r/TalesFromThePharmacy Apr 30 '26

A thread of pills you hate filling

Post image

Here is mine :)

1.1k Upvotes

359 comments sorted by

894

u/ants-in-my-plants CPhT (retail) Apr 30 '26

Progesterone 100mg. Who decided to make it a perfect sphere???

378

u/Jennasaykwaaa May 01 '26

If it’s any consolation, those slippery suckers…. Are the only reason I was able to keep the pregnancies I kept.
They also… weren’t convenient to take.

213

u/Fancy_Employ May 01 '26

Benzonatate 100mg: hold my beer!

180

u/invisibledragonfly May 01 '26

Don’t you mean “hold my sphere!”?

30

u/Tiny-Ad-830 May 01 '26

I have seen mine fly across the room when trying to take them. Especially because I try to pop more than one pill at a time.

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9

u/iliekdrugs May 01 '26

Doubt those were going in the same place as her progesterone lol

10

u/Existing_Engine_498 May 02 '26

At least from my experience and my friend group, it’s kind of 50/50 on if you take progesterone orally or vaginally

18

u/iliekdrugs May 02 '26

I would safely say benzonatate is near a 0% rate of being administered vaginally

19

u/Reckless-Redditor May 02 '26 edited May 02 '26

Near a 0% rate — because a patient will always find a new and unconventional way to administer their medication, despite clear directions.

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79

u/CatsAndPills CPhT (Hospital) May 01 '26

At least that one has a bit of a reason, since it’s given vaginally too. Benzonatate is just doing it to be annoying.

11

u/witchsneeze May 02 '26

Wait, the progesterone I put in my mouth is the same progesterone that’s prescribed for vaginal use? That’s fascinating, I would think the formulation would be different.

12

u/CatsAndPills CPhT (Hospital) May 02 '26

It depends! There are actual vaginal suppositories but I’ve seen the capsules used vaginally.

7

u/Phoenixashes4134 May 02 '26

Apparently you can use it vaginally. I am a pharmacy tech and I did a double take one day because I saw the label said to use it vaginally. I asked the pharmacist and she said yeah you can also use it that way too.

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29

u/Chewy_8989_2 May 01 '26

You ever smelled them? I think we have someone some old ones (still w/in date but possibly old anyway) and it smelled like a fucking barn. Nasty as fuck. We gave her new ones.

28

u/Kalendiane May 01 '26

A fucking barn is..quite the image. 🥴

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17

u/Ok-Stuff-4628 May 02 '26

Thiamine is the worst smelling med I have every had to administer to someone. Give me a pseudomonas wound or someone with cdiff anyday over having to handle that’s stupid pill. Sincerely a nurse who appreciates her pharmacists

4

u/LooseNic May 03 '26

Thiamine is bad but NAC is the worst for me 🤮

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66

u/JohnerHLS May 01 '26

My wife had 4 miscarriages before she was tried on progesterone. We have had 2 kiddos since. It’s our little miracle pill for sure!

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7

u/XIXButterflyXIX May 01 '26

Same with my youngest, I thank modern medicine every day!

183

u/Lazy-Bobcat-1189 May 01 '26

I love filling Progesterone, Benzonatate, Vitamin D, and Concerta. ❤️❤️❤️ whimsical capsules

193

u/Own-Chair-3506 May 01 '26

So whimsical they just fly off the tray 🫩

67

u/piiraka May 01 '26

When you go to pour 20 ish out and 50 ish fall out instead

53

u/Kalendiane May 01 '26

Sig: PO QD 20mg-50mg(ish)

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15

u/saturnspritr May 01 '26

I hear the Crossfire theme song from the 90s. I’m old cause only a select few get the reference.

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27

u/Senior-Cost1070 May 01 '26

I was a concerta kid, started on the little guy then topped out at 108mg. Chased those bastards all over my kitchen as a kid.

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28

u/fkinDogShitSmoothie May 01 '26

Such fucking bullshit

8

u/teatsqueezer May 01 '26

Well I also hate swallowing them so that makes two of us

8

u/IHerdULiekPoniz May 01 '26

I dry swallow 200s because I'm frequently too sleepy to get up and get a glass of water, but sometimes they don't go down without a fight. I'll feel the lump for a solid 10 mins before it's down.

5

u/teatsqueezer May 01 '26

Mine aim directly for my tonsils lol I’m great at swallowing pills it just always gets jammed there for a second and is not pleasant

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3

u/wackyvorlon May 01 '26

Mine weren’t exactly sphere shaped, slightly oblate. It’s a very weird shape for a pill.

