Pharmacy ID suck.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

See, and I do this. Buy phenylephrine instead of pseudoephedrine. It works fine, and I don't have to go through the hassle at the window.

I'm the opposite. The psuedophedrine works better on me better than the PE stuff.

Anything with PE in it doesn't last as long and the effects are not as potent. I want to be able to completely breathe, not just partway.

Meaning if my allergies are acting up enough, I'll walk through fire if I have to for a box of Zyrtec-D.

[Seshat]

Although I do find it interesting that stores won't take a military ID for them...

It'll be a mistake in the way the law was written.

And I'm assuming 'mistake' because I figure military ID is more tightly controlled than drivers' licences etc.

[Cia]

For me phenylephrine just doesn't work very well it'll stop my drippy nose but I still feel allergy-y <- new word . Pseudoephedrine works better but lately it isn't working as well as it used to. I've tried Leudotridine or some allergy med that starts with an 'L' and it doesn't work at all.

[Shalom]

Some people prefer a certain kind of cold meds. One of my sisters is convinced that she had something once that had real ephedrine, as opposed to the pseudo stuff, because I had to sign for it at the store pharmacy. She wanted the same thing for her last cold but couldn't remember the brand name. But all the stuff that you have to sign for is the pseudoeph, and I don't think they even sell real ephedrine in cold meds. .

Pseudoephedrine isn't "fake" ephedrine exactly. Ephedrine has two chiral centers (i.e. two places where the 3D structure can either go one way or the other). If the -H is below the plane of the molecule and the -OH is above it, then it's called ephedrine; vice versa, and it's pseudoephedrine. The prefix "pseudo"- doesn't imply a value judgement, any more than the term "shampoo" implies that the substance doesn't have genuine poo in it; it's a term of art in the chemical industry, used to distinguish one enantiomer from another.

I'm the opposite. The psuedophedrine works better on me better than the PE stuff.

Anything with PE in it doesn't last as long and the effects are not as potent. I want to be able to completely breathe, not just partway.:

This is generally true. In that population for whom it works at all, pseudoephedrine does work better than phenylephrine, and as a bonus it also lasts longer (6 hours for PSE vs. advertised 4 hours for PE, which in reality is closer to 2.5 hours.)

Unfortunately, in a minority of the population it doesn't work at all. All PSE does for me, personally, is keep me up all night, raise my blood pressure, and give me palpitations. Phenylephrine does work somewhat. The only really decent decongestant that I've ever used is phenylpropanolamine, and they took it off the market.

For me phenylephrine just doesn't work very well it'll stop my drippy nose but I still feel allergy-y <- new word . Pseudoephedrine works better but lately it isn't working as well as it used to. I've tried Leudotridine or some allergy med that starts with an 'L' and it doesn't work at all.

Loratadine (brand name Claritin, Alavert). This is an antihistamine, but it doesn't have much or any drying properties. I've also heard rumors that at the recommended dosages it doesn't really work at all, but that if you increase the dose to where it actually does something, it's not non-sedating anymore, which is the sole selling point for this particular drug.

I'd try cetirizine (Zyrtec) instead. There's only a 19% chance of it causing drowsiness, and it's a bit more drying that loratadine.

[KitterCat]

Wow I must be the odd ball of the bunch. The only nasal decongestant I’ve been able to use that’s worked has been pseudoephedrine. Give me one Walgreen’s extra strength version and I don’t need to take another pill for 16 hours.

The customers going to have a nasty wake up call if he gets the right cashier. Over here in MD not only do you have to show ID, the purchase has to be for yourself or a family member underage. Most pharmacist will overlook it if your buying for an adult family member, but if he gets really idiotic he could be denied a sale altogether even if he finally coughs up his id. It may not make sense, but it has been made into law to try and keep meth production down. If your really worried that you’ll need more than one pack in a month, do the sensible thing and buy some to stockpile when your not sick, but that would require thinking and we all know SC planning abilities.

[Gizmo]

All this talk about PE & PSE... has anyone tried Guifenisen? That seems to do me wonders where the others struggle to touch me. Its a pain to get in any quantity over here though.

[Jester]

Personally I rarely use cold meds because they dry out my nasal passages so much, it feels like they're on fire. Also even the "non-drowsy" ones make me loopy.

Whereas I'm somewhat the opposite. I seem to have a high tolerance to drugs, so I need the strongest decongestant available for it to have any effect on me. Basically, what would knock the average person out is what I need, and I can (and have) work on said drug.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking about, I once gave what I was taking to one of my sous chefs at the brewpub, since she was suffering greatly, and no one else had anything on them. What made it possible for me to work about knocked her out, and she made a point of getting the name of it from me so that she would never take it at work again. (Don't ask me what it was, this was over 15 years ago.)

[Jay 2K Winger]

Basically, what would knock the average person out is what I need, and I can (and have) work on said drug.

I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that you are perhaps the most famous drinker in Key West.

...okay, maybe not in Key West, but certainly here on CS.com.

[Jester]

I'm sure this has nothing to do with the fact that you are perhaps the most famous drinker in Key West.

...okay, maybe not in Key West, but certainly here on CS.com.

Wrong on most counts. I may well be the most famous (or infamous) drinker on CS.com, but not even close in Key West, nor does this particular aspect of my physiology have anything to do with that, as it has always been that way in my life, and I've only been in Key West for 13 years. And the incident with my coworker that I mentioned happened back in the mid-Nineties, in Phoenix.

[MoonCat]

Pseudoephedrine isn't "fake" ephedrine exactly. Ephedrine has two chiral centers (i.e. two places where the 3D structure can either go one way or the other). If the -H is below the plane of the molecule and the -OH is above it, then it's called ephedrine; vice versa, and it's pseudoephedrine. The prefix "pseudo"- doesn't imply a value judgement, any more than the term "shampoo" implies that the substance doesn't have genuine poo in it; it's a term of art in the chemical industry, used to distinguish one enantiomer from another.

...Er. OK?

I'll take your word for it.

Actually I thought pseudo meant, in this case, that it was a synthetic form of the natural thing, but one of the pharmacists told me that was not the case. But thanks for your explanation, too!