I just watned to know how to obtain needles in the state of Texas. I know there is a clean needle act, so the phrmacy can legally sell them to me. I bitched out a pharmacist last night because he asked me what kind of medicine I would be using with my needles. I told him it was none of his business and that was between my doctor and myself and that I don’t appreciate him asking that.
Tell him it’s for vit-B injections… or go to carecenter on the web
Tell them it’s for testosterone replacement therapy. In that sense, you’re at least being partially truthful. If you want to add to the story, you can say something along the lines of “Yeah, my doc said I need a X gauge, X inch, X ml syringe for my injections” because little things like that can help if the pharmacist is being a hard ass. Also, saying it with a little hesitation, like you don’t know what the hell you are talking about because you are only repeating what your doc said, can help. Most pharmacists don’t care though. In fact, I routinely have to point and show interns where the syringes that I want are located. Most pharmacists know me and exactly what I use syringes for though. Good luck bud.
Tell them they’re for your dog’s allergy injections.
thanks for the replies guys, will give it a shot (no pun intended tonight)
The pharmacist may not have been trying
to give you a hard time, but rather trying
to help you, trying to make sure you received
needles appropriate for your needs. For example, if you were wanting to inject insulin, did you actually want a 3 cc needle
or was it really a 3/10 cc that you were supposed to get? Three cc is an unusual size (apparently, because many drugstores don’t
carry any 3 cc’s) and so it would be very
reasonable for him to want to be sure it was
appropriate.
I’ve certainly never tried the hesitant approach. I have always used the confident,
certain, precise approach – the customer
who knows exactly what he wants – and I’ve
never had a problem, except for the pharmacy
technician bringing the wrong size on occasion.
I agree with Cy: if asked, it would be better
to say it’s for testosterone replacement
therapy (if it’s large gauge 3 cc) than to
say “none of your business” unless you just
want to convey that concept on principal.
If it’s 29 gauge 1 cc, then of course, it’s
for insulin. (The pharmacist would insist
that it cannot be used for an oil based
injection, I’d expect, if you said it was
for T replacement therapy.)
Hey, thanks guys for the info. I went into the place and asked the guy for 22, 23, or 25 gauge 3-5 cc 1-1 1/2 inchers and he asked me if I was going to use it to shoot insulin. I told him that was a bit large to shoot insulin and no, that’s not what I needed it for. He preceeded to asked me what I needed them for and I flipped out on him and said I didn’t appreciate him asking about my medical history. He looked like he was going to shit his pants.
I think the problem here was that you were so flexible, saying, “any of several gauges, any of several volumes, any of two lengths.” There is just no way that any doctor would have given you those instructions. He would have told you one exact thing to get. What you were asking for is obviously you doing your own thing.
Next time, I’d recommend just saying specifically what you want. “I need twenty 25 gauge, 3 cc, 1 inch needles please.” If they don’t have that exactly – say they have 1.5 inches but not 1 inch - they’ll offer you what they have that is close to what you wanted and ask if it is okay (this has happened with me many times.)