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AIBU?

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Original poster

Refused co-codamol at Sainsbury's

112 replies

pianodoodle · 13/09/2013 08:35

Because I'm pregnant :(

Genuinely unsure if this is something I should be peeved about or not which is why I didn't make a fuss at the time but have been thinking about it since!

Am 25wks with DC2. Last pregnancy I took an absolute killer migraine one night and DH called the doctor who gave me a couple of paltry ibuprofen because I was pregnant. It was a nightmare I was debilitated with it for days.

When I next saw the GP she was pretty unimpressed and said if it happened again to get something stronger regardless as a once off. Normally For a migraine I have either taken tramadol or co-codamol 30/500.

I don't want to take either of those during pregnancy but when I was out yesterday thought I'll buy some weak co-codamol (8/500) to keep just in case.

The lady asked if they were for me and I said yes then she looked at my bump and said "oh I don't think I can sell you these you aren't really supposed to take them"

She had taken them back off the counter and put them back on the shelf and wasn't making any attempt to clarify with the pharmacist or anything. It was hot and DD was getting impatient so rather than make a fuss I just left and bought them in Boots.

I did feel like pointing out that I hadn't actually told her I was pregnant (how rude etc... I might just be very very bloated!) but DH laughed at me though he agreed it was silly considering I could freely buy a bottle of whiskey and a pack of cigars but not some painkillers! I know medicine is probably regulated differently and they may have the right to refuse but still.

I went away feeling a bit patronised nonetheless. Possibly hormones! Has anyone else been refused a chemist sale like this before?

OP posts:
nancerama · 13/09/2013 16:30

DS and I were both laid up with rotten colds a few weeks ago. I dragged us down the road to the supermarket to stock up on Calpol and Lemsip. I was made to put the Lemsip back because I wasn't permitted more than a certain amount of paracetamol. DS and I were not allowed to be ill at the same time.

prettybird · 13/09/2013 17:16

I was refused anti-histamine at Boots because I was breastfeeding ds (11 months at the time). I was going on holiday and occasionally get a bad heat rash/urticaria in very hot temperatures so I just wanted to have it in case that happened.

Went home and rang my best friend (a GP). Ended up speaking to her dh (also a GP): he said, "Well, breastmilk is now only part of your ds' diet [no formula but he was obviously on "real" food by then]. It's highly unlikely but at most it might make your ds slightly sleepy. And your problem is....?? WinkWink"

I went and bought the anti-histamine at another chemist, not mentioning I was breast feeding Hmm.

GwendolineMaryLacey · 13/09/2013 17:22

This is where self service checkouts come in handy because the 17 year old supervising didn't know or care that my pregnant self apparently wasn't allowed thrush cream.

bishboschone · 13/09/2013 17:23

I was in hospital with ds for 5 weeks before he was born with pre eclampsia . I had a fair amount of co codomol . I guess it was under consultant care but still.

MamyPoko · 13/09/2013 18:04

I was refused thrush cream in early pregnancy. I had to wait a day to see the GP, who issued a prescription without batting an eye, then took the prescription back to the pharmacy, to be told buying the cream over the counter would be cheaper than paying for the prescription, so I should probably do that.

Grr.

Cheesy123 · 13/09/2013 18:12

I went to buy myself a bottle of wine, I had my dd with me she was prem and still very small she was about 8months at time and 8lb so looked newbornish, the man nearly wouldn't sell me the wine, I had to promise him I would only have one glass :) at this point I hadn't had a drink in 17months had just finished breast feeding and really wanted a glass without a lecture!

Gruntfuttock · 13/09/2013 18:17

MamyPoko wouldn't it be free with a prescription since you were pregnant?

MrsFlorrick · 13/09/2013 18:19

Oh I was refused unpasturised cheese in Waitrose whilst pregnant. I was furious. It wasn't like I was going to eat it raw, it was to be cooked thoroughly as part of a dish.

And I have been refused co codamol a number of times in Boots even though I wasn't pregnant. I was fat and looked pregnant and they didn't believe me Sad

And yes I hate hate hate this patronising attitude that I am to feeble of mind to work it out for myself.

And as for the idiot pharmacists who insisted I was pregnant (and therefore lying to them to get "drugs") AngryAngryAngry

It's humiliating and very annoying to have to

timeforahaircut · 13/09/2013 18:44

Am I the only one who ends up keeping an overstocked medicine cabinet because I really can't face the hassle of not being able to buy what I need in one shop when the whole family goes down with a bug at the same time? So instead my house contains more drugs than it should.

