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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to get formula on prescription?

127 replies

Insanityismymiddlename · 04/10/2013 15:12

I can't work out if IABU or if my Doctor is so would like opinions.

My DD was diagnosed by HV as having lactose overload and suggested trying Lactose Free formula which I bought and tried and it worked miracles, as it worked HV told me to try and get it on prescription.

Saw DR today who agreed its lactose overload considering the symptoms cleared as soon as milk was changed, and to be fair he did prescribe the milk but did make a big show of it asking why I can't just buy it.

The thing is Lactose free milk is considered to be medicinal and not needed unless a problem with lactose and I can only buy it in pharmacies at a stupidly inflammed price compared to other 'normal' formulas and seeing DD is entitled to free prescriptions then I don't see why the doctor had an issue prescribing it.

I was breastfeeding and didn't plan to use formula at all so having to go from free breastmilk to spending £20 a week on formula (would have only been £10 on normal formula if I had stopped breastfeeding for no other reason) and its a lot out of my weekly budget.

So AIBU asking for it on prescription?

OP posts:
MakeHayIsAWhaleNow · 04/10/2013 16:39

But she wasn't choosing to pay for formula in the first place....she was feeding her baby using a free method! It's not a jump from formula to a more expensive one, therefore is rather a big difference.

HappyMummyOfOne · 04/10/2013 16:42

Makehay, if a person cant afford £12 a week to feed a child formula then they should never have had a child. It costs far more than £12 a week to raise a child and even if BF the child will need solids at six months anyway.

PragmaticWench · 04/10/2013 16:45

LittleMissWise you actually only pay a token of the full costs of your drugs, the NHS only passes on part of the charge. Babies however are not subject to paying that token charge (£7 ish right?) and that is decided by the Government, not by parents trying to 'get out of something'. Try not being holier than thou.

Tailtwister · 04/10/2013 16:48

YANBU. Your baby needs a special formula due to a medical condition.

Ask for it. I can't see any reason why you shouldn't.

HaPPy8 · 04/10/2013 16:51

I don't think you are unreasonable from the point of of view its available on prescription, so why not, but i don't think it should be available on prescription in this circumstance because as someone said above, it is the parents responsibility to feed the child. Lots of people need specialist diets throughout life, doesn't mean they don't have to pay for food! Where does the NHS draw the line? Should any mother who can't breastfeed get formula on prescription for her baby? Of course not.

NewBlueShoesToo · 04/10/2013 16:52

Surely if you are breastfeeding you can cut out lactose from your diet and carry on?
I never thought breastfeeding was free, possible because I ate so much myself when doing it! There's no such thing as a free lunch, conservation of energy and all that.
Personally I don't think lactose free formula should be free on prescription which is why I chose to just buy it myself (also put off by endless doctor check ups). I guess if it was on prescription you should have to pay the price for normal formula and the nhs would pay the difference, that would be fair.

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 04/10/2013 16:53

There's still lactose in breast milk

MakeHayIsAWhaleNow · 04/10/2013 16:53

happymummy maybe, but if it is a cost that the parents had not factored in straight away then it can cause financial stress where there need not be any. Greater and more important minds than me have decided that this be available on free prescription for a baby, unless the OP is very well off I don't begrudge her getting it via the NHS any more than I would begrudge anyone getting the medicines they needed. (Has anyone mentioned taxes that the OP would have paid that have gone towards the NHS yet or is that a Pandora's box?!)

MakeHayIsAWhaleNow · 04/10/2013 16:54

newblueshoes yes, I can see that being a compromise.

LittleMissWise · 04/10/2013 16:54

I am not being holier than thou, thanks Pragmatic. The OP is saying she planned on BF, so wasn't planning on having to get formula. Now she does the one the baby needs is expensive so it's easier and cheaper to get it on prescription.

I disagree with that. The NHS is stretched to almost the point of breaking. People are being told they can not have the drugs they need to prolong their lives, yet someone who can afford the formula for their baby gets a prescription for it because it's " easier and cheaper!" In my mind that is wrong.

I, also, do not need it pointing out that I pay a token of the full price of some of the drugs I get I prescription, thanks! It is also possible to pay more than the full price of the drug.

MakeHayIsAWhaleNow · 04/10/2013 16:55

But I believe there are dietary reasons why the OP cannot just cut out lactose and continue to bf.

