Venting against a pharmacy!

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Neargale

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Jul 4, 2013
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Sometimes I forget where I am... and I dont normally care that much ,,, but now they have ****ed me off.


4 days ago I started high fever, then violent diarrhea, then finally on the 3rd day a huge rash that not only stings but burns as well. Off I go to Centre Medico in Puerto Plata.

Zika he says looking at the rash. I insist on blood test to rule out dengue. He then decides on fecal analysis.
Blood tests ok, fecal shows amoeba. Wonderful. He gives me prescription for antibiotics Nixiber 500 mg. 1 pill 3 times a day for 5 days.. trot down to pharmacy next door, grab little bag and high tail home.

Opened the bag when I got home... 1 box which has 6 pills. The prescription is for 15 pills!!!! Sent hubby next day with instructions to get me the rest. He phones me from the pharmacy... they dont have more he says.. when I stopped screaming they found another box... so now i have 12 pills. Still short 1 day's worth. may not be that bad... they may receive more next week he is told.

Peeve:
How can a pharmacy attached to a clinic not warn that the prescription is not complete and they can't fill it! If I had not checked I could have thought that this course of antibiotic is only for 2 days! That is how super bugs are created! I could have gone to another pharmacy. They could have asked the doctor for an alternative. they could have phoned around... many possibilities.

Bottom line: make sure you understand the prescription and check your bag before you leave the pharmacy.

Thank you for letting me vent!
 

Neargale

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why didn't you go to another pharmacy to complete the prescription.

I did not realize it was not complete till I got home.
Sent hubby to complete it the next day.
Still short 3 pills.
Will send him again today.

The point is the pharmacy acted un professionally in my books.
Other people may not have noticed it
 

Mauricio

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Nov 18, 2002
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I understand the need to vent now and then but this would hardly be a reason to get me even lightly affected. I always check quantities, named and dates of pharmacy stuff and am not surprised if incomplete or incorrect even when most times they got it right. I've also had to second guess the doctor now and then, that's how it is here and actually one of the reasons why I got fed up with the Netherlands is the continuous baby sitting. The other side of that medallion is that here you have to look out yourself.
 

jd426

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Dec 12, 2009
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I did not realize it was not complete till I got home.
Sent hubby to complete it the next day.
Still short 3 pills.
Will send him again today.

The point is the pharmacy acted un professionally in my books.
Other people may not have noticed it

In the DR, i would even check every pill, and go online to make sure the Picture matches what is supposed to be in the bottle.

Trust NO one , when it comes to Medicine,, double check everything.
That said, I am surprised they did this to you. The Pharmacist should have come and spoken with you for sure..
the Clerk ringing it up, they dont care . But I am shocked the Pharmacist himself did not even talk to you about it.
 

Neargale

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Just think of those people who can't read, or are not given the right dosage etc.
While mine is not a life threatening situation it could develop into one for those people.

I expect better competence from a pharmacy.
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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it's not pharmacy's fault that you did not check your purchase before going home.
if they do not have the medicine in stock all you have to do is ask and they will order a delivery for you from another pharmacy.

i would be more concern that the doctor prescribed you 3 pills a day for 5 days when a regular course of treatment for amoeba in adults is 2 pills a day for 3 days. which is why this medicine is normally sold in a box of 6 pills rather than per pill, as it is normally done in DR.
 

Neargale

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Jul 4, 2013
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it's not pharmacy's fault that you did not check your purchase before going home.
if they do not have the medicine in stock all you have to do is ask and they will order a delivery for you from another pharmacy.

i would be more concern that the doctor prescribed you 3 pills a day for 5 days when a regular course of treatment for amoeba in adults is 2 pills a day for 3 days. which is why this medicine is normally sold in a box of 6 pills rather than per pill, as it is normally done in DR.

Oh boy.
so the doctor is over-medicamenting me???

The pharmacy never offered any option. Just said they had no more.