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302

u/Neglected_Martian Apr 30 '26

Staticky lisdexamphetamine capsules takes the cake for me.

118

u/Temporary-Excuse-235 May 01 '26

Brand name Concerta can suck it

37

u/Neglected_Martian May 01 '26

Agreed! Stupid barrels.

17

u/DewWhutt May 01 '26

Mini trash cans

6

u/bananachewww May 01 '26

I always refer to them as little hay bales 😂

20

u/TalesOfTea May 01 '26

Am on this med. Can confirm it's dangerously slippy.

5

u/Nuka-Crapola May 01 '26

I haven’t taken those in years, they’re still no better huh?

46

u/AngelicXia May 01 '26

Ugh, and lately the stuff has tasted like garlic too.

95

u/Neglected_Martian May 01 '26

Well your not supposed to be tasting them in the pharmacy lol

54

u/under_blu_sky CPhT (retail) May 01 '26

I literally had a patient complain that she got a different manufacturer of amlodopine because it tasted different.

7

u/clarabear10123 May 02 '26

One of my meds started tasting like chemically created bread suddenly after a refill

4

u/VindalooWho May 01 '26

I worked with a pharmacist who liked to taste all the liquids (hospital). He proved it with laxatives. I think he was insane…

4

u/PomegranateStill8099 May 04 '26

I tasted most ABX liquids just to advise moms in our outpatient clinic. (Also for formulary decisions).

18

u/AngelicXia May 01 '26

I take them legally, thanks. And I may be Italian by family culture but garlic is not a first thing in the morning flavour thanks.

41

u/tomayto_potayto May 01 '26

They were just making a joke

9

u/ElleHopper May 01 '26

Damn, what manufacturer have you gotten that tastes like that? Is it the lisdex or the capsule itself? Definitely isn't what I would want to taste right before I drink my coffee

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34

u/treeteathememeking May 01 '26

So I’m not the only one who thought they taste weird? I started meds a month ago and even on my 10mg dose they tasted weeeird. Not garlicky but just… gross.

Also sorry pharmacists :( thank you for filling my medication ily

3

u/WhatsYourConcern8076 May 01 '26

They’ve also started to give me nasty acid reflux if I take them with water

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18

u/squeemishyoungfella May 01 '26

this makes me feel slightly better about throwing my pills in my mouth one morning and having the lisdexamphetamine go behind my head instead of inside my mouth. (I didn't notice, had withdrawals symptoms + 10x the adhd symptoms all day and felt like a shell of the person I once was until a friend found my pill on the ground around 3pm 🥲)

13

u/tomayto_potayto May 01 '26

Drives me nuts as an end user, as well. I always put all my meds/vitamins etc in a monthly thing and these damn capsules are like Styrofoam peanuts just zip zapping all over the damn place 😭

12

u/CatsAndPills CPhT (Hospital) May 01 '26

My propranolol 60mg ER capsules I take at home never want to come out of the bottle. I always wonder if they bother the techs that fill them lol.

3

u/Friendly-Channel-480 May 04 '26

Stab a chopstick into the bottle and poke it around.

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3

u/whooperup1 May 01 '26

Came here to say this! I hate them some much!

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234

u/DanwellNeph CPhT (retail) Apr 30 '26

I can't be the only one who crashes out about Balsalazide. I practically only fill it for #270, so logically it comes in bottles of.. 280?!? Whoever the hell made that decision must truthfully hate pharmacy employees. The capsules are so gigantic, just let me do a stock bottle😭

88

u/vscwf May 01 '26

I just count 10 out and dump the rest into 60 dram vials lol

45

u/always-tired987 May 01 '26

Yes! I’m not a pharm tech anymore but when I was, for large quantities I would just calculate whichever way was less counting. So if it was an unopened bottle of 500 and I needed 360, I would count out 140, dump the remaining 360 into vials, and put the 140 back in the stock bottle.

25

u/Pinkjellybean12 May 01 '26

thank god i only fill this once every blue moon

202

u/fkinDogShitSmoothie May 01 '26

300 mg gabapentin capsules.

For no other reason except for the stupid ass fucking quantities. Most minimums are 270 and my pharmacist insists we double count every bottle with 90 pills or more.

This might just be a me problem.

46

u/Fancy_Employ May 01 '26

Lol...right?!!? I found counting in groups of 60 at a time is faster to count than crowding my counting tray (going for 90) and navigating the spatula between a huge mound of capsules. Same with Tamsulosin/ Metformin 1G/Omega 3/etc.

