Pharmacist and Codeine near refusal

[OatALot]

I take Solpadeine Max for period pain which has started to ramp up with the onset of peri.

I buy a box a monthish and would never dare to take more than the recommended amount per day because of the paracetamol. I understand a box a month may be a lot but ibuprofen and naproxen make me feel sick so this works.

Pharmacist came over after I asked for it and said in front of the staff and other customers that I was buying too much and next time he will refuse the sale. Understand he was doing his job but it was in front of other people. I remained calm and polite told him it was for period pain, but he said go back to you GP. The man serving me looked really embarrassed. As was I. Is the tactic to embarrass people?

Don't want to go down the HRT route yet.

I have endometriosis.

Seriously laughing at the idea that people shouldn't have period pain that is so bad it needs really strong painkillers - that's what endo IS due god's sake.

Op, endo can only really be diagnosed through seeing it (ie an operation) it doesn't always show up on ultrasound.

Strongly suggest if you have that level of pain running packs together if you are in the pill to reduce periods.

Codeine (especially at that strength) isn’t going to be addictive if you only take it for period pain for 3-5 days a month. I also had terrible period pain and would dose up with both prescribed and OTC meds every month and never developed an addiction. I think it is reasonable for the pharmacist to ask but he should have accepted your answer. I think there is a cohort of men who don’t believe period pain can be that bad, or women too if they haven’t experienced it. My sister used to tell me to exercise when I could hardly get out of bed. It made me laugh, hollowly.

I have endometriosis and I understand how dreadful the pain is, I get prescribed medication for it. I'm not saying stop taking codeine, just that if your pain warrants the highest dose for longest time OTC then it's probably time to speak to the GP or for a gynae referral. There are hormonal options, and medications like mefanamic acid which specifically help with cramps, unlike codeine which masks the pain

The pharmacist was doing their job.
In the last 3 years community pharmacists have quite a lot of abuse from patients often due to medication supply problems beyond t(eir control.

Oh I totally get that. I was saying it more from a "this is what they teach" point of view. If you've tried a few things and know codeine helps more than something else who am I to tell you it doesn't? I still think it's worth OP trying to get something stronger prescribed.

Endometriosis and adenomyosis sufferer here so I can sympathise as I had horrific pain all month long. The only thing that my GP would allow me to have we're diclofenac suppositories.

Yes they're grim sounding but no nausea as it didn't hit my stomach. Absolute wonder drug so I do recommend you speaking to a doctor again.

If you take the NSAID with something like omaprezol it will help protect your stomach and prevent the side effects.

How many tablets are you getting through a month??

I think he had a duty of care, but probably should have done it in a side room. Tricky for a male pharmacist and a female customer though i guess, especially if he’s worried you’re substance-dependent and therefore more likely to be volatile.

Why do people think she’s going to get addicted taking a low does a few days a month? Really not likely.

nluebackground · Today 12:44

I went into a pharmacy recently to ask for codeine cough medicine (it's now only available on prescription) and the woman behind the counter looked at me like I'd asked for Meth!

I had a lot of bowel removed and for peace of mind I take codeine linctus with me when travelling or long journeys.
The very nice pharmacist at the hospital said that if I showed a pharmacist a prescription that had already been used, they would probably let me have it as she said by law you don’t need a prescription (though this was a few years ago and the law might have changed).
So a few months later I tried that and the pharmacist virtually ordered me out of the shop - in front of other customers.
It was embarrassing.

I dunno how people get addicted to the over the counter codeine unless they are abusing it, it's a very low dose. I was prescribed the strong pure codeine for my endo pain before my operation and I can understand why that is addictive but not the small amounts that are in with paracetamol and ibuprofen at the chemist.

Regardless of the codeine or the pharmacist you should see your GP. If periods stop you living your normal life, they aren’t normal and you should get some help (not drugs, actual help with the cause). Women are encouraged to put up with too much.

@OatALot, it's awful isn't it?
I had this some years ago, when I'd had a hysterectomy and pelvic floor repair. I already had an infection, so thrush came to join the party die to me taking antibiotics. I'd spoken to a nurse at the GP practice who advised me to get the pill and cream from a pharmacy.
I went to a local supermarket with a pharmacy attached.
I asked for it and confirmed I had thrush. The pharmacist came out and insisted I describe my symptoms in detail, on the shop floor. I ended up crying (I was feeling pretty fragile), but went to customer service and asked for the manager who tried to defend the pharmacist but admitted it had not been dealt with in a good way.
I got in my car, drove to another pharmacy and was given it with no questions asked.
People like this are complete dicks.

No, in this context it's a reflection of how agonising period pain is for some of us. Women who don't experience that kind of pain, and men of course, have no idea.

Sorry if you've already said, but have you asked the GP? Even my friends with endometriosis don't tend to feel period pain beyond a day (usually when the flow starts).

Feeling intense pain for up to 5 days sounds awful for you and I can only guess (may be wrong) that there's something else not right that's causing the pain.

Have you suspected endometriosis or PCOS in the past?

Whether you're becoming dependent on pain killers or not, it's not healthy to keep taking them as you are so personally id be pushing for further investigations/different treatment plans.

Unfortunately, no one intends to get addicted and no addicts chose to go from casual user to dependent user. It sneaks up on you. Be very wary, and dont allow yourself to slide. Push the GPs for help.

And all those women should go to the doctor. It’s not normal. Something can be done.

It can be treated and something done but there are long waits and on average someone with endo sees a GP 7 times before they are diagnosed I read

I said I thought I had it eight years ago. Only got referred when I changed doctors. They told me they wouldn't be able to see it on an ultrasound but it's so severe they've diagnosed me with it from ultrasound alone. It can be years from first saying it is painful to actually having anything done

So saw GP
1 month wait for ultrasound
2 months for consultant
Saw consultant who can't do the lap as it needs a bowel surgeon
Now a 12 month wait to see the NHS consultant
Then wait for surgery for I don't know how long. Another year?

From endometriosis UK:

Because endometriosis manifests itself in a variety of ways and shares symptoms with other conditions, diagnosis can be difficult and often delayed. Recent research shows that there is now an average of 7.5 years between women first seeing a doctor about their symptoms and receiving a firm diagnosis

And all those women should go to the doctor. It’s not normal. Something can be done.

What did your GP do when you went to ask for help with your own agonising period pain? Perhaps details about the help you received can help others.

Fortunately for me mine are over now, but I visited the GP about it many times when I was a younger woman. Mine was so bad that I would vomit, on top of the terrible cramps and nausea and waves of pain in my back and abdomen. Sometimes I actually became disorientated and couldn't tell one end of the room from the other. For years intermittently I was on Diane, which took the pain away, but when a scan didn't show signs of endo the GP said there was nothing that could be done. Now that I'm older, and information is more readily available, I suspect I probably did have endo. My experience was that a succession of GPs didn't take it seriously.

So, what did your GP do for you?

because they take 10 tablets at a time

i was addicted to codeine for years. doctor gave me 200 30/500 a month and i would binge them then have to go to chemists and get max strength solpodeine. was taking 10 pills at a time. i nearly died before getting free of them. my blood tests indicated i had lukemia, had a bone marrow biopsy the lot. i weaned myself off tapering down and have now been free nearly 3 years. i got pregnant 6 months after being totally off them and hadn't fell pregnant in about 10 years despite not using contraception. they are evil evil tablets and doctors need to stop over prescribing

Someone recommended nexium control to me for my odd bouts of indigestion and reflux. The assistant quizzed me rudely and said I should see a GP she called the pharmacist over who kindly told her that home bargains sold it so not to worry.

She was a new assistant with an odd manner. I noticed this month that she was being mentored by another staff member and was all good morning, have a good day. Quite a turnaround. I guess she'd upset a few patients.

I sometimes take co-codamol for migraine along with triptans and Naproxen ( both on prescription) and take co-codamol the odd time if they don't work. I once asked the pharmacist about different types of pain relief medication in case there was something I was missing as I didn't want to take the co-codamol too often. She suddenly refused to sell me any and acted like she was doing an intervention on a drug addict it was well out of order as I didn't even use it that often maybe a few times a month. I get that they need to speak to people with addictions but she was really heavy handed and it was embarrassing for me, I was only young and still waiting for a neurology appointment to get my migraines properly treated. It is happened to day I'd complain about it for sure.

I also have a pharmacist refuse to sell me a cream for angular cheilitis which I am prone to and knew I needed an anti-fungal, he wanted me to buy cold sore cream which I knew it wasn't as I don't get cold sores. I ended up having to make an appointment and go into the doctors to get diagnosed (again) with angular cheilitis and the GP asked why I hadn't just gone to minor aliments, which of course I had. Some pharmacists aren't as smart as they think they are.

I had mine diagnosed by laparoscopy after minimum two years and a referral lost. I went private eventually - pain in between periods, extremely severe pain during urination etc

Mine was removed by lap which eased it for a while but nothing worked to treat it afterwards. Painkillers knocked the edge off if caught in time. Codeine did help the most though it made me nauseous.

I do think the pharmacist was unprofessional and you should complain. There's usually a private area nowadays for them to discuss anything necessary.