Changes in the Drug Laws?

[Raoul Duke]

The weather has been foul in Suzhou this winter. Cold and windy, with day after day of icy, driving rain. I've had a cold/pneumonia syndrome going for the last month and it won't go away despite numerous rounds of IVs, trying to stay warm and quiet as much as I can, and so on.

I felt the last go-round of my cold settling into my chest again. I'd had to teach a class that evening. I don't want to let the doctors subject me to the IVs again, so instead of just going to my nice warm home I had the taxi let me off a block over at the local Nep-Star pharmacy. (Of course, it was pouring cold rain outside...)

Inside, I was instantly seized upon by pair of squat middle-aged peasant women that had probably been hired because they each already owned a dirty white lab coat. They alternated running over to mysterious bags of dried leaves or anonymous boxes labelled entirely in Chinese, trotting them back to me, giving me the thumbs-up, and declaring "This is very good!" I at first could give them a friendly smile and say "Thank you, but I don't know what that is." My escorts, however, remained undeterred and over time this response became gradually less friendly until I began to resemble Jack Nicholson in the critical moments of The Shining.

I bought the usual round of antihistamines and cough syrups and bitter hot herbal drinks. As an afterthought, I went over to the antibiotics section, pointed to a box of something that I knew probably wouldn't kill me, and requested a box.

"No," the pharmacy drone said. "I'm sorry, but the doctor must write a prescription for this."

I was stunned. "But, I've bought these medicines here many times!" I replied. "No more," she said. "You have to see the doctor now." "OK," I said, drawing out the big guns, "I'll go to another drugstore!" To my added surprise the clerk just shrugged, saying "They'll tell you the same thing there."

I headed back out into the blattering rain and crossed the street to our other drugstore. Sure enough, same thing. I'm foregoing the antibiotics unless I take a serious turn for the worse.

This is a major turning point. No longer can an amateur undereducated, superstitious, poorly-trained, unwashed person simply walk into a drugstore and buy his or her choice of possibly dangerous, undertested, spurious medications. Now they must go to a building that reads like the description of an asylum for the criminally insane in a Dickens novel, and buy their possibly dangerous, undertested, spurious medications from a professional undereducated, superstitious, poorly-trained, unwashed person.

I don't know about you, but I'm agin' it.

Is this a Suzhou thing, or is the same thing happening in your neck of the woods?
Does this mean no more over-the-counter codeine in certain Northern cities?

[Lotus Eater]

I bought amoxcyllin here last week. Back home that is a prescription drug.

[Mr Nobody]

Yeah, still buying drugs that are over the counter here but are prescription at home. Bought some strong painkillers yesterday.

[Raoul Duke]

Do tell! Please PM me details?

I guess this is a Suzhou thing. Whew.

[Mr Nobody]

I don't know much about it yet, called Difene or Antene, dicolonfenac Sodium. According to the locals and the bumf on the packet, it is very good for my old war wound (spine damage and surgery etc), apparently, and for things like arthritis and toothache. Never used it yet, since I don't hurt right now, even though it is cold. Until a few days ago, I had never heard of it. Don't think you can get it in Oz, or maybe it is new.

However, helped the wife during her tooth surgery recovery thing (new tooth put in) so it is supposed to work. It is also an anti-inflamatory. If it does work as advertised, it will stretch my codiene for longer, before getting me mam to send me a CARE package. Willing to try. One cap a day, they say on the pack. We shall see.

[Dragonsaver]

admin said:

I've had a cold/pneumonia syndrome going for the last month and it won't go away despite numerous rounds of IVs, trying to stay warm and quiet as much as I can, and so on.

I felt the last go-round of my cold settling into my chest again.

Hey you!! Get Better!!! I want you healthy when I come down to Suzhou and ply you and Con with Tequila.

[con's fly is open]

When's that, then?

[teleplayer]

Has Wanna' Be King George sold the Chinese on adopting the no OTC sales of products containing ephedrine and pseudoephedrine like North Carolina and a few other states have? Other medications? I trust there have been no incidences of any plackard toting members of the Suzhou Ladies United Temperance Society parading about.

[Raoul Duke]

Mr. N, diclofenac is so-so but it's nothing close to codeine. And it's slow. I also have back demons...diclofenac is better than nothing, but not much. A bit better than ibuprofen.

I've seen ephedrinoids here but not sure if they're affected by the OTC ban. Of course PPA has long been banned here just as in the States...becoming impossible to buy anything decent for allergies any more. Of course these bans all stem from recent health problems suddenly discovered after many decades of being sold, and nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that they can be used to manufacture amphetamines. Sure.