Original poster
Insanityismymiddlename · 04/10/2013 16:57

I could afford the formula at a stretch and didn't know I can order online so will look into that.
It's a cost I didn't expect and I see your point about feeding my child, I guess I just banked on breastfeeding for 6mths then moving onto solids which wasn't much of an extra cost as I have a budget for the family and can afford one more tiny mouth.

I guess I just think its a little shit that they can charge so much for a formula (its not just a 3 pound difference a week its twice the amount of normal formula as the pots are half the size)that is needed for medical purposes, and given its a medical reason its needed then I thought thats what the NHS was for.

OP posts:
hugoagogo · 04/10/2013 16:59

YANBU Of course you should. dd had to have lactose free formula until she was nearly three as ordinary soy milk was not high enough in calories for her.
I do remember feeling that the repeat prescriptions were given a little reluctantly.
There are more hidden costs involved in having a lactose intolerant baby/toddler than some people imagine. Everything from more nappies (diorrhea) meats, breads, biscuits that are lactose free are always more expensive not to mention specialist desserts and chocolates. Not to mention she was entitled to it and needed it to prevent serious complications.

BTW my preventative asthma inhalers cost the nhs £150 a month and me £7.80 should I feel bad too? ffs

Original poster
Insanityismymiddlename · 04/10/2013 17:00

Newblueshoes I did mention earlier but may have been lost in the volume of expenses, I have dietary issues myself so cannot cut out lactose as well unfortunately, if I could I would have believe me.

OP posts:
Bert2e · 04/10/2013 17:00

I'm just very sad that no one seems to have discussed how to bf a lactose intolerant baby :-( Then there would be no need for formula........

Original poster
Insanityismymiddlename · 04/10/2013 17:01

Expenses = responses sorry multitasking.

OP posts:
HavantGuard · 04/10/2013 17:02

In a logical world the OP would pay the standard price for formula and the NHS would cover the difference. In a logical world people wouldn't try to get Calpol and Headrin on the NHS and it would be sufficiently funded and doctors wouldn't have their prescribing powers curbed so that when they prescribe the best option it is automatically changed to the cheapest option.

HavantGuard · 04/10/2013 17:04

I absolutely agree with you about formula prices. It's a cartel. A generic lactose free formula would not cost anywhere near as much but no one is interested in making one.

Ra88 · 04/10/2013 17:06

It's the systems fault not the op , nhs should provide a token value to use , so if a "normal" tub of formula costs £8 and the lactose free is £7 more, then they should provide a token for £7 not the full amount ! But they don't .. So I would still say YANBU

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 04/10/2013 17:06

But there is still lactose in BM. It's the milk sugar found on all mammal milks. Cutting out lactose in your own diet wouldn't help. It's CMPA and CMPI that cutting dairy helps

foreverondiet · 04/10/2013 17:10

Well I actually think that if any baby is giving formula on prescription the parents should offset the cost up to the cost of regular formula, I don't see why anyone should get special formula totally free.

ie I assume that a mother who say had a mastectomy for medical reasons wouldn't get normal formula free, even though she had a medical reason that would make breastfeeding impossible.

link its not double the price, maybe 30% more.

Can order it in to any Boots.

Nat38 · 04/10/2013 17:15

I agree, it`s a medical need!! If the mother planned on breastfeeding-which is FREE-then to swap to formula milk & more importantly specialist formula milk that is more expensive by however much is a cost not factored into the budget.
Its a need for health, so why not have it on prescription??
Mother was breastfeeding, no cost to herself or the NHS for however long until her baby was diagnosed & would of carried this on until baby was weaned(I assume!!) but due do medical reasons, baby needs specialist milk formula-no different to any other medical need!!

Thesouthernwindisblowing · 04/10/2013 17:17

I find it odd that the op isn't paying for her child's food herself. Wouldn't occur to me to get it on prescription. That said, I can see how it must be tempting to save money, shame it's from the nhs though. I guess then the system is at fault.

Wheresmycaffeinedrip · 04/10/2013 17:19

Are you saying that the pp should have paid £35 a tub for her neocate too? For three days worth?

meddie · 04/10/2013 17:23

Its no different than Coeliacs getting pasta,flour,bread, pizza and other foods on prescription.
Theres a reason its available on prescription. Its a genuine medical need