pharmaceuticals – Page 6

DF118 (Dihydrocodeine tartrate)

July 27, 2003 by HB

DF118 tablets manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals.

Also known as: DF 118, DF118’s, DF’s, 118’s, DHC
Cost per tablet: RM 0.80 or A$ 0.40

Dihydrocodeine (DHC) is something I’ve grown to love. DF 118 is the
most popular “brand name” for dihydrocodeine tartrate and it is the
most sought after tablet because it only has 30 mg of dihydrocodeine
and nothing else (except inactive binders and fillers). It is said to
be approximately twice the strength of codeine but personal observation
seems to indicate that it is indeed stronger than codeine, but
qualitatively, I did not find that it’s twice the potency, perhaps
slightly less than double the potency would be more appropriate. This
is from personal qualitative experience though, and I stress that
medical literature states that dihydrocodeine (DF118) is two times
stronger than an equal dose of codeine. I have been able to get a very
pleasant “nod” off these tablets. I’ve had plenty of nice nods with
this relatively tame opiate agonist. 🙂 I find that 210 mg of
dihydrocodeine or 7 x DF118 tablets (crushed up before oral
administration) + 5 mg Xanax (alprazolam) taken sublingually produces
this dreamy state I liken to The Land of Nod. This is not a dosage
guide! Most literature seems to indicate that dihydrocodeine is two
times more potent than codeine itself, but I’ve just not have the same
experience. It certainly doesn’t feel like what I presume a 420 mg dose
of codeine would feel like, though I’ve never taken it at that dose,
since it’s approaching the lower end LD50. The highest dose of codeine
phosphate I’ve gone is 330 mg. Qualitatively, I find that 300 mg of
codeine feels “stronger” than 210 mg of dihydrocodeine, but I need more
experiences to comment, since I’ve developed a tolerance to these
things from rather frequent use. It’s a scheduled prescription drug of
course, considering it does not have any other active ingredients
except dihydrocodeine, but if you can convince a pharmacist to hand
these over, it is much better than the codeine phosphate tablets
tainted with paracetamol eg 30 mg codeine phosphate + 400 mg
paracetamol. DF118 and other generic dihydrocodeine only tablets
contain ONLY 30 mg dihydrocodeine tartate as the active ingredient, so
there’s NO OTHER things like the liver destroying APAP in there.
Wonderful stuff. 🙂

Caution: Use of dihydrocodeine (DF118) and other codeine
preparations in conjunction with another CNS depressant like
benzodiazepines could potentially lower your respiratory rate to a
lethal level. Exercise caution.

Ionamin (Phentermine resin) report (and a tip for Malaysian scripters)

July 20, 2003 by HB

veritas [sixthseal.com] loves stimulants.

30 mg Ionamin capsules

This is one of the few amphetamine type substances (chemically and
pharmacologically related to amphetamines) available for prescription
in Malaysia. Ionamin is the only phentermine resin complex available
(no generics) and it’s a “diet drug” (appetite suppressant/metabolic
booster). It is only indicated for the short term treatment of obesity,
and unless I’m prepared to eat 10 whole chickens and chug 3 liters of
cooking oil a day for a week, my Body Mass Index (BMI) does not qualify
me to obtain a prescription from a doctor legitimately. I don’t think
I’ll enjoy chugging 1 liter of cooking oil, much less 3 liters.

However, I do have a friend who has a pharmacy. 😉

Jump to the Ionamin (phentermine resin) report
if you’re not interested in the pointers for fellow Malaysians
interested in doctor shopping or pharmacy runs (otherwise known as
prescription fraud and obtaining/possession of a controlled drug).
*cough*

Malaysia does not have prescribed methamphetamine or
dextroamphetamine for treatment of narcolepsy or ADHD/ADD. The word
amphetamine in any chemical probably causes the Malaysian government to
get their panties all in an uncomfortable twist. 😉 Heh, check it out
if you don’t believe me:

Searchable Database of Registered Pharmaceuticals in Malaysia [bpfk.gov.my]

Courtesy of:
National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau
Drug Control Authority
Ministry of Health Malaysia

It’s the Malaysian scripter’s best friend. 🙂 Ritalin which is
Methylphenidate hydrochloride (Look ma, no “-amphetamine”!) is
available though. I’m surprised to find oxycodone (Oxycontin) available
as well! It wasn’t the last time I checked. Anyway, the link was posted
ages ago on this very site too. It’s easy to type in the generic name
of any potentially recreational pharmaceutical and see if it’s in the
database. They show ALL the available products of the drug you typed in
(product names, dosage forms it comes in etc).

Example with phentermine:

Your search : PHENTERMINE
Search result : 5 record(s) matched your query

1. MAL19871772A ADIPEX RETARD CAPSULE 15MG GERMAX SDN BHD
2. MAL19871769A DUROMINE CAPSULE 15MG 3M (M) SDN BHD
3. MAL19871774A DUROMINE CAPSULE 30MG 3M (M) SDN BHD
4. MAL19871770AR IONAMIN 15 CAPSULE ZUELLIG PHARMA SDN BHD
5. MAL19871775AR IONAMIN 30 CAPSULE ZUELLIG PHARMA SDN BHD

The registration number is clickable to show more information eg all
the substances contained in the preparation and they’re adding in the
packaging (quantity) and prices slowly eg “10 x 10 blister pack – RM
34.60”. This really helps when you’re doing pharmacy runs/doctor
shopping. Not all pharmacists here are familiar with every generic
name, so before they browse their outdated book, say something like
“It’s lorazepam, it comes in a pack that says Ativan and has 10
tablets, but I’ve had another pharmacy give me something from this big
bottle called APO-LORAZEPAM, he said it’s the same thing”.

Say thank you if you aren’t aware of the Ministry of Health
(Malaysia)’s Drug Control Authority product database and its uses for
unscrupulous scripters. 😉

Oops…sorry that’s not harm reduction at all, moving back to my experience report. :p

Ionamin (Phentermine resin)

Retail price: RM 2 (A$ 1) for 30 mg capsule. I can’t believe the online pharmacy prices! Obscene!

Experience #1
The first time is always the best

Substance: Ionamin (Phentermine resin complex)

Dose: 150 mg total
90 mg (3 x 30 mg capsules) at T+ 0:00
30 mg (1 x 30 mg capsule) booster at T+ 1:00
30 mg (1 x 30 mg) booster at T+ 1:30

Route: Oral

I took 3 capsules of Ionamin (without attempting to foil the time
release) right after I woke up and chased it down with a bottle of
water. I had an empty stomach (last meal was a good 18 hours before)
and I felt stimulated about 30-40 minutes after that and felt “speeded
up” like on amphetamines. It was looking promising, so I put on some
gabba (gotta love hard music on stimulants) and wrote a post, the one
below which mentions that I’m tweaked. 🙂

Contents of the 30 mg Ionamin capsule

I felt quite good at this time, so I opened up a capsule to examine
its contents. I noticed that half the capsule is filled with white
powdery stuff and half of it was some kind of beady black spheres. The
white powder had no taste to it and I think the spheres are the
phentermine resin. I don’t know what the white powder is, I don’t think
it’s filler/binder/some inactive agent since it’s a capsule. I would
guess that it’s some kind of GI tract pharmaceutical to decrease
absorption? That’s a guess though, does anyone know for sure?

