Saturday, October 24, 2009

For story purposes only, is there a pharamaceutical name for a placebo or sugar pill?

I understand it is unethical to prescribe a sugar pill. In my story, the heroine holds a prescription that she believes a life depends upon it. When she finally gets to a drugist to fill it, she is asked if she knows that it is no more than a placebo.
Answer:
My understanding is that there is no set name for placebos. When this was done, I think the doctor just usually made up a name - myhap tab for "My Happy Tablet". He would work with a specific pharmacist to have it made. The person couldn't just go anywhere to have it filled or recognized. This is rarely done in the real world due to liability.If you don't just want to make up your own name for the sake of your story, you could use the name of some filler that is used in making pills that may fool the girl: Calcium Carbonate, Lactose, Sodium Bicarbonate. Use the chemical formulation - ex - Sodium Bicarb would be NaHCO3.
i don't think pharmacies sell those, although they might indeed be able to recognize one; sounds like you already know what they are called.
No

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