Drug Habit

2022. Your time is through!

​And like all your predecessors, you’ve had your ups and downs.  You didn’t start out with your best foot forward because in February Russia invaded Ukraine.  On the upside, we’ve so far managed to avoid a nuclear Armageddon.  On the home front, the anticipated red wave in Congress never happened.  I’ll let readers decide if that was an up or a down.

Highlights of a year in show biz include Will Smith delivering the slap heard ‘round the world, and Kanye West deciding that his first name was three letters too long.  In sports and other pastimes, The New York Yankees once again avoided the World Series, and Wordle took the country by storm.   And as we enter 2023, does the fate of Twitter and cryptocurrency hang in the balance?

Thirty-four new drugs were approved by the FDA this year, providing thirty-four opportunities for anointing the medications with unpronounceable names that defy the linguistic rules of practically every language on the face of the earth.  Even my spellcheck was baffled!  You can imagine how challenging it was for me to select only ten.  But here, for your New Year’s Eve pleasure, I present my annual year-end Stupid Drug Names quiz.  Take it now, or later, after you’ve had a few!

Lytgobi

1. A desert on Fire
2. A very cool gobi
3. Ibogtyl spelled backward.
4. All of the above

Vonjo

1. The result of crossing a violin and a banjo
2. Name of a rock band that almost made it
3. The nickname of a little-known German composer
4. None of the above

Vabysmo

1. Third cousin once removed of a famous trumpeter
2. A request for additional vabys
3. A disease acquired from a bite by a vabid dog
4. A, or maybe C

Opdualag

1. The slowing of an Opdua
2. Seeing double, gradually
3. The national anthem of Pdualag
4. My money’s on A

Cibingo

1. A bingo game sponsored by a well-known bank
2. An exclamation by Ci after getting the correct answers to this quiz
3. How you refer to a brother or sister of a dingo
4. I’m getting a migraine

Krazati

1. A new type of pasta introduced by Kraft Foods
2. An Italian racing car
3. A musical genre started in Razati
4. Where’s the aspirin?

Mounjaro

1. A lesser-known snowless mountain in Tanzania
2. An invitation to dine in Italy
3. A proprietary Frenchman claiming his jaro
4. Give me a break!

Pyrukynd

1. A modern version of a Polish dumpling
2. An island of exiled Incas
3. A very thoughtful pyru
4. All of the above

Xenpozyme

1. An enzyme that aids in meditation
2. Someone requesting to be “xenpozyed”
3. The former spouse of Enpozyme
4. B, definitely B

Sotyktu

1. A new vegan meat substitute
2. Requesting an explanation from Tyktu
3. A lesser amount than sotykthree
4. Are we there yet?

And honorable mention goes to Rezlidhia, Tzield, Relyvrio, and Quviviq, all of which are causing my spellcheck to have a nervous breakdown.

If you have any interest at all, here are the true purposes of the drugs: Lytgobi: a treatment for a type of carcinoma; Vonjo: treats myelofibrosis; Vabysmo: macular degeneration; Opdualag: treats melanoma; Cibingo: for atopic dermatitis; Krazati: lung cancer; Mounjaro: control blood sugar in diabetes; Pyrukynd: anemia; Xenpozyme: acid sphingomyelinase deficiency; Sotyktu: plaque psoriasis. 

From my family to yours, I wish you a happy and healthy New Year.  Once again, I thank you for your continued indulgence.  I couldn’t possibly be having this much fun without you.

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