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What? Medwatch? I’m confused

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You state: Now I went to college for 7 years, got my PharmD, yadda yadda
yadda. I know about drugs. I am trained in drugs. Ask me about a drug
and I will tell you everything you need to know about it.
Okay–I’m asking about a drug: INSULIN. Tell me everything I need to know
about insulin . . . about older OTC natural animal insulins versus the rDNA
synthetic human insulin that is “just like the human body makes.”

What do you want to know about it? How its more consistent than animal derived Insulin? Less prone to allergic reactions? Longer shelf life (if kept in fridge)? Less shit from animal-rights groups (god save the pork?). Or should I go into the long tyrade about how EVERYONE can use this product without being forced not to get treatment due to religious beliefs of not using pork products? When I said “I will tell you everything you need to know about it” with Insulin its going to be how to store it, proper aseptic technique to inject it, when to notify your doctor, confusion about sliding scales, mixing, etc etc etc. Basic stuff they tell you in school. However you are a “50+-year insulin user” (See lilly rant) so I think you’re going to tell me that my 7 years of school + millions of bottles of insulin dispensed is completely wrong and I’m an idiot.

And while you are at it, I would like to know why pharmacists–whose years
of education supremely qualify them to serve as an intermediary between
patients and the FDA–have NOT stepped up to amerliorate the dysfunctional
adverse events reporting. It has been shown that patients talk to their
pharmacists 7 times more frequently than to their doctors. Ergo, you hear
more tales, more quickly, about adverse events; and yet you obviously have
opted to stay out of the mix, count your little pills, place them in
bottles, and ask patients, “Do you have any questions?” Your education and
position qualify you to do much more. Why don’t you?

If I reported every damn ‘side effect’ and ‘allergic reaction’ that I get on a daily basis, I would fill up medwatch’s books on “headache”, “upset stomach”, “dizziness”, “gives me gas”, etc etc etc. We filter out a /ton/ of bogus already-reported side effects from Medwatch. Now have I ever reported something to Medwatch? Yes. Woman had such a bad allergic reaction to the adhesive to Vivelle dots that it made a bleeding rash that spread. We arent “staying out the mix”, we are just nodding our heads and telling Mrs. Jones who calls you 100 times a day that YES, it is common to get lightheadedness when changing blood pressure medications, and if she wasn’t being such an uppity bitch about her copays she might of heard me warn her of that during the consultation. People hear what they want to hear, and the moment their copays change by anything more than $0.05 anything of value I tell them goes right out the window as they scream at me about their fucking copay.
I dont see where you are getting with this whole bitch to be honest. We ask the patient if they have any questions, yet don’t submit every side effect to Medwatch? Do you call the police about a missing person when your child cannot be found for 10 seconds because they are in the restroom? You’re probably one of those patients who has an “allergy” to codeine and tells us to record it as “upset stomach”, then argues with us when we say that its a common side effect.

In other words, what YOU perceive as your STELLAR qualifications could–and
perhaps will–be supplanted by a comprehensive PDR software program,
automatic pill-counter/dispenser, and voice-activated computer that can
spit out prescription inserts “on demand.”

Yeah, and who’s going to program said PDR software program that can turn medical speak into plain-person speak? How are you going to get around the Drug-Drug-Interactions/Dosing Mixups that aren’t picked up in the software but are picked up via experience (Morphine ER/IR mixups or a good starting dose for the elderly). We aren’t going to be replaced by machines because people like us, we talk to them.
Doctors have more of a chance of being replaced. They see patients for 10 seconds, take a quick look at them, and just leave giving them an Rx on the front counter. They could be replaced by an automated blood-pressure/DM/etc diagnostic machine, then patients can use a touch screen for their symptoms which spits out a diagnosis that then gets sent to the pharmacy where we pick out the proper drug and dose.

It sounds to me like you should be working at a mail-order pharmacy where
patient contact is minimum. That should take care of your ‘anger’ issues.
Then, of course, without those stupid, sick, suffering patients–and yes,
sometimes thoughtless or clueless patients–you wouldn’t have a job.

Do you realize that you are on the website “THE ANGRY PHARMACIST”? What part of “Angry” do you not understand? Have you ever read this site before? Do you realize that the whole reason /WHY/ I get angry is because I’m out there associating with everyone who walks into my store? This includes the village idiot, the whiny uppity rich bitch, and the 99.9% of the /normal/ people whom I don’t get angry with (hence not bitch about here). Did you read how I /hate/ mail-order pharmacies because they give substandard patient care and make /me/ do all of their shit work (when I dont get paid for it)?

