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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Chemist refusing to sell cocodamol

95 replies

WinkyisbackontheButterBeer · 06/04/2017 11:44

Not really an aibu more of an is this normal.
I had minor surgery last week and am in a lot of pain.
This morning I asked dh to pop to the chemist for some cocodamol as paracetamol and ibuprofen are not touching it.
The lady in the chemist asked if they were for him to which dh truthfully said no they were for me.
She then refused to sell him them and said that I would have to come and get them myself. Dh said that if I could do that then I wouldn't need them, but she wouldn't budge.
In the end he had to go to a different chemist and told them that the cocodamol were for him to save the faff but this made him late for work so he can't drop them in to me until his lunch break.
Just wondered if this was normal practice and what the reasons for it might be.

OP posts:

PerspicaciaTick · 06/04/2017 12:58

I have to admit to being another person who usually lies to pharmacists.

Original poster

WinkyisbackontheButterBeer · 06/04/2017 12:59

I didn't realise that the issue with codine abuse was so bad.
It gives me awful stomach pains if I take too much so no risk of that here.
I am loving it at the moment though.

OP posts:

jennielou75 · 06/04/2017 13:04

My mum is house bound waiting for a hip replacement. She is in constant pain but just takes cocodamol before bed and when she wakes up. The rest of the day she takes paracetamol. Her local pharmacy refuses to sell it to her and she can't travel any further. As a result when I go to visit me and my sister go to every pharmacy we can find and buy a pack separately. They were so nasty to my mum at her local one when she struggled to get there that now she never wants to go back there. Just hope the op hurries up because then she won't need it!
Oh and we know she could get it on prescription but that would mean a long journey she just can't do.

jennielou75 · 06/04/2017 13:05

Oh and if you buy effervescent they never ask all the questions or give the three day warning!

expatinscotland · 06/04/2017 13:07

Lesson learned. Honesty isn't the best policy when it comes to chemists.

DingDongtheWitchIsDangDiddlyDe · 06/04/2017 13:08

Cos of codeine abuse is a stupid reason. Anyone abusing codiene will know the tricks and the places to go, and the chemist can spot frequent buyers. REfusing to sell to anyone who isn't physically there (and sometimes not even then) is just punishing people in pain and witholding painkillers. It's either a power trip or fear for themselves.

2rebecca · 06/04/2017 13:12

Agree, I've lied buying OTC 1% hydrocortisone cream for my son with eczema when he was small because if I'd said it was for a child they'd have said I had to see a GP so I said it was for me.
Re the old woman wanting paracetamol I suspect if she phoned her GP surgery and asked if it could go on repeat until she has her hip op they'd do it without seeing her.

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 06/04/2017 13:12

that's really really annoying

why not call GP, explain you are in agony (they wont need to examine you if your notes will show surgery) and ask for something stronger and they can prepare a prescription

also have you tried parecetomol x 2, 500mg Ibuprofen every 4 hours, if you take regularly it does actually work (to my surprise)

also why does a chemist need to be wary of codeine abuse, more than Tesco is about alcohol abuse? surely its not their job to police that

stopfuckingshoutingatme · 06/04/2017 13:13

jennielou75

that pharmacy are arsehole fuckers, how can you not sell an old lady parecetomol!

DJBaggySmalls · 06/04/2017 13:15

So someone in pain is supposed to hobble into the chemist because drug users.
ffs.

Original poster

WinkyisbackontheButterBeer · 06/04/2017 13:16

I think Jennie meant that they wouldn't sell cocodamol to her mum.
Sorry to hear that she is in so much pain and hope that her op is fine soon.

OP posts:

terrylene · 06/04/2017 13:17

Codeine is wonderful when you are in pain - I usually get nurofen plus. All it ever does to me is take the pain away. I wouldn't go near it otherwise because it bungs me up.

I never got the addiction thing until I read about Mel Smith and his addiction to N+ - he was taking loads - an awful lot of ibuprofen for a small amount of codeine . Which is not good.

I expect someone has been hauled over the coals for being lax with the rules somewhere, and they are overcompensating. My local pharmacist was the one who suggested it to me, when parcetamol was not working for me. It is good to find one who works with you - then you can trust them and they can trust you.

I have always gone with honesty being the best policy. It is usually the best one in the end, even if there are bumps along the way. Pharmacists who push you into being dishonest can piss off - find a better one. I find that people who automatically assume you are dishonest are projecting.

mirime · 06/04/2017 13:21

Just a tip - you can get ibuprofen with 12.5 codeine and still take plain paracetamol. That's what I was doing last year, was the best option for otc painkillers.

