The Student Room Group

Im a pharmacist, Ask me (almost) anything?

this is a normal AMA (ie random questions / random talk etc) but am aware that people have a few health issues they may want to enquire about privately. feel free to ask away.

the following things however will be reported: racism, insulting peoples beliefs / private life (relationships, appearance etc) and insults in general (unless it is insulting trolls, then by all means troll the trolls).

also I will not mention what school of pharmacy I went to as it may inadvertantly reveal my secret ID but am willing to talk about other stuff.

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Reply 1
Original post by quasa
this is a normal AMA (ie random questions / random talk etc) but am aware that people have a few health issues they may want to enquire about privately. feel free to ask away.

the following things however will be reported: racism, insulting peoples beliefs / private life (relationships, appearance etc) and insults in general (unless it is insulting trolls, then by all means troll the trolls).

also I will not mention what school of pharmacy I went to as it may inadvertantly reveal my secret ID but am willing to talk about other stuff.


Do you know if Vitamin D supplement tablets (Fultium D??) can affect the regularity of periods in women?
what made you decide to go into phramacy? (or however you spell it!)
What's your professional opinion on modafinil?
Original post by tfmpe
Do you know if Vitamin D supplement tablets (Fultium D??) can affect the regularity of periods in women?


as far as I am aware, vitamin D wouldnt have an influence on periods (nor would calcium for that matter) as the main benefits of systemic vitamin supplements is to reinforce bone density (particularly if one is immobile for a period of time, recovering from broken/ fractured bones, has osteoporosis) .


If anything, things like instant noodles and soy products are more likely to have an affect as they contain chemical analogues of oestrogen (similarly, things which cause increased testosterone production can have an influence on oestrogen as well).


also consider if there have been any changes in diet, stress, lifestyle, physical actvity and weight (chances are you would need to check with your gp or a gynaecologist if you are really concerned about regularity). then off course there are the 2 p words: pill and pregnancy.

I dont know anything about you but I am trying to think of possible suspects (assuming it is yourself you are on about). ideally more info about the patient is needed but generally to answer the key point: vitamin D has no (known) influence on periods (or it shouldnt do looking at the pathways inside the body).
Original post by Nameless Ghoul
What's your professional opinion on modafinil?


stay off it unless you suffer from genuine sleeping disorders causing too much sleeping and, if the patient is in genuine need of it, rule out other factors such as depression, overexertion, stress, seasonal affective disorder etc(imo it should be made a controlled drug and kept in CD cupboards).
Original post by quasa
this is a normal AMA (ie random questions / random talk etc) but am aware that people have a few health issues they may want to enquire about privately. feel free to ask away.

the following things however will be reported: racism, insulting peoples beliefs / private life (relationships, appearance etc) and insults in general (unless it is insulting trolls, then by all means troll the trolls).

also I will not mention what school of pharmacy I went to as it may inadvertantly reveal my secret ID but am willing to talk about other stuff.


Would you recommend a pharmacy degree and a career in pharmacy?
Original post by Tiger Rag
what made you decide to go into phramacy? (or however you spell it!)


got mugged during walking to an AS level exam (ironically 1 of the questions was on criminal psychology), suffered from PTSD during A2 levels. otherwise I could have gotten into med school (the PTSD trigger was A levels themselves as I associated it with getting mugged and kept suffering panic attacks).
Original post by quasa
this is a normal AMA (ie random questions / random talk etc) but am aware that people have a few health issues they may want to enquire about privately. feel free to ask away.

the following things however will be reported: racism, insulting peoples beliefs / private life (relationships, appearance etc) and insults in general (unless it is insulting trolls, then by all means troll the trolls).

also I will not mention what school of pharmacy I went to as it may inadvertantly reveal my secret ID but am willing to talk about other stuff.


What degrees do you have?
Original post by zXcodeXz
What degrees do you have?


just a master's degree in pharmacy which I got when I was 21 (pharmacy is an undergrad masters so you do your masters straight after your bachelors degree. technically i have the equivalent of a Bsc and an Msc)
Original post by quasa
just a master's degree in pharmacy which I got when I was 21 (pharmacy is an undergrad masters so you do your masters straight after your bachelors degree. technically i have the equivalent of a Bsc and an Msc)


Oh ok cool, at lest you have freedom I feel trapped
Original post by zXcodeXz
Oh ok cool, at lest you have freedom I feel trapped


actually, I do feel trapped lol (undergrad masters have pros and cons). if you dont mind me asking, why do you feel trapped (what degree did you do)?
Original post by quasa
actually, I do feel trapped lol (undergrad masters have pros and cons). if you dont mind me asking, why do you feel trapped (what degree did you do)?