Comments #

Comment by Grasshopper on 2008-01-23 12:40:39 -0800 #

Like moth to the flame…
It’s called dealing with the public. If The Angry Pharmacist suddenly decided to turn into The Thankful Pharmacist, he would have dozens of blog entries a day on the helpful things he has done for grateful patients and the good acquaintances that he has made over the counter….but, like the news, no one would read it.
It’s the nincompoops that come in that get under our skin. We need to vent. TAP does it well here on his blog. That’s why we read. It’s the bait for the monkey trap that ignorance loves to test.
Keep up the good work!

Comment by http://openid.aol.com/blastoff2them00n on 2008-01-23 16:09:07 -0800 #

People seem to have a really hard time accepting that frankly, some people are damn obnoxious. Pharmacists and their technicians are human. If you’re a wench in the pharmacy, guess what – we won’t like you. In fact, we’ll create blogs and tell the whole world what a horrible person you are. Nothing personal of course – it’s not like we give out names or anything like that.
There is a saying that truth is stranger than fiction. Anyone who works in the pharmacy for 3 days will tell you this is an absolutely true statement. I don’t plan to be a pharmacy tech for my life, and there are a number of things I really dislike about my job. Nothing says joy like holding for 40 minutes to speak to someone at the Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Wellpoint NextRx Pharmacy Helpdesk only to find out that you got transfered to the India facility, and no, they have no idea how to assist you with your medicare advantage part-B type claim. They’ll be happy to transfer you though, at which point you determine that yes, they transfered you back to the same Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Wellpoint NextRx Pharmacy Helpdesk in India, where they still cannot help you.
Nothing says joy like determining there are 4 different phone numbers for Caremark, and the one that handles my claim has a 40 minute wait time, only to find out that I was billing to the wrong RxPCN. Seriously, if there are any PBMs reading this, can you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE eliminate the RxPCN. It just causes confusion. I love the RxBIN – it’s easy to use and I can grasp at what’s happening. The need for RxGRP baffles me, but if it makes you happy, fine. But honestly, the RxPCN seems to be just a glorified RxGRP designed to confuse your pharmacy staffers and prevent good customer service.
Nothing says joy like selling phone cards, and only phone cards, at the drivethru b/c you are too cheap to sign up for a decent long distance service, and too lazy to come into the store.
Nothing says joy like you pretending that your insurance wasn’t terminated at the first of the month and conveniently forgetting that you still haven’t sent your check in for COBRA benefits. By the way, the good folks at Ceridian Benefits have no power whatsoever to resolve your rejected prescription claim, so please don’t expect me to telephone them.
Nothing says joy like you bitching me out b/c you don’t take Neurontin – no, you take Lyrica. Neither I nor the pharmacist asked your doctor to call in an Rx for Neurontin. In fact, we didn’t even ask doctor to call our pharmacy. If it was up to us, your doctor would have called it in to your friendly Medco Health Mail Order Pharmacy, because you, madam, are a perfect candidate for mail order, in that our little pharmacy world is a little better off with you not bothering it.
Nothing says joy like calling Caremark and holding for 20 minutes to find out you forgot you have a deductible with your plan.
Nothing says joy like trying to get Argus to do anything.
Nothing says joy like Medco giving me one of their bullshit “you may not receive a label” override codes. Look, bitch. I know your ways, and damn it I know how to make a label print. Your fast ones can’t stop this tech. (Kudos to my friends at the Contact Support Center with their New England accents)
Nothing says joy like you being unable to comprehend that insurance isn’t as easy as me typing your social security number into a little box and clicking “Bill!” I’m good. I’m damn good. But if you can’t meet me half way and at least have your card with you… you need to do exactly what I tell you. If I say call your father, I mean it. If I say ask him for your insurance info, I really mean it. Don’t give me “::sigh:: Are you serious?!?” because in a minute you’ll just be bitching me out b/c your Z-Pak from Dr. Urgent Care costs $35. And when your dad gives me crap b/c he didn’t know I wanted the prescription info and not the medical info – yes, I am entitled to roll my eyes, because damn it this is a pharmacy.
All of this having been said –
Nothing says joy like you remembering my name and knowing its me by my voice over the phone. And actually asking how I’m doing an meaning it.
Nothing says joy like finding out that Facilitated Enrollment for Medicare/Medicaid dual-eligibles actually works and that I can help someone in a really shitty situation get meds that they actually need.
Nothing says joy like hearing an Argus agent acknowledge that yes, Cigna really has no idea what they’re doing.
Nothing says joy like being able to take a minute and listen b/c you really just need someone to listen for a minute b/c your husband is in the hospital sick and could be dying. And nothing says joy like knowing that you appreciate it and that you feel a little better even though there wasn’t anything I could say or do to fix your situation.
Nothing says joy like you calling in your prescriptions at least 72 hours ahead of time, every time, b/c you’re just nice like that. Yes, I notice, and it lets me make sure that if I’m missing something, that I can get it on the Cardinal order for you.
It’s not that there aren’t great aspects to this job. There are things I love about my job. But there’s a lot of bullshit, and that’s the stuff I laugh at when the day is done. If I don’t laugh, I’ll just be mean. And thank you, if I am mean to you, take it as a compliment, b/c it just means that I know you know better and are capable of more than what you are doing.
So don’t whine at pharmacists and techs for hating their jobs. They don’t hate their jobs. They just need to vent about the imminent crap that comes with the job. If you don’t like it, I suggest you stick to blogs that aren’t about working in pharmacies.
TAP – KEEP IT UP!!!

