Jump to content

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Shaking My Head

jennyj

Recommended Posts

jennyj Collaborator
jennyj
Posted

I called my doctor this morning to find out what I could take for a cough that kept me up all night. His nurse told me that my pharmacist would be able to help me, doctor wasn't there. So I went to my pharmacist and asked for a cough syrup that is gluten free. He said " I don't think there are any that are glucose free. We have a few that are sugar free." I repeated gluten free, you know no wheat rye, oats, barley, malt. He said " I have never heard of luten free." I repeated again GLUTEN, I have celiac sprue and cannot have anything with any of the items I mentioned. He said he didn't know if they had any but gave me some Tussin DM and said he thought that that was something I could take. I read the label and it looked safe so I took it. So far so good. I just can't quit shaking my head. :huh:

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted

Hi Jenny,

I can really sympathise with you on the pharmacist--the one at my drugstore is never any help when it comes to gluten--and neither is my GP.

I always call the manufacturer myself to check to see if a medicine (Rx or OTC) is gluten-free. Even if all of the ingredients look fine, I would still suggest calling and making sure.

Hope you feel better soon :)

darlindeb25 Collaborator
darlindeb25
Posted

I didn't go into this and check for you, but here is a website: Open Original Shared Link You may be able to find the info you need here. I have the same problem here with the pharmicist at our local CVS store and I was told he is very knowledgeable about such things.

Corkdarrr Enthusiast
Corkdarrr
Posted

That reminds me when I first went gluten-free, and I was at the drugstore looking for vitamins. I was searchign by myself when the pharmacist came up to me and asked me if I needed any help. I told him I was looking for gluten free vitamins and got pretty much the same response as you - luckily I found NatureMade which clearly states on the side of the bottle that they are gluten free. Which I pointed at and gave him a short explanation for his benefit.

At least he's heard of it now!

Courtney

jennyj Collaborator
jennyj
Posted
  • Author
Hi Jenny,

I can really sympathise with you on the pharmacist--the one at my drugstore is never any help when it comes to gluten--and neither is my GP.

I always call the manufacturer myself to check to see if a medicine (Rx or OTC) is gluten-free. Even if all of the ingredients look fine, I would still suggest calling and making sure.

Hope you feel better soon :)

Thanks for the info and the thoughts. I will call.

aaascr Apprentice
aaascr
Posted

The pharmacy that I use has one clueless

(and wants to remain that way)

pharmacist and another who knows about

celiac (his MIL has it). So if I have a new

prescription I find out when he is there and

walk in and talk to him about it - he always

looks things up for me and will even print

out the info so I can look at it.

He's so cool I can never thank him enough!

:)

debmidge Rising Star
debmidge
Posted

The glutenfreedrugs site needs to be updated; I find it to be old information. Until it's updated I call the manufacturers. I go to store, look at product I intend to buy, take down the 1-800 number and sometimes call right from the store. If that doesn't work I also write down the UCP number and call from home or visit the manufacturers website.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


almostnrn Explorer
almostnrn
Posted

I am so sorry this has happened to everyone! I have worked in a pharmacy for 13 years and have personally never worked with pharmacists or even techs that are unwilling to provide information or educate themselves about something this serious. I am willing to get a list together for everyone if you give me some suggustions of what you need to know about. At the very least I have access to the pharmaceutical companies phone numbers and can call them when I get home from work. I can even check out inserts of specific meds at work. I can tell you that I have seen gluten-free printed right on the label of one or two things even. If you don't feel comfortable posting the info on this string just send me a PM and I'll get back to you asap.

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted
The glutenfreedrugs site needs to be updated; I find it to be old information. Until it's updated I call the manufacturers. I go to store, look at product I intend to buy, take down the 1-800 number and sometimes call right from the store. If that doesn't work I also write down the UCP number and call from home or visit the manufacturers website.

