To want to make my own decision about what I out on my body in pregnancy

[ichifanny]

Nearly 30 weeks pregnant got absolutely massive agony haemorrhoids that are stopping me from sleeping from be pressure , went to a pharmacy to get a treatment cream as I was desperate and was told as I’m pregnant I’d need to see GP for a prescription even though I can buy it in any shop off the shelf . Naturally I came home empty handed and have ordered same day delivery on Amazon . I’m getting slightly fed up with feeling like public property in pregnancy , anyone can walk in and buy the cream but my being pregnant meant they would t allow me to ,if I want to drink a bottle of vodka or smoke some heroin or use cream on my arse I will .

OK, but if something goes wrong there us a possibility that you will turn around and sue them.

It’s your choice to put what you want on your body. Their choice to sell it to you or not. Or do your rights trump theirs?

Ah vampire thriller did she explain that you had to buy extra expensive ones instead for pregnancy

If I’d asked for advice to what cream to use in pregnancy I can see why they would be able to refuse me but i didn’t , it’s no different to me throwing paracetamol or ibuprofen into the basket .

Generally YANBU - I was prevented from buying OTC paracetamol for DH “in case I took it myself”, prevented from buying alcohol for Christmas Day in Sainsbury’s “in case I drank it myself” (and so what if I did?), and told I had to have decaf coffee in Starbucks (well into my second trimester so quite safe by that point). I am a doctor, so well aware of what is and isn’t safe in pregnancy and more than capable of looking it up if I’m not sure, and being told by random people in shops that I couldn’t buy entirely normal things in case I misused them was infuriating.

HOWEVER, over the counter meds are slightly different. They are regulated, and part of that regulation is that pharmacies can’t sell them to people in high risk groups. That includes pregnant/breastfeeding women. That is also why you can’t buy calpol OTC for the 8week immunisations and have to find a doctor to prescribe it. Or leave your baby at home and fib. It’s annoying but it isn’t the pharmacists’ fault. They would be risking their licence if they sold them to you for your own use (they should sell them if they aren’t for you though!)

Yes I agree on over the counter Sashkin that system is in place for a reason . But I’m talking on shelf medication that anyone else can stroll up and buy .

Works the same way if you try to buy off the shelf medicine for children. I tried to buy a cream for my dd in Boots. When I said it was for her they refused to sell it and asked me to get a prescription for it. It was a very mild steroid cream that was the mildest of many she'd been prescribed as a baby. Having said that, I refused all medical treatments and even avoided using my inhaler whilst pregnant. Baby was first priority (having miscarried 2).

Most piles medication (except Anusol I think) don’t have enough sample data to support whether they are safe in pregnancy or not. That’s why they need to come via prescription.

You can buy Calpol in the supermarket with no questions asked. Just buy anything else you need there too including thrush cream

It’s Anusol I wanted Duchyduke,
Och well it should arrive tonight unless the delivery person deems me too pregnant for it when they try to deliver .

I shall buy everything in the supermarket from now on dementedpixie with a large poncho on to cover my pregnancy lest I be judged .

Thanks for letting me rant , I’m still waiting for someone to rock up telling me I’m being selfish for not wanting to take basic medications for pain management and most pregnant ladies manage fine without but that’s a whole other argument

It's not a case of judging. It's a case of pharmacists being careful. If an item isn't allowed to be sold OTC to a pregnant woman it's for a reason. It may seem stupid or a tiny risk to you. To them it's not worth taking.

Are you taking ibuprofen?

@Pawpaw you’re much more likely to cause harm to your unborn child with poorly controlled asthma than you are with inhalers. They are extremely safe for use - salbutamol is even used to stop premature labour, and steroids are given to help preterm babies’ lungs mature.

A severe asthma attack could cause premature labour, cause a hypoxic brain injury, cause stillbirth, or mean your baby had to be delivered prematurely in order to to save your life. If you have a second child, please take your inhalers during pregnancy.

You absolutely need to treat piles during pregnancy otherwise you could end up with huge golf balls coming out of your ass on the delivery table & they can get infected & increase risk of tears. People who don’t treat them effectively are crazy.

No I’m taking absolutely nothing apart from folic acid and vitamins and iron Rideon , all I wanted was bum cream to make life a bit more bearable . I’m aware it’s contraindicated in pregnancy .

@rideon, ibuprofen is not advised during pregnancy.

I understand OP. Piles are awful and I bet you just wanted to buy some cream quickly so you could get some relief. I was given cream otc when I was a week from my due date with no questions asked. Maybe try another pharmacy.

Exactly pawpaw and duchyduke being pregnancy doesn’t make you suddenly immune to needing any medications . The harm done by not treating even minor ailments could potentially cause problems . Anyway my Anusol is winging its way to me now and I intend to use it as is my decision because I’m a sensible person who can make my own informed choices and weigh up the alleged risks .

I think there are some, even many circumstances in which it is reasonable for a provider to refuse services on the grounds of pregnancy.

However, it is generally taken much too far and completely understand your frustration OP. The individual pharmacy is probably just following a mandatory policy but really any such policy or action of refusing service on the grounds of pregnancy ought to be proportionate and justified. Not just arbitrarily inconvenient when the risk is minimal / virtually non existent and the product is readily available elsewhere anyway.

I can see no reason why pharmacists shouldn't be able to just advise you where there is a lack of evidence but risks are felt to be low / non existent. In fact, as they are literally medication safety experts I find it bizarre that they should have to defer to a GP.

@vampirethriller

She was correct, had you been buying them for yourself. It is advised not to have supplements with vitamin A when you are pregnant as too much can be harmful to the baby, hence you have to make sure that the tablets are suitable (most multi-vitamins will have vitamin A in them).

@Sashkin thank you, I'm a pharmacist and was trying to put into words what you just did without sounding inflammatory.

When medications are manufactured and patented they come with a licence that says how they should be used. Due to it being unethical for a Pharma company to conduct clinical trials on pregnant and BF women, many of these products aren't licensed for OTC sale for use under these circumstances (there are others too, such as whilst taking certain other meds, medical conditions and age) but can be prescribed by a GP who is in a better position to risk assess how safe it will be for that particular pregnant patient.

If you were a customer and asked me to recommend something for the piles you describe, I would absolutely refer you to the GP because they sound as though they warrant a steroid suppository such as Scheriproct or Proctesydyl, both of which are prescription only.

If we had a surprise inspection by the GPhC or a secret shopper and was found to be selling OTC meds for unlicensed use we would be in deep shit. We know that the product is suitable for pregnant women under most circumstances but patient safety is our main concern and not all pregnant women are experts in what can and can't be taken safely during pregnancy. Ibuprofen is a good example, it's contraindicated whilst pregnant but the amount of pregnant women who ask for it is unbelievable.

We don't intentionally try and make life awkward for pregnant women I've met some horrible pharmacists though but I will apologise on behalf of the MHRA for your inconvenience.

Congrats on your upcoming baby!

Exactly what I was trying to say but put more succinctly Shrimpi

Ok, sorry OP, just checking you weren't when you said you threw it in the basket!

Paracetamol is fine though, and can I recommend (through eyewatering painful experience) wet toilet paper (cold water or those ones you can buy) and movicol as a stool softener if you need (stools lingering in the rectum definitely part of reason for me) and I tried to avoid "laxatives" in pregnancy and got myself into a worse state.