 5-Fluorouracil and found that it damages the immature cells in the central nervous system known as progenitor cells. The drug is used to treat breast, ovarian, stomach and colon cancer.The scientists hope that the discovery will develop to a method to decrease or eliminate the damage so cognitive function is preserved.[Source: MedlinePlus] (Source: PharmaGazette)

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I bet being a pharmacist for torturers would suck, but probably not as much as a gig with cvs

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 07:04:00 +0100

From the website of Democracy Now!, which I've told you several times you should be reading every day: The Washington Post reports at least two dozen former and current prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere say they have been given drugs against their will or witnessed other inmates being drugged. The allegations have resurfaced after the release this month of a 2003 Justice Department memo that explicitly condoned the use of drugs on detainees. In the memo, former Justice Department lawyer John Yoo rejected a decades-old US ban on the use of “mind-altering substances” on prisoners. Instead, he argued that drugs could be used as long as they did not inflict permanent or “profound” psychological damage. Legal experts and human rights groups say that forced drugging of detainees for any nontherapeutic reasons would be a particularly grave breach of international treaties banning torture. I have a plan to stop this. I call it "Operation Medco." All you torture lovin' Republicans out there never hesitate to tell me the private sector can do everything better than the government, so I say we put them in charge of managing the meds at Guantanamo: "Thank you for calling the Medco torture line. Please note that dueto heavy call volume your wait time may be longer than usual. For answers to many common questions, please check out our websiteat medco.torture.com. Your estimated wait time is 10 minutes." 40 minutes later one of those weird nasally voices every single help desk person seems to have nowdays comes on the line. "Thank you for calling Medco Torture, my ID # is 3453215, may I have your NPI number?" "Your Location?" "First name?" "First initial of your last name? Unless it is an "S", in which case you should say "C" "Card holder number of the terrorist?" "Group Number?" "Date of birth?" "How can I help you today?" "Well I'm trying to do a claim for Ali-AlhussienCheney's haloperidol for his next scheduled interrogation session and I'm getting a reject message that says ALT;UIY;BUGGABUGGA#*(&%MARYSAMMONSPHARMACYMILF. Not quite sure what I'm doing wrong." "Well I'll be happy to look into that for you. Is the terrorist with Al-Queda or a Shiite Militia? "I think he just shot someone in the face while duck hunting" "I see...." 5 minutes pass with only the sound of mad typing on a computer keyboard being heard. "It looks like Mr. Ali-AlhusseinCheney has only been an official designated terrorist for 6 months. In that case Haloperidol can only be approved if two non-chemical means of torture have been tried and failed." "I'm pretty sure they've waterboarded him and stuck a flashlight up his rectum already" "Well if you can have his CIA handler call our special 1-800 number and forward the appropriate documentation to our Denver office, we will be happy to look at the claim." In the meantime, the slow, steady, unhuman nasally sound of the helpdesk representative on the speakerphone has broken the spirit of Ali-AlhusseinCheney, who confesses that yes, he did shoot his lawyer in the face on purpose, and he has no regrets. Operation Medco is a win-win for everyone. Drugmonkey saves the day. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)

Abilify may be effective in treating alcohol addiction

PharmaGazette — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:00:01 +0100

Dr. Henry R. Kranzler and colleagues from the University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington believe that the use of Abilify (aripiprazole) may be of use to patients battling an addiction to alcohol.Abilify, a drug used to treat the symptoms of psychosis in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder was found to increase the sedative effects of alcohol and decrease the euphoric effects. The drug apparently works by affecting the dopamine receptors in the brain and thus reducing the reinforcing effects of alcohol.While treatment with Abilify was generally well tolerated, researchers found that the most commonly reported adverse effect was tiredness, nausea, headache and difficulty sleeping.The researchers agree that while the drug has potential in the treatment of alcohol addiction more research needs to be conducted before a definitive conclusion can be reached.The results of the study were published in "Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research".[Source: YahooNews] (Source: PharmaGazette)

Fda warns pfizer over online viagra ads

PharmaGazette — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:00:53 +0100

Everyone's seen the Viagra ads set to the tune of "Viva Las Vegas" by Elvis Presley well the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently warned Pfizer over its online "Viva Viagra" ads because the ad failed to detail the drug's health risks.Viagra, an impotence drug, is required to have warnings that include not using the drug if the patient is taking heart medication known as nitrate and also include the fact that sudden vision and hearing loss has been report by some men taking the drug.Pfizer spokesperson Fransisco Gebauer stated that the risk information should have appeared at the same time as the ad, in print, during the online ad however, do to a technical error on the CNN website that did not occur.To avoid the error from happening again Pfizer has pulled all of its 30-second internet video ads which have the safety information running separately on the screen rather than within the ad.Viagra (sildenafil citrate) was the first oral pill used to treat impotence and has been approved for use in the United States since 1998.[Source: YahooNews] (Source: PharmaGazette)

Keystone techs are not to be confused with keystone states.

Your Pharmacist May Hate You — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:58:00 +0100

Keystone techs are indispensable. No dispensing happens without your keystone tech.Keystone states are very dispensable. Especially after tonight.Keystone techs run my business. Keystone states are full of those business left behind.Keystone techs are fearless. They can stare down the most ferocious of crackhead customers and ensure that the Vicodin is not filled early. Keystone states are full of fear. Fear that allows the ruling elite to divide the ruled against themselves, in part by tagging those that oppose the rulers.....elitists. The Keystone state continues to sacrifice its young to wars both literal and economic, because the Keystone state does what it's told.Keystone techs are whip-smart. Keystone state voters don't quite get it.So when assigning blame for what happened tonight, make sure it goes to the appropriate Keystone.I never in my life thought I would say such a thing, but it's up to you to save us Indiana. (Source: Your Pharmacist May Hate You)