fine sir, I'll take your money.

So the other day we had a patient come in--He was picking up Livalo, which really, I don't see any benefit in other than you can drink grapefruit juice, and his copay was $120. At the register I said, "if this drug becomes too cost prohibitive, Lipitor just went generic and that is the statin that I would recommend." "Thanks," he said, and in the most self-righteous, condescending voice I've ever heard, "but I only take drug recommendations from MY DOCTOR." Um okay, but I can tell you right now that I know more about the pharmacology of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors than your PCP will ever care to. I proceed to tell him that if he experiences any muscle pain with this drug, he should contact his doctor immediately, "MY DOCTOR said that this drug won't cause that," Umm... your frickin doctor lied to you. Sorry. Muscle pain was reported in 4% of patients taking this drug which is EXACTLY the same as with simvastatin, and if you get myalgias with one (which is why the doctor switched him) you are more likely to get it with another. At this point, I wanted to say screw you and walk away but I smiled, took his $120 and said "Have a nice day."

Friends, Romans, and annoying patients, I am a DOCTOR of Pharmacy. I studied this stuff for 4 years. I'm not just making things up. I am not trying to steer you astray when I make recommendations; I'm usually trying to save you money, or you know, your vital organs. Believe it or not, but I know more about all of your drugs and how they interact with each other than your doctor does. Really. I promise.