Comment by Carol on 2008-01-23 16:32:46 -0800 #

Hey TAP! I gave you the “you made my day” award on my blog. Keep up the good work.

Comment by Ryan on 2008-01-23 17:29:43 -0800 #

I have found that searching for the signs and symptoms of various illnesses my family has had through Google resulted in more accurate diagnosis than consulting our PCP.
Doctors are much more likely to be replaced by computers than Pharmacists.

Comment by PharmDude on 2008-01-23 17:43:18 -0800 #

Replaced by a PDR? For the sake of every red blooded human being let’s hope not! Obviously this whore doesn’t realize how often patients call to have shit explained to them that they read in a PDR or on a patient information slip. 99% of the time they are worried about some trivial snippet of information that is BS to begin with. Is a “comprehensive PDR software program” going to tell Melody what those bumps on her cooter are or how to get rid of them? Is it going to call her doctor and have him switch the brand name only, $500 ACE inhibitor he wrote for, to lisinopril and save her $480? Is it going to compound some pediatric dose of a drug needed for her kid? Is it going to listen to the patient when he talks about excessive urination, overwhelming thirst, and extreme hunger, then prick her finger & check her glucose level and send her directly to the doctor? Is it going to spot the thousand count bottle of Asprin in her hand as she picks up her Coumadin? I don’t think so. Yeah Melody…. replacement of pharmacists by a machine is right around the corner. I’d say an automatic dispenser of french fries and hamburgers is more likely to put you out of a job.

Comment by Nvincible on 2008-01-23 22:48:03 -0800 #

“I’d say an automatic dispenser of french fries and hamburgers is more likely to put you out of a job.”
Lmao… that’s probably true. What kind of person asks such a complicated question followed by an insult of the “STELLAR” education that is needed to answer it? That’s like calling a cop a pig then asking him to not write you that ticket. Again, a little research would have saved this woman from making an ass of herself and she would have learned that you can’t just go to some rinky-dink college or to DeVry or NIT or some junior college joint to be one. Melody, I’m sorry you’re fat and alone. But my stellar education recommends that you try Alli and kill two birds with one stone. It may help you lose weight plus shit will stop coming out your mouth and start coming out your ass. Peace, and god still loves you.

Comment by Nvincible on 2008-01-23 22:55:06 -0800 #

Oh, do these new robotic pharmacist with all the automatic shit talk like Arnold Schwartzenegger? I think I know where she dreamed this up. I saw this in a movie once where the robot pharmacists became self-aware and blew the fuck out of anything that got in the way of world domination. Loved that movie… her plagiarized article… i mean comment sounds alot like the plot of the Terminator. But instead of hunting Sarah Connor, it will be hunting Fat Melody. I’ll be back.

