What makes all the shit OK

The other day, one of my regular customers was staring at me. He is a bit odd, but nice. I asked him if he had a question, and he shook his head no and said " they're gone". I was afraid his dad had died. As I am staring back at him puzzled, he finally said " the headaches....they're gone."

Oh.....I remember now. Several weeks ago this man had come into the pharmacy with rxs for a triptan and narcotic. He looked like pure Hell. I asked if he was OK. Barely able to speak, he said no. He had cluster migraines. Had had them for 2 years. They were very cyclical and he was in the middle of a whopper. I asked if he had ever tried a preventative med. He said no as he didn't have insurance. I shared with him my husband's similar story with cluster migraines. A doctor put him on amitriptyline and atenolol. After a couple of months, my husband was pain free. He has a twinge now and then, but has not had a full blown migraine in 15+ years. And these meds are cheap!

After I shared this experience, he asked for the names of the 2 meds so he could ask his md. I wrote them down for him, but I did caution it might not work, nor did I know his history. He said, he understood, but he needed to try something. Apparently the doctor agreed and my patient is able to live his life again. His pain was down to a manageable 2/10 and he could handle that. He is supposed to write a letter to my corporate office and give me a copy.

I did not do this for a corporate kudos. I did this to help a man in horrible pain. One customer made my whole month worthwhile.

Thank you, Mr Cluster.

Better now

This summer, I was given a new lead tech. She is a Godsend. She has helped me and my staff turn our pharmacy from the bottom of the district with one foot out the door into one of the highest performing pharmacies. She has saved my sanity and I cannot thank her enough.

Priceless

So, we have this kid that comes in nearly every day to steal something. He is always high as a kite. Sometimes he has me identify mystery pills (usually some sort of narcotic). The other day, he asked if we gave away free condoms, which we don't. At least he wanted to protect himself and others. But otherwise, this guy is bad news.

Today, he comes in and tells my tech that he feels awful. My tech gets me. He says he thinks his blood pressure is really low and he feels like throwing up. I asked if he felt weak..yes he does. I suggest he go to the ER to get checkd out. He mumbled something in response (he mumbles a lots). I thought he said he wanted to check his BP so I told him where the machine was. His response........................................................


"No, I just need to get a syringe."

"You don't need a syringe to check your blood pressure"

"Yeah, my thing I have at home needs a syringe to work right."

"No it doesn't and I'm not selling you a syringe"

Does he think I am stupid??? This exchange kept going with him finally yelling at me that I need to give him a "fucking" syringe over and over. I told him to leave the store and finally had to call the store manager to escort him out.

I know some people are in the camp of sell the syringe to protect public health. But I'm not. You can be and I see the point. I work in a very drug riddled area and refuse to sell syringes to anyone without a prescripton. Let them share needles and get Hep C, etc. I don't want any more of these types in my store. There's enough as it is.

I hate junkies.

New Year in Hell

I know every other pharmacist is going through the same thing today but I need to vent. I asked the 100 millionth customer if they had a new insurance card.....of course not. Luckily (maybe), she has Med D, so I ran a Med D check through the computer. Oh, yes new bin...ID...group...the whole works. I explained that her plan has changed and she should have a new card; if she doesn't she needs to call and get one for future. Then she says "OH, well, I haven't checked my mail in a while. Maybe it's in there." I just wanted to strangle her.

Why can't people check their plans and realize this is a NEW YEAR. This means you might have a deductible to meet even if you've never had one before. Plans change, copays go up. READ YOUR DAMN MAIL. I know some elderly persons just cannot grasp this, but they are not the ones I am complaining about. I can see the "old person fog" and I am patient. But the rest of you should know what the fuck is going on.

On another note, I had a lady ask me what to do about her ultra red eye. Apparently, she had an itch and had scratched a bit too hard. I told her to get an eye wash and see the MD Monday if it's not clearing up. After I showed her where the eye wash was, she asked me if she should apply it with a cotton ball. To her EYE...not the lid....the EYEBALL!!!! WTF?????? Great idea, lady.

And on the same theme of eyes, if your eye looks like it is swimming in dark red blood (not bloodshot...actual blood) and the eyeball looks nearly separate from the socket, get to the ER immediately.....I do not have any eye drops to give you. No amount of doe-eyed (with the good eye) begging is going to help. It's your sight for crying out loud!!!!