I've never been asked anything when buying the ibuprofen and codeine, but it probably depends on how much of a problem there is locally with codeine addiction.

BeyondThePage · 06/04/2017 13:23

It is part of a pharmacists job to be aware of substance abuse. It is part of the counter assistant's training too. There are many medications that pharmacies will "keep an eye on".

The pharmacist will always come out and give a private consultation to those who insist. (but mostly people pop off to Morrisons/Tesco/Sainsbury where they don't seem to care as much)

MiaowTheCat · 06/04/2017 13:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

lazyarse123 · 06/04/2017 13:23

Can i just mention you cannot take paracetemol with cocodamol, it's contraindicated. Also if you ring your gp and explain you are practically housebound they should be able to fax a prescription to any chemist. Glad you're feeling better op.

lazyarse123 · 06/04/2017 13:24

FAX showing my age, should have said electronically request.

IHeartDodo · 06/04/2017 13:25

I bought some for my DP when he had a root canal! Didn't lie, no probs :)

BewtySkoolDropowt · 06/04/2017 13:26

I lie to chemists to get anti-histamines (although now I generally buy them in the supermarket to avoid the issue).

Apparently they can exacerbate asthma. I tell you what does exacerbate asthma. A bloody allergic reaction...

DingDongtheWitchIsDangDiddlyDe · 06/04/2017 13:27

It is part of a pharmacists job to be aware of substance abuse. It is part of the counter assistant's training too. There are many medications that pharmacies will "keep an eye on"

Of course it is, but that does not equate to "don't give anyone the drugs they want to buy" does it?

unlucky83 · 06/04/2017 13:31

A chemist tried to refuse to sell me 75mg aspirin when I was heavily pregnant...it should have been on prescription but it was cheaper to buy otc. I said that it was under the direction of a consultant etc but they insisted on telling me in great detail exactly how it could harm my baby etc etc. I already knew and that it was a case of the benefits outweighing the risks -it was safer for me and baby to take it than not. I had been trying not to worry about it and it really upset me ....really rubbed my nose in it. And she did sell it me in the end...

I think the codeine abuse thing is a bit - on one hand they have started selling (lower strength) cocodamol otc - on the other they are more reluctant to prescribe it....
Years ago I was prescribed codeine (not with paracetamol) for kidney stones - seemingly with no restriction and used to take what I had left as a general painkiller until it ran out.
My dad had an operation a few months ago. As an inpatient they gave him cocodamol but wouldn't prescribe it for him to take home because of codeine restrictions - they told him to see how he got on with just paracetamol and if it wasn't enough to get back in touch and they would review it...

BeyondThePage · 06/04/2017 13:34

Of course it is, but that does not equate to "don't give anyone the drugs they want to buy" does it

Not "anyone" no, but you have to use your discretion - sometimes you get it wrong. But the "little old lady" rushing in at 2 min to closing saying "can I have some of that stuff, what's it called, oh yes co-codamol, please" is one I have refused and been spat at in the face for the privilege.

JaneEyre70 · 06/04/2017 13:35

I used to work in healthcare so know that codeine is a good cough suppressant to take at night - got a chest/ear infection but i've got horrendous piles so never take codeine unless I'm desperate. Went to pharmacy feeling like death, explained why I wanted it and shop assistant (not pharmacist) went absolutely mad at me, said that wasn't what it was for and that I was misusing it. Point blank refused to sell me any very loudly in front of several other customers too so I had to drive to the next chemist where I just asked for it and was given it! I was furious. I am an adult with a working basic medical knowledge and not a substance misuser!! I'd actually been to my GP for antibiotics and he'd given me a script for co codamol 500/32 but I didn't fill it as I knew they would be too strong for me.

unlucky83 · 06/04/2017 13:37

(I should have said I took aspirin all the time - even when I wasn't pregnant - why I was worried about prescription charges. I didn't see the point of switching to prescription to get it free with my maternity exemption when it only cost about £2 per month anyway. )

jennielou75 · 06/04/2017 13:38

I do get the concern with cocodamol but when my mum hobbled in to the pharmacy, sat and waited because she couldn't stand in the queue for them to ask her loads of questions then refuse to sell it to her....she doesn't take it with paracetamol she takes it alone before bed and when she wakes up. The rest of the day she takes paracetamol alone. None of us can take ibuprofen because of stomach issues. She has only been to the docs twice in the past year for referrals for her knee then hip.

I just think if someone is in obvious pain they should be able to buy pain relief without feeling like some kind of criminal!

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