How do I determine if the RX code on my prescription pills match the type of drug they're supposed to be?

Ask the pharmacist to help you sort it out. What is a sdeline for doctors is the specialty of your pharmacist. Sometimes docs do get confused about meds. There are always new ones. Pharmacists study that primarily and are more up to date than some doctors.

But what if it’s the pharmacist who messed it up?

Ask them to do a picture/number comparison. No pharmacist wants to get someone’s meds wrong.

This website is a great resource

I get my meds at CVS. With the prescription comes a description of the pills and what they are prescribed for. Ask for that information.

I would be more concerned that one drug is put in a bottle for another drug, and is not what the prescription is for. They are both for hypertension, but they are not the same thing.

@Dutchess_III I think there is an online version of a physicians’ desk reference. With name of drug, manufacturer, markings on pill and color you should be able to find what you are looking for. And of course a pharmacist can hep you.

Are you now taking more than one ?

Is this a second script ?

Take it to your doctor and ask her.

When I look up the L145 it looks like a match. Does the other pill, the 127, have a C on the other side?

If they changed your pill they should have told you written or verbally that it changed. A pill change can mean the dose you are getting is slightly different, or it can also mean you have a reaction to inert parts of the pill. I can’t take synthroid, but I can take other drugs that have the exact same synthetic active ingredient. I don’t know what they put in the synthroid that makes me feel uneasy and like my skin is burning.

I would tell the pharmacy or the doctor. The pharmacy would want to know. Other people might have complained also.

The L145 pills are losartan-hydrochlorothiazide used to treat high blood pressure
Generic name: Losartan potassium/Hydrochlorothiazide
Strength: 100–25 mg
link
Information on Losartan HCT tablets
link

The 127 pill is Amlodipine besylate 5 mg also used to treat high blood pressure
link

You mentioned a blue egg shaped pill? Which one was that?

The above drugs are prescription only so it is essential you discuss them with your doctor.

@JLeslie Yes, it has a C on the other side, as the first picture, L145, shows. .
They change size, shape and color all the time. If the script is right, then that doesn’t matter. The last time I got kind of frustrated because they were the same color, shape and
almost the same size. Hard to tell them apart.

@flutherother , see my pictures in the details, in the L145 link. It’s hard to see in the picture, but it is a very pale blue.

@Dutchess_III OK, thanks. I wondered because it looked more yellow on my screen.

Yeah, it does.

If they are changing size and color they are substituting different manufacturers or brands or generics.

I KNOW THAT @JLeslie! I’ve been taking them for 10 years!

This question was not about that! It was about trying to determine if the pills are what they’re supposed to be. It wasn’t based on color or shape or anything. I was a shot in the dark, trying to understand why I’ve felt so shitty for a week now.Then I realized it started at about the same time I got my refills.

^^Ok. I think you should trust your instincts about it.

Are the pills keeping your blood pressure normal?

Sigh. No.

@Dutchess_III When in doubt about the meds you are getting SEE the Doctor. The wrong meds can kill or have a reaction.
I worked with a guy that came into work at 8 AM; he was walking to another area and dropped like a rock, they called 911. His BP was 85/40 (someone eavesdropped on the EMT’s not me.). He went to the hospital and stayed two days. It was found out by him the pharmacy filled his script with XXX 100mg the order by the doctor was XXX 10mg. They gave him ten times the meds he was suppose to take it could have killed him.

I am, @Tropical_Willie. In the meantime I’m going to quit taking them, see if anything changes.

That is not a good idea for B/P meds, get a hold of the Pharmacy “Stat”, you could have a CVA before they get back to you.

I know. I can go a couple of days before it starts climbing. One day won’t hurt. What is a CVA?

C erebro V ascular A ccident

or a stroke.

Well, I just checked. My BP is 103 / 55.

Good ! Keep an eye on it

I have a home pressure cuff. I check it a couple of times a week, and also every time I go to Walmart.
Yeah, after we got out from under the shop in 2007, and Rick got a real job with insurance, I immediately went to the doctor for an overall exam. Hadn’t been in 4 years. Of course, the first thing they do is check your BP. We didn’t get any further than that! It was, like, 230 / 135 Just a God awful number. They kept staring at me like, “Why ain’t you dead???”

Man, people who don’t know are dangerous. Last year I went to the Dr. for something. Don’t remember what. Then I get a call from this ditz telling me to start experimenting with my meds.
I said, “What do you mean, “experimenting”? ”
She said, “Well, skip a day, double up another day, you know. Experiment. See what happens.”
I said, “I know what will happen! My blood pressure will sky rocket! Or I’ll die! You don’t ‘double up’ on blood pressure meds!”
She goes, “You don’t know that. Just start experimenting!”
I started to get hot. We went back and forth several times. I actually dropped the F word on her, which is something I normally would never do. I believe I said, “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND??!” She didn’t take too kindly to that.
Finally we hung up. I immediately called the office back, told the gals what had happened and demanded to talk to John, my doc.
He called me back within an hour. He was just shaking his head. I think she got fired.
He said, “I’m glad you’re smart!”

If the pills aren’t working and they usually do then I highly suspect the pill is not really the drug it should be. See if your pharmacy will swap them out, but make sure it’s from a new batch. I’m pretty sure drugs have batch numbers. Even if they just swap a week of drugs so you can see what happens.

I wouldn’t see the doctor, I’d see the pharmacists. What’s the doctor going to do?

What do you mean “What’s the doctor going to do?” WTH? I would hope he’s competent enough to help me figure this out. If it was the pharmacist who messed up (if there is a mess up) that’s the last place I’d go until I was sure.

I’ll just not take them tomorrow, see how I feel on Saturday. One place to start.

Before you give any more sage advice, please see this first.

Really, talk with your pharmacist. He’s going to know the pills better than your doctor will. Doctors will know medications, but they won’t necessarily be up on the current manufactures, what the pills should look like, etc. The pharmacist will.

It’s entirely possible that the drug isn’t right for you, or that you’re having a separate issue. That’s for your doctor to determine. In the meantime you need to make sure the pills you have are what they’re suppose to be. That’s where the pharmacist comes in.

^^What he said.

If the drugs have worked for years and you have just started feeling odd, you need to test the theory. The doctor can’t give you new pills from a different batch, the pharmacist can.

Do you think your prescription is wrong, or that something is wrong with the pill? It sounds to me you think something is wrong with the pill. That’s the pharmacist.

But what if it’s the pharmacist was the one who messed up @Darth_Algar? I’ve had these same set of drugs for 10 years.

@JLeslie stop, please.

If the pharmacist messed up then he will correct his mistake.

Sure. “Oh, I’m so sorry I almost killed you! Here. Have the correct meds.”
I’ll see about taking them to another pharmacy, though.
But it probably isn’t the meds. Don’t know what it is. The doc prescribed an O2 monitor for me to wear tonight. We’ll see what comes of that.

Why even ask the question if you’re just going to dismiss every answer you get?

I said I’ll take it to another pharmacy in town.

@Dutchess_III Everyone is just trying to help.

I know. I said I’ll take it to another pharmacy. But I think my doctor would be competent enough to help me as well, but I don’t see him until Monday.

I was wondering if anyone knew how I could look the codes up, and links were provided early on. Pretty sure they’re the right drugs, but just to check I won’t take them tomorrow.

Google the code for the meds. Google L145

Thanks @Tropical_Willie. Yeah, that’s what I came up with too.

Update. Didn’t take the meds this morning. Didn’t make much difference. I checked my BP at about 6:00. 180 / 95. So I took them. It’s back down.

What about the monitor? Did it show anything?

I don’t see the doctor until Monday.