Anyway, I crunched up everything (including the capsule) an hour
after the first dose as a booster. I worked it with my teeth real good
to try and see if that would break the time release, but I’ve read
somewhere that Ionamin isn’t really “time release” in the traditional
sense. Could the mysterious white powder have something to do with it?
Anyway, the black spheres are quite hard to crush! I had to really work
on it before it powdered, your dentist would not like this. 😉

It’s quite compulsive, I felt the urge to crunch up more capsules
when I reached that certain state of tweak bliss. However, I have to
state that I’m very fond of stimulants so take that as you will. I took
another booster 30 minutes later (1 hours and 30 minutes after my
initial dose) and that put me in a nice tweak zone for most of the day.
I’m really surprised at the duration of this, unlike the short, steep
peak – medium length plateau – steep return to baseline of
(meth)amphetamines, phentermine resin has a longer peak – very long
plateau and a VERY steep return to baseline.

My apologies for the crude diagram. This is an observation from
personal experience, not scientific data. x and y refers to the axis,
which I didn’t draw. Start and stop points are baseline (normal).

The intensity wasn’t as good as (meth)amphetamines, but it does
rival methcathinone’s intensity. Oh, you really have to drink A LOT of
water, like the manufacturer says. I had an extreme thirst the whole
time and heaps of water, but it came out too (no problems with
urination) so that’s cool. When I’m on meth, I find myself stuck doing
something for a long time (intense concentration) and nothing can pull
me away from it. It was the same with Ionamin so I think this could be
a good study drug as well, but the mental clarity is inferior to
(meth)amphetamines and feels more like the scattered caffeine state of
mind towards the end.

Well, I went out for a long walk and felt a good body buzz but
rather disturbing cardiovascular manifestations. It has been 4-5 hours
since the first dose and I was still feeling great. I didn’t eat
anything, the appetite suppressant effect of phentermine is equivalent
to that of meth, food was the last thing on my mind. I went for a night
out with friends and came down (crashed would be a better word) about 8
or 9 hours since the initial dose right before going out. Certain GABA
agonists were necessary to reduce the comedown effects, and to maintain
a level of acceptable sociability. 😉 The above GABA agonist worked
very well in smoothing the comedown. Shh, it’s obvious to fellow
recreational drug users, but please don’t state it out loud it, since
I’m being obscure intentionally. Much later in the night, I took 2 mg
alprazolam (Xanax) and was asleep in seconds, but that was probably due
to the abovementioned GABA agonist. No “hangover” effects were noticed
on the second day, even with just 6 hours of sleep.

Scanned capsules of Ionamin (30 mg phentermine resin)

Experience #2
Giving methcathinone a good run for its money

Substance: Ionamin (Phentermine resin complex)

Dose: 240 mg total
150 mg (5 x 30 mg capsules) at T+ 0:00
60 mg (2 x 30 mg) booster at T+ 1:05
30 mg (1 x 30 mg) booster T+ 4:35

Other possible interactions:
27 mg bromazepam (Lexotan) at T- 14:00
5 mg alprazolam (Xanax) at T- 10:00
3 mg alprazolam (Xanax) at T- 09:00
Note: The subject is a long time user of benzodiazepines, has high
tolerance and suspected constant plasma levels of unknown quantity.

Route: Oral and “intranasal”

Haha! That intranasal thing shouldn’t even be mentioned. Basically,
I opened a capsule to display its contents on a clean surface and while
licking the contents, I accidentally breathed in some. 🙂 Accidental
insufflation. Anyway, I crunched up 5 capsules of Ionamin in the
afternoon on an empty stomach (12 hours since last meal). I’m starting
to like that salty tang, I find that it’s nice to chew for a long time,
getting the little hard black balls between your molars and grinding,
grinding, grinding till you can feel the brittle powdery texture. I
don’t know if that actually breaks the time release though, but I like
to have some of it down with the time release intact for a longer
plateau.

I felt sleepy (!!!) about 5 minutes later and went to take a nap,
hoping my “dexamphetamine trick” aka The Dexamphetamine Alarm Clock
will work with Ionamin. Well, the dexamphetamine trick is for the
occasions when you HAVE to wake up but you’re too sleepy from the
previous night’s benzo consumption (or lack of sleep). Anyway, the
trick is to reach for the dexamphetamine bottle when your alarm clock
goes off and gobble a few of them before going back to sleep. Hehe! In
15-20 minutes (for me), I’ll suddenly bolt upright and feel ENERGIZED
and ready to take on the day! 🙂

Well, I woke up an hour or so later feeling slightly stimulated and
yet slightly sedated. I had a lot of benzodiazepines last night, so
that could be the problem. I took a 60 mg booster dose upon waking up
and felt tweaked (similar feeling to amphetamines), and the urge to
consume more. I wanted to take another capsule after a while, but I was
having shortness of breath, chest pains and my toe nails were turning a
disturbing shade of black. I have existing hypertension, so I decided
not to push it and live to tweak another day. 🙂 I think I’ve lost my
significant amphetamine tolerance, which is a Good Thing, my wallet is
extending its gratitude every day. Heh.

I’m still feeling good now, still at the plateau, but personally I
noticed that with every crunched up capsule comes another peak and
another peak and plateau rather similar to the first, so that was why I
wanted to take another, but I’m not going to. Pupil dilation does occur
at high doses, personally, it’s not the saucers I get while on MDMA,
but the dilation is quite similar to (meth)amphetamine at recreational
doses. I just checked and I have a fever. No, not using my cold, clammy
hands, with a thermometer. Nope, I’m not going to have anymore today.
🙂

I’m still feeling good by the way. Also, there isn’t any paranoia
present but then again that usually only happens on long meth runs, and
I don’t like the idea of going for a phentermine run with this heavy
body load. I hear the LD50 is 20 mg/kg and I do not want to approach
that, with my hypertension. I’m having breathing difficulties now, that
is the thing that’s bothering me more than anything, but I’m okay. 🙂

Anyway, I mentioned before that I don’t fully defeat the timed
released capsules, I allow some of the spheres to go un-harassed by my
molars, so I’m still up. Oh, if you haven’t figured out by now, this is
a running experience report aka “living document”, I write a bit, go
out or do other stuff and then come back and update and I post it after
it’s complete. I also took another capsule just now. Anyway, after the
health issues of the past few hours subsided, I decided to take another
30 mg Ionamin capsule to establish the dose-response curve. 😉

