Do you think I got counterfeit meds at my pharmacy?

Question

I have a tooth/ear infection, and my dentist wrote an Rx for Amoxicillin and I got it filled from my nearby (big name) pharmacy where I have been going for years. So, I take the pill and I get very panicky and get chest pains and take my blood pressure and it is like 180/105 or something like that. The thing is, I've taken Amoxicillin probably upwards of 10 times and have never had a problem.
Part 2: I called the dentist and told him of my reaction and he wrote a script for Ery-Tabs: The same thing, but worse happened, but it happened about 4 or 5 hours after the first dosage: I woke up with a rapid heart beat and had trouble breathing and my blood pressure spiked again. Part 3: It happened again with Keflex. Knock on wood, my normal blood pressure is 120/75 or 80 and I am on some meds for migraines, but there is no interactions reported. The pharmacist said I could be allergic to the binders? How come I wasn't before? Do you think the pharmacy is getting counterfeit drugs?

Here is an article about the widespread counterfeiting of pharmaceuticals currently happening the world, which could affect the U.S.:


http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/articles/070821/21counterfeit.htm

Answer 1

If in doubt have the pills checked. the dr should be able to have this done easy enough.

Answer 2

If you are in the US, the chance that you could get a counterfeit drug from a big name pharmacy is virtually zero.

After we had problems with counterfeit drugs a couple of decades ago, Congress passed a law requiring any company that bought or sold prescription drugs to be licensed. Every drug had to have a "pedigree," meaning that there were records available to track everywhere it had been. Drugs were required to be returned only to the manufacturer, and exported drugs are not allowed to be returned at all. A few pharmacists went to prison in the first few years for filling prescriptions with things like doctors' samples, so that just doesn't happen anymore.

It is possible that your reaction could be to one of the excipients in the drugs, as your pharmacist suggested. You may want to call and ask if the three drugs have any ingredients in common. (I can't look this up for you, since one of your drugs is a generic.)

It is more likely that you are reacting to your migraine medicine. Most migraine drugs are vasoconstrictors, and can raise blood pressure. Also, some people are very sensitive to drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen, and get blood pressure spikes from them.

I hope this helps.

Answer 3

I don't think the pharmacy is likely to have gotten coutnerfeit drugs, unless these pharmacies are located in China. You might be allergic to the binders, but that is also usually a slightly different formulation for different drugs and varies from company to company. I think it's more highly possible you may have a previously undiagnosed mitral valve prolapse, and the infection plus medications are setting it off to the point you do notice it. You would probably benefit from seeing a cardiologist, or at least start with a general practice doctor and have them take a listen to your chest. If you have a mild prolapse, under ordinary conditions it won't have any effect on you at all- but with the challenge of the infection and migraines, it might kick up. But I don't think the problem lies with the drugs themselves, no.

Answer 4

You can develop allergies, that is not uncommon. I doubt it's counterfeit medications. I developped an allergy to amoxicillin even though I had taken it a few times before, suddenly I couldn't take it anymore

Answer 5

HELLO GUITAR...
THE PHARMACY WOULD GIVE YOU A COUNTERFEIT DRUG. THIS WOULD NOT HAPPEN IN A MAJOR AMERICAN PHARMACY. THE PHARMACIST WAS CORRECT IN THAT IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THE BINDER WHICH KEEP THE TABLET TOGETHER. IT'S GOOD YOU'RE FINE NOW.

Answer 6

You need to contact a doctor.