Picking up OTC meds without a prescription

Nancy Ortiz42 said:1. Actually, true psychotherapy is incredibly draining for the therapist; seeing more than two patients a day doesn't result in high-quality therapy (again, we are talking about ideal conditions here). Anyone saying otherwise clearly doesn't grasp what psychotherapy really entails.

2. I am speaking about the general consensus among therapists. I personally know enough professionals to stand firmly behind my words.

4. Normabel, Apaurin, Valium... those are all just brand names for the exact same generic medication— diazepam. I used the brand names specifically so it would be clear which medication I was discussing. My point remains that diazepam should only be prescribed to pregnant women if there is a compelling, undeniable medical reason, not as a preventive measure (it’s certainly not "normal," routine, or standard practice, especially since a situation involving a threat of miscarriage isn't a "normal" situation). If you disagree, I can provide the full name of my pharmacology professor.

1. That's incorrect. The information I shared (4-6) comes from a psychiatrist-psychotherapist with nearly 30 years of experience—a chief physician who has worked both abroad and within our national healthcare system. He states this is the standard. Happy to provide his name upon request. 😉
Or are you suggesting that he doesn't understand psychotherapy? Also, your math doesn't quite add up because a therapy session doesn't last 2 hours; it's usually closer to 45-60 minutes:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/psy...you-can-expect
http://psychcentral.com/lib/2009/get...ychotherapy/3/
http://www.psihoterapija.net/psihote...x?key=trajanje

2. "General opinion" is subjective. For instance, as someone who has been a long-term user of psychotherapy within the public system due to circumstances involving two different therapists, I hear the other side of the story too. And I'm not the only one—you aren't the only person who "knows enough" professionals. 😉
Yes, it's more lucrative to see private practitioners, and many people do move to private care, but there are also those who stay in the public system because they genuinely want to and love their providers—not just because they lack other options. We should be grateful to them for that.

3. I didn't actually say Normabel is given to pregnant women as a precaution; you either misunderstood me or I phrased it poorly. By "normal," I meant that it can be given if there is a specific medical indication. I didn't realize it was the same thing as Apaurin; that was my mistake.

Anyway, getting back to the main topic. I absolutely agree with the new, stricter regulations regarding prescription controls. Primarily because patients shouldn't have to guess what is safe to take, and self-medicating can often cause more harm than good.
The fact that it has become common practice here for everyone to act as their own doctor or pharmacist is dangerous, and it was high time we brought some order to the situation.

Hey everyone, I just wanted to say that this discussion has become incredibly fascinating, and it truly pains me that I cannot provide the thoughtful responses it deserves right now. My focus is currently entirely consumed by my work regarding Japan and its current affairs, but once that concludes, I will certainly return to join the conversation.

Hey there.

So, I was thinking about this whole new system they've got running, and it got me wondering—does a doctor actually have access to see what kind of meds have been picked up on those so-called "private" or off-the-books prescriptions?

Or is that paper trail just something pharmacists keep tucked away as backup in case an inspector comes knocking at the pharmacy door?

Thanks in advance for any insight you guys can give me.
I'm really hoping a doctor might pop in here to clear this one up for me. 🙏

Joseph Perez5 said:Greetings.

With this new system in place, I find myself wondering: does a physician actually have visibility into medications dispensed via a private prescription?

Or is this record kept exclusively by pharmacists merely as a way to justify their actions during an inspection?

I thank you in advance for your response.
I am sincerely hoping that a doctor might step forward to provide some clarity on this matter. 🙏

They have full access, absolutely.

It is essentially our own personal internet portal.

And why on earth wouldn't a doctor be able to see if someone is refilling a prescription they wrote themselves?

Joseph Perez5 said:Hey there.

With this new system they've rolled out, can doctors actually see if someone picks up meds using a private prescription?

Or is that paper trail strictly for pharmacists to show the inspectors how they're accounting for everything?

Thanks in advance.
I'm hoping a doctor might pop in here to clear this up for me. 🙏

I actually sent you a reply over on the pharmacy grad student thread before I noticed you posted this question here too.😁

What’s driving the curiosity? Did you have a rough encounter at a drugstore or a doctor's office lately?

swiftbear86 said:And why shouldn't a doctor have access to seeing any prescription refills they personally wrote?

From what I gather, Joseph Perez5 was asking if someone goes to one doctor within the standard public healthcare system, and then visits a private specialist in a different field, would both doctors be able to see every single medication the patient has picked up, whether it was through a Medicare prescription or a private one.

Given that our healthcare system is already completely interconnected by computers, and considering the supposed "high ethical standards" of everyone involved in Medicare, information will simply flow everywhere.

Furthermore, I struggle to understand why every physician should have visibility into absolutely everything. Suppose I suffer from, say, debilitating migraines and I pick up a prescription for migraine relief. And suppose there is a period where I must take certain tablets just to, shall we say, ease my digestion—what possible relevance does it have for a doctor prescribing migraine medication to know about what some other doctor prescribed for my gastritis or stomach issues? Of course, this is merely a hypothetical scenario. One might argue that we ought to look at the body holistically, and I am in complete agreement with that sentiment.

However, isn't it true that doctors in conventional medicine are specifically trained to focus only on particular parts of the human body based on their specialty?