Comment by TDP on 2008-01-24 02:23:57 -0800 #

Wow – such big words – too bad you still end up looking like an simpleton/tomfool/dunderhead/ignoramus (yeah http://www.thesaurus.com is STELLAR!)
I know excatly the type of customer you are – your shit doesn’t stink and you think you know more than anyone else in the world because you have Internet and a 15 year old drug reference guide.
I hope we get replaced by a machine – a machine that does all the tedious crap of labelling and entering data into the computer. Because at the end of the day, you’ll still need a human pharmacist at the end of the line to double check everthing the machine did. It would also mean instead of wasting my time doing tedious shit like that, I can spend it
– reviewing the history and checking the script
– counselling the patient
– answering any questions they have
– answering any questions they had for the doctor (as they didn’t want to bother him or her as he threw them out of the room because they had exceeded the 15 min Medicare consultation limit)
– and having a nice chat/joke with them so they know that we appreciate having them come into our pharmacy.

Comment by Don G on 2008-01-24 07:14:46 -0800 #

Melody, you have a very myopic view of pharmacy. You sound somewhat threatened by the contribution pharmacists have to patient health care. Is that what you think, to replace us with robots so your job can thrive? I can see by that statement that you are not a person who knows much about health care or of intelligence. If you’re a heath care provider of any sort, you have a limited view of what pharmacists do. You are certainly doing a great disservice to your profession if you are.

Comment by Dolphin2 on 2008-01-24 09:10:30 -0800 #

Alleluia!

Comment by Tyler Salzman on 2008-01-24 14:59:35 -0800 #

You are awesome. This was a great post and I feel like you really hit the nail on the head. When I first thought about going into pharmacy, I had friends who told me that I was just gonna be replaced by robots. This really bothered the crap out of me and had me a little worried that my years of schooling would be down the drain, but pharmacy school has shown me that pharmacists will always be needed. The actual job that we do may change drastically, but there is so much that we are trained to do in school that we don’t take advantage of in your typical community setting. Pharmacists are versatile and can do so much, whether it be a smoking cessation clinic, to meeting with patients to be sure they are taking all their medicines correctly and taking any available generics, to the standard hospital or community pharmacist. I know many community pharmacists that work all sorts of services into their practice, but with the rise in diabetes prevalence and people trying to quit smoking, I think pharmacists could make a living with specialized clinics. Anyway, with all the baby boomers getting old I am just excited to see all the opportunities that pharmacists have in the future. As you can tell, I’m not angry yet. I’ve heard that in a few years pharmacists at walgreens will no longer be involved in the filling process as much, but will be sitting behind a desk consulting and whatnot. Have a great day!
p.s. I think all pharmacies should have a giant sign that reads: “WE DO NOT DECIDE WHAT YOUR COPAY IS, TALK/COMPLAIN TO YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY”

Comment by RxPower on 2008-01-25 13:43:03 -0800 #

I have a woman that claims Singulair gave her cavities and Prilosec gave her toe-nail fungus. I suppose I should get Merck and AstraZeneca on the horn and inform them. She also has “anaphylactic reactions” with “all generic medications.” I don’t speak Indian, but I’ll try to contact Dr.Reddy’s to inform them they need to stop putting bumblebee venom in as an inactive for oxaprozin, then I’ll fill your script; wait time is 3 hours bc I need to tell Mallinckrodt’s R&D department that their oxycodone is less potent than Actavis’ “215’s”.

Comment by pharmacystinks on 2008-01-25 14:25:04 -0800 #

I don’t understand people anymore. If the lay public could be in our shoes for 1 day then they might possibly appreciate a little of what we do as pharmacists. In the last month, I have had to address customer complaints because we weren’t going to break the law to make the customer happy. For example, such as give a sick person traveling and stopping off to stay in a hotel nearby b/c they were so sick they couldn’t travel and we wouldn’t give them a an anti-nausea drug. Okay, trivial? Maybe if you work for an independent, then you might have done it or maybe not. If you work for a mega chain, then you have cameras watching your every move and giving someone a phenergan is out of the question. But, the end result was a letter to the CEO of said mega chain about how horrible the customer service was at the pharmacy. Then letter back to the district the pharmacy was in about how situation “should have been handled.” Customer’s perception of pharmacists has become greatly distorted and if anything we are becoming the victims of verbal abuse more and more. I have had two customers vs. about 15 praise the job we do at the pharmacy I work at. I have been cussed and yelled at by at least one customer everyday for a month now. What’s the deal? Pharmacists won’t need patients before they need us first. If you are a lay person, take note, your pharmacist worked very hard to get the education and degree they so proudly display on the wall. We have this thing called a “License” that if revoked or suspended because you want us to bend the rules for you is our livelihood….and we cannot immediately go get on welfare if we lose our jobs. Those of you who will be fortunate enough to receive a check from the feds in a few months to spend and “stimulate” the economy, remember, spend it on something worth spending it on and not illegal drugs…take heart in knowing that your pharmacist who receives a nice salary, but works their ass off, will not get one of these checks because we make more than $75,000 per year to put up with the your bullshit, rudeness and impatience. You know what, if you don’t like your pharmacist, then go find another one and you know what? You probably won’t like your new one either. Get a grip and give us some respect.

