The smugglers wouldn’t have gotten the psuedoephedrine active (or bulk tablet blend) powder legally, since it is a controlled substance regulated by law. I used to work with it and now I work with various controlled substances all the time, and it would be very difficult for me to steal any significant amounts. Admittedly, not 100% impossible, but I would be found out pretty quickly, probably within less than 24 hours, less than a work day even.
PSE products are behind-the-counter drugs here, too.
I don’t know Qadgop. Decongestants are about the only over the counter drug that I can say really work. It is always hard for me to say if aspirin, acetaminophen or ibuprofen work or I just got used to the aches. Cough medicines don’t seem to help. Sore throat meds don’t seem to help for more than 10 minutes. But old fashion Sudafed would really clear up the old runny nose.
I just tried to get some normal Sudafed but all they had was the pe stuff I asked about regular and they said they did not have it.
Ah, doc, I was so broken up when they took PPA out of ContAc… (really, I had switched to PPA-based products because sustained-release PSE cold meds got me too wired… then they come out with that it increases the likelihood of stroke :smack: ) Woe is I, since then I developed HBP and the “safe” stuff does jack for me!
I guess it’s a question of finding a really germophobic employer who will provide generous sick leave benefits because he wants you away from the office until the snot flow ceases…
If by “do much good” you mean have any effect whatsoever, then I agree with you on guaifenesin and dextromethorphan, both of which do precisely jack squat for me (although I hear a downing a whole bottle of Robitussin has its off-label uses), but I do get some relief from pseudoephedrine. I typically take a single pill, though, as the full 2-pill dose gives me the jitters. It doesn’t last very long, though, so if the meth-war replacement is actually shorter-acting, that’s definitely not a selling point.
Except for analgesics like ibuprofen, it seems like most drugs that actually work have their side effects—the antihistamines that are effective make me feel like crap, so most of the time I’d rather just deal with the runny nose. The cough suppressants that work (the narcotic ones) may make you feel good, so they’re verboten.
On the other hand, I tried Allegra, which is utterly side-effect free, and doesn’t do anything for my sinuses.
For some of us, it works, but we have nasty adverse reactions to it. And so we really, really wish the OTC pharmaceutical industry had been clearer about indicating on their labeling that they had changed their formulations.
In Oregon, you now need a prescription for pseudoephedrine. QtM, I hate to disagree with you, but pseudoephedrine is the only product that ever makes a difference for me. Nasal lavage is fine, but with a bad cold I can’t be jumping up every hour to do it. No other decongestants work for me and dextromethorphan is highly aversive and doesn’t work well for me. It was a sad day when I used up my last Classic Sudafed.
You’re one of the lucky responders, then. It only made me spacey.
PPA worked okay for me, but it left my hands a bit too shakey to work while taking it. Nothing worse than having to sew up some toddler’s chin after an ENTEX-LA and a cup of coffee.
Long-acting nasal spray containing oxymetazoline does the same job for me without the systemic side-effects, if I limit my use to no more than 5 days in a row. Saline nasal spray bottles in between, and sinus washes at the end of the day work better than PPA ever did.
So, as I was standing in the Walmart pharmacy section today, here in Canada, I was checking out the packages for OTC sinus/allergy medication. I used to buy Tylenol allergy/sinus, which had pseudoephedrine in it, and it worked very well for me. I’ve discovered through a less than successful trial that phenylephrine does not work well for me at all. I’ve now found out, however, that you can still buy OTC generics that have pseudoephedrine in them that are still stocked on the shelves (not behind the counter). They’ve even added a “chill burst” coating to them that is like that used in the Tylenol products.
A quick anecdote - I went to the pharmacy to get Sudafed from the druggist and noticed a display of the generic brand behind the counter. It was on sale, 2 for the price of one. Limit 1 per customer. :smack:
LOVED PPA. The only pill decongestant that decongests. Pseudoephedrine does absolutely nothing, which is odd because ephedrine, from ephedra, worked on me just fine.
I also like Afrin nasal spray (the oxymetazoline kind), but I’m so paranoid about rebound congestions, I’ve only let myself use it 3 days in a row. The 12 hour stuff I could set a clock by. At 11:58 it’s still working and at the twelve hour mark my head is a solid mucus ball again. I like the saline-in-between advice, as the worst thing about the Afrin is that it dries things out so much it’s a little raw and painful.
Cough suppressants I only use if I’m starting to wretch and dry heave, and the best one I’ve found is lobelia tincture. But just like an expectorant, you have to take just as much as you need to almost, but not quite, make you queasy.
I definitely find Sudafed works and I can get it on the shelf in small quantities or behind in larger. In fact, I returned a 50-count bottle to the counter the other day knowing that they’re not supposed to be out in front; seems the stocker hadn’t been paying attention.
My allergies (not asthma, thank Og) manifest as cough and, sometimes, an earache on the left side. If I ignore it, it will continue to get more unpleasant until I take the Sudafed. Sudafed will also kill morning cough.
The only antihistamines that work for me are Benadryl and Actifed so I can only take antihistamines at night. When it comes to colds, I’ll use the Actifeds to try to head off the histamine production and Sudafeds to clear them up if I start getting congested. If I’m afflicted with a dry cough, I take good ol’ codeine in A C & C tablets. I once asked my doc what ingredient shut off the cough and was told that codeine is an anti-spasmodic so now I skip all the cough medicines and go for the codeine. Seems to work just fine.
Sorry, should’ve made clear that I meant I personally found Allegra to be without side effects compared to older antihistamines, which I’ve always hated.
Pretty much without any effects, except a diminution of my personal wealth.
I saw that PBS Frontline episode about meth and it made things shockingly clear to me.
I don’t see why pseudo & ephedrine aren’t simply made Schedule I and banned entirely. We’re not talking about penicillin or morphine here. Its just a convenience drug. It doesn’t even really treat sickness, it just helps suppress symptoms. Nobody’s going to die if they can’t have their sudafed.
Comparing that to its abuse potential as meth’s main ingredient, it seem like no comparison at all.
The most chilling description I’ve read is: a certain amount of cocaine that will get you high for about 20 minutes, that same amount of meth will get you high for about 6 hours!
I have heard anecdotal reports that meth lab busts have dropped sharply in some states as a result of regulation of pseudoephedrine sales. Take that as you may, and it is probably easily googleable.
A personal anecdote: I am from New Mexico, was in Oklahoma (with a NM DL) and went to purchase some Sudafed not long after Oklahoma put it behind the counter. ( 2004 IIRC) You take a cardboard placard off the wall, and give it to the pharmacy people, same as New Mexico.
There was a line and when I gave my “out of state” ID to the tech, he looked at me real suspiciously and said “I’ll be right back” I could see him talking to the pharmacist I guess, and after some back and forth, he sold me my ONE PACKET, all I wanted, of 24 pills.
Meanwhile, the line was looking at me like I was a meth cook. How much meth could I manufacture with 24 30 gram Sudafed tabs? :rolleyes:
