Mystery Medicine

March 1, 2005 10:40 AM

This morning, I discovered a funny little pill. What is it?

I found a pill mixed in with my multi-vitamins. I’ve tried to identify it by googling pill identification, but without any luck. It is a bright green, scored, oval tablet with a script V on one side and the numbers 53 and 11 on the other (not sure of the order). What is this pill?

Also, should I contact somebody about this? I’m quite aware of the darker implications of this discovery, but I’m not sure what to do next.

posted by grateful to Health & Fitness (18 answers total)

Jesus! Call the cops! Those CSI guys have everything, they can figure it out quick; on TV they only take half an hour!

Okay, serioulsy, I would take it to a pharmacy.
posted by Livewire Confusion at 10:43 AM on March 1, 2005

Take it and find out!
posted by cmonkey at 10:48 AM on March 1, 2005

Best answer: Seriously, though. It might be dextromethorphan hydrobromide.
posted by cmonkey at 10:53 AM on March 1, 2005

Go to the liberry and consult the PDR. Very helpful color photos of all pills great and small.
posted by scratch at 11:02 AM on March 1, 2005

yeah, i found the same image of dextromethorphan hydrobromide that cmonkey found. doesn't look too serious if you happened to take it, but i would call the company and let them know about this.
posted by chrisroberts at 11:05 AM on March 1, 2005

also, can you let the rest of us know where you buy your vitamins.
posted by chrisroberts at 11:06 AM on March 1, 2005

Save the pill. Send a letter to the company that makes the multi-vitamins (I'm assuming you can rule out any possible way it could have gotten there post-manufacture). Enjoy A LOT of free vitamins coming your way.
posted by mkultra at 11:16 AM on March 1, 2005

I would definitely contact the company that makes the vitamins, or even the FDA. This is pretty serious, even if it does turn out to be dextromethorphan.
posted by caddis at 11:20 AM on March 1, 2005

A picture would really help here.

cmonkey might have the right pill, but didn't you say that the V was on one side and the numbers were on the other? That could make a difference.

Either way, call the FDA immediately. This isn't a trivial issue. Try 301-827-4570. That might not be the right place, but they don't make it very easy to find the right number.
posted by bh at 11:21 AM on March 1, 2005

Best answer: Better yet, here is the number for the public affairs office in Baltimore (also covers DC): [phone]
posted by bh at 11:25 AM on March 1, 2005

Response by poster: bh-

You're right about the imprint - the letter V is on one side and the numbers are on the other, but I think the website cmonkey referred to might combine them.

I've been looking for an image all day. This is the closest I've been able to find. The imprint doesn't match, but the medicine does.
posted by grateful at 11:39 AM on March 1, 2005

I have access to the Identidex system through my job, but I need more specific information on the order of the numbers. I come up with a ton of matches.
posted by makonan at 11:49 AM on March 1, 2005

Response by poster: Thanks, makonon! I won't be able to get the info for 3-4 hours, but I'll post it here later on today.

BTW, I sent an email to the FDA Division of Drug Information - http://www.fda.gov/cder/Offices/DDI/drugID.htm
posted by grateful at 11:59 AM on March 1, 2005

What scratch said. The Physician's Desk Reference is expensive but very useful, so it's worth a trip to the library.
posted by Tuwa at 12:11 PM on March 1, 2005

Response by poster: FDA responded:

Hello-
That tablet is a Q-BID DM from QUALITEST PRODUCTS (which contains Dextromethorphan-Guaifenesin Tab SR 12HR 30-600 MG). Thank you.
Division of Drug Information-ED

cmonkey wins!
posted by grateful at 12:31 PM on March 1, 2005

Just to be cantkerous, you realize that people use Dextromethorphan as a recreational drug? It's real use is in cough medecine.

Do you share your multi-vitamins with anyone in the household? Have you seen the 6 Feet Under episode where the mom takes ecstacy?
posted by jeremias at 7:17 PM on March 1, 2005

Response by poster: I can assure you that nobody in the house is using recreational drugs, and no, I don't share my vitamins with anyone else.
posted by grateful at 5:52 AM on March 2, 2005

Do not use dextro recreationally! People die every year from this nonsense.
posted by caddis at 6:38 PM on March 2, 2005