I woke up in the middle of the night, sniffling and snorking and generally miserable. So I grabbed a couple of pseudoephedrine (for Americans, Sudafed), and waited for my nose to unblock some.
And I waited.
And waited.
And while I was waiting, I wondered -
I’ve noticed that some OTC medications aren’t helping me as much as they used to. I wonder if it’s because I’ve gained about 30-35lb over the last 8 years (in a good way, I looked like a prisoner of war before). Are OTC dosages calibrated for a particular patient weight? If so, what weight is that? And should patients make adjustments depending on whether they’re lighter or heavier than that weight?
I weigh 265 pounds. I tend to over medicate myself. Three pills when standard dose is two. Works for me and I am not dead. Yet.
I asked my pharmicist this question one time since I weigh 250+. His response was, “I’ve never thought about it”. So evidently it is not something they discuss in Pharmacy school.
Obviously, the correct dosage depends on body weight; if there’s only one dose size, some people will be getting too much, and others too little. The rule for OTCs is that the dosage should be safe for anyone who takes it, so it’s tilted toward smaller adults – probably around 100 lbs. No additional testing is done to determine a more effective dose for larger people, so there is no labeling to indicate one. As a rule, I take the labeled dosage, and twice that if it’s not effective (I weight 240 lbs.)