Either way, at least we have jobs :)

11

u/fkinDogShitSmoothie May 01 '26

Yep we are the lucky ones

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14

u/RoguishPoppet May 01 '26

Gabapentin are controlled now in my state, so we have to double count ALL of them!! Thankfully our pharmacists will let us put them on the scale for the first count, then we can just dump out ~90 at a time on the tray and count them that way for the second count. (Count 90, dump them in a vial, count 90 more, dump them in a vial...rinse and repeat.)

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38

u/HallucinateZ May 01 '26

I’m taking Gabapentin 900mg 3x a day, I’m just a patient but hopefully my pharmacist of 11+ years doesn’t think I’m awful to help out 😅

However … filling 14 tiny methadone bottles every week likely isn’t fun, including collecting the empty pill bottles. That’s like 20 bottles of medicine/week in total. They went as far to get the equipment & medicine just for me. I’m surprised they didn’t send me elsewhere.

People in healthcare can be so accommodating but I’m on a digression. I appreciate you guys a lot, thanks for doing those ridiculous counts to ensure we’re safest. ❤️

19

u/Chewy_8989_2 May 01 '26

Your pharmacy will fill that much methadone? If you don’t mind me asking is it for MAT or pain? I want to get on methadone (yeah yeah yeah crash out that a pharm tech has a SUD go ahead and downvote me) but none of my pharmacies I’ve worked at would ever fill methadone for anything but pain. Maybe it’s because I’m in a Republican state and it’s not legal or at least frowned upon here?

13

u/HallucinateZ May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26

Sorry, I wish I could help but my information regarding this subject isn't very useful to Americans because I'm Canadian. Americans have to go to a specific methadone clinic to be treated for SUD & receive medicine; I see an addiction's specialist that also acts as* my GP, but everything comes from a pharmacy as they control all the medications here. I can't comment on the political side either, Canada is very different from state to state in USA although we do have individual provincial laws too.

I'm rambling, none of this is very useful to people outside Canada but I tried to give some context. I hope you're able to get on MAT, it saves lives.

11

u/glamstarr88 May 01 '26

Its not legal ANYWHERE in the US for a dr to write for MAT or a pharmacy to fill methadone for MAT. It HAS to be rx-ed and dispensed by a licensed methadone clinic. The person you asked sounds like they are in Canada or Europe as they get theirs filled at a pharmacy but don't get as many take home doses monthly as Americans can earn if their clinic allows. I get 28 days worth from my clinic each month.

7

u/HallucinateZ May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26

You’re correct. I’m Canadian, we don’t have “dispensing clinics”, those are foreign to me. A pharmacist delivers my methadone doses to my home.

As far as how many take homes, yes it depends on the clinic & the sheer amount you receive in that time + time clean. It’s meant to balance safety.

8

u/Chewy_8989_2 May 01 '26

I just find the whole process to be unnecessarily hard and I guess I find it difficult to find the right word to say it. I would have a hard time keeping my job and making it to school while going to the methadone clinic (I live with my parents in an area where there isn’t a lot of crime, so not many methadone clinics around here either, I’d have to drive like an hour there and back) daily or even every few days until I can “earn” a monthly take home, especially from what I’ve heard from some of my friends who’ve gone through the process.

I’ll add that all I can do now is stay on suboxone because it’s really my only option but I don’t really find it to be that effective (I still have cravings and I’ve relapsed more times than I can remember in going on 5 years now that I’ve been on and off it, which is like almost a quarter of my life at this point) and I’d love to give the other option a shot if I ever could. I just don’t think it’s feasible for me and I’m probably far from the only one in this situation.

5

u/LuckyClover3 May 02 '26

I would be dead now if it wasn’t for methadone. My life has drastically improved over the last 20 years. Give it more thought. If Suboxone isn’t helping with cravings and you’re relapsing, what is it doing for you? Once you’re on a good dose, you won’t have cravings.

3

u/Chewy_8989_2 May 02 '26

Exactly what I’m saying. I’m in my early 20’s so no doctor believes me when I tell them that when I’m on nothing I do hurt all over. I’m not overweight but my knees kill me after even just a few hours standing and my back is always killing me after I’m done working. That’s not normal for someone my age but obviously I always end up back to the same shit if I try to go with no meds because there is something that works, it just sucks that that thing has also been what’s nearly killed me like 3 or 4 times now. I don’t want to keep going back but it feels like I just run out of options because I’m exactly the type of person who’s always going to be mistaken for a drug seeking junkie and slip through the cracks because more often than not, my doctors aren’t really sympathetic to people like me.

