Do pharmacists know what your pills are used for?

Pharmacists know the usual and "off-label" uses for medications. If a medication has more than 1 possible use, then the pharmacist may not know what YOU use it for (unless there are hints based on other medications you are on). So if you want to know all the side effects, precautions and drug interactions then you need to tell the pharmacist what you are using it for since different uses may call for different precautions (example: neurontin originally used for seizures so the pharmacist would caution against someone who is taking neurontin to avoid stimulants. However, neurontin can also be used for nerve pain and the caution to avoid stimulants would not be needed)

They do much, much more than merely "look at names of pills." They are highly educated about pharmaceuticals, and have an excellent understanding of every pill in the place, what it's used for, what it does, side effects, precautions. They are the resource people for everyone in the hospital when it comes to drugs, including Doctors and Nurses. They are also very helpful and patient, and always took their time with me to help me with any questions I might have had about a new drug I wasn't familiar with. I never met a Pharmacist who didn't know what he was doing. Now, don't confuse a Pharmacist with a Pharmacy TECH. They are two different animals. A TECH doesn't have more than a cursory understanding of what's going on with drugs; they just pass them out at the direction of a Pharmacist. The PHARMACIST is an expert. The TECH just works there.

Yes, Pharmacists (the ones in charge of the Pharmacy) know what the most common uses are for the various meds they dispense. There are some meds with what is known as "off-label uses" that are not taught in Pharmacy school. (For example: Estradiol is more commonly prescribed as Hormone Replacement Therapy for post-menopausal women, but it is also prescribed "off-label" for gender therapy for those who are transitioning gender.)

The Pharmacy Technicians, however, are not as well versed in the common usages for the various meds, with the likely exception of some of the more publicized meds on the market. (For example: any Pharmacy Tech who doesn't know that Viagra, Cialis, and Levitra are 'stiffy pills' just hasn't been paying attention.)

I second the Planned Parenthood suggestion. Depending on your age/economic situation you can get free or extremely discounted birth control from them. If you're worried about talking to a doctor about this because you're worried about your parents or someone finding out, don't be. Any conversations you have with a doctor are, by law, confidential. If your doctor were to tell someone about it they could lose their license to practice medicine. As far as which brand is best, as others have said, it depends on the person. Different women respond to different brands differently (too many "differents," I know, sorry :p). Getting on birth control is a VERY responsible thing to do, and if you are, or are planning on being, sexually active, you should get on it as soon as possible if you do not want to have a child at this time.

They know what your pills are and basic background information of what the pills do... but they don't know your specific circumstances.. For example, I take ritalin. My pharmacist will know that Ritalin is an amphetamine-like stimulant that can be used in ADHD etc. They wouldn't know that I actually take it for narcolepsy, not ADHD.

Oh yes they know as much as doctors about pills, what they are used for, many drugs are used for more than one purpose though so those they would not know exactly which illness you have. But yes they know

Definitely. They spend 5 years studying about all these!!!!

What precisely do you think we went to six years of college for?

Obviously yes. That's what they study.

They have too, It's part of their job.