Abra1d · 13/09/2013 19:02

Add message | Report | Message poster Cheesy123 Fri 13-Sep-13 '18:12:19
I went to buy myself a bottle of wine, I had my dd with me she was prem and still very small she was about 8months at time and 8lb so looked newbornish, the man nearly wouldn't sell me the wine, I had to promise him I would only have one glass at this point I hadn't had a drink in 17months had just finished breast feeding and really wanted a glass without a lecture!'
This makes me so cross. What a nerve. I am glad my two were born 15 and 16 years ago, when people minded their own damn business. I did once shock some American colleagues by having a glass of wine at six months into a pregnancy. Their jaws were hanging open. It was my weekly treat, with my GP's approval.

ouryve · 13/09/2013 19:04

Co-codamol is really self limiting for most of us, anyhow. I alternate 30/500 with plain paracetamol for the pain of HMS/EDS. If I have a really bad week, usually when I'm pre-menstrual and all my ligaments are extra loose and I've yanked something I shouldn't, I might take 6 a day for a couple of days, plus my full dose of naproxen. That might make my neck/shoulder/lower back/knee/foot/all of them less likely to make me cry, but I pay for it by not being able to shit for days, afterwards!

SauvignonBlanche · 13/09/2013 19:08

I went to Sainsbury's to try and buy Nytol once, I hadn't slept for 2 days since I'd been told at a scan that DS2 had died.
I was waiting to be induced and was visibly pregnant, the assistant glared at my bump, went to speak to the pharmacist then claimed they interacted with another medication I was on - they don't.
They never asked if I was PG though I clearly was and I couldn't bring myself to explain.

WaftyCrank · 13/09/2013 19:20

I was refused calpol in Sainsburys once! DS was having an op so whilst waiting I walked there to get a bottle for when he came home. They refused because they said I looked under 16 (I was 23) and wouldn't let XH, who was with me, buy it either incase he gave it to me. I was hardly going to use it to harm myself in the car park!

StayAwayFromTheEdge · 13/09/2013 19:35

Pharmacists and their staff can only sell medicines if they are being used within their product license, which means that co-codamol shouldn't be sold - a GP can prescribe it if they think the benefits outweigh the risk.

I'd be quite happy for all codiene products to be far more strictly controlled - there is a huge problem with addiction.

Golden Eye ointment hasn't been available for months - you can get the drops though.

bearleftmonkeyright · 13/09/2013 19:36

This one is pretty funny, I was heavily pregnant and rather constipated. Sent dp out for some syrup of figs. He told her it was for me and she wouldnt sell it to him and he came back with fybogel which I'd already tried. Syrup of figs I ask you!? Confused Blush Hmm

Xiaoxiong · 13/09/2013 19:36

I'm posting from the antenatal ward at my hospital - I was prescribed cocodamol on Tuesday by one set of midwives and consultant and by Friday I've been taken off it again by a different set of consultants because "we no longer prescribe cocodamol in pregnancy" Confused

ArabellaBeaumaris · 13/09/2013 19:36

waftycrank my DP was IDed buying Calpol. The best thing was that it was on the way home from his work - as a doctor!

ArabellaBeaumaris · 13/09/2013 19:37

Oh & he was 31

MamyPoko · 13/09/2013 19:40

Gruntfuttock
I hadn't been issued the free prescription card yet.

camtt · 13/09/2013 19:40

Sainsburys refused to fill the prescription I had from the GP for my not quite three year old DS - that stuff to paint onto fungal toenails which apparently shouldn't be prescribed for children under three. I took it elsewhere and decided to avoid sainsburys pharmacy in future if at all possible

MamyPoko · 13/09/2013 19:42

Gruntfuttock.

Plus, I wasn't about to admit to a second pharmacist I was pregnant.

BurnThisDiscoDown · 13/09/2013 19:43

I had to negotiate to buy anti histamines from boots once. I was breastfeeding DS (who was 14 months and feeding once a day at the very most). They didn't want to sell it to me, then I pointed out he could take it as he was over a year old, then they said he would only be allowed to take a quarter. I said that surely if I took a tablet, less than a quarter would get through to him. They still wouldn't have it, so I promised I'd only take a quarter of a tablet (then took a whole one!).

OlympicSleepingChampion · 13/09/2013 19:59

I have a tendency to get eye infections every couple of months. No idea why, I just do. My GP used to prescribe me chloramphenicol eye drops and I used to have a stash that I kept in the fridge ready for the next bout as they were prescription only so I didn't have to faff making GP's appointments.

Now they are available to buy over the counter but you have to see the pharmacist before you can get them. Twice I have been told that my eye didn't look 'infected enough' even though I had tears streaming down my face on account of the gunged up, bright red eye corner and horrendous pain. It always looked infected enough to the GP! The would only sell me Brolene which is neither use or ornament to treat a raging attack of conjunctivitis.

I just buy it online now from a UK chemist site. No questions, no problems! And I again have my stash in the fridge.

ProudAS · 13/09/2013 22:20

They are reluctant to sell me ibuprofen because I'm asthmatic despite fact that its available off shelf, never given me any problem in years AND GP given me thumbs up to take it.

giraffescantdanceallnight · 13/09/2013 22:24

Same Proud.

Loads of things set me asthma off - ibu isn't one of them