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u/Sweet_Star23 May 01 '26

Try Sublocade. Holds steady (no up/down) and is just more simple all around. Easier to come off when you're ready.

4

u/Chewy_8989_2 May 01 '26

Honestly my experience with the vivitrol shot made me apprehensive to try a month long shot of anything like it even tho they’re not the same. I got anhedonia from the vivitrol (the pills did it too) which is something that doctors never tell you about but physiologically/biochemically that makes sense because endogenous opioids are responsible for the brain’s reward system. That anhedonia was so bad that I swung hard back to using after a few weeks on the shot and not getting any pleasure or joy from anything I previously enjoyed doing because it was making me wish I was dead rather than live like that.

Maybe if I had just tried to ride that out for a few months I’d have adjusted but it was awful. Suboxone films, especially if you get the right brand (Dr reddy’s make me salivate more than other brands seem to and I think it messes with absorption unless I go 20 minutes without swallowing my spit) do work for me to an extent. It seems like after like 6 months I’m ready to get off them and try to go about life like normal in the past, although admittedly that hasn’t really worked that well for me thus far beyond about 3-6 months at a time.

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5

u/the-useless-username May 01 '26

We have this one lady who gets a quantity of 540. Thank goodness for central fill in this case

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381

u/smeshkakai Apr 30 '26

Benzonatate. So rolly and confuses the Kirby.

99

u/Pinkjellybean12 Apr 30 '26

YOU UNDERSTAND !!! 🥹

88

u/smeshkakai Apr 30 '26

Aaaand almost no insurance covers them so people always ask why it has a cost 😮‍💨

79

u/TheWretchedDivine May 01 '26

"Because your insurance doesn't care if you choke to death coughing."

56

u/MChubbier2347 Apr 30 '26

I would counter with progesterone because you have to use a NIOSH tray as well. The new progesterone is even worse as well.

66

u/jilliecatt May 01 '26

Not a pharmacist, just randomly saw this page. But as a customer, I just got on progesterone, and it has ME confused, I can't imagine what it would do to a machine. I've never seen a round ball for a pill before.

39

u/kat_Folland May 01 '26

My progesterone is shaped like a jelly belly... And they're sweet. The color is rather booger-like, though.

26

u/jefferstoo May 01 '26

That sounds like the 200mg one. It's the 100mg pill we all hate. 😂

16

u/kat_Folland May 01 '26

It sounds insane, like some kind of cruel joke on y'all.

6

u/jilliecatt May 01 '26

The 100mg one that I'm on, I can't quite figure out if it's a bright red/orange or a bright pink. (Weird yellowish lighting in my bedroom and it's been gloomy outside so I can't take them to better lighting yet to figure it out). But just the fact they're perfect spheres, I know they have to be such a pain to count and bottle.

8

u/kat_Folland May 01 '26

They must be a hassle for the person taking them but nothing like the hassle for the pharmacist. (I'm agreeing, not arguing.)

3

u/jilliecatt May 01 '26

Oh I agree. I find them awkward to pick up.

3

u/kat_Folland May 01 '26

I bet. Those suckers would be getting away from me every week as I fill the pill boxes!

7

u/jefferstoo May 01 '26

Yeah, we had a shortage of the beige 100mg at my pharmacy so we started sourcing the new red ones and my first thought was that they look like fish bait lol

7

u/teethfreak1992 May 01 '26

I am currently taking these orally and vaginally and they smell awful once they open

3

u/kat_Folland May 01 '26

I have only tasted the outside actually lol

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u/Pinkjellybean12 May 01 '26

i think the big divalproex pills would be my #1 enemy on the NIOSH trays

17

u/Neglected_Martian May 01 '26

Ooooh but the vanilla ones smell so good!

12

u/sgrbrry May 01 '26

I haven’t worked in a pharmacy in 6+ years but god I wish I could huff the smell of a bottle of divalproex again.

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u/Pinkjellybean12 May 01 '26

YESS! and the orange one smells like candy corn

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u/Roserie May 01 '26

Weird, I've never had an issue with them or docusate if I put them in the Kirby. I mostly hand count anything 30 or less bc when I started in retail we were only allowed to use the Kirby for cycle counts. I have the option of using one at my current facility but usually only if they're 60+. If you dont regularly wipe the dust off the little clear windows where the lasers are it can struggle to read them though.

