AIBU to request double prescriptions due to Brexit?

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

I am on medication which is not life saving. It enables me to continue working and parenting though as without it I have allergy symptoms that are severe enough to mean I can't function.
I have just put my repeat prescription request in, and added in the notes I would like a 60 day supply (over 2 scripts) due to potential medication shortage.
Am I being dramatic? Has anyone else felt the need to do this? I have also had to come off the pill (Microgynon) as I couldn't obtain it. I was told by the pharmacist there were supply issues due to Brexit. I will go back and ask the GP for a different pill, but my daily antihistamine isn't swapable in the same way. I am now wondering if the GP will be all at my request.

Of course it matters, Thrush cream is one of the medications that is no longer available on prescription. Because it is £4 and costs the NHS much much more than that to give out on prescription. Like a 23p box of paracetamol.

The thought of someone "fighting tooth and nail" and wasting valuable appointments and time at the surgery makes me feel sick. Those appointments are desperately needed.

The whole point of free prescriptions for those who can not afford them is to ensure they actually use the medication, so the condition is less likely to worsen. If it does, the cost to the NHS is much higher.
People who can not afford to look after their health cost the NHS billions. Free prescriptions is one way to reduce that cost significantly.

Have you ever been on benefits Tweedle? Because actually, your post smacks of privilege. If it makes you sick at the mere thought of someone needing a GP appt to obtain thrush treatment, I suggest you are one very lucky individual.

@ThisMustBeMyDream I've been on Fexofenadine for about 7 years and have always been given 90 days worth on repeat. Surely it's easier for the surgery to deal with that way as I'm not asking them for it every month. I would ask your GP to do that for you.

GP here. We’ve been told that we’re not allowed to help patients stockpile their medication, and will be punished if we do.

So I highly doubt your GP will grant your request.

I have MS. Your GP will not do it.

I’ve managed to stockpile inhalers for my DD. For years I’ve simply ordered when getting low rather than the next official prescription date. For the last few months I’ve requested a repeat as soon as I could.

I’ve also managed to get a stock of my medication due to a surgery mistake which has, for once, worked very much in my favour!

Well said @NoCauseRebel

My chemist requests my medication monthly and then texts me when it's ready to collect.

The only one I get a 3 month supply of is Lamotrigine (for epilepsy).

@666onmyhead it sounds like your GP is stuck in the last decade but it might be worth registering on Lloyds Echo ( www.echo.co.uk/_/repeat-prescriptions ) to see if they can help you.

666onmyhead - How can it be costing you a fortune to have your prescriptions monthly as opposed to every 4 months, if you pay once every year?

I asked this recently. They're not allowed to give you double.

There have been supply issues with Microgynon for years, that and the fact it's more expensive than its equivalent Rigevidon means the NHS don't like giving it. My GP switched me several years before Brexit was even a thing.

you're being a bit unreasonable and a bit dramatic tbh.

My husband works in a large hospital pharmacy. There are very tight restrictions in place on their ordering to prevent stockpiling pre Brexit. Therefore they don't have extra stock, therefore they cannot give out extra stock

I asked for 6 months hrt and they said no. I am buying it online instead.

Actually @ThisMustBeMyDream I have. And know a lot of people who are. "Smacks of privilege"?! Now that's funny. The fact is people who can afford thrush treatment/paracetamol despite being on benefits are constantly attempting to get this medication from the NHS.

It does matter that this medication is £4 and not £20+ as @DifficultSituation19 tried to suggest. Because her friend is "fighting tooth and nail" over 4 quid and using the argument that she can't afford "over 20 quid" to justify that.

That is what's happening, I heard someone ranting about how "ridiculous" it was that the GP would not prescribe paracetamol. She'd given him a piece of her mind. Their main stance was that they couldn't afford to "shell out 10 quid a week for the unforseeable". It's 19p a pack. I saw her after the school run in the corner shop buying 4 Soleros at £1.30 each. That is the norm, and that is the problem.

Meanwhile it is 6 weeks for a routine GP appointment and people with serious conditions are being left too long. So yeah, I feel a bit sick and it's got nothing at all to do with "privilege"

What a load of self righteous twaddle.

A single person under 25 has £58.10 a week to live off. A single person over 25 has £73.34 a week to live off.
£4 is 6-8% of their weekly income. What would anyone in those circumstances choose? Ignore the symptoms and hope it doesn't worsen or cause complications due to other underlying conditions? Or eat/pay bills to have water, electric and warmth?

If you earn too little to pay for your prescriptions then probably £4 is a lot to be fair. Thrush treatment would cost whatever a prescription charge is nