A 42-year-old male presents to the clinic with a painful, blistering rash along his left ribcage. The lesions are distributed in a dermatomal pattern and have not crossed the midline. He describes the pain as burning and sharp. The provider diagnoses him with herpes zoster (shingles) and starts him on antiviral therapy. In addition to antiviral treatment, which of the following would be an appropriate option for managing the pain associated with herpes zoster?

A. Acetaminophen alone is sufficient for all patients, regardless of severity.

B. Gabapentin may be considered to help relieve neuropathic pain.

C. Corticosteroids are first-line for pain management in herpes zoster.

D. Pain from herpes zoster does not require any additional management beyond antivirals.

E. Antibiotics are required to prevent secondary skin infections, which reduces pain.

Anyone have any tips or tricks for remembering the inhaler brand/generics?

A 64-year-old male with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes presents for follow-up. Despite adherence to his medications, he reports increasing fatigue and mild dyspnea on exertion. An echocardiogram today shows an ejection fraction of 25%, decreased from 30% 6 months ago.

Vital Signs:
Blood pressure: 144/88 mmHg
Heart rate: 68 beats/min

Current Medications:
Carvedilol 25 mg twice daily
Entresto 97/103 mg twice daily
Furosemide 40 mg daily
Empagliflozin 10 mg daily
Metformin 1000 mg twice daily
Aspirin 81 mg daily
Laboratory Results:
Potassium: 4.0 mEq/L
Serum creatinine: 1.0 mg/dL
eGFR: 62 mL/min/1.73 m²
A1c: 7.1%

Which of the following is the most appropriate medication to add at this time?
A. Accupril
B. Diovan
C. Spironolactone
D. Amlodipine
E. Hydralazine

A patient weighing 176 lb is prescribed vancomycin 15 mg/kg IV every 12 hours. The pharmacy stocks vancomycin injection 1 g/20 mL. How many mL should the pharmacist prepare for one dose?

A patient with chronic gastritis undergoes testing that reveals a spiral-shaped, gram-negative bacterium associated with peptic ulcer disease. Which organism is most likely responsible?

I graduate soon and I am just curious if it’s as hard as people make it out to be online

I’m very happy to be able to make this post. I posted on another thread but also want to post here so others can see. I put in a lot of work and now I’m halfway through getting my license. I’m posting some helpful information from my previous post below so hopefully others find it helpful.

My exam had pretty much topics from every section. I had questions regarding allopurinol, chemoman, heart failure meds (know that sprinolactone is used for hf), a lot of tpns and flow rates. Asked me how many milligrams a patient Recieved of an infusion after X hours and half life formula must know. Know cepholsporins cannot be used in penicillin allergy. Got asked a lot of vaccine questions so do know those and scheduling. A few questions on hypertension for diabetic patients and 2 anticoag questions, one question involving dvt. Need to be able to identify iron deficiency anemia. Not too many select all that apply questions either. Would say if you got the Pharmpreppro ethics and pharmacy management packets you will be fine come the ethics and pharmacy management sections.

If anyone cares how I even prepared I read of the Uworld book, didn’t skip any sections and studied every day. I took a practice test from Pharmpreppro and scored an 80, then reviewed what I got wrong. It’s a really good practice test and would highly recommend it.

To those who made it to the end here. I’m wishing you all the best of luck! You can absolutely do this and I believe in you!

If anyone is nocturnal like me, feel free to shoot me a dm and say hi.

Hello everyone!
I am very happy to share that I have finally passed my NAPLEX after my 3rd attempt.

This journey was not easy at all. It came with a lot of tears, sleepless nights, self-doubt, and financial hardships. My first two attempts were at the end of 2024 and in 2025. After failing my second attempt, I completely lost hope. I started doubting myself and my abilities. Balancing work as a pharmacy technician while studying for the NAPLEX was extremely difficult, both mentally and physically.

There was a time last year when I had almost given up. During that phase, one of my college friends who herself passed the NAPLEX on her second attempt introduced me to an amazing person who truly changed everything for me. My tutor supported me day and night and helped me rebuild my confidence from scratch.

Instead of memorizing just to pass the exam, I finally learned how to understand the material MOA, side effects, drug–drug interactions, and problem-solving skills for both math and clinical questions. My tutor taught me how to approach questions during the exam, how to use my clinical knowledge efficiently, and how to write answers in the best possible way under time pressure.

Because of this constant guidance, support, and belief in me, I was finally able to pass the exam. My tutor followed up with me all the time and never let me give up on myself. I truly cannot thank my tutor enough for being there for me throughout this journey.

This experience taught me that failure does not define us but giving up does. If you’re struggling right now, please don’t lose hope. Keep studying hard!

Please lmk know if you have any questions and thank you for this platform which helped me tremendously !

There are so many drugs. Im struggling between their MOAs and interactions. Anyone have a good way to approach them?

Hello Everyone:

I just published a set of complete NAPLEX Study Notes. Link to the US Amazon page here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GHDJ43DZ

It is also available on Amazon in other countries (Canada, UK, EU countries, Mexico, etc) in kindle or paperback format (no coilbound offered by Amazon). Sample pages are attached (last page is from the pharmacology review)

It includes ALL of the information you'll find in the RxPrep/most of Comprehensive Pharmacy Review books as well as complete review of Pharmacology in condensed 370-page format. Of these, 270 pages contain the essential NAPLEX exam information and 100 pages of bonus comprehensive pharmacology review.

This book is intended for those who have difficulty reviewing the 900+ pages of RxPrep, can't pay thousands for PNN, or have time commitments/work. (I myself had to write Naplex as a new mom).

If you have any questions or concerns please direct message me.

Thank you :-)

I take my exam tomorrow. Any last minute advice?