DS, I'm always well enough to get plied with tequila.

[Dragonsaver]

connell said:

When's that, then?

I was thinking the weekend after Spring Festival. Come down noonish on the Sat (Feb 5) and return Sunday or Monday. We could celebrate a belated B'Day for me and you.

Is that timing good for the two of you??? I have one more day of playing 'monkey' for the 7 - 15 yr olds. Although to be honest the kids are much better to deal with than the Chinese teachers (and the other FT)!!!! I love teaching!!! They don't complain about my 'off-key' voice when I sing either!!!!

[con's fly is open]

Sounds good to me.

Rrrrrrrrraoul?

[Mr Nobody]

Raoul, talk to me. Codeine aint the only answer. When things are bad, and in codiene absence, paracetamol plus doxylamine succinate will do a fairly serious job


And I don't know why they bother, I can make amphetamines from furniture polish if need be.

[Raoul Duke]

Hmmm...I see both paracetamol and doxylamine here from time to time. What's the proportions?

[Raoul Duke]

Con, that weekend should be fine. I may have company then (I hope) and a bit of work to do on Saturday, but these should not interfere with drinking.

Speaking of which, I have diddley-squat going on for CNY Eve, which is this coming Saturday. I wanted to see if you (and others here) would care to join me in a fine old Chinese New Year tradition: getting slobbering drunk and firing off extremely dangerous explosive devices at the neighbors. Sound good?

[Mr Nobody]

Well, I take 400-600 mg of paracetamol and 10-25mg of doxylamine, but if I take the latter amount of doxylamine, I go sleepy byebyes for the day. Useful when my neck is over the top, and I have been missing sleep. Sometimes take ibuprofen instead of paracetamol, since it is an antiinflamatory in largish doses. About 1.5 times the normal amount.

Doxylamine is a muscle relaxant, a mild antispasmodic as well as something to take for sleeping. Oh, it is also an antihistamine.

That is why I am interested in this diclofenac. It seems to be the stuff, by the bumf on the net, for my particular problem.

Of course, codiene is the stuff, but can't get it, must work on something else.

[con's fly is open]

I'm in. I'll go shopping for jiu and festive ordinance in the morning.

[Dragonsaver]

I would come down but am supposed to be picked up Sunday morning to go to Anhui province.

[Raoul Duke]

mengmary said:

Im supposed to be picked up Sunday morning to go to Anhui province.

My God, there's an ugly hangover.

I can't actually recommend or ask that anyone travel right now anyway. I desperately needed to be in Shanghai today to have some equipment repaired. I started looking a few days ago, but despite the fact that there are about a million trains and buses a day between Shanghai and Suzhou I couldn't get any ticket at any time on any direction.

[Chips Downe]

Since you've mentioned drugs... does anyone know what 'kei fen' is?

[Mr Nobody]

later, will post pics of the crowds present on my trip to Kunming. Today, I got too much email and stuff to catch up on for anything lengthy like dealing with photobucket and writing my memoirs.

[Lotus Eater]

On the way back from Jinghong our sleeper bus was stopped at 1:30am for a drug search - as were all other buses headed out of town. The PSB guys came on board, asked for passports - 'ah, daishu' they said looking at mine, and passed on. Helps having a cute animal on the cover.

They then asked us to get out of the bus and take our bags out of the luggage compartment. Mine and my FT mate's were the first in line to be searched - 'ah, daishu' they said, and opened my day pack for a cursory glance. Then the big pack, lifted one layer of stuff and said, OK. If I had been carying anything I would have been fine. We were all able to go to the 'toilet' where we were all pulled up as well, so people could easily have dumped whatever they were carrying into the cess pit - and I don't think even the most diligent PSB officer wants to dig around in a Chinese public toilet at 1:30am!! So much for stringent laws.

The only bag I saw them really go through properly belonged to a young couple who were travelling (on a sleeper bus!) with a dog!!

[Newbs]

Helps having a cute animal on the cover.

Yeah, just imagine if Little Johnnie was on the cover!?!? It defies the imagination.

[Ruth]

A drug sniffing dog could have made the PSB man's job a lot easier - and more effective. Maybe they just wanted to wake everyone up on a slow night.

[Raoul Duke]

Or maybe they already ate the dog.

[Ruth]

That's funny because as I was typing that about the drug sniffing dog I was wondering if the Chinese even knew about another use for dogs besides food, vicious guard dogs and cutesy pets.

I saw a cutesy dog running around on the luggage carousel at the Toronto airport once. It was smaller and cuter than I expected a drug sniffing dog to be - so much for stereotypes. Not sure what kind it was, but it certainly wasn't a German shepherd.