Lol I'm nowhere near a degree yet I haven't even done my GCSE's they are next month
Original post by zXcodeXz
Lol I'm nowhere near a degree yet I haven't even done my GCSE's they are next month


ah, in which case best of luck with them and the future. I will say from personal experience, A levels were harder than uni or GCSEs, although that is probably because A levels require you to answer to the mark scheme (especially maths and chemistry when I was doing it in 08/09). Uni you are allowed a degree of freedom (its about how you apply it to answer the question not what they want you to write to answer the question if that makes sense). for A levels, practice papers and revision is paramount (revision to revise the content, papers to have an idea of how they want you to answer).
Original post by quasa
ah, in which case best of luck with them and the future. I will say from personal experience, A levels were harder than uni or GCSEs, although that is probably because A levels require you to answer to the mark scheme (especially maths and chemistry when I was doing it in 08/09). Uni you are allowed a degree of freedom (its about how you apply it to answer the question not what they want you to write to answer the question if that makes sense). for A levels, practice papers and revision is paramount (revision to revise the content, papers to have an idea of how they want you to answer).


Ok thanks! Good luck to you too! If you don't mind could you please tell me what you got in GCSE's and A-Levels?
Original post by quasa
this is a normal AMA (ie random questions / random talk etc) but am aware that people have a few health issues they may want to enquire about privately. feel free to ask away.

the following things however will be reported: racism, insulting peoples beliefs / private life (relationships, appearance etc) and insults in general (unless it is insulting trolls, then by all means troll the trolls).

also I will not mention what school of pharmacy I went to as it may inadvertantly reveal my secret ID but am willing to talk about other stuff.

hi :smile:
i just wanted to know any natural remedies for depression? I've been struggling on and off since i like 12/13 but im too shy to ask for help in real life
im going to uni this september and i want to get better by then, please answer meeeee haha thank you:smile:
Original post by zXcodeXz
Ok thanks! Good luck to you too! If you don't mind could you please tell me what you got in GCSE's and A-Levels?


I would say I do mind (sorry) as I didnt do that well in them (gcses didnt do any revision tbh as I felt no need to revise; a-levels were tainted by unfortunate circumstances & no-one teaching me how to f***n reference properly (didnt learn till 3rd year at uni)). but in a way making mistakes in life does teach you how to rectify problems and pass knowledge down to others to ensure they dont suffer the same pitfalls.
Original post by quasa
I would say I do mind (sorry) as I didnt do that well in them (gcses didnt do any revision tbh as I felt no need to revise; a-levels were tainted by unfortunate circumstances & no-one teaching me how to f***n reference properly (didnt learn till 3rd year at uni)). but in a way making mistakes in life does teach you how to rectify problems and pass knowledge down to others to ensure they dont suffer the same pitfalls.

Oh it's ok, do you mind telling me what A levels you did?
Original post by martinique1998
hi :smile:
i just wanted to know any natural remedies for depression? I've been struggling on and off since i like 12/13 but im too shy to ask for help in real life
im going to uni this september and i want to get better by then, please answer meeeee haha thank you:smile:


depends if you are taking any other medication or have any other health conditions tbh. AND your age (ie if your under 18). the drugs which are available for depression (well the drug) which is a natural product is called st john's wort. only problem with natural drugs is that, whilst they have clinical benefit, because they comprise of multiple chemicals rather than an extracted pure chemical, it can have an adverse effect on other medication (preventing them working properly, increasing side-effects, worsening other healthcare conditions). all antidepressant medication isnt recommended in those under 18 unless they are serious risk of harm to themselves and others. in which case a osychiatrist / suitably qualified GP would have to prescribe an SSRI called fluoxetine (prozac in america), which is usually a 20mg capsule each day. but this is only available via prescription and do not recommend it at all unless it has been prescribed.

BUTin reality, counselling is ideal, especially if your under 18 (. there is a charity called MIND which helps people with depression (and other mental conditions). you can talk to people over the phone or arrange for counselling. similarly, speak to your GP about it (by law they cannot tell anyone anything about you, including family and friends, once your over 16, or over 14 and are aware of situation / competent).

drugs for mental health conditions are always a last resort and shouldnt be considered straight of the bat as they can be detremental in terms of side-effects / reliance and shouldonly be used if counselling has failed
Reply 19
Original post by quasa
this is a normal AMA (ie random questions / random talk etc) but am aware that people have a few health issues they may want to enquire about privately. feel free to ask away.the following things however will be reported: racism, insulting peoples beliefs / private life (relationships, appearance etc) and insults in general (unless it is insulting trolls, then by all means troll the trolls).also I will not mention what school of pharmacy I went to as it may inadvertantly reveal my secret ID but am willing to talk about other stuff.


Are you happy that you chose to study Pharmacy at university? Would you change to a different degree if you had the chance to go back in time?

Future Pharmacy student here! :colondollar:

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