I agree completely, Deb. The info there is constantly being outdated. Plus, there are so many generic drugs out there. I just call on everything :)

Tim-n-VA Contributor
Tim-n-VA
Posted

Who do you call for generic drugs? If the brand name equivalent is gluten-free can you reach any conclusion on the generic?

celiacgirls Apprentice
celiacgirls
Posted

I've only called about one generic drug but the name of the manufacturer was on the prescription label. Then I looked it up online to see if they said anything about it. They didn't but I did get the phone number that way and called. If you don't see the name of the manufacturer, try asking the pharmacist. They should be able to find out.

almostnrn Explorer
almostnrn
Posted
Who do you call for generic drugs? If the brand name equivalent is gluten-free can you reach any conclusion on the generic?

No you can not guarantee that because the brand name is gluten-free that the generic will be. To further complicate things, there may be several different manufacturers of a generic (whereas with a brand name drug there is only one company that produces it) and some may be safe while others are not. A pharmacy may not always have a choice in which manufaturer they receive in an order. If your pills look different you will need to recheck the status.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. Midwesteaglesfan
      - Midwesteaglesfan posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      0

      Going for upper endoscopy today

      At 41 years old I have been fighting fatigue and joint pain for a couple months. My family doctor kept saying nothing was wrong but I was insistent that I just didn’t feel right. Finally after running several blood labs, one came back showing inflammation in my body and I was referred to a rheumatologist. He was extremely thorough and sat with me and m...
    2. marlene333
      - marlene333 replied to Grace Good's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      3

      Bee balm lipbalm not gluten free

      To play it safe, use Vasoline Lip Therapy. No questions as to it containing gluten.
    3. Mari
      - Mari replied to Jmartes71's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      4

      Related issues

      jmartes, Thank you for sharing more information with us. Most of us Celiacs whose problems do not clear up with in a few years have to decide what to do next. We can keep seeing DR.s and hope that we will get some medication or advice that will improve our health. Or we can go looking for other ways to improve our health. Usually Celiac Disease is...
    4. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to catsrlife's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      4

      Patiently Waiting to See Results

      It's unfortunate that they won't work with you on this, but in the end sometimes we have to take charge of our own health--which is exactly what happened to me. I did finally get the tests done, but only after years of going down various rabbit holes and suffering. Just quitting gluten may be the best path for you at this point.
    5. catsrlife
      - catsrlife replied to catsrlife's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      4

      Patiently Waiting to See Results

      My doctor didn't take the time to listen to anything. I don't even think she knows what it means. She is more concerned about my blood pressure that is caused by her presence than anything else and just wants to push pills at me. The so-called dermatologist wouldn't do a skin test. she prescribed all of these silly antihistamine skin meds. This lady...
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,265
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    Midwesteaglesfan
    Newest Member
    Midwesteaglesfan
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Midwesteaglesfan
      Going for upper endoscopy today

      By Midwesteaglesfan · Posted

      At 41 years old I have been fighting fatigue and joint pain for a couple months.  My family doctor kept saying nothing was wrong but I was insistent that I just didn’t feel right.  Finally after running several blood labs, one came back showing inflammation in my body and I was referred to a rheumatologist.  He was extremely thorough and sat with me and my family for a good hour asking questions and listening. He ordered X-rays of all my joints and more bloodwork.  He suspected some sort of reactive inflammatory arthritis.  My TTG (Tissue Transglutaminase) came back at 34. he told me to try going gluten free and out me on Salfasalzin to help the join inflammation.  Over the next couple days going gluten free and doing a lot of research and talking to people with celiacs,  we found that I should have an upper endoscopy for insurance purposes in the future.  I reached back out to my rheumatologist and expressed this concern and he got back to me stating I was correct and resume regular gluten diet and stop the medication until after that scope.     They were able to schedule me in for 2 days later.  I had been gluten free, or as close to it as I could be for about 5 days.  I know I ate some brats with it but wanted to use them up.  My symptoms had gotten slightly better in those 5 days.  I felt less fatigue and joint pain was slightly better(it had gotten really bad) so for these last 2 days I’ve gone crazy with wheat bread, pasta and such.  I’m hoping those 5 days didn’t screw this endoscopy up.  I can’t imagine after a life of gluten, my intestines healed in 5 days and after eating gluten again for these couple days,  my stomach hurts, joint pain is coming back up so I know the inflammation is there.   Hinesight after this diagnosis, I have had chronic migraines since my late teens.  Has that been a lingering symptom of celiacs all these years?  I’ve never really had the stomach issues, for me it came in heavy these last couple months as the fatigue, just always feeling tired and exhausted.  And the joint pain.     So getting in the car for the 2 hour drive to the hospital for this scope now.     Wish me luck!
    • marlene333
      Bee balm lipbalm not gluten free

