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De-bil-it-ate ... ted
Jun. 4th, 2009 03:08 pmHaving recovered just about the the level where I could get myself cleaned up and presentable to the world, I hazarded the main road to visit the chemist (or has 'pharmacy' taken over now?) and stocked up on Sudafed, Benilyn, Lemsip, Bonjela (did I mention the mouth ulcers?) and Vick's Vapo-rub. The last product one would have thought would have been consigned to the history books of "brands our grandparents wore", but there it was, live as brass.
I forgot the ibuprofen. And the problem with buying anything in the chemist's these days is that, whereas in the old days there was a brand, and it worked, all of these brands have split off into sub-brands. I now know where I am with the Benilyn ("Original, Dark purple box, please") and with the LemSips I don't think that it makes an iota of difference (I mean, LemSip Max? It's not as if it's a brand of cola). But I was unaware of which sudafed I wanted. I've always bought it in the US before (and not even the sudafed, but the walgreens generic alternative) so I was punting blind. I should have bought both, I guess. I was a bit perturbed by the fact that it said "non-drowsy". As far as I am concerned, if it doesn't make you drowsy, it probably isn't doing its job.
Ephedrine used to be easily obtainable in the US, but only obtainable on prescription here. It was my drug of choice when playing poker in the late 1970s, but when using it to stay awake it had worrying effects on your heartbeat and, er, erectile functioning. Now it's called "pseudoephedrine", which may or may not be the same thing. After all, they ruined Victory Vs, and coke has never been the same since the cokcaine was taken out.
Still, I reckon I've now got enough stuff to stave off any of the multitudinous symptoms when I go into work tomorrow. All I have to do is concentrate on staying awake.
_______________
I forgot the ibuprofen. And the problem with buying anything in the chemist's these days is that, whereas in the old days there was a brand, and it worked, all of these brands have split off into sub-brands. I now know where I am with the Benilyn ("Original, Dark purple box, please") and with the LemSips I don't think that it makes an iota of difference (I mean, LemSip Max? It's not as if it's a brand of cola). But I was unaware of which sudafed I wanted. I've always bought it in the US before (and not even the sudafed, but the walgreens generic alternative) so I was punting blind. I should have bought both, I guess. I was a bit perturbed by the fact that it said "non-drowsy". As far as I am concerned, if it doesn't make you drowsy, it probably isn't doing its job.
Ephedrine used to be easily obtainable in the US, but only obtainable on prescription here. It was my drug of choice when playing poker in the late 1970s, but when using it to stay awake it had worrying effects on your heartbeat and, er, erectile functioning. Now it's called "pseudoephedrine", which may or may not be the same thing. After all, they ruined Victory Vs, and coke has never been the same since the cokcaine was taken out.
Still, I reckon I've now got enough stuff to stave off any of the multitudinous symptoms when I go into work tomorrow. All I have to do is concentrate on staying awake.
_______________
