Sometimes I hate other pharmacists too.....

must be something in the air.....or more likely that I'm in a mood where my wrath has moved from customers to my colleagues. But I'm actually going to do something helpful to the public in this post. Keep reading and I'll tell you an easy way to see if your pharmacist knows what they're talking about.

Just go to the counter and ask what they recommend for heartburn. If they just blurt out "Prilosec OTC" without asking you any questions, their feeble little minds have been duped by the marketing machine that is the pharmaceutical industry. Here's why; Prilosec takes a few days to reach maximum effect. So if you just ate too much of grandma's spaghetti and it's mounting an after dinner attack, then Prilosec is not for you, unless said attack becomes a chronic thing. Want proof? Just look at a box of the Prilosec or go to their official site: http://www.prilosecotc.com/index.jsp They are very upfront that this med is to be used for FREQUENT heartburn. If you find yourself reaching for an antacid day after day, then you should start thinking about the Prilosec, ideally after taking to your doctor in order to rule out other conditions.

A real pharmacist would do the following: 1) Ask you if your heartburn is frequent or just an occasional thing. If it's occasional and mild, a quick acting antacid such as Maalox or Mylanta will do you just fine. If it's occasional and bad, try a combination product called Pepcid Complete (This is a product that stole an idea of mine years ago to combine a quick acting but short effect antacid with a slow onset but long lasting one. I'm still waiting for my royalty check) Only if it's CHRONIC should the word "Prilosec" come out of their mouth. We have reached the point where "shiny box syndrome", the tendency of customers to buy and doctors to prescribe whatever the TV says is new and expensive, has started to make inroads into the last holdouts, the pharmacists. I therefore give you permission to put the curse of the drugnazi on any white coated nerd who reaches for Prilosec without question.