AboutNigel Simmons Expertise I am happy to answer general questions on medicines and hospital care. If possible, please use approved / chemical names rather than brands which are not internationally recognised.
Like all health professionals I am bound by a duty of care which prevents me giving detailed information about medication or treatment of people other than the questioner.
I will endeavour to help wherever possible or point towards more appropriate advice. If however your question crosses too far into patient confidentiality, I hope you will understand why I cannot answer your question.
Consider.. would you want me to discuss your care with a friend or relative without your knowledge?
Experience Registered as a UK pharmacist in 1982 and have worked in a number of hospital and health management posts around the UK. Formerly Chief Pharmacist for a 440 bed general hospital in Cambridgeshire.
Past/Present clients Previously Sysop on CompuServe UK Professionals forum.
Question I found this pill, well it is a half a pill. it is white. on one side there is nothing but on the other side the number thirteen and what looks like a half a V under the number. I don't know what it is and don't think that my teenager was ever perscribed this. please help me!!!
Answer Brandi
Tablet identification on white tablets can often be a challenge, but doing so on a partial tablet could be impossible for a pharmacist outside your home country.
If so, it is a generic form of Darvocet N an analgesic combination of acetaminophen and the synthetic opiate propoxyphene. While the drug is legitimate, it is almost certainly prescription only, so it should have been prescribed for someone.
While I can fully sympathise with the worries you have about where the tablet may have come from, I always add a note of caution to my response.
Before confronting your teenager, you should have thought through all the consequences of the act. You know your child best, so consider how they will react if they find you have been "snooping in their space" (as they will see it); whether they could have correctly obtained the medication without your knowledge - are they old / capable of seeing a doctor on their own; has a friend or relative visited who may have need of the product and lost it etc.
Finding the tablet might be an opportunity to engage with your son/daughter and get to the bottom of the issue. Alternatively it could start World War III. So my advice is to tred carefully.