Well, in all seriousness, I was curious to see if tolerance develops
quickly on this substance since it’s new to me, so I didn’t just take
another one to keep me awake. Booster doses (re-dosing) seems to be
more effective than (meth)amphetamines in terms of efficacy. Of course,
phentermine does cause tolerance, but qualitatively, a small booster
dose will bring me to a plateau again, but a lower one, of course. A
disturbing pain is evident in my right eye, but whether that is related
to this is unknown. Sleep is still far away, benzodiazepines are
definitely necessary for sleep tonight, since I will not be going out.
I might comedown anytime and the harsh body load is still very
noticeable, so I would prefer to remain sedentary for most of the
night. Ionamin lasts a long time too, and I have developed a scary
tolerance to benzodiazepines after constant recreational use, but I am
doing something about it, so I’m okay. 🙂

That said, I still love benzodiazepines though, and I hope to try
every single one in that happy, large family. =D I have to time it well
though, because the Ashton taper plan is not forgiving. The mantra
seems to be “always go down (lower the dose), go sideways (take the
same dose) if you must, but never go up (take a higher dose)”. Well, I
don’t have that big of a problem, so seriously, forget I brought it up,
I’m perfectly fine. 🙂 I will still do reviews of benzos (see above
about happy family), but for recreational use, I’m going to cut down to
the point where I don’t take them every day, maybe just weekends or
something. That is a personal decision, coz a benzodiazepine problem is
not the best thing in the world to have. 🙂

I digress, back to Ionamin, there is something quite interesting
(disturbing?) about it. It happened during the first time, but I wrote
that off as an isolated incident, but it happened again today. The
first time it happened was in the shower after my first phentermine
experience. I took a piss and during that final muscle squeeze to get
the last bit out, semen came out. Wtf? I wasn’t sexually aroused at any
point so that was indeed puzzling, but I thought it was just a
manifestation of that feeling you get when you take dexamphetamine and
potentiate it with baking soda ie the feeling that no matter how hard
you strain, you still can’t get that last bit of urine out, it’s just
stuck there. This happens on phentermine for me too.

Well, I took a piss late into the second trip and something which
looks suspiciously like pre-cum came out, again during the final
squeeze. My understanding of the male anatomy says that ejaculation and
urination cannot happen at the same time, due to an “either or” valve
somewhere along the piping. Very puzzling, especially since there was
no erection or sexual arousal at any point. Well, my penis is perfectly
fine, thank you very much. :p I was just wondering if anyone had the
same experience.

Well, my first two experiences with Ionamin (Phentermine resin)
suggests that it certainly is fun. I would try the hydrochloride salt
next time to compare against the resin complex. I find it to be quite
recreational, but it’s not something I would take frequently due to the
heavy body load. Right now, I’m having very disturbing manifestations
of hypertension. Here’s an interesting tidbit about Ionamin from RxList [rxlist.com]:

Blood levels obtained with the 15 mg and 30 mg resin complex
formulations indicated slower absorption with a reduced but prolonged
peak concentration and without a significant difference in prolongation
of blood levels when compared with the same doses of phentermine
hydrochloride.

I haven’t tried phentermine hydrochloride, but yeah, even before I
even read this I already noticed that phentermine resin’s plateau was
unexpectedly long!

Ionamin Thoughts:
It’s strangely dehydrating, you really need to drink a lot of water!
It’s unlike meth/speed, where you know you’re thirsty but you don’t
care coz the current thing you’re doing is more important. With
phentermine, you know you’re thirsty and the thirst is bad so you reach
for the water bottle. I drank an obscene amount of water during both
experiences! Be careful and monitor your water intake.

It’s a good cheap and dirty amphetamine substitute. After a certain
(high) dose threshold, amphetamine type effects predominate – full body
buzz, slight arousal and sensitivity in the genitalia, head rush when
urinating, excessive talking and writing (just look at the length of
this post!) and of course EUPHORIA! 🙂 Mental stimulation is also
present, thought processes remain quite clear (unlike caffeine), though
not as clear as meth(amphetamines).

Phentermine resin seems to have a heavy body load. My heart felt
like it was going to fail anytime from the fast heartbeats and the
elevated body temperature raises concern about possible brain damage. I
also felt out of breath on higher doses and the comedown is quite harsh
and remarkably similar to (meth)amphetamines – tiredness, slight
depression, muscle aches etc etc. However, qualitatively, the comedown
effect of a single day’s use is equivalent the comedown of a 3 day meth
run! It’s quite unacceptable, considering the heavy body load and lower
intensity.

The dose-response curve seems to be less steep than other
amphetamines. Re-dosing at a low level (30 mg) at the tail end of the
run seems to produce effects, which though inference and extrapolation
seems less pronounced than what a 30 mg dose would provide without
tolerance, but it is keeping me awake and slightly stimulated.
Phentermine does produce tolerance as the literature states, but
surprisingly, it doesn’t seem to develop as fast as (meth)amphetamines,
so re-dosing (booster doses) does work, though of course, at a
decreased rate. However I have to re-iterate that I don’t think it’s a
very good idea to go on long phentermine runs, considering the body
load.

My personal (based on the things I’ve had experience with) stimulant potency hierarchy:

(in decreasing order of qualitatively perceived strength)

Methamphetamine (meth, shabu, ping)
My favorite drug, I use it very frequently in Melbourne – and the only
drug I’ve IV (injected with a syringe through a vein). New readers can
read my experiences here:
Methamphetamine IV Part I: Intravenous injection [sixthseal.com]
Methamphetamine IV Part II: Hitting the vein, synergies and the comedown [sixthseal.com]
or just browse the Sticky Posts at the right (under Recent Comments and above Archives) since they’re all best of the best posts on sixthseal.com or so I like to think :p

Dexamphetamine (d-amphetamine – speed, just the stronger non-racemic kind)
The potent dextro isomer of amphetamine. Amphetamine = speed, and this
only has the dextro isomer, which is good since the levo isomer isn’t
recreational. I love this too, a bottle (500 mg or 1/2 a gram) of pure
amphetamines can disappear in two or three days.

Amphetamine (speed)
The racemic mixture (contains both d-amphetamine and l-amphetamine), so
it’s a step down the ladder since l-amphetamine is not as recreational
(doesn’t get you high) as d-amphetamine.

Methcathinone
It makes me sad during the comedown, but it’s an okay stimulant. I’ll
write a post (not everything, just my experiences with the stuff, and
ONLY that) when technical problems resolves itself.

Phentermine (resin)
Hi!

Pseudoephedrine
Oh, my poor overworked heart.

Caffeine
Well, if you have nothing else…

Again, I reiterate that this stimulant potency hierarchy is based on personal experiences and YMMV.

