Prescriptions

[chickendude]

How can I determine if the prescriptions the doctor gave me are vegan or not (meaning no animal ingredients as I presume all FDA-approved medicines have been animal tested on)?

He set me on Bactrim DS as an antibiotic and Promethazine for nausea and vomiting, but I can't find a site that lists their ingredients (or wheter or not they're animal-product free).

I stopped taking all medicine when I went vegan so I haven't really had this problem before (I usually just didn't fill the prescription if I was given one), but now I am really sick and have been for a week and a half. I can live with feeling nauseated and I'd rather not take antibiotics when I don't absolutely need to, but if things get worse I'd like to be able to take a "vegan" pill.

Also, he suggested that I drink gatorade. When I told him that I was vegan and that I didn't know if gatorade was vegan, he first asked what a vegan was and then said that he didn't see why there would be any animal ingredients in there. Does anyone know if it's vegan? I checked their website and they don't list ingredients there. I checked various places online and it seems they all have that mysterious "natural flavors".

Thank you all a bunch!

[twinkle]

I'm fortunate in that my doctor knew what "vegan" meant. I've been prescribed medicine a couple of times and I think there are a couple of options.

You can either get your doctor to look up the ingredients of the medicine they're thinking of prescribing you there and then (it may help to emphasis that after a while as a vegan you'll probably have an allergic reaction to dairy), or you can ask a pharmacist when you go to collect your prescription (pick a time when they're not busy, they're more likely to want to help you). The down side of the second approach is that if your doctor has prescribed innapropriately you then have to go back and ask them to re-prescribe.

Bear in mind that you're very likely to be able to get a vegan alternative, at least as far as ingredients go - after all, they have allergies and religious restrictions to cater for as well as us picky vegans :p

[eve]

chickendude, you say that you stopped taking all medicine when you went vegan, and now mention that now you are really sick. Can it e because you have not taken the prescribed medications?

Sometimes we have to admit that our bodies are in need of something lacking, and be aware that medications (depending which country you live in) are tested on animals. But there's nothing you can do against that law as yet.

As to asking the pharmacist - they generally do not know, or don't count as 'animal product', ingredients that certainly are. And as for gatorade - surely water is preferable? I hope you are improving healthwise.

[RedWellies]

Regarding anti-biotics...if you take the children's liquid form of them, it is often vegan (at least the ingredients are). Pills tend to contain lactose or are encased in gelatin.

[eve]

It is generally capsules that are not vegan, while pills are generally ok. However, I trust the 'v' mark in the catalog that indicates whether or not the product is vegan. Of course now one can get vegan capsules too.

[busdedinde]

As RedWellies said, your best bet is to take a powder for oral suspension. They are almost always lacking animal products.

My doctor is very opposed to the fact that I am vegan, and makes a huge fuss everytime I go to see him. So, before hand, I will look up different medications used to treat what maybe be bothering me, and make a list of the ones that I can take. This way, the doctor doesn't have to wonder whether or not I am able to take a specific perscription.

If you're not sure what of what you may have, ask your doctor to make a list of medicines in which you can take, and research them at home. They can always call in a perscription for you.

[rstarr]

I have a follow-up question to this. How does one similarly know if vaccines are vegan? I know, for example, that they grow the flu vaccine in chicken embryos (at least I think I'm remembering this correctly). Now I'm grateful that my mom never required me to get that vaccine through childhood, since I would have unknowingly been using an animal product!

I need new vaccines shortly to travel to India - do they make some that follow vegan guidelines?