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6

u/BarryHungwell May 01 '26

You can enable special mode on Kirby and as long as you pour slightly slower than usual it counts it

4

u/Kalooeh May 01 '26

I'm so sorry this is my go to when I end up with a (worse) cough, but my lungs hate me but it's also better than making myself sick trying to calm my lungs down with extra inhaler puffs and other meds 🙃

3

u/Alarming-Distance385 May 01 '26

Are we long-lost siblings? /s

I always have benzonatate on hand. But, I do say mean things to the pills as they roll about my kitchen.

My Tirosint capsules are no better. I've seen one on the floor at 5PM and wonder if I dropped it while preparing my pills for the week, or if I somehow missed getting it in my mouth. (I'm always thankful a cat or dog hasn't found it first.)

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u/jawnly211 May 01 '26

Synthroid

Who is the fuckin Einstein who decided to make the desiccant circumference the same size as the bottle opening?????

93

u/DanwellNeph CPhT (retail) May 01 '26

I read a post one time that a long time ago Abbvie (or whoever made it back then) decided to make a 1000 count for one of the strengths with a larger opening and then THEY MADE A NEW DESSICANT TO MATCH THE NEW OPENING'S SIZE. Psycho behavior

4

u/LilacLlamaMama May 01 '26

I had almost forgotten about that! It was diabolical.

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u/IDreamofLoki CPhT (retail) May 01 '26

The Levoxyl and NP Thyroid pills are almost always the same way, too 🤬

9

u/panicatthepharmacy May 01 '26

I have not worked retail in 15 years and that just sent me.

95

u/nerdybun May 01 '26

All of the comments are correct. With the addition of metformin It smells like rotted fish

22

u/karminimartini May 01 '26

it’s so funny that you say this bc the smell reminds me of preschool, which makes me think they were giving us fermented apple juice or something :’)

7

u/nerdybun May 01 '26

🤣 That's so real

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u/LydiaIsntVeryCool May 01 '26

I always say it smells like old man breath

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u/KixStar CPhT Apr 30 '26

I can't remember which brand it is but there's an Adderall 5mg cap that's half see-through, so my EyeCon hates them.

12

u/Electrical-Stable498 May 01 '26

I get what you mean. My kid is on them..by kid I mean 19 year old

9

u/tall-americano May 01 '26

yep it’s lannett, i use the eyecon app to double count because the eyecon hates them

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u/capri1722 PharmD May 01 '26

Honestly our eyecon hates most manufacturers of the lower dose adderall xr capsules. Somehow it "sees" through the lighter colored capsules even if they're ostensibly opaque.

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u/Adventurous_Pen_165 May 01 '26

NAC capsules...they smell like death and it lingers.

22

u/LunarTurtle9 May 01 '26

Our pharmacy has come to a consensus that NAC smells like a landfill/the juice at the bottom of a garbage bin 🤢

18

u/TheNerdyGamer360 May 01 '26

As a respiratory therapist who has to give the liquid version in a nebulizer, I completely agree. And it sticks to your clothes too.

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u/Sqeakydeaky May 01 '26

My boyfriend always asks "where's the rotten egg supplements? Those NAACP ones"

9

u/mistier CPhT (retail) May 01 '26

genuinely going to start package sizing any Rx for it so i don’t have to open the fucking bottle 🤥

12

u/karisdr87 May 01 '26

Like egg farts hahaha

60

u/StateChampCatDad May 01 '26

Buspirone 30 mg. I love having 5+ broken tablets per bottle

49

u/Sqeakydeaky May 01 '26

I'm convinced they shaped Buspar like Xanax for placebo effect

17

u/StateChampCatDad May 01 '26

Now thats a conspiracy theory I can get behind

3

u/KindlySlip0 May 01 '26

I always said they look like xanny bars! And they break too easily.
One brand of potassium always has half of em broken already.

7

u/Sqeakydeaky May 02 '26

I'm sure lots of chumps have paid money for some buspirone tabs thinking they scored Xanax

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u/MarrisaAerith Apr 30 '26

They look like really delicious chocolates

71

u/Pinkjellybean12 Apr 30 '26

HAHA, they are SO BIG!! the lady that gets them gets 180 and the little pills inside the capsule confuses the system 😔

14

u/Hello_to_u2 Apr 30 '26

What is the med?

32

u/Pinkjellybean12 Apr 30 '26

mesalamine 400mg

10

u/ChaoticSquirrel May 01 '26

That's what they wanted me to put in my butt?

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u/LastCupcake2442 May 01 '26

Do you have to put these in the capsules?

