Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with otc

Where to find real TheraFlu

crapmatic — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 09:15:19 -0800

Here in the US, TheraFlu was reformulated a few years ago (specifics) supposedly due to the meth panic. Anyhow I feel like I've lost the one thing that actually worked and helped me sleep when I get a cold. Is it feasible to buy the original formula on the gray market from overseas?

Prilosec needs a 4 month break?

NortonDC — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:34:45 -0800

Prilosec and Zantac. News reports that using Zantac correlates with mental decline have me paying more attention to previous guidance from my doctor that Prilosec would be appropriate for me, but the directions on the package are pretty odd. Do people really take Prilosec OTC for 14 days, not take it for 120 days, then rinse and repeat? That's what the directions say, but it's really hard to believe. Why are the directions like that? Is it supposed to be working that whole time?

Switch from OTC to prescription meds

0xFCAF — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:38:28 -0800

Will my doctor switch me from an OTC medication to prescription if I just ask nicely? My employer's health insurance plan has a $0 co-pay for prescriptions. Currently I'm taking Prilosec OTC (paid for out-of-pocket) as recommended by my dermatologist to prevent heartburn aggravated by a different prescription. I'd like to a) not have to pay for it and b) not have to spend my time cutting the pills out of their blister packs.

Medically the Prilosec is working perfectly, so will a reasonable doctor object to switching to a prescription equivalent? I'm assuming there's some slightly different formulation that's not OTC-approved but has the same efficacy profile that I can switch to. If you happen to know the name of such a thing, that'd be good to know.

Barring all of the above, if there's a proton pump inhibitor that just comes as pills in a bottle rather than the ridiculous Prilosec packaging, I'd love to hear about it.

Is it possible to buy a box of single-dose OTC medication packets?

IndigoRain — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 13:09:29 -0800

Is it possible to buy a box of single-dose OTC medication packets? A friend is putting together a bunch of home-made first aid kits. She wants to put in those medication packets, like these at Minimus (which I suggested). However, she said those are a bit expensive. (Some are almost a dollar each.) Are there medical supply stores or whatnot where you can buy a box of single-dose packets of OTC medications?

"Quarelin" painkiller in the USA?

redteam — Wed, 16 May 2007 07:21:21 -0800

Is there something like the Hungarian "Quarelin" painkiller available in the USA? Quarelin is this incredibly effective headache-killer that my Hungarian girlfriend introduced me to. It wipes out headaches really quickly and very reliably. Usually, my girlfriend has Hungarian visitors bring her a bunch of boxes of the stuff but no one has visited in almost a year. We use them very sparingly for bad headaches and we're almost out.

Does anyone know if something like Quarelin is available (for cheap) in the USA? Maybe through a prescription?

I can't really find any names or any info on my own. According to a Romanian and a Hungarian source, the tablets are composed of:

[Romanian]
400 mg metamizol sodic, 60 mg cafeina, 40 mg drotaverina hidroclorica

[Hungarian]
400 mg metamizol-nátrium, 60,0 mg koffein, 40,0 mg drotaverin-hidroklorid

Getting non-prescription drugs in Spain

Sharcho — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 08:25:46 -0800

How do I obtain non-prescription drugs/supplements that are unavailable in Spain? (e.g. Melatonin, Vicks Vaporub). They are easy to get in the US, but they are unavailable in Spain. I tried several websites, but none of them was willing to ship them to Spain. I guess the easiest way is to ask someone who's coming to bring it with them, but I don't know anyone that's coming from the states anytime soon.

OTCBB stock: broker/issuance/tax advice

lalochezia — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 20:08:31 -0800

I'm about to be eligible to exercise stock options on a stock traded on the Over The Counter Bulletin Board (OTC). Advice on getting my university to issue them to me, exercising (tax) and brokers (sale) please. I was given options almost 3 years ago, but because I'm an 'inventor' in the company, I wasn't allowed to sell for 3 years. They are about to 'become liquid', and I'd like to exercise and sell immediately. Some advice please:

Basic questions:

1) My organization (a major private university) is being tardy about instructing the company to issue me the stock. How can I firmly remind them to do so (in best legalese) as soon as they become liquid.

2) I'd need a broker that trades these stocks. I only want to make this one trade (sell) - advice on particular brokers?

3) Do I need to watch out for anything when I exercise them tax-wise -apart from the fact that as soon as they are issued, I'm liable for the tax on their net worth as capital gains, yes?

Other, more detailed question

The quantity of shares I'm being issued is about 90,000. The otcbb info says the 'volume' is 50k. I presume this means 50,000 shares traded in today's time period. There have been days when none are traded - the average seems at about 25,000 shares per day, and apart from a couple of days where 0.5-1m were traded, this occurs all the way back to the stocks inception.
How do I set up buyers for this quantity of shares (since I presume there is no 'exchange' for stock like this) - or is this stuff a broker will do? What kind of fees should I expect for this service?

Many thanks....

Bacitracin vs Neosporin?

IndigoRain — Thu, 05 May 2005 13:46:32 -0800

I have a small Staph infection on my arm. My family nurse-practitioner gave me some Cipro. I asked her if I should put some Neosporin (which I already have in my medicine cabinet) on it. She said that Neosporin promotes redness, and Bacitracin would be better. So I get home and look at my Neosporin tube, and in smaller print under the word Neosporin, it says "Bacitracin Zinc - Neomycin Sulfate - Polymyxin B Sulfate." So are Neosporin and Bacitracin brands the same thing? And where does she get that Neosporin promotes redness? I've never heard that.

Swallowing Pills

thomas j wise — Tue, 16 Nov 2004 11:15:26 -0800

PillsFilter. You'd think that a woman my age could swallow pills, but you'd be wrong. As I chewed several children's Tylenols this morning, I told myself that there had to be a way to master this skill. I should add that the problem is not the size of the pill, but the actual swallowing-without-chewing bit--even with teensy-tiny pills, my throat closes up. Any suggestions, before I manage to contract some deadly illness that requires the daily ingestion of an entire pharmacy?