Caution: Taking more than 100 mg of phentermine may be dangerous.

“OTC” prescription recreational pharmaceuticals in Malaysia

July 17, 2003 by HB

This is a veritas post.

Xanax, Ultram, Phentermine, Lexotan, oh my…

My friend is back!!! Project Doctor Shopping Malaysia Part II is
cancelled! Why would I want to go through all that trouble when I get
what I want without a prescription? I will write the report soon
though, coz it’s worthy of a post. But I’m giving up on my scripts,
thanks to my good friend who shall remain unnamed, I can just walk into
his pharmacy and ask for stuff and only pay pharmacy retail prices (bye
consultation fees). Heh. I’ve gotten 20 x 1 mg Xanax tablets a couple
of days ago, which I finished in no time, so I went back for a bit of a
shopping spree. 🙂

Pictured above:
Benzodiazepines
Heaps of blue 1 mg generic alprazolam (Xanax) tablets
Blister packs of Lexotan (Roche’s brand name bromazepam)

Opiate agonists
Blister packs of Mabron (generic Tramadol – sold under Ultram in the US)
Not pictured: Heaps of 30 mg codeine phosphate tablets (from two other
pharmacies – pictures only shows haul from last nite at My Favorite
Pharmacy in the Whole Fucking Wide World!)

Stimulants
Ionamin (phentermine resin) – will write a trip report soon. 🙂

Plus, I can get diazepam, and other benzos and I haven’t taken a
look in his store room for other nice stuff too, will do that soon.
Hehehe! I will write a FULL REPORT in due time. My apologies if I sound
like I’m bragging, I’m not, I’m just tweaked on cheap speed substitutes
(phentermine).

Don’t hate me just because I have a friend who has a pharmacy. 😉

P/S – I wanted that sunny smiley in some people’s comments box but I
couldn’t find it so think of the 😉 as that one ok? veritas over and
out and tweaked.

Project Doctor Shopping Malaysia (Part Dua) in progress…

July 14, 2003 by HB

Project Doctor Shopping Malaysia II is well on its way. I’ve
currently gotten alprazolam (off another doctor), diazepam, and
clonazepam since Project Doctor Shopping: Malaysian Edition (Part I). I
will write the full report when I’ve acquired a suitable amount of
different stuff. 😉 I’m hoping to get Phentermine, Ritalin (wish me
luck) and several other different benzos before I write it.

30 mg codeine and 10 mg dihydrocodeine OTC in Malaysia

July 9, 2003 by HB

Here’s a teaser photo. I was about to post about my acquisition of
this tablet today (uh, for my *cough* migraines you see) – it weights
in at a decidedly hefty 30 mg of codeine per pill, but I am really too
sleepy now. I promise the report will be up tomorrow, with plenty of
pictures (even the ones taken at the pharmacy, hehe! that lead to funny
conversation), so if you’re interested in things like this, come back
tomorrow codeine fans! 🙂 I got two kinds, one with 400 mg APAP + a
nice 30 mg codeine and another with the usual obscene 500 mg APAP + a
meagre 10 mg of dihydrocodeine tartate (just for fun), and I’ll write
about that tomorrow. Disclaimer: I don’t mean I bought the
tablets for fun, I just mean I’ve never had dihydrocodeine before so
that’s why I got them as well. Nevertheless, I’ll post the report
tomorrow (not the trip report, the pharmacy run report – the trip
report will be up next time I…uh, have a migraine). Thanks and good
nite! 🙂

Erowid Experience Report: Surviving Law Enforcement Interrogations – Drug War Interrogation by Alkaline [erowid.org]

If you’re involved in any drugs, you have GOT to read this…very,
very insightful article about dealing with the police. Er…the police
here does practise physical assult, the report was written in the US
but please read it if you have a love of chemical substances, it could
help you if you’re busted.

Note:

oopz, can you email me ASAP? I lost your email address during the hard disk crash. Thanks buddy!

Project Doctor Shopping: Malaysian Edition

July 6, 2003 by HB

veritas in Malaysia.

Greetings from Malaysia! I am not dead yet, though I did have to
make another trip to the ER (drug related) before I came back. 🙂 I may
or may not be posting about that in the future since I’m still deciding
if doing that will reveal too much and break my anonymity. I will say
that it was the BEST service I ever had though, no triage nurses, it
was straight into a bed where I was hooked up with all sorts of
thingies and a doctor came immediately. Hypertensive crisis in
progress, heart failure probable. I would have enjoyed it if I wasn’t
really afraid for my well being. Heh. It was a bit too close for
comfort this time, please don’t take too much stimulants over a
prolonged period of time if you have an existing medical condition
which contraindicates stimulants (hypertension, heart problems etc).

I digress, that’s not what I’m talking about today. All turned out
good though, so fear not, veritas will not kick the bucket that easily.
😉 I hate it when people refer to themselves in the third person too,
so you’re not alone. Anyway, today I will be reporting about doctor
shopping in Malaysia. Yeah, you heard me right, doctor shopping, not
pharmacy runs. 🙁 Unfortunately, the days of freely available
benzodiazepines seems to be over…the pharmacies now display a startling
respect for prescribing procedures, and Xanax (alprazolam) and other
benzos seems to be getting the bad kind of attention due to unknown
instigating factors.

Front of the blister pack.

Pharmacy run attempts:

Pharmacy #1

This was the good one that I had no problems getting Xanax
(alprazolam) and Valium (diazepam) off of last time I was back home
(about six months ago). Unfortunately, they seem to have stopped all
restricted drug sales (or so they claim) and they don’t stock any
benzodiazepines anymore. Well, too bad, but I’ve had a nice haul from
this one last time I was back so it’s all good. Thanks anyway.

Pharmacy #2

I did not want to visit this one due to personal reasons. However, a
friend of mine gets her Xanax from here, so I know they stock the
stuff, but they’ve not displayed a willingness to hand over the goods
without a prescription the last time I was here, so I was not
optimistic about walking out with benzodiazepines. Nevertheless, it
won’t hurt to try, so in I walked and told them about my situation
(just got back from Australia, couldn’t bring my prescription back, can
I have some alprazolam please?). Well, they said they’ll be happy to
sell it to me, with a prescription, which I didn’t have. Oh well.

Pharmacy #3

They don’t carry restricted medications.

Pharmacy #4

They also don’t carry restricted stuff.