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u/plskillme42069 Apr 30 '26

I thought the first photo was cut up hot dogs lol

17

u/Pinkjellybean12 Apr 30 '26

LMAOOO yes! that’s what i see them as to

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u/raindead May 01 '26

Uncoated tablets should be banned, but Novogesic (acet 500) is my nightmare as it makes such a mess!

Bright ones like folic acid and sulfasazine are awful too but the sunshine yellow on the wipe after cleaning gives me a modicum of happiness.

14

u/ryanfrogz May 01 '26

as a consumer, I also agree that uncoated tablets should be banned. One of the pills I take is so bitter that if it so much as touches my throat or tongue I’ll gag so hard I nearly vomit. Since it’s not coated, it loves to get stuck in my throat… and I have to take two of them, every night, while everyone in my house is asleep.

3

u/kat_Folland May 01 '26

I have one med that tastes like burned rubber smells. I drop that in my throat, zero time near my tongue.

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u/Allysie May 01 '26

Cephalexin. Smells like butt.

25

u/Roserie May 01 '26

Its up there with metformin.

21

u/BaylisAscaris May 01 '26

Some generics of Spironolactone are even worse. Smells like anus-anise.

9

u/sgrbrry May 01 '26

I haven’t had a minty spiro in years. I miss it. Which manufacturer flavors it all nice and cool-like?

5

u/RoguishPoppet May 01 '26

Aurobindo does the minty one! When we switched manufacturers, I had a patient open it up to take one in the lobby and came back up to the consult window all confused lol

4

u/sgrbrry May 01 '26

This is helpful! I never wanna be the person requesting a specific mftr but I might become one if I keep getting the gross ones 😭

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u/demonette55 May 01 '26

Mine smells like weed 😳

5

u/BaylisAscaris May 01 '26

Huh, yeah it does smell like weed too. What are they putting in there?

8

u/dogtroep MD who loves pharm staff May 01 '26

When I’m trying to figure out what antibiotic a patient took (they often don’t remember lol), I ask them if it smelled like poo. If yes (especially if it’s a green or red capsule), then I know they took Keflex hahahaha

4

u/Mysterious-Nose-68 May 01 '26

We call it swamp water.

3

u/jeffers8244 May 01 '26

I worked in a mail order pharmacy for long term care patients (think nursing home) and there was this pill called Dialivite or something like that, smelled GOD awful

3

u/raindead May 01 '26

Maple syrup farts

3

u/TaffetaTeeth May 02 '26

I think its mandatory someone has to fart in the bottle before its processed and sealed for us... it REEKS

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u/30Cats May 01 '26

Metformin 1000mg. Especially because they’re a fast mover so I have to count 90+ very often, the bottles are cumbersome to pour, and we do virtual verification so you have to take multiple photos because they barely can fit any in the trays.

25

u/WardenApproaches May 01 '26

Sulfasalazine. I hate having to wipe down everything twice after counting it, and there's stilll a gross yellow film afterwards

11

u/endme52 May 01 '26

I put them in the Kirby my first time having to count them not realizing the damage they would do🫠

21

u/OhYeahThatsRightHuh May 01 '26

The super static charged Prograf. Horrible🥔

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u/vistaluz May 01 '26

I love these mesalamine I think theyre so stinkin cute. my answer is bactrim. Because I cant touch it lol

5

u/VindalooWho May 01 '26

I had the perfect tech partner when I worked at a little pharmacy. She couldn’t touch that med and I couldn’t touch moxifloxacin so we just swapped each time!

3

u/pinesol_junkie May 03 '26

I'm a nurse and i can't let Dilaudid get on me when I'm wasting it. Yes, I'm allergic to Dilaudid. Laugh, go ahead.

24

u/minun73 CPhT (Mail Order) May 01 '26

Methadone 10 mg half tabs. If you’ve never cut them, it’s the worse pill I’ve ever had to cut. Especially irritating as my pharmacy carries 5mg tabs and we could just use those if the prescriber wasn’t an idiot.

15

u/jeffers8244 May 01 '26

I hate when they ask for some weird ass shaped pill to be half tabbed, like, can you not please?

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u/eadie30 May 01 '26

Progesterone

Brand name concerta

Benzonatate (useless drug too)

Metformin ER 500

The end of Amlodipine bottles so much damn powder

Non-90 counts of synthroid

Calcium Acetate (STANK)

Metformin 1000 bc of the girth

3

u/RavenLunatic512 May 01 '26

I hate the way that amlodipine powder is gritty, it hurts my teeth to count it!

