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.

Just to say the codeine I had that helped was prescribed by the hospital, so possibly not the same as the stuff from the pharmacy.

The pharmacist was out of order.

If they have concerns about a purchase they should ask to speak to the customer in their consultation room in private.

It is to be taken for no more than 3 days, which is fine for period related pain relief. Once the pain subsides you stop taking it till the following month.

As long as you sensible, are using it in line with your cycle, and not taking it for longer than 3 days, then you will be fine.

Yes you're quite right. I do wonder sometimes whether they should completely ban over the counter products with codeine in or just have the low dose codeine as pure without paracetamol. A lot of the time people who abuse the over the counter stuff are in more danger from the paracetamol overdose than the codeine. My ex MIL was addicted to it and used to go to all different chemists to get it.

Unfortunately, addicts are using preparations with codeine in them to get their fix.

One enterprising young man locally was known for extracting morphine from kaolin & morphine medicine and then selling it to junkies.

I've gone from being mortified to really annoyed. I plan to go to the GP. If they gave me a prescription can the pharmacy refuse it?

Also plan to follow up on further investigations I put off post covid.

The pharmacist may contact the gp but it would be very unpleasant if they refused a prescription and the doctor may prescribe a different drug. You can see if there are pharmacy home deliveries in your area if you don't want to visit that pharmacist again. If you pay for your prescriptions look at the annual charge offer

Pharmacists can refuse to dispense a prescription.
When my youngest DC was under 2 a locum GP prescribed some medication not suitable for under 2s. The pharmacist rightly refused to dispense.

I got refused trying to buy a pack of paracetamol and some Calpol the other day, I had my six year old with me. I understand the rules they have but it was the way the woman behind the counter was almost a bit shitty with me about it when I asked why 😂😭 as if I was planning an overdose or something

You would have been refused calpol if it also contains paracetamol. I got refused senna and suppositories together by counter staff. The pharmacist can refuse on good grounds, allergies, wrong dose, not suitable for babies but they need a valid reason.

That's nuts. Say a family of four two children two adults all ill. Of course you're going to get Calpol and paracetamol.

This is why I top up and have a stash for the winter.

The amount of codeine has been raised to 12.5mg / 500 paracetamol which is surprisingly quite a lot IMO

My GP is repeat prescribing me high doses so I don't need to worry about arguments with pharmacists - I do have to worry about addiction / withdrawal now.

However, in response to OP, the pharmacist should have been a lot more sensitive. The pharmacist is dealing with unwell people all day and also managing dispensing to chronic addicts and all sorts of sensitive issues so really they'd know better.

A pharmacist is an individually qualified professional who has the legal right (and actually must by law) refuse or decline any prescription if they feel there's some form of issue.

I've had pharmacists refuse my repeat prescriptions because of drug interactions and contraindications that my GP has never so much as mentioned.

When it comes to comprehending drugs and their interactions, the pharmacist can be relied upon.

They're also quite 'jobsworth' as they don't want to lose their licence to practice or have any criticism levelled at them. Any pharmacist can decline your prescription. However, sometimes a chat from the GP can go a long way. Getting the two to speak to one another is a whole different ballgame.