Pharmacy #5

This was attached to a medical center so I doubt they will sell it
w/o a prescription but again, it won’t hurt to try, so in I went. The
counter was staffed by only a single girl, who was friendly even though
I think she suspected I was attempting to acquire benzos for
recreational purposes. I asked for alprazolam and told her my situation
(see above) and she pulled out this deliciously large container full of
generic 0.5 mg Xanax. The packaging looked like that beta blocker that
pharmacies #3 and #4 was offering me as an alternative, so I said it’s
not a beta blocker but a benzodiazepine. She said, this is a
benzodiazepine. Oops, my mistake, it was alprazolam. 🙂 Unfortunately,
she says that company policy does not allow her to sell it without a
prescription, but she suggested that I visit the medical center beside
and get a prescription, come back and she’ll sort me out. Sounds like a
plan, until I walked into the medical center and saw rows upon rows (I
am not exaggerating) of waiting patients. I doubt it’ll be my turn come
evening, so I walked back and *cough* asked if bending the rules would
be possible. She smiled and said they have regular stock counts so she
would not be able to sell even a small amount to me even if she wanted
to. Thus, Project Doctor Shopping had to be revived in Malaysia.

Back of the blister pack.

Project Doctor Shopping:

Doctor #1

I walked into this clinic because it was empty, so I didn’t have to
wait. After registering as a new patient, I got to see the doctor and
explained my situation. I have to add that I wasn’t properly dressed
for the occasion and my current attire (which revealed my tattoos –
something I found to be a hindrance when doctor shopping) probably
contributed to the lack of helpfulness from this doctor. He said they
didn’t stock Xanax, and he was unwilling to write a prescription for it
and suggested that I visit a clinical psychologist instead as they are
more qualified to issue these medications. The doctor also commented
that I was a bit young to be taking Xanax, he said that “it’s what old
people take” (his words). I refrained from correcting his presumption,
and he refrained from charging me consultation fees. 😉 No harm, no
foul, walked out in a couple of minutes and visited another doctor.

Consultation fees: RM 0
Medication fees: What medication?

Interesting fact: Every single blister pack has a different tablet
arrangement. The first one had all the tablets with the front showing,
the second one had all backs except for the last three, which were
fronts, and the third was all fronts, except for the first two and last
two, which were backs.

Doctor #2

I ensured I looked presentable before dropping in on this one.

Doctor: Hello, what can I do for you?
Me: Hello, I have been diagnosed with anxiety disorder.
Doctor: Yes, what medication are you taking?
Me: I was prescribed with 0.5 mg alprazolam twice daily in
Australia. I just came back, but unfortunately I could not bring the
medication back.
Doctor: I see. How long have you been taking it?
Me: Oh, about one and half years. I just graduated (shows him my
Student ID card) and my health insurance (shows him my Medibank Private
card) does not allow me to bring back the medication, so I have to get
a new prescription here.
I showed him the cards and offered him additional information
because it seemed like this was a go, and if it was, I wanted to
establish a long term relationship with the doctor, considering the
stricter pharmacy guidelines which have fallen into place during the
time I was away.
Doctor: Okay, I’ll just show you the tablets that I have.
(talking to nurse) Bring me the Upjohn tablets. Is these the ones that
you’ve been taking?
He shows me a blister pack of 10 x 0.5 mg brand name Xanax tablets. I examined the pack for a while and replied:
Me: Yeah, the packaging is different but the ingredient is the same.
It never hurts to play the ignorant patient. 😉
Doctor: That’s expected, the packaging would be different as
this are the ones packaged for Malaysian sale, but if it’s the same
thing, it’ll work like your last prescription did. How many do you want?
Me: How much are the blister packs?
Doctor: It’s RM 1.50.
Me: RM 1.50 for the blister pack?!?!?
Doctor: Oh, it’s RM 1.50 per tablet, RM 12 for a blister pack.
Me: Okay, can I have two blister packs please?
RM 1.50 = A$ 0.75. RM 12 = A$ 6. The price per mg of alprazolam is
RM 2.40 or A$ 1.20, not cheap for someone who paid A$ 26.40 (RM 52.80)
for 200 mg of clonazepam. Clonazepam is equivalent on a mg to mg basis
with alprazolam so that works out to just RM 0.26 or A$ 0.13 per mg,
almost 10 times lower than the price I’m getting in Malaysia.
Doctor: Sure, just remember that this is a restricted drug, so
remember to carry the authorization letter with you (?) and don’t give
the tablets to anyone else.
Me: Yeah, I’m aware of that. Oh, can I have three blister packs? It would be easier to come back in 15 days instead.
Doctor: No problems, I’m happy to sell you as many as you need.
Hehehe!
Me: Thanks!

Consultation fees: RM 0
Medication fees: RM 36 (A$ 18) for 15 mg of alprazolam (Xanax).
These are the Pharmacia & Upjohn brand name tablets, so it would be
more expensive than generics.

Xanax 0.5 mg pink tablets. Mmm…

Success! 🙂 This also established a possible long term relationship
with the good doctor and a good medical history with the clinic, so I’m
happy with the way things turned out. The clinic did not charge me for
consultation, and that was good. I went back to Pharmacy #5 and asked
if they were willing to sell me the generics with my “unofficial
prescription” and the she said that company policy requires a signed
doctor’s prescription for filing purposes, so it’s a no go. However,
she told me that the generic alprazolam they carry is RM 0.50 (A$ 0.25)
per 0.5 mg so that works out to be cheaper than the brand name Xanax
tablets. I’ll probably get a prescription next time I drop in on the
good doctor to get the generics instead. It was a good project, nice
and easy. 🙂

Pill report: White Maple Leaf w/ grey specks (Melbourne – June 03)

June 26, 2003 by HB

The front of the pill has an imprint of a Canadian maple leaf.
The front is flat, there is no sign of a dome.
The back of the pill is beveled and there is no score.
The White Maple Leaf is slightly thicker than the White HQ pills, even when the latter’s dome is taken into account.
This seems to be a local pill as well, and it is rumored that both of these pills are made by the same manufacturers.

Marquis:

Slow to dark purple and retained that color. The reaction was faster than the White HQ, it probably took 7 seconds.

Conclusion: MDxA

Simons:

The sample turned blue almost immediately. Nice.

Conclusion: MDMA

Other stuff:

I’m sorry about the candyflipping trip report that remains
unwritten. I’ve been really busy yesterday and today, and I don’t think
I’ll write that one until tomorrow at least. I had such a glowing
experience on it that I want to write a proper trip report instead of a
half assed one. It was a great combination, very synergistic and
euphoric and I’ll post it when I’m sober. I won’t forget the details as
I’ve written them down. Yeah, I still managed to write notes when I’m
walking around town. 🙂 I just had some mushrooms + MDMA too, but that
didn’t turn out very well. Heh. Will write about it when I’m back in
Malaysia. Anyway, I’ve gotta go out now. Check back again in a couple
of days and the candy flip and hippy flip trip reports would be up, and
also a salvia report with 5X extract and a butane torch that I got from
a friend [Edit: Request for anonymity]. Have a wonderful day everyone! 🙂

Pill report: White HQ w/ grey specks (Melbourne – June 03)

June 26, 2003 by HB

White HQ – front

The front of the pill has “HQ” imprinted shallowly.
That side is slightly domed (raised).
Imprint quality not very impressive.
The back of the pill has beveled edges and a single score down the middle. The beveled edges tapers off at the score:

The grey specks are consistent.
I think this is a local pill due to the lack of similar imprints popping up in other countries.