I simply cannot shake this unsettling feeling regarding the idea of total, absolute surveillance over every single detail of our lives. For instance, who is going to monitor people like Milinović and the rest of that corrupt crowd to ensure they aren't purchasing overpriced vaccines for poultry, fish, or swine flu—those ridiculous treatments worth hundreds of millions of dollars that end up being wasted or mismanaged, causing even more financial damage? Who is providing oversight for that?

That is precisely how he managed to pocket enough commission to build that massive villa out in Boise, not to mention all those other shady deals and kickbacks that lead to such wealth and an easy life, all at the expense of every single one of us.

Let’s stick to talking about medications!
It’s honestly vital for your primary care doctor to have the full picture of everything you’re taking. When you see specialists, they often don't have access to your complete medical history; they usually just focus on their own specific niche.
Also—and this is a big one—your digestion matters. If you're dealing with diarrhea or using laxatives constantly, your body isn't absorbing your meds properly. If that happens, the dose you're taking won't actually do what it's supposed to do.
Timing is just as critical, especially with stomach medications. Most of those need to be spaced out at least three hours from any other drugs you're taking.
Take migraines and gastritis, for example. One can easily trigger the other (trust me, I know), so managing those medications really needs to happen under a doctor's supervision.😁

Regarding how doctors track prescriptions, the physician who wrote the electronic prescription can see when it's filled, and the pharmacist sees it too once they enter your Medicare info from your ID card.
Private prescriptions aren't in the digital system yet. For those, only the specific pharmacy where you bought the medication will have the record, since they have to manually log them into a private prescription book.

swiftbear86 said:Private prescriptions aren't integrated into the electronic system yet, so the only pharmacy that knows about the medication pickup is the specific one where the prescription was filled and recorded in their private ledger!

Praise be!!!

Shouldn't my primary care physician simply review the medications I am currently taking? But really, why on earth must every single doctor have access to my entire medical history? While migraines and gastritis might share some underlying connection, what possible relevance could there be between a psychiatrist prescribing something like Lexapro or an antidepressant and a visit to a dermatologist for, say, a fungal infection on my foot?

Nicholas Wells74 said:Praise be!!!

Look, I’m all for letting my primary care doctor see a full list of everything I'm taking. But honestly, I don't get why every single specialist needs to have my entire medical history on hand. Sure, migraines and gastritis might be linked, but what does a psychiatrist need to know if I'm seeing a dermatologist for something totally unrelated, like a fungal infection on my foot? It's not like a shrink is going to prescribe me an antidepressant or something just because I'm dealing with skin issues.

And who actually says every doctor has to see everything?
So where's the actual issue here?
Technically speaking, even a fungal infection could trigger psychological stress😁
Once you clear that up, you won't need those heavy meds anymore.😉

Is it not truly profound how much we struggle to find clarity when our minds are clouded by such heavy burdens? Does anyone else feel that the path to healing is often obscured by the very obstacles we seek to overcome? kaže:
Could it be possible that a simple fungal infection on one's feet might, through some unforeseen biological chain reaction, actually trigger psychological distress?😁

Theoretically speaking, one might wonder if such a scenario could ever truly manifest.

swiftbear86 said:Why on earth are you quoting yourself now?😛
A lot of things could have happened, but I guess we missed the boat on that one.

The meds you mentioned are from the same class. Since they don't have the exact same ingredients, you can't really compare their potency. Both are heavy hitters.🙂

Of course it's impossible when the idiots in charge are even more incompetent, and the people running the federal agencies are just hacks trying to look busy by passing laws that get increasingly absurd.

Honestly, having to go to your doctor just to talk about period cramps and getting a prescription for them feels totally insane. It’s not like a sudden, life-threatening emergency; it’s just this recurring monthly pain that you should be able to handle by just grabbing something at a pharmacy without having to "prove" to some doctor how much your stomach is actually killing you just to get the one thing that actually works.

(Like with me, for instance). Every other pill is useless, and this is the only one that does the job. And just when I finally got my routine down—taking two Anacins on the first day of my cycle because it's the only thing that helps—I ran out. So, I had to suffer through what felt like early labor pains because I didn't make it to the clinic in time and it slipped my mind. Now, it looks like I'll have to play the idiot and visit my doctor every single time I need a new bottle, which sucks because I try to avoid community health centers and hospitals as much as humanly possible. But here I am, all because of one little bottle of damn Anacin! 🙄 🙂

If you're dealing with painful periods, there are plenty of over-the-counter options you can pick up at any drugstore without needing a prescription, like Advil or Aleve. But look, if you're one of those people where nothing works except Anacin, don't wait until you're in agony to figure things out. Make sure you get ahead of it and talk to your doctor about getting a prescription ready. It’s important to remember that doctors aren't just required to hand out meds on demand—especially if they don't have proof you actually need them, or if those drugs carry heavy side effects for your stomach or heart. Honestly, regardless of how much someone might complain about it, they have to follow protocol. Your OB-GYN can also prescribe specific treatments for menstrual pain, so definitely loop them in too. Bottom line: get your prescription sorted early so you aren't taking your frustration out on the pharmacist when you're feeling miserable.😁

Can anyone give me a straight answer on how long a one-time, handwritten prescription actually stays valid?

My doctor wrote me a script, but I can't find the medication anywhere—not even at the local CVS or Walgreens—and now I’m starting to panic that it might expire before I can track it down.
I've been reading conflicting things online; some places say these kinds of prescriptions are only good for 15 days before they become useless, but then one pharmacy tells me I have six months while another says just one month.