Comment by limari on 2008-01-25 19:52:16 -0800 #

Melody spewed:

Ergo, you hear more tales, more quickly, about adverse events;>and yet you obviously have opted to stay out of the mix, count your little pills, place them in bottles, and ask patients, “Do you have any questions?” Your education and position qualify you to do much more. Why don’t you?«
GAH! Melody. Verily I say unto thee: For the most part, tis we, the technicians, who count the little pills and place them in the bottles. Get it right, woman!
And I’m almost positive that the pharmacist who has the STELLAR job of filling your scripts dreads asking YOU, “Do you have any questions?”
Why? Perhaps it’s because not many pharmacists I know have a 3 hour block of time set aside for listening to drivel such as yours. Ergo, this website. (Thanks, TAP)

Comment by Melody on 2008-01-26 07:06:09 -0800 #

Angry Pharmacist, you state: What do you want to know about it? How its more consistent than animal derived Insulin? Less prone to allergic reactions? Longer shelf life (if kept in fridge)? Less shit from animal-rights groups (god save the pork?).
Could you provide citations for your “facts.” It appears you really know all there is to know about insulin . . . assuming your education encompases 20 minutes of reading industry Press Releases and package inserts. (1) More consistent is an interesting term, albeit rather subjective, don’t you think? What metric are you using to define ‘consistency’? Certainly not the actual pharmacokinetics or pharmacodynamics of the product. (2) Less prone to allergic reaction . . . that appears to be nothing more than industry PR since studies indicate that a similar-sized subset of insulin users experience allergic reaction to synthetic as did former subsets of animal insulin users. (3) Longer shelf-life? If stored in the refrigerator (which sometimes causes painful injection experiences) MAY be true . . . but patients are urges to discard an open vial of synthetic after 28 days. That doesn’t indicate that it has ANY benefit over natural insulins.
I guess most pharmacy schools–even the elite one from which you graduated–have neglected to point out after 1972, marketed natural animal insulins were actually PURER than the rDNA shit you so “consistently” pass out today. BTW, do you understand that today’s insulins are made from a broth of yeast or E. coli (shit bacteria) that has been genetically modified BUT still requires animal product in the culture for essential nutrients that are necessary for bacterial/yeast maturity and growth? How do you incorporate this into your animal-free concerns of animal-rights activists?

Comment by Matt on 2008-01-26 07:57:37 -0800 #

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/080123/new068.html?.v=36
Caremark gets award for best call centers…. lol. I do have to admit though they are about the only company that quickly gets you to a person instead of punching a bunch of numbers.

Comment by soren faust on 2008-01-28 11:45:58 -0800 #

As a lay person, but one who is in another profession that directly deals with the public, (librarian), I think that it comes with the territory that if you work with the public you will be abused by them. It’s no secret and exists in every form of work where you interface directly with them. I personally have a very amiable relation with my pharmacist and we both laugh at how difficult it is sometimes to deal with people, but for the most part, it’s satisfying. In the pharmacist’s case, I can imagine it’s more difficult because you’re dealing with sick people who feel like shit and want to take it out on someone.

Comment by rph3664 on 2008-01-29 12:53:22 -0800 #

I used to post on Gardenweb.com when their site was navigable, and they had some threads for people who work in nurseries and garden centers. The similarities between that and pharmacy are too numerous to mention. My favorites were the ones where people would set plants on the counter and say, “Home Depot has this for $2.99, Target has this for $5.99, etc. etc.”
One nursery owner told a story about a day from hell, and he saw a young woman, not even 20 years old, looking at rose bushes. He asked if he could help her, expecting to get his head bitten off, and she replied that she didn’t know anything about how to plant rose bushes or care for them, but she thought they were pretty and she wanted one for her baby’s grave.
Yes, it was all worth it.