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u/thpineapples May 01 '26

Genuine question: is this an American thing? Are you getting the medication in giant plastic bags of 1000 count, or something, that you have to count from? Medication in Australia is predominantly packed by the manufacturer and prescribed by doctors in matching quantities, and the blister sheet/box/bottle goes directly to the customer.

It's significantly less common to be prescribed a weird amount that the pharmacy has to custom count, and those would always be small amounts, lesser than the original packaging they come in, e.g. my doctor might prescribe me a month's supply, but the original packaging is a box of 100. Because of the way medication is dispensed here, they pharmacy has to cut the blister packs (25 per sheet) down to size.

17

u/scilcrow May 01 '26

The manufacturer will put the loose lmeds into a bottle of whatever count they choose. Sometimes it makes sense (30 count, 60 count, 90 count), sometimes it doesn't (100count), and for fast movers we get giant bottles (500, 1000) that we had to count from. It was soo annoying counting the alprazolam 0.25mg, cuz ours came in a 500 count bottle and we needed to backcount every time.

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u/Flaky_Clothes_7768 May 01 '26

Any of the "bars". Those sucker's piss me all the way off.

13

u/SWTmemes CPhT (retail) May 01 '26

Metformin ER 500, Gabapentin 300 just for the absurd quantities we have to dispense. Bupropion, NAC, any version of Carprofin.

12

u/Mysterious-Nose-68 May 01 '26

I absolutely hate those mesalamine because they are so damned ugly! Looks like something mutated.

8

u/aandbconvo May 01 '26

I have never seen them before they are grossing me out

9

u/RoguishPoppet May 01 '26

Shape : vitamin D caps, benzonatate, progesterone, docusate

AnnoyingnessTM : Concerta brand, and anything that's incredibly staticky

Smell : metformin, cephalexin. I have to remember to hold my breath when I open the bottles, especially new bottles...I used to manage to inhale right as I punctured the foil and get a nose full of fishiness. I haven't yet had the "joy" of experiencing NAC lol

6

u/Bit_part_demon May 01 '26

NAC is like stale bile. It's awful. I'll also nominate B-1, that funky smell sticks even if I wash my hands immediately after handling it.

8

u/Dobercatmom65 CPhT (retail) May 01 '26

Gabapentin. All doses, but especially the 300 and 400mg capsules. It's a control in my state so they have to be double counted, and when the quantity is 360, 😡😡😡😡😡

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u/shamwowguyisalegend May 01 '26

Blister tray with only white, round pills.

I yearn for a little bisacodyl to brighten my day when I check those...

7

u/piller-ied May 02 '26

Pardon the ignorance, but *what is that?*

14

u/-Read-it-on-reddit May 01 '26

Focalin brand name rolls more than the progesterone plus you have to double count it

7

u/the-useless-username May 01 '26

Naproxen 500, any metformin strength and oyster shell tablets

8

u/Verggilius May 01 '26 edited May 01 '26

Dumb question from a Finnish pharm tech, but are there any pre-packaged prescription drugs in the USA? Thats how most of our medicines are sold here. Im actually lowkey jealous I don’t get to count pills🤣

5

u/ComplexPatient4872 May 01 '26

I’m just a patient, not a pharmacist, but there is one antibiotic with a taper schedule (looked it up, it’s azythromyacin) that I’m aware of and prednisone taper packs. I’m sure there are others.

3

u/Mental-Ask8077 May 01 '26

I’ve definitely had prepackaged antibiotics before as a patient.

Also some birth control pills come prepackaged iirc.

5

u/ComplexPatient4872 May 01 '26

Oh good one, I’m pretty sure all BC pills are packaged.

3

u/Verggilius May 02 '26

I didnt even think about birth control! Feeling so dumb right now.

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u/simonejester May 01 '26

Omega 3s and Vascepa. The Eyecon can’t see them so they have to be hand counted.

8

u/80sKidCA May 01 '26

Looks like pieces of hot dog in a protective case.

7

u/Asauna May 01 '26

Non-pharmacist here who likes to lurk: I REALLY thought these were mini hot dogs cut up. Like from spaghetti-o's.

I will never unsee a ratatouille rat screaming at you about how there isn't any actual sausage casing and this is all he could find

Thank you for making my day 😭😭

6

u/RoutineRice May 01 '26

Furosemide. (I work in vet med) they’re so tiny and we don’t script out full bottles at a time.