White HQ – back

Marquis:

Slow to purple and it retained that color (didn’t turn black). It
probably took all of 10 seconds to achieve that reaction, but it is
cold right now, so that could be a factor.

Conclusion: MDxA

Simons:

Mild bubbling and a very light orange color was noted. Very thin and
nearly invisible blue streaks could be seen much later (about 12
seconds) but I really had to squint and look at it at an angle to see
that.

Conclusion: MDMA and MDA combo? Methamphetamine and MDA
combo? I’m making guesses here. Heh! This is speculation based on the
previous results and the qualitative effects of that pill. It does seem
to be a MDxA based pill though, so all should be good.

Interesting read: Color Test Reagents/Kits for Preliminary Identification of Drugs of Abuse [ncjrs.org]

[.pdf document – Right click, save target as]

It has the compositions of the 12 reagents (including Marquis,
Simons, Mecke, Mandelin etc etc) so you could make it yourself. I don’t
think the chemicals are controlled so it’s just a matter of walking
into a chemical distribution company (the smaller ones that sells to
high schools) and getting the stuff and putting them together. Nifty.

However, I also found out something unpleasant. Apparently it’s a
bad idea to touch the reagents because most of them have toxic
ingredients. I looked at the EZ Test Marquis reagent again and true
enough, it has a nicely worded, skim over the details warning in Fine
Print. The PDF document above goes into more detail, use SodaPDF

to be able to read the details of the documents. The Marquis reagent

has formaldehyde and this is what the excerpt says:

Formaldehyde – TOXIC.
May cause cancer. May cause heritable genetic damage.
Toxic by inhalation, in contact with skin, and if swallowed.
Causes burns. May cause sensitization by inhalation and skin contact.
Readily absorbed through skin. Lachrymator. Combustible.
Target organs: eyes, kidneys.
Wear suitable protective clothing and gloves.

The easiest way to break up hard pressed pills. Syringes are just so
versatile. The needle breaks the pill up with a fissure and the cap
serves to move stuff around for the reaction. 🙂

Here’s another excerpt about the chemicals in Simons reagent. This is a real bag of laughs:

Sodium nitroprusside – VERY TOXIC.
Very toxic by inhalation, contact with skin, and if swallowed.
Target organs: blood.
In case of accident or if you feel unwell, seek medical advice immediately.
In case of contact with eyes, rinse immediately with plenty of water
and seek medical advice. Wear suitable protective clothing, gloves, and
eye/face protection. Do not breathe dust.

Acetaldehyde – EXTREMELY FLAMMABLE, TOXIC.
May cause cancer. May cause heritable genetic damage.
Harmful by inhalation, in contact with skin, and if swallowed.
May cause sensitization by inhalation and skin contact.
Possible risk of harm to unborn child. Causes severe irritation. Lachrymator. Photosensitizer.
Target organs: kidneys, liver.
May develop pressure. Keep away from sources of ignition. In case of
contact with eyes, rinse immediately with plenty of water and seek
medical advice.
Wear suitable protective clothing, gloves, and eye/face protection.

Needless to say, I was not very impressed at the lack of
documentation regarding this in the EZ Test kits. Readily absorbed
through the skin…I’ve been touching it with my bare hands while moving
samples into and out of the solution and also mixing things up without
gloves. It’s my fault for not reading the Fine Print. RTFM. Oh well, I
don’t think the concentrations present in the reagents is enough to
produce those toxic effects anyway.

/me sets up camp on the riverbanks of Egypt

Wow, what a nice view I’m getting.

White MX w/multi-colored speckles – very strange

June 24, 2003 by HB

This is a veritas post.

White MX w/multi-colored speckles – front

This pill produced a very interesting test result. I’m quite puzzled
at the reactions. The pill seems to be from a different batch than the White MX that was tested
[sixthseal.com] close to two months ago. The previous batch did not
have the kaleidoscope of speckles this new batch has. The White MX from
that time did have visible colored specks, but it’s not so
prominent and dominant compared to this batch. The logo is the same,
and this pill also has slightly beveled edges on both sides, and a
single score down the back.

White MX w/multi-colored speckles – back

I checked it against the previous photos and the cursive “mx” font
is exactly similar. The only thing different is the abundance of
speckles in this pill. It has blue, red, green, yellow and browns
speckles all over the pill. It would be interesting to note that it was
related to me that qualitative comments from a person who had this pill
(White MX w/multi-colored speckles), White HQ and White Maple Leaf
feels that this pill is strongest among the three.

Marquis

The scraping was tested with a drop of Marquis reagent. The color
changed slowly to purple and then to dark purple/black. There was no
bubbling or smoking, which I understand rules out DXM. The pill seems
like an MDxA pill at this point.

Conclusion: MDxA (purple/black color change)

Simons

Simons Test #1

This is the puzzling one. One drop of Simon’s reagent and two drops
of buffer solution was added to a sample scraping. The solution started
to bubble noticeably (produced air bubbles) and the final color was a
very light orange. I thought that I must have messed up the reaction
somehow and scraped another bit off for a second test. The same result
was noticed – bubbles, and a very light orange solution. It may be
interesting to note Erowid has a photo showing an MDA reaction and an MDMA reaction
[erowid.org] to Simons and the results seems to be similar to Erowid’s
MDA result. However, I was under the impression that Simons only tests
for secondary amines and MDA is not a secondary amine so it shouldn’t
react with Simons. I could be missing something basic here though, I’m
not very familiar with the more exotic reactions.

Simons Test #2

Conclusion: Not MDMA (no blue color change)

Robadope

I wasn’t really keen on doing this due to the low success rate I’ve
had with Robadope in the past. The results have always been ambiguous,
there wasn’t a reaction where a really strong and unmistakable color
change occurred, even with known primary amines like dexamphetamine
(Dexedrine) tablets containing 5 mg dextroamphetamine sulfate. This
test also requires a rather large sample (EZ Test says 10% of the pill)
and I wasn’t prepared to sacrifice that amount for a test that may or
may not provide a conclusive result. However, curiosity got the better
of me and I prepared a drop of Robadope with 3 drops of buffer solution
before scraping quite a bit of the pill into the solution. I did not
skimp on the sample, as you can see from the sadly mutilated and much
less voluminous pill:

The large amount of powder was moved into the solution, but no reaction took place. I did notice a very slight bluish tint to the solution.

The solution’s borders have been outlined for better clarity.

I added more scraping, but the color did not change. I pushed a
stray drop of buffer solution into the existing solution, which now
contains a drop of Robadope and 4 drops of buffer. However, there was
still no noticeable color change.

