Opinions Needed

[Roda]

My son's NP called in a Rx for Augmentin liquid for his sinus infection. The pharmacy was great in contacting the manufacturer for me about it's gluten free status. This is what the manufacturer said (it is a generic company) "one or more of the ingredients could be derived from wheat, but the end product should be gluten free." Would any of you chance it or try to find another brand? I didn't get it because I was uncomfortable. The NP rewrote the script for pills so we will see what we can find out about those. I've not had this much trouble with my meds. I do get that they can't guarantee something is 100% gluten free, but I have had manufacturers tell me if any ingredients are derived from gluten containing ingredients.

[T.H.]

I would rather be safe then sorry, in this case, too. Of course, I'm sensitive enough that I've had reactions to 'gluten free' meds, and then had to go back and call to find out that they had wheat derived ingredients. I've even been glutened by meds that had no gluten ingredients, but had ingredients that are often gluten contaminated...but they're not even checked for gluten because hey, they didn't add it, so it couldn't possibly have any, right?

And considering that medications are not bound by the same laws as food when it comes to disclosing allergens (I don't know what the current law for them is, only that it's not the FDA's law), well...I think you made the right choice, frankly.

[Roda]

Thanks for your reply. I ended up going to the pharmacy that the customer service sucks and getting his RX in pills instead. They at least told me what they had in stock and gave me the manufacturer number. I called and the rep said that in the pills there were no gluten containing/derived ingredients so I got that one. Luckily he can swallow those horse pills.

[CarolinaKip]

My son's NP called in a Rx for Augmentin liquid for his sinus infection. The pharmacy was great in contacting the manufacturer for me about it's gluten free status. This is what the manufacturer said (it is a generic company) "one or more of the ingredients could be derived from wheat, but the end product should be gluten free." Would any of you chance it or try to find another brand? I didn't get it because I was uncomfortable. The NP rewrote the script for pills so we will see what we can find out about those. I've not had this much trouble with my meds. I do get that they can't guarantee something is 100% gluten free, but I have had manufacturers tell me if any ingredients are derived from gluten containing ingredients.

My pharmacy is good about checking for me gluten-free drugs, however....when checking for a generic drug, it is much harder. One company actually told them they were reasonible sure it didn't have gluten. I asked the pharmacist, "would you give a drug to a diabetic if the drug company said I'm reasonible sure it's sugar free"!!!!!!! same thibng! No..I passed and spent $20 to get name brand that was gluten-free!

[psawyer]

I asked the pharmacist, "would you give a drug to a diabetic if the drug company said I'm reasonably sure it's sugar free"!!!!!!! same thing!

Diabetic (Type 1) speaking: It is not the same thing at all.

Sugar does not trigger an autoimmune reaction. It does not cause antibodies to be produced. It does not cause my body to be attacked and damaged by those antibodies. When properly balanced with insulin, small amounts are safe. A small quantity of sugar in a medicine I take once a day will not do me any harm. Gluten is a very different matter.

Now, if you think this falsehood may scare your pharmacist into paying attention, go for it. But realize that it is just that--an incorrect analogy.

[Takala]

Have mercy on us down here in the States. I don't know what it's like up there, but when we try to get a Rx script filled here in Profiteeria Land, we may very well be speaking to a store clerk or two on the way to being passed to the pharmacy consult, who has no idea whatsoever what we are talking about. They graduated from High School and make minimum wage. If you are lucky. They really do not understand "gluten" or "celiac," let alone "auto immune reaction," even if I do a quick explanation, trying to enunciate in my Best Cheerful Voice. "I can not have wheat, rye, or barley ingredients. Does this medication have any ?" It's better to say "allergy," which gets their attention because they can sort of grasp the concept of "immediate reaction of illness." If I said "antibodies" they'd say this was an antibiotic medicine so don't worry. The last time the ding a ling says "oh, there's cellulose, that's not it, is it ?" At which point my inner **** comes out and I get very, uhm, nice and demand to speak to the Pharmacist please so we don't accidentally make me very sick.

We don't have any such thing as an insulin to act as a buffer to counter react to the accidental exposure to what our bodies cannot tolerate, nor those handy little test strips to tell us with a blood drop if we've been glutened, and by how much we are off.

[Roda]

I still think it is a crock of !@#$ that RX medications don't have to list, at the very least, the top 8 allergens and gluten. Of course I don't really know how many of those would be used in meds.

[cap6]

I have had to change from generic to brand name on a couple of my meds. One generic I discovered was manufactured in India & ingredients were questionable. That's a little to iffy to take a chance on.

[celiackitcat]

I personally would have done the same thing and not taken the medication. I hate having to deal with the pharmacy regarding any of my prescriptions. Last time I needed an antibiotic, it was a generic that did not come from the normal manufacturer that I know to be safe. It was the middle of the night and I couldn't get through to anyone at the manufacturer (I left them two messages and never heard back). I called the pharmacy and spoke with a pharmacist who was trying so hard to be helpful but was completely clueless. He did read me all of the ingredients but he didn't know what to look for. He ended up calling around to multiple other branches of their pharmacy in the area and found one that had the medication from the manufacturer I knew was safe. I was out some money because they wouldn't take back the first bottle but it didn't matter.

Kinda annoyed right now though, because I had never realized that the manufacturer never called me back.