Comment by WARx on 2008-01-29 16:35:18 -0800 #

Oh my, Melody. You sure are the expert on insulin. Why bother asking questions about this drug when it’s so clear that you have all the answers? You obviously have an agenda and a very defined opinion on the matter. You remind me of a retired pharmacist who comes to my pharmacy to ask us questions about various medications, just to see if we’re “keeping up” with our education. He apparently has nothing better to do with his days than to read studies and find random facts about drugs and then come and show us all how smart he is. We all hate him. Nobody likes a know-it-all. So please, instead of fishing for the answers you want to hear, why don’t you do us a favor and give us the information that we obviously need. If at some point I find myself with nothing better to do, I might just look at the information you provide.

Comment by NoleRx on 2008-01-29 17:42:06 -0800 #

The only appropriate comment that need to be made to Melody is this…who give a shit! Since those insulins are no longer available why should I care about them? There are a ton of drugs that have been pulled off the market over the years…some good, some bad but since they are no longer on the market I don’t need to waste my time learning/knowing about them!
Melody you said “I guess most pharmacy schools–even the elite one from which you graduated–have neglected to point out after 1972, marketed natural animal insulins were actually PURER than the rDNA shit you so “consistently” pass out today.”
My response to you is that we “consistently” pass them out because that is what is available, we are not the FDA, we as pharmacists do not decide what is pulled from the market and what stays. You act as if it’s the pharmacists fault that you can no longer get your pork lente or whatever shit you used to use. Get over it, they are not coming back so get off your high horse and get on with your life using the rDNA shit we consistently pass out to you!
PS Anyone idiot can spend time reading about one particular medicine or class of medications and spout off a bunch of useless facts about them. Try knowing something about EVERY drug and lets see how smart you are. Anytime you want to go head to head on random drug topics of my choice let me know and I’ll take your old ass to school!

Comment by Micro-Dork on 2008-01-30 11:06:35 -0800 #

SCREECH… Crunch. That, was the sound of a certain argument about insulin coming to a screeching halt.
What has yet to be mentioned, even in passing, is the actual process behind rDNA. Melody cites E.Coli as shit bacteria. Well, more accurately, WHICH E. Coli are shit bacteria? Considering the hundreds (actually thousands) of combinations between serotype and host and environment and nutrient requirements in the entire species and subtypes, there is no definitive “shit bacteria”. Some cases could be made either way but rDNA processes simply use E. Coli because it is a convenient organism, reasonably non-fastidious, fast generation time and MOST IMPORTANTLY, its entire genome has been mapped to the letter – thus allowing recombination.
Melody’s paranoia about bacteria products are truly unfounded. Is she equally afraid of beer, cheese, yogurt or clostridium botulinum spores on potatoes?
rDNA, recombination and the groundwork they laid for gene therapy are among the most fantastic accomplishments in all of the 20th century.
If this patient is so determined to prove the old animal insulins superior to an identical human product (down to the primary structure), why not make the similar case for UFH’s superiority to Lovenox or Fragmin?
Were it not for rDNA technology a large number of
agents would never have been able to be produced for commercial use. That syringe of lente insulin would cost 1000x what it does now. rDNA insulins, especially the lentes have literally transformed regimens for T2DM to the point they are near physiologic. Not perfect regimens mind you, but our understanding and tweaking of “normal” insulin has extended lives and improved quality of life. All thanks to rDNA.
Be grateful for those “shit” bacteria. Their mere presence saves your life every day.

Comment by Midwest Pharmer on 2008-01-31 14:52:52 -0800 #

Aw… “shit bacteria.” How scientific of you.

