It's a totally different drug, one which is not as effective

Stupid meth-heads!

It's a totally different drug, one which is not as effective

This is SO good to know.

When I had a flu-like thing last winter, I reluctantly took Sudafed because I just couldn't stand it anymore. It had zero effect, which led me to a paranoid place about how having had mono the year before destroyed my body's ability to cope with such things. Good. To. Know.

The back-alley Sudafed has pseudoephedrine, which can apparently be used to make crank.

The "new" Sudafed is called Sudafed PE, and has phenylephrine. Avoid it like the plague. The "PE" means "Pretends to be Effective." (Okay, not really. I think it's just meant to indicate that it's the phenylephrine version.)

So today has been busy. I'm just now getting down to eating lunch. But on the plus side, I went to a good talk on teaching and Web 2.0.

And even better, I just got a nice pat on the back. One of my former students who is now at Keck Med School and making a bit of a name for himself just complimented me (behind my back even!) to both my boss and the new dean. Said my class was the best one he took as an undergraduate.

AND I just found out my kitty is doing okay. Now I need to pick her up soon.

The "PE" means "Pretends to be Effective."

I'm lucky enough to not be able to tell the difference. Well, not true, the new formula makes me a bit dopey, but it still works so I'm okay with it.

I find it annoying that the pharmacy is so careful about my medications - none of them is in the least bit fun (no, really) and I just can't imagine there being much demand for them except for the intended purpose. I know you need to take them with a doctor monitoring things, but it would be nice if I didn't have to get new prescriptions when the old one runs out. One of them, the doctor gave me 99 refills ... which is really convenient.

I think I'm the one person who likes the new new Sudafed better. The old kind made my heart gallop, but this kind works without the heart rate over 100 bpm and accompanying jitters.

Pretends to be Effective

Hah! As so many products do.

I think I'm the one person who likes the new new Sudafed better.

Nope. But we may be the only two. My reaction to pseudoephedrine is extreme enough (heart galloping, shakes, dry mouth, freaky-outy thoughts... your basic panic attack in a pill) that I used to despair of finding any cold medicine, because that shit was in everything whether it advertised itself as a decongestant or not.

(On the other hand, not much risk of becoming a meth freak...)

I just can't imagine there being much demand for them except for the intended purpose.

People are weird. I'd have thought that too about the med I take for my thyroid, but it turns out some folks take it to lose weight.

A lot of my meds do have happy!fun purposes, so I basically feel guilty requesting them or filling the prescriptions.

Wow. I've almost downed the whole quart of Smart Water and it's just turned three.

I had a slight ebay spasm and bought four sets of cufflinks. That doesn't make me a bad person, right?