      By marlene333 · Posted

      To play it safe, use Vasoline Lip Therapy. No questions as to it containing gluten.
    • Mari
      Related issues

      By Mari · Posted

      jmartes, Thank you for sharing  more information with us. Most of us Celiacs whose problems do not clear up with in a few years have to decide what to do next. We can keep seeing DR.s and hope that we will get some  medication or advice that will improve our health. Or we can go looking for other ways to improve our health. Usually Celiac Disease is not a killer disease, it is a disabling disease as  you have found out. You have time to find some ways to help you recover. Stay on your gluten-free diet and be more careful in avoiding cross contamination . KnittyKitty  and others here can give you advice about avoiding some foods that can give you the gluten auto immune reaction and advice about vitamins and supplement that help celiacs. You may need to take higher doses of Vit. B12  and D3.  About 20 years before a Dr. suggested I might have Celiac disease I had health problems that all other Dr said they could not identify or treat. I was very opposed to alternative providers and treatments. So many people were getting help from a local healer I decided to try that out. It was a little helpful but then, because I had a good education in medical laboraties she gave me a book  to read and what did I think. With great skeptism I started reading and before I was half way through it I began using the methods outlined in the book. Using those herbs and supplements I went from hardly able to work to being able to work almost fulltime. I still use that program. But because I had undiagnosed celiac disease by 10 years later some  of my problems returned and I started to loose weight.    So how does a person find a program that will benefit them? Among the programs you can find online there are many that are snake oil scams and some that will be beneficial. by asking around, as I did. Is there an ND in your area? Do they reccomend that person? If you would like to read about the program I use go to www.drclark.net   
    • Scott Adams
      Patiently Waiting to See Results

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      It's unfortunate that they won't work with you on this, but in the end sometimes we have to take charge of our own health--which is exactly what happened to me. I did finally get the tests done, but only after years of going down various rabbit holes and suffering. Just quitting gluten may be the best path for you at this point.
    • catsrlife
      Patiently Waiting to See Results

      By catsrlife · Posted

      My doctor didn't take the time to listen to anything. I don't even think she knows what it means. She is more concerned about my blood pressure that is caused by her presence than anything else and just wants to push pills at me. The so-called dermatologist wouldn't do a skin test. she prescribed all of these silly antihistamine skin meds. This lady didn't even know what she was talking about and said "they never turn out as celiac, they usually just say it's dermatitis so here's your meds," just like my regular quack. I'm trying to change insurance companies at the moment and that has been a battle because of red tape, wrong turns, and workers having wrong phone numbers. What a joke! The allergy blood days say I have a wheat allergy of .31. Hopefully it's just that and until I find a decent doctor and dermatologist, I'll just lay off the wheat anyway, since it gives me asthma, high blood sugar, and joint pain. So frustrated at this point. The rash on my back of arms/elbows is mostly gone. Both calves and chest have started up. smh. It comes and goes. It fades faster now, though, although my forearms still produce one or two bumps on each side. The itching has calmed down a lot except for the bump area. I have dry skin to begin with so anything affecting it just makes it crazy. i'm never going to eat wheat again. I don't care if they need it to produce results or if it is just an intolerance, allergy, or celiac. It gives me hell.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.