Robadope reagent’s original color.

I manipulated a stray Robadope drop into the existing solution, and
that colored the solution somewhat (due to the natural coloring of
Robadope), but there wasn’t a definitive noticeable color change to
salmon/red. I thought I did see a bit of red when I looked at the
solution from an angle, with some wishful thinking. 🙂 However, the
resultant solution (2 drops Robadope, 4 drops buffer solution) looks
more yellow than red.

Final color.

I’m quite puzzled at the strange reactions. The EZ Test kit was
purchased about two months ago and it has been kept in a dark and cool
place. The reagents have been reliable until the strange results today.
I’m not discounting the fact that there might be cross-contamination
among the bottles, I could have screwed the wrong cap on the wrong
bottle. I’ve always been careful to wipe stray drops from the cap and
bottle before screwing on the cap, but it could be a possibility.

White MX w/multi-colored speckles (scanned) – front

That said, assuming the results are correct, what could the
substance possibly be? Personally, I’m leaning towards MDA due to the
positive Marquis reagent test and the Simons color change that is
similar to Erowid’s. However, if it is MDA, the Robadope would have
tested out too, and it didn’t. I must state though, I have had a lot of
trouble with Robadope, so I’m not putting too much weight on that
result. What do you all think? I would appreciate any educated guesses
and speculation. The scanned pill images above and below has more
accurate color reproduction than the digicam photos. Please let me know
before noon if it could be something that I would regret taking. I know
this doesn’t sound like a very smart thing to do, but I’m not a very
smart person. 😉 Thanks!

White MX w/multi-colored speckles (scanned) – back

Disclaimer: The pill has been disposed of and is no longer in my possession. Request for identification is for informational purposes only.

Script shenanigans (Dexamphetamine Reloaded)

June 23, 2003 by HB

*wipes tear away from eye* I thought I’ll never see you again.

Would it be possible to cash in a dated dexamphetamine (Schedule 8)
script several weeks EARLY? I was wondering the same question myself,
and I decided to try after reading a caveat in the pharmaceutical
dispensing guidelines regarding Schedule 8 substances. It was in a
pharmacy site, but I forgot the link. I remembered getting there from
the “australia schedule 8 prescription” search string though. Anyway,
if you’ve been reading about my “narcolepsy” and the legal speed I was
prescribed to manage the symptoms, you’ll have read my final farewell to dextroamphetamine sulfate [sixthseal.com]. That farewell seems to be premature though. Don’t you just hate that? 😉

32 days have passed since the last time I refilled my script
(including today). I had thought that was the last time I’m going to
see my little white friends, because the good doctor upgraded
(supersized?) my dexamphetamine prescription by trusting me with the
responsibility of 200 x 5 mg dexamphetamine (Dexedrine in the US)
tablets upfront with a refill in 50 days instead of the usual 100 x 5
mg every 25 days. The nice doctor did not increase my dose, but he
allowed me to get 200 tablets at once, which is not standard
prescribing procedure for a Schedule 8 drug.

I have 2 repeats left on the script (time based, only valid if 50
days have passed since the last refill) and I’m not due for a refill
until 10th of July, which is next month. I would be back in Malaysia by
then so I thought it was the last time I’ll be having pharmaceutical
quality amphetamines. However, I decided to use one of the methods in
my Tome of Doctor Shopping (available for the low, low price of
A$0, I’ve documented everything on this site) to see if I could just
eek out one last refill before I go back. It just might be possible,
and I won’t have to lie to get it. I just have to be economical with
the truth. 😉

I’ll be going back soon for my holidays and my tablets would run out before I come back, so can I please have an early refill?

There is no untruth in this statement, everything is TRUE. Isn’t
that great? =D I just didn’t mention that I’ll be going back for good,
as that would invalidate the script (it still has a repeat) which is
supposed to be inherited by CT. I also neglected to elaborate
that I won’t be heading home that early. My tongue slipped and that
made me erroneously emphasize the word “soon” with a particular tone
which might be misleading to chemists, leading them to think that it
was a date like tomorrow. Sorry! 😉

I haven’t been to any of the pharmacies I went to today. I didn’t
want to use the regular dexamphetamine one, since the pharmacist
clearly told me about the 50 day refill timeframe. I can’t use any of
the pharmacies near my place because I have either filled
benzodiazepines or bought fit kits and other injecting paraphernalia
there, and I didn’t want to risk my script. I decided to trawl the
pharmacies further away from my usual haunts. We’ll see how it goes:

Pharmacy #1

This medicine may increase mental alertness and/or co-ordination. If
affected. Do not bite lower lip or smoke too many cigarettes.

I walked in and gave the pharmacist on duty (a nice looking old man)
a big ass smile and said “Hello” cheerily. 🙂 “Could you possibly help
me with this? It’s not due for a while, but I’ll be going home for the
holidays soon and my prescription will run out before I come back, so would it be possible to get this filled today?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem, I’ll get to it right away. It would take a couple of minutes, do you use prescription assistance programs?”

“Sure, take your time. I appreciate your help.”

I tried to be nonchalant and pretended to read a book while in
actually fact I was watching the pharmacist out of the corner of my
eye. I saw him make a phone call, no problem, he’s probably just
validating the script, 200 is an extraordinary amount for
dexamphetamine. He came up to me after that and said: “I’m sorry sir,
but I only have 100 tablets in stock now. However, if you come back at
4:30 pm, the prescription would be all ready for you.”

It was slightly before 9 am in the morning then. Hmm…this is a
definite go, I thought, I’ll be happy to come back at 4:30 pm if that
means I would get the refill. However, it bothered me that such a large
pharmacy did not carefully maintain the stock levels to avoid
situations such as these. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but it doesn’t hurt
to be careful, and I’ve learnt something important in my years of
recreational drug use: When in doubt – bail.

I did not plan to be untruthful, but circumstances dictate that
moral issues should be shelved and contingency plans initiated. “Oh,
that would be great, but unfortunately I have an exam later so I
wouldn’t be able to come back at that time”. Pharmacist: “That wouldn’t
be a problem, we close at 6 pm, so if you just come back anytime before
that, the prescription will be ready for you.” He was still holding on
to my script. I wanted it back. “Well, my exams are in Caulfield so I
wouldn’t be heading down again, since it would be out of the way.
Thanks for your help anyway.”

“That wouldn’t be a problem, you can just come back tomorrow or another day, and it’ll be all ready for you.” He was still
holding my script. Subtlety will not work here. “Thanks, but that won’t
be necessary. I’ll just get it another day. I’m sorry for bothering
you.” I hold my hand out for the script. He handed it back rather
unwillingly. “Have a nice day” I say as I walk out. I walked to the
traffic lights about 25 meters from the pharmacy and stood there while
the pedestrian lights were red. I happened to glance beside me and saw
two police officers smiling at me in a manner I thought was predatory.