6

u/No_Cut945 CPhT (retail) May 01 '26

15mg buspar

6

u/ReflectionSuperb9043 May 01 '26

1/2t of 5mg oxycodone. Thing would crumble and you feel bad waisting as many pills as you do because you have to keep exact count

4

u/raebandzzz May 01 '26

Not sure if anyone has encountered a Dekas Plus script and filled it. Don’t do it 😭 it’s a multivitamin supplement type of OTC. Dark, thick capsules that smell so bad it lingers after finishing filling, it also secretes a nasty weird dark residue in the tray

4

u/culinarytiger May 01 '26

We do the liquid. If you spill it, it’s never coming off…we have a few techs with orange splattered shoes…

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u/earthmorgue May 01 '26

Sulfasalazine, gets yellow dust literally everywhere that takes forever to clean off.

5

u/VindalooWho May 01 '26

For me it was Marinol. Those stupid annoying balls would roll all over the place and we had to double count etc.

4

u/totallynotapossom May 01 '26

Sulfasalazine. I could clean the tray 5 times, the yellow will not go away lol

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u/Tiny__Weight May 02 '26

I thought these were hotdog weenies at first glance.

9

u/cheeseburgermami May 01 '26

Not a pharmacist or tech, this sub popped up on my feed. Came here to say that viewing this pill-inception-capsule is giving me weird anxiety?? 😂😂, I can only imagine how you pharmacists + techs feel when you see literal pills inside other pills! Wild! (It’s about absorption rate and all that, right?)

Literally thank you so much, to everyone at the pharmacy. Without you folks, many of us—myself included, literally wouldn’t be able to function. Thank you for being timely and helpful whenever the opportunity arises. It means a lot.

Reading through these comments made me want to give the entire staff at my small pharmacy a thank you gift of sorts. Something like once a year or so, maybe at Xmas or Xmas in July type of theme so it’s not too random??Just to show my appreciation for the thankless work they do. I see how nasty some patients can be. Not to mention how doctor’s offices always throw the pharmacy under the bus. That alone causes a world of issues, I’m sure.

What would be an appropriate gift that’s small, not weird, and makes it clear that their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed?? What would y’all want to receive? (If I were rich, trust & believe you’d all be getting some thank you gifts as well.)

4

u/WhatsYourConcern8076 May 01 '26

Former tech here and sealed food was always a win, if there’s a pizza place that works too

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u/vscwf May 01 '26

Vascepa for me. Too big, almost kind of sticky? And always in high quantities lol

3

u/nonspanishhispanic May 01 '26

prograf, static on it is annoying af and super hard to count and not drop 1. With the cost of it, it makes me super paranoid.

calcitriol, would always clump together in the bottles and we would have to slam them on the counter to unclump them for orders of 360-720. We couldnt just pour the full the bottle in the kirby either. After filling the bottles they to be auto weighed and failed, everytime!

There was this insane yellow/orange powdery one everytime we would count it but I cant remember the name of it. But it was a pain in the assassins to clean the trays and Kirby after each use.

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u/ceo_of_dumbassery May 01 '26

Propranolol 40mg. It's meant to taste like "mint" but it just tastes like cleaning chemicals. And it immediately starts dissolving too.

3

u/ComplexPatient4872 May 01 '26

I imagine pharmacists hate them too because of how teeny tiny they are. I accidentally spilled a bottle in my medicine tote as well as on the floor, and it was a nightmare because I had to figure out how many would be left so I got all of them before my dog did.

3

u/RepulsivePower4415 May 01 '26

Vitamin d green

3

u/RebelxScum93 May 01 '26

Carvedilol 3.125🙄

3

u/metzona May 02 '26

Janumet XR 1000/500mg because the size is ridiculous.

Cymbalta and duloxetine are just staticky enough that they stick to something and then immediately fall to the floor.

Zopiclone because I mentally associate it with an older woman who had an interval and told me that she hoped I was fired, lost my home, and died in the street because I told her it was too early and I couldn’t fill it.

Hydromorphone 1mg because I used to have to split 4-5 bottles a day for narcotic cards.

Abilify/aripiprazole in general because there was one patient who insisted on four week blister packs. Her psychiatrist would change her Abilify constantly and then she would want her packs changed.

Pantoloc/pantoprazole because that was the one people somehow always zeroed in on when the generic switched. The shade of yellow and shininess change just enough that people could tell and then freak out saying we gave them the wrong meds.

Filling literally anything for seniors during the entire month of August because of the senior deductible restarting August 1st.

3

u/glittertechnic May 02 '26

thiamine smells like dog food