# What drug did I take? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 20, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620 "2008-11-20T05:45:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620/1 "2008-11-20T05:45:01Z")
A couple of years ago, I came down with a mild case of CAP (community-acquired pneumonia). I was prescribed an antibiotic that knocked it out in one day. For the life of me I can’t remember the name of it, and every time I’m in Walmart I forget to ask the pharmacy clerk to pull my record and look it up for me. The receipt also seems to have mysteriously disappeared from my files. All I can remember was that its name started with an ‘A’ (brand name, I think), it was fairly expensive (about $14/pill), and when I Googled it, the wiki article said that it is an antibiotic which has a particularly strong affinity for the respiratory system. Anybody have any idea what it was? ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620/2 "2008-11-20T06:02:49Z")
I have no idea, but wouldn’t it be much easier (and much more reliable) to call the Wally World pharmacy dept? :dubious: That having been said, I won’t deny that it is more fun to ask complete strangers on the interbutts. ETA: Now that I think about it, a few years ago I took [Azithromycin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azithromycin). Probably what you took. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620/3 "2008-11-20T06:31:14Z")
> [@seodoa](#): > > I have no idea, but wouldn’t it be much easier (and much more reliable) to call the Wally World pharmacy dept? :dubious: Yeah, but I was just talking with somebody about it right now, and the pharmacy is closed. I don’t think it was what you suggested, but I’m not sure. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620/4 "2008-11-20T06:34:43Z")
Avelox (moxifloxacin), probably. Expensive because it’s not available as a generic yet, and frequently prescribed for respiratory infections. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620/5 "2008-11-20T06:38:52Z")
> [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](#): > > Avelox (moxifloxacin), probably. Expensive because it’s not available as a generic yet, and frequently prescribed for respiratory infections. Ah, that’s probably more likely, then, as Azythromicin, while also commonly prescribed for respiratory infections, is available as a generic drug. The brand name is Zithromax, which doesn’t start with an A. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620/6 "2008-11-20T06:48:18Z")
azithromycin is usually a 5 day run. Did you get 6 pills in a bubble pack, 2 on day 1, and 1 a day for 4 more days? That’s the usual z-pack dosing nitpick: you’re symptoms may have improved in 1 day, but you’re infection was almost cerntainly not knocked-out ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620/7 "2008-11-20T07:37:03Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > azithromycin is usually a 5 day run. Did you get 6 pills in a bubble pack, 2 on day 1, and 1 a day for 4 more days? That’s the usual z-pack dosing Oh, yeah, he said it was only one pill. Definitely not azithromycin then, I remember the two pills followed by one pill schedule you mention. Although, FWIW [this page](http://www.rxlist.com/zithromax-drug.htm) says it can be prescribed in multiple dosages, but apparently that’s for “non-gonococcal urethritis” (sounds nasty). Of course I’m a teacher not a doctor all I know about antibiotics I’ve learned from taking them. ETA: Oh, I guess he didn’t say it was one pill, but I guess I inferred “$14/pill” to mean there was only one of them as I can’t imagine paying more than $14 for a prescription. Then again, my insurance is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620/8 "2008-11-20T16:45:16Z")
> [@seodoa](#): > > ETA: Oh, I guess he didn’t say it was one pill, but I guess I inferred “$14/pill” to mean there was only one of them as I can’t imagine paying more than $14 for a prescription. Then again, my insurance is pretty good. A lot of people pay a lot more than $14 for a prescription. In my case, my copay is $12 for a generic, $30 for a preferred brand, and 50% of a non-preferred brand. Moreover, antibiotics are usually taken as a multi-day course. Diflucan (fluconazole) is a common exception when used to treat vaginal infections – that’s often just a single dose treatment. If **Washoe** had pneumonia and was treated with Avelox, it was probably prescribed as once daily for 7 - 14 days. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620/9 "2008-11-20T18:36:20Z")
> [@seodoa](#): > > Oh, yeah, he said it was only one pill. Definitely not azithromycin then, I remember the two pills followed by one pill schedule you mention. Sorry, I mislead everybody. I meant that I was running a high fever for six days straight, but one capsule of this antibiotic caused the fever to break overnight. I continued to take it for an additional 12 days or so. ---
**Author:** ![Washoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecae2f/32.png) [@Washoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Washoe)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2008, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-drug-did-i-take/473620/10 "2008-11-22T00:28:05Z")
Just got back from Wally World. It was [Avelox](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avelox).