Comment by chemoqueenrph on 2008-01-31 17:51:14 -0800 #

Gee Melody,
Why don’t you cite YOUR references? I’m so impressed you can use big words like pharmacodynamics & pharmacokinetics. You see, pharmacists have 2 different languages: layspeak to educate our patients, and medical speak we use with medical professionals who can understand it. I’m sure TAP used the word ‘consistent’ because he was hoping a mental midget such as yourself would understand it. Would you rather we launch into a discussion of the AUC (that’s Area Under the Curve Mr Smarty Pants) and get the cow stare from Joe Public? Do you know how to calculate the AUC of Carboplatin? Do you know why a doc would prescribe an AUC of carboplatin of 2 instead of 5? I guess it’s not a big deal to you unless you have cancer. You see, in order to graduate from pharmacy school, we have to be able to do that too. Not just be able to spew useless facts about animal insulin. Of COURSE I know that DNA is inserted into bacteria to replicate the genetic code for human insulin. I don’t give a shit if it’s grown in a bath with animal products (duh!). But last time I drove by Lilly, I didn’t see anyone picketing with a sign that said ‘God Save the Bacteria!!’
Did you know that Erbitux is also manufactured by inserting DNA into a host cell? Except it’s a mouse cell. I guess I should have reported to the FDA the side effect that one patient reported regarding Erbitux being used to treat her cancer. She said it was starting to make her nose twitch like a mouse.
The day a PDR replaces a pharmacist would be Big Pharma’s dream come true!! Did you know the PDR only lists the package insert for drugs that the drug companies PAY to put in the PDR? Say good-bye to trying to figure out if a $5 generic is available instead of the $100 brand.
Oh, and I don’t read press releases for drug information. As if! I consult unbiased references that give me a formula for mixing that expensive medication into a liquid form for Mr. Jones that can’t swallow very well since he had that stroke. The drug company can’t be bothered to manufacture such a product. And they won’t take the liability of publishing that information in their package insert. So I guess if you just have your handy dandy PDR (which all pharmacists piss on) and you can’t swallow tablets, you’re screwed!!

Comment by Melody on 2008-02-02 15:29:37 -0800 #

Melody, here, with my mea culpa for intruding on your site. I must tell you, before leaving

Comment by limari on 2008-02-02 20:44:30 -0800 #

…aaaaaand…SCENE.
Exit, stage left, Melody.

Comment by Badbadpharmacist on 2008-02-03 07:55:25 -0800 #

Melody, your comments about pharmacists are so unfair and invited insult from the very beginning. Perleesse….you are not the only compassionate person. If making want to believe so to make yourself feel better, then these statements of yours are nothiing but a bunch if bs. Tell us what you do as a living or name us a profession where people do not complain at one time or other. Either you’re a total fake or you’re living in fantasy island.

Comment by proudrph on 2008-02-04 23:09:02 -0800 #

Melody, you are an educated person. However, you should know better than to generalize the entire pharmacy profession. Because you have struck a nerve with some of the readers on this blog, your comments were rebuked, as should be expected. This is a forum for expression and “anger”. However, it doesn’t mean all pharmacists are angry with every person they serve as a whole. Some of us in fact know our customers very well and have developed a good rapport with them. It may be a surprise to you, but some of us do care. We do enjoy interacting with some of our customers. It’s the few instances where we encounter drug seeking individuals, etc., that you are hearing these horror stories about on this blog. It doesn’t mean we don’t care. It is exasperating at times explaining to people that certain drugs are not covered, especially face to face with them. You have to understand. Retail pharmacists are health care providers as well as,unfortunately, insurance mediators. We are the ones who receive the brunt of the complaints and verbal abuse even though we have nothing to do with what is covered or not. Our job is stressful as it is. We do our best to maintain our cool and professionalism when we are confronted with these situations. How many professions can you say can endure such insults and disrespect? This forum has allowed some pharmacists to voice, vent, and express their opinions. Some opinions should be taken with a grain of salt. I hope readers, both health related professionals or non, would understand this.

Comment by Meanspirited IS Pharmacy Dude on 2008-02-06 15:41:23 -0800 #

I bet you are fat.
Moooo!

Comment by chemoqueenrph on 2008-02-06 15:56:56 -0800 #

Well Melody (and I know you are lurking), you can’t go on a website for a group of professionals, chastise said group of professionals for not doing enough behind the scenes to serve your own personal agenda, and not expect to get some defensive replies. You think we should be reporting every incidence of someone telling us that human insulin isn’t working as well for them as animal insulin did so you can get your animal insulin back. It’s not going to happen. The FDA can’t mandate that drug companies make animal insulin available again. It’s jusst not that simple.
If I got on a diabetic discussion board & told them they were all coo coo for cocoa puffs because they think animal insulin works better for them, I would fully expect to have my ass handed to me at the door.

Comment by limari on 2008-02-08 21:00:09 -0800 #

I’m glad I stopped myself from telling Melody to “go suck on a pig”.
Really. I am.

Comment by Just-A-Tech on 2008-02-15 10:15:07 -0800 #

Don’t let the door hit you where the sun doesn’t shine and the E.Coli comes out.

Comment by chuck on 2013-01-05 12:07:26 -0800 #

I LOVE it when some dumb person tries to sound smart by using big words. Um, Melody, amerliorate is really spelled ameliorate. Nice try Melody.