5 ms·

Back to Pseudoephedrine! It's behind the counter at your local pharmacist.

bsder 2y ago
Unfortunately there is an absurdly low limit on purchasing amount in the US. In addition, I can't seem to find the 24 hour versions anywhere right now. I could probably buy meth more conveniently. :( Cue: "A Simple and Convenient Synthesis of Pseudoephedrine From N-Methylamphetamine" https://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume19/v19i3/Pseudoephedrine.pdf https://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume19/v19i3/Pse...
- hadlock 2y ago
  I've only had to buy it in three states, but generally my experience has been that you can buy a "30 day supply" per month. How often are you sick that you need more than 30 days of the stuff every month? If we run out I'll buy a 30 day supply and that generally lasts the whole family a year or more.
  - HideousKojima 2y ago
    You definitely don't have anyone in your family who gets severe congestion from allergies then. The "funnest" form it takes for me is when I start going partially blind in one eye due the the sinus pressure
    - rootusrootus 2y ago
      When it’s that bad why wouldn’t you just get a prescription for an appropriate amount for your situation?
      - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
        > When it’s that bad why wouldn’t you just get a prescription for an appropriate amount for your situation? Prescriptions take time and money.
        rootusrootus 2y ago
        I could do it with less effort and cost than OTC. Online message my PCP, prescription sent to pharmacy, mailed to me at my house, cost $0 since it's just a generic. And I have a cheap as shit high deductible plan with a steep out of pocket maximum, not some cadillac plan. OTC would be faster, but if I have a chronic need for large amounts of pseudoephedrine I'm not waiting until it hurts before I run to the store. I'm getting my doc to make sure I have a hell of a good stash (and I checked, just to be sure -- the limits don't exist if it's prescription; at least not in Oregon, which is famously restrictive on pseudoephedrine). Would it be better to relax the restrictions that now seem pointless on the OTC version? Yep. But if someone is bitching on HN about how they can barely get what they desperately need, I'd say it's time to stop being idealistic and go get the damn drugs already.
    - Brian_K_White 2y ago
      "I don't have this problem, therefor this problem doesn't exist, and so you don't have this problem."
- mike_d 2y ago
  > Unfortunately there is an absurdly low limit on purchasing amount in the US. The maximum safe dose for an adult is 240 mg in a 24 hour period. Current guidelines allow for getting a 10 day supply (the average cold lasts 7-10 days) in a single visit, and basically a limitless supply with a few visits (37 days worth every 30 days). If you are running into purchasing limits, you are either making meth or blowing out your liver. Edit: Math is hard. The 30 day limit is 7.5 grams (a 31 day supply), or 3.6 grams per trip (a 15 day supply).
  - terribleperson 2y ago
    At least some states track it on a household (address) basis.
  - PittleyDunkin 2y ago
    > If you are running into purchasing limits, you are either making meth This would also be an insanely expensive way to make meth.
  - bsder 2y ago
    I seem to only be able to buy 10 days of Sudafed 24 Hour every 14 days. That doesn't work if you have allergies. Presumably because places like Walgreen's can't adjust compliance per state and places like Alaska have "No person may purchase or possess more than 6 g of PSE, EPH or PPA per 30 days unless dispensed pursuant to a prescription" Note that 6g / .240g = 25. So I can only buy 25 days worth of pills every 30 days. Or 12.5 pills every 15 days which is suspiciously close to that 10 every 14 days number.
    - ahazred8ta 2y ago
      This is where you need to bring a buddy on every trip...
    - mike_d 2y ago
      > Note that 6g / .240g = 25 Fortunately we are both wrong. I have updated my previous post up thread.
PittleyDunkin 2y ago
I was denied this the last time I tried to buy it and the pharmacist couldn't even tell me why aside from "the system won't let me". I went to a different chain a half mile away and walked out with a month's supply of the stuff. Hilariously incompetently-designed regulation. Meanwhile meth making is more efficient, cheaper, and delivers purer-grade glass than ever.
adrr 2y ago
Most worthless law. Now i have to wait in line for 10 minutes to get it and yet meth is still widely available and usage actually increased. Did nothing except shift manufacturing to outside of the US.
- HideousKojima 2y ago
  And I can't stockpile it for allergy season (which is about 9 months out of the year for me). I have to make regularly scheduled trips to the pharmacy every two weeks which is a huge pain in the ass
  - deelowe 2y ago
    You take 48 pills in two weeks?!
    - ksenzee 2y ago
      That’s pretty easy when the dose is two pills every six hours.
      - pitaj 2y ago
        They make twelve hour extended release versions now. There are twelve per box and you can get three boxes at a time. That's 18 days but only if you take them twice a day, which you probably shouldn't if you like sleeping. If you take one a day, that's a whole month's worth.
      - deleted 2y ago
        [deleted]
      - deelowe 2y ago
        You're going to have serious issues if you take that much. It's causes major problems after a few days.
    - HideousKojima 2y ago
      I can get 15 of the 24 hour generic Claritins every 2 weeks. Works out to about 1 a day
yellowapple 2y ago
Or just straight ephedrine, which is also behind the counter at your local pharmacist (brand name Bronkaid).

