My Favorite Things at the Pharmacy

Plus, how to make sense of the vitamin aisle 💊

May 20, 2024

ICYMI 👉

When my kids were little (three kids under the age of four), I remember how a solo trip to the pharmacy to browse the deodorant aisle was a welcome escape from the chaos at home.

Fast forward to middle age, being at the pharmacy is not all fun and games. Sometimes I’m there because I’m sick or I’m worried about a loved one’s health. However, on a regular day like yesterday, I still feel a wave of relaxation when crossing the threshold at my local CVS. What’s not to love about browsing shampoo bottles or spending time alone with your new set of tweezers?

So yesterday, when I walked inside, I pondered a few things:

I wonder how non-medical people approach the dizzying array of vitamins and supplements on display?
I wonder how non-medical people conceptualize the difference between what’s available by prescription and what’s available without one?
I wonder if anyone feels as joyful as I do when their eyes fall on the perfect shade of gray-purple nail polish, one that happens to match the dress I’m wearing to my son’s graduation next weekend?

So, here I will discuss my favorite items at the pharmacy. (Note that I have no affiliation with CVS, and CVS is not paying me to say any of this!) I will also address my mental musings above.

First, my favorite things:

1. Epsom salts

These are purchased in bulk, without a prescription, and are designed to help with muscle relaxation when sprinkled into warm water. My recent experience with muscle pain due to a pinched nerve in my neck has made this a favorite pharmacy hack. Of course I wouldn’t hang my hat on Epsom salts to do the work of a skilled physical therapist, or as a substitute for other methods of relaxing tight muscles (from deep breathing and yoga to giving yourself permission to eat lunch), however Epsom salts can be a nice addition to your skeletal coping kit.

2. Magnesium glycinate

This supplement is not a wonder drug. It shouldn’t be taken without consulting with your doctor. However, in general, magnesium is a supplement that, when taken at bedtime at 200 to 400 milligrams can help with three things in particular: 1) muscle relaxation, 2) constipation and 3) sleep. If you happen to have those three issues at the same time, magnesium is a real winner. Again, I wouldn’t hang my hat on magnesium glycinate to calm the noisy brain after a long day at work. I wouldn’t rely on magnesium to treat constipation when you aren’t getting enough soluble fiber, hydration, or appropriate medical advice. Complex problems require complex solutions (i.e., more than a bath and a pill), but to the extent magnesium is pretty benign, I decided to give it a whirl.

3. Earplugs

I think we can all agree that sleep is the glue for our mental and physical health. Adequate sleep is essential for our cognition, emotional regulation, attention, and focus. It’s also critical for helping regulate blood pressure, blood sugar, and metabolic health. In other words, Ozempic and Prozac can’t (and won’t) do much for stress-related eating and anxiety, respectively, if you aren’t getting adequate sleep. Bonus feature of earplugs: they are a marriage saver.

4. A bonus treat of some variety

I’m keenly aware that retail therapy isn’t the same as actual therapy—and that the dopamine rush from purchasing shiny objects isn’t the same as authentic self-care. However, I do believe that quick hits of dopamine (in the form of $7.99 nail polish) are sometimes just what the doctor ordered. I can honestly say that the joy I’m planning to experience at my son’s graduation this weekend will be enhanced by looking at my color-matching polished toes. Thank you, CVS. 💅

How to approach the vitamin/supplement aisle

As for the question about how mere mortals approach this aisle, I have three words: I feel you. The dizzying array of packages and buy-one-get-one free stickers are enough to make anyone experience brain fog and hot flashes. So, how do you know which vitamins to take? This is where I have no prescription, but rather a suggestion:

Ask yourself three questions:

Why are you in the vitamin aisle in the first place? What are you trying to solve? If the answer is something along the lines of “because I think I should take vitamins” or “because my friend/family/person on the internet said I need it,” I’d first think about the messenger. Even the most well-intended messengers have biases! And if the answer is “I don’t feel well,” I might make an appointment with your primary care doctor (if you’re lucky enough to have one) in order to get to the root cause before trouble shooting the problem on your own.
Is there a good reason for taking this particular vitamin? In other words, if your physician recommended taking a vitamin D3 supplement for your osteoporosis—and if she/he explained the reasoning behind that advice—that might be different than if someone made a recommendation to you without any data to support it. (Fun fact: that “someone” may be the voice in your own head.) If you turn up empty-handed—that is, with no medical evidence or good reason for purchasing a specific vitamin for your health—I suggest trusting your intuition. For example, if you’re buying collagen supplements for the purpose of “anti-aging,” I’d ask yourself, “Does it make intuitive sense that a supplement could slow the aging process?”
Could this supplement do harm? Some supplements are harmless. Some work by way of the placebo effect. That is all fine and good! However, people often consider herbal remedies to be free of side effects when, in reality, many “natural” products can lead to toxicity and can dangerously interact with prescription medications. More than 40 percent of patients do not tell their doctors about their use of complementary or alternative medicine. So be sure to talk to your doctor about everything you are taking!

If you’re unable to answer the Why?, the Who?, and the What for? about the bottle of pills you’re fondling, you might want to save your money.

What about multivitamins?

As for the utility of vitamins in general, my answer is the distinctly un-fun, “It depends.” The reason I’m willing to be un-fun and non-prescriptive is because the truth of the matter is that it completely depends on your particular health issues and goals as to what supplements you may or may not need. With all due respect for medical influencers, anyone who tells you there is a supplement that universally helps with xyz is selling you a bag of goods.

That said, based on the available data, one of the largest randomized controlled trials on taking a daily multivitamin did suggest that people over the age of 65 experience modest improvements in their cognitive function by taking a daily multivitamin. Do I suspect there’s a confounder here that has not yet been determined, such that it’s not, in actuality, the multivitamin itself that helps people with cognition, and instead it’s that the cognitive test required of the study participants was insufficient in measuring cognitive outcomes? I do, however until that is proven, I would still consider taking a multivitamin if you are over the age of 65. It probably can’t hurt, and it might help!

Non-prescription versus prescription pills

Next, how to make sense of why things are over the counter vs. prescriptions? I think this discussion is worthy of a whole post. What do you think? It fascinates me that things like cough syrups with a potentially addicting substance like dextromethorphan do not require a prescription when, at the same time, something like vaginal estrogen, a benign treatment for women’s most basic postmenopausal genitourinary needs, are gatekept by doctors and pharmacists. (Note: I will be writing about menopause with Shannon Watts over the next two weeks.)

The joy of the pharmacy

So, pray tell: when you’re not under the weather, do you, too, experience a fleeting sense of joy when alone at your local pharmacy? If so, what is your favorite aisle? What is your favorite hack? What is your “go-to” self-care treat?

I’m all ears.

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