August 14, 2005 - 2:55pm
Pill identification is a hobby of mine. I'm fascinated with the colors, shapes and markings on pills. And I particularly like to find the more obscure meds.
Lately I've noticed more pill ID "gurus" are joining the ranks. That's great. The boards need all the help we can get.
A few words of caution though. Whatever resources you use, be sure to double and preferably triple check the information with all your sources. I've seen plenty of mistakes in the "official" databases (the very expensive ones used by professionals).
Try to find a picture for confirmation. Here again it's best to at least double check for pictures. One professional database had the same photo for two entirely different Mallinckrodt tablets! The imprint was the same - M2 - but one tablet has the boxed M logo.
Here is one identical imprint that really concerns me - P325:
P 325 could be a brand new narcotic analgesic combo called Balacet 325. Or P 325 could be an over-the-counter pain/sleeping pill (generic Tylenol PM). There is nothing distinguishing about either imprint. The pills look the same to me other than color. One is violet and one is blue, and what I think is blue might look violet or purple to you. And photography lighting could make the colors appear even more similar.
Balacet 325 contains 100 mg propoxyphene napsylate and 325 mg acetaminophen. It's a narcotic analgesic used for treating mild to moderate pain.
This generic Tylenol PM made by Pharmaceutical Formulations contains 500 mg acetaminophen and 25 mg diphenhydramine. It's an over-the-counter sleeping aid.
Original Balacet 325 image from Catholic Healthcare West
Original generic Tylenol PM image from Lexi-Comp
Thanks for the post, kirby.
I think this information is important for all posters who like to ID pill imprints, so I put an excerpt of your post on the front page.
We will incorporate your comments and images into our article Vague Pharmaceutical Imprints.
We are still compiling vague and/or confusing imprints, both OTC and RX, and appreciate your help. And we hope other members will contribute and share their knowledge. A definite pill ID with confirmation helps everyone.