Good thing I am starting to feel better although the joints in the hands are all very swollen
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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i can only say what the usual dose of this medicine is. check the insert of the box for more info.

glad you're feeling better. drink lots of liquids and rest.
 

Meemselle

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Oct 27, 2014
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Having had amoebas myself, I feel your pain.

Do you still have the prescription paper? (I find it bizarre that most farmacias give you the slip of paper back.....) Maybe you can go to a different farmacia with the prescription?

Feel better. And when you can eat again, focus on protein rather than carbs. If there are any of the little critters that the antibiotic doesn't get, they love carbs/sugars. A bit of information I learned to my detriment when I had them. Scroll down in the blog for the amoeba story.
http://https://meemselle.wordpress.com/
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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also, i would suggest that your hubby gets himself checked for this too. some people have better immunity to this and can carry amoeba without presenting symptoms. it's always prudent to clarify this. since you share the same environment both of you could have gotten infected.

get some gatorade and moderate amount of coconut water. also, as meems suggested, avoid sugar and sweets. rest is very important. don't get the small stuff get ya, ok?
 
Aug 6, 2006
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I agree that the pharmacy was negligent in this case. They should have sold him all they had and ordered more, and informed him of this,

I have not been able to understand why the DR does not do what is done in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay and probably other Latin countries.
They designate that one pharmacy in each area of the city stay open all night one night of the week, and announce this publicly, So if it is Monday and you have the galloping epizootic, and it is Wednesday, you go to the Farmacia Sanchez, If it is Monday, it's the Farmacia Matasanos and so on.
In Miami there are 24 hour pharmacies, but in smaller towns in the US you are just outta luck if you need an Rx after 10PM.
 

Liftscoop

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Jun 22, 2016
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It sounds like they gave you a partial perscription and didn't communicate it well. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience.
 

Neargale

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Jul 4, 2013
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Having had amoebas myself, I feel your pain.


http://https://meemselle.wordpress.com/


You sure have a way with words! and you understand my "discomforts"!
Add Zika to this amoeba thing...
I have said several times in the last few days... I am going to die... I am afraid I am not going to die... LOL
The rash is almost gone none, with my skin falling off like a snake's. Still weak though.
Lost 10 lbs over 4 days, starting to regain a couple from all the liquids.
I use pedyalite to re-hydrate.
I tried a banana yesterday... could not even eat it. Back to chicken soup.
 

josh2203

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Dec 5, 2013
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I have not been able to understand why the DR does not do what is done in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay and probably other Latin countries.
They designate that one pharmacy in each area of the city stay open all night one night of the week, and announce this publicly, So if it is Monday and you have the galloping epizootic, and it is Wednesday, you go to the Farmacia Sanchez, If it is Monday, it's the Farmacia Matasanos and so on.
In Miami there are 24 hour pharmacies, but in smaller towns in the US you are just outta luck if you need an Rx after 10PM.

As far as I know, in Puerto Plata, along the main road (Avenida Manolo Tavarez Justo), in front of the public hospital Ricardo Limardo, there is a pharmacy that is open 24/7.

We?ve also had to visit the emergency a couple of times at strange hours, and until now they have even had all the prescriped medicine we?ve needed.
 

VJS

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Sep 19, 2010
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You are mad at local pharmacists for not counting pills and explaining you the treatment in detail? I am just happy when I ensure the antibiotics I bought are not counterfeit.
 

Mauricio

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Nov 18, 2002
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About that, I heard a story this week about a laboratory buying expired medicines and relabeling them to sell them. They closed it down when they found out what was going on. How did they find out? One of the employees relabeling had an accident , when he was brought to the emergency of a hospital and saw the label on the medicine he screamed, 'take that medicine off me!'

Can't verify if that's really what happened but who told me is a pharmacist who worked at Salud Publica and still works in the area of regulations for pharmacists. I thought it was a funny story at least.
 
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