Unfortunately there is an absurdly low limit on purchasing amount in the US. In addition, I can't seem to find the 24 hour versions anywhere right now. I could probably buy meth more conveniently. :( Cue: "A Simple and Convenient Synthesis of Pseudoephedrine From N-Methylamphetamine" https://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume19/v19i3/Pseudoephedrine.pdf https://improbable.com/airchives/paperair/volume19/v19i3/Pse...

hadlock 2y ago
I've only had to buy it in three states, but generally my experience has been that you can buy a "30 day supply" per month. How often are you sick that you need more than 30 days of the stuff every month? If we run out I'll buy a 30 day supply and that generally lasts the whole family a year or more.
- HideousKojima 2y ago
  You definitely don't have anyone in your family who gets severe congestion from allergies then. The "funnest" form it takes for me is when I start going partially blind in one eye due the the sinus pressure
  - rootusrootus 2y ago
    When it’s that bad why wouldn’t you just get a prescription for an appropriate amount for your situation?
    - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
      > When it’s that bad why wouldn’t you just get a prescription for an appropriate amount for your situation? Prescriptions take time and money.
      - rootusrootus 2y ago
        I could do it with less effort and cost than OTC. Online message my PCP, prescription sent to pharmacy, mailed to me at my house, cost $0 since it's just a generic. And I have a cheap as shit high deductible plan with a steep out of pocket maximum, not some cadillac plan. OTC would be faster, but if I have a chronic need for large amounts of pseudoephedrine I'm not waiting until it hurts before I run to the store. I'm getting my doc to make sure I have a hell of a good stash (and I checked, just to be sure -- the limits don't exist if it's prescription; at least not in Oregon, which is famously restrictive on pseudoephedrine). Would it be better to relax the restrictions that now seem pointless on the OTC version? Yep. But if someone is bitching on HN about how they can barely get what they desperately need, I'd say it's time to stop being idealistic and go get the damn drugs already.
  - Brian_K_White 2y ago
    "I don't have this problem, therefor this problem doesn't exist, and so you don't have this problem."
mike_d 2y ago
> Unfortunately there is an absurdly low limit on purchasing amount in the US. The maximum safe dose for an adult is 240 mg in a 24 hour period. Current guidelines allow for getting a 10 day supply (the average cold lasts 7-10 days) in a single visit, and basically a limitless supply with a few visits (37 days worth every 30 days). If you are running into purchasing limits, you are either making meth or blowing out your liver. Edit: Math is hard. The 30 day limit is 7.5 grams (a 31 day supply), or 3.6 grams per trip (a 15 day supply).
- terribleperson 2y ago
  At least some states track it on a household (address) basis.
- PittleyDunkin 2y ago
  > If you are running into purchasing limits, you are either making meth This would also be an insanely expensive way to make meth.
- bsder 2y ago
  I seem to only be able to buy 10 days of Sudafed 24 Hour every 14 days. That doesn't work if you have allergies. Presumably because places like Walgreen's can't adjust compliance per state and places like Alaska have "No person may purchase or possess more than 6 g of PSE, EPH or PPA per 30 days unless dispensed pursuant to a prescription" Note that 6g / .240g = 25. So I can only buy 25 days worth of pills every 30 days. Or 12.5 pills every 15 days which is suspiciously close to that 10 every 14 days number.
  - ahazred8ta 2y ago
    This is where you need to bring a buddy on every trip...
  - mike_d 2y ago
    > Note that 6g / .240g = 25 Fortunately we are both wrong. I have updated my previous post up thread.

PittleyDunkin 2y ago

I was denied this the last time I tried to buy it and the pharmacist couldn't even tell me why aside from "the system won't let me". I went to a different chain a half mile away and walked out with a month's supply of the stuff. Hilariously incompetently-designed regulation. Meanwhile meth making is more efficient, cheaper, and delivers purer-grade glass than ever.

adrr 2y ago

Most worthless law. Now i have to wait in line for 10 minutes to get it and yet meth is still widely available and usage actually increased. Did nothing except shift manufacturing to outside of the US.

HideousKojima 2y ago
And I can't stockpile it for allergy season (which is about 9 months out of the year for me). I have to make regularly scheduled trips to the pharmacy every two weeks which is a huge pain in the ass
- deelowe 2y ago
  You take 48 pills in two weeks?!
  - ksenzee 2y ago
    That’s pretty easy when the dose is two pills every six hours.
    - pitaj 2y ago
      They make twelve hour extended release versions now. There are twelve per box and you can get three boxes at a time. That's 18 days but only if you take them twice a day, which you probably shouldn't if you like sleeping. If you take one a day, that's a whole month's worth.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
    - deelowe 2y ago
      You're going to have serious issues if you take that much. It's causes major problems after a few days.
  - HideousKojima 2y ago
    I can get 15 of the 24 hour generic Claritins every 2 weeks. Works out to about 1 a day

yellowapple 2y ago

Or just straight ephedrine, which is also behind the counter at your local pharmacist (brand name Bronkaid).