It never ceases to amaze me how “simple” things can become so complicated. I’m sure I’m not alone in this quandary – the feeling that you’ve stepped into a maze and now struggle to get out.
Simple Beginnings, Complicated Developments
Last spring, I started taking blood pressure meds. I had known taking something would be a good idea, but several years ago the side effects of beta blockers were so bad that I could only bear to take those pills for four days. Fast forward to 2023 and beta blockers are passé, so I got “ARBs.” To my surprise, they were great! Who knew? Apparently, what I thought was a normal way to feel is not how everyone feels. With a daily ARB, life was good…at first…
The Role of Quality Control
Yes, I knew these were the “rocket fuel pills” recalled in 2018 – the infamous deception that for years the suppliers knew the drugs were contaminated with a carcinogen used in rocket fuel. But because that happened five years ago, I assumed they had worked out all of the kinks. Apparently though, there are more kinks.
I was a few days into a refilled prescription when I realized I wasn’t feeling as well as I should. Hmm, my elbow is touching my ribs – why can I feel my heart beating so hard while I’m standing still? Hey, I just brought in some groceries and am trying to unpack them – why do I have to sit down quickly so I don’t black out? Could it be that this new bottle of pills is no better than sugar pills? Thankfully, I had a few from an older bottle in my purse, so I could test my theory. Bingo! The old pills work! So much for quality control – it’s still a problem.
Fighting the System
You would think the story ends there, but that was only the beginning. These are generic drugs, so it turns out that obtaining one brand over another is nearly impossible. I spent two days with several calls and visits to my pharmacy and my doctor’s office, desperate to obtain new pills not from the same Chinese manufacturer. At one point, the second pharmacist I spoke with identified another source and put an order for it into the system – but by the next day the computer overrode that and would only let me have another bottle of sugar pills! I ended up driving around to other pharmacies, getting treated badly but eventually buying one month of pills (which were not covered by insurance, because I couldn’t “return” the bad batch).
On the bright side, now my doctor has prescribed a new pill – it’s still an ARB but not the type from the rocket fuel recall. How much difference will there be between one bottle and the next of it? Only time will tell.