Paranoia? Or did the pharmacist call the police? He wouldn’t would
he? Even though prescription fraud is punishable by a 1 year jail
sentence, I didn’t do anything wrong by asking for an early refill (at
least I don’t think that’s breaking any laws). It’s such a minor
infringement anyway, but why are the police looking at me like that? I
am dressed well and conservatively, like I always do when doctor
shopping or filling scripts. I nodded at the police and said “Hello
officers.” I looked back at the pedestrian lights. It turned green. I
walked.

It’s probably just a coincidence but it was disconcerting.

Pharmacy #2

Keep a supply – …

Okay, it seems that refilling scripts before the due date is
possible under certain circumstances, like the one I’m experiencing. I
just need to tweak (no pun intended) the statement a little bit to
optimize it. I walk into the second pharmacy and said “Good morning, I
was wondering if you could help me out with this. It’s not due yet, but
my exams are over and I’m flying back home tomorrow. The tablets would
run out before I get back, so would it be possible to get this refill
earlier so I don’t miss my medication?”

“Okay, just a minute, let me ask the pharmacist.”

The pharmacist (who happens to be another old man, but not as kindly
looking as the first one) looked at the script, looked at me and walked
over. “I’m sorry, but we don’t stock these. Why don’t you go back to
the original pharmacy and get it from there?” “Okay, thanks for your
help.” No go. I don’t believe for a second that this large chain does
not carry dexamphetamine. The pharmacist probably just though the
script was a bit odd, considering the amount and the fact that I’m
filling it at a place which is really quite far from the one who issued
the repeat authorization and didn’t want to fill it.

Oh well, since I’m bending the truth a little (okay, more than a
little), I have no right to comment, but does the pharmacist think I
look stupid? That’s such a lame excuse coming from this well known and
large pharmacy chain, but he’s probably thinking the same thing too. 🙂
“Does this guy think I’m stupid?” Heh. No harm, no foul, I’ll just move
along.

Pharmacy #3

…don’t cease…

I optimized the statement again. I decided I wasn’t going to draw
attention to the due date unless the pharmacist asks about it. Hey,
maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll miss the fact that the due date is next
month. “Hello, can I have this filled please?” I say while smiling my
“I’m just an innocent student, a nice guy” smile. Cheery and polite,
what a hoot I am. 🙂 Unfortunately, this pharmacy does not carry
dexamphetamine. I did believe him, because it was a small, hole in the
wall chemist, with a tiny prescriptions section. The pharmacist was
kind enough to point me in the right direction too. “Hmm…let me think
of the pharmacists in (deleted) who stocks these. There are two at
(deleted) Street that would most likely have them in stock. You could
pop over and see.”

“Thanks for your help!”

Pharmacy #4

…without Dr’s advice

I modified the statement again. I implemented the lessons learnt
from the first three pharmacies and decided to experiment with an
additional sentence to add authority to my statement. I put on my best
shit eating grin and applied my friendliest tone with overtures of “Oh,
I feel sorry for all the hard work you do that goes unnoticed. I really
appreciate your self-sacrificing service to the community.” The
pharmacist was a man in his early 30s, he looks young and I somehow
feel that this would be the one.

Me: Good morning! Rainy day huh?
Pharmacist: Yeah, it’s been raining the whole morning. It’s quite cold eh?
Me: Indeed. The weather has been rather dismal these days. It’s
going to be good for the alpine though, I hear there’s some nice
snowfall up there. Too bad I’m going to miss snowboarding this year.
Pharmacist: Oh, that’s too bad. Where are you going?
Me: I’m heading back for the holidays. Just finished my exams,
oh this reminds me, this script is not due yet, but unfortunately, I’ll
be going home for a month and half so the tablets would run out before
I come back. I called the doctor and he suggested that I get a refill
before I go back. The doctor’s details is here.
I flip the repeat authorization over confidently and pointed out the
original doctor’s script, while taking care not to overextend myself
and expose tattoos. It doesn’t hurt to be careful, even a shave to look
clean cut helps.
Pharmacist: 200? Oh, wow.
Me: Yeah, I’ve been prescribed this for narcolepsy. The doctor gave me a larger amount so I won’t have to get it filled so often.
Pharmacist: I see. Sure, this is no problem at all. It’ll just take 10 minutes for me to get this filled.
Me: Thanks! I appreciate your help.

I pray that he won’t call the doctor, because the part about me consulting the doctor for advice didn’t exactly happen.

I pretended to browse around the store and decided that a display of
hair coloring is very interesting and stared at that with a half smile,
all the while keeping my ears cocked for phone conversations. This is
dangerous territory…if he calls the doctor, all would be lost. The
doctor is under the impression that dexamphetamine is cheaper in
Malaysia so it wouldn’t make sense for me to collect the script here,
and he’ll certainly remember if we had a conversation about early
refills, and we didn’t. Malaysia didn’t even approve dextroamphetamine
for anything! It’s not available for prescribing in Malaysia. I
shouldn’t have said that. Lady luck, show me some love!

5 minutes later… (it felt like 50 minutes)

Pharmacist: Hey!

I pretended that he didn’t made me jump. I was on methcathinone
(I’ll write about it some other time) and it doesn’t take much to make
me jump when I’m tweaking. Thankfully, a column of hygiene products
obscured me, so my startled response didn’t get noticed.

Me: Yes?
Pharmacist: It’s (deleted) right? Is that how your pronounce it?
Me: You’ve got it spot on, that’s my name alright.
Actually he didn’t pronounce it right, but going into semantics would just slow the process down, so on with the show!
Pharmacist: Are you still taking it twice daily?
Me: Yeah, that’s my dose.
Pharmacist: Okay, thanks!

*phew*

There was sounds of fast typing, and my paranoia imagined the
pharmacist talking to the doctor online. He was just typing the new
repeat authorization. 🙂

Pharmacist: Here you go buddy. Do you want a receipt?
I hide my grin.
Me: Yes please, that would be great.
Pharmacist: Here’s everything. I also put in a leaflet about
generic medicines, it’s a good read. This is your repeat authorization,
there’s one repeat left, 50 days from now. And this is the 200 tablets
of dexamphetamine, two tablets to be taken twice daily.
Me: Thank you, I appreciate your help.
Pharmacist: Have a nice trip!
Huh? What is he insinuating? Is he trying to tell me that he knows
I’m scripting and he filled it anyway? What would be the appropriate
reply then? Oh wait, he’s talking about the trip back home. Duh!
Me: Thanks, have a nice day mate.

/me walks out with 1 gram of dextroamphetamine sulfate in the form
of two bottles of dexamphetamine containing 100 tablets of 5 mg each.

Remember: Keep a supply – don’t cease without Dr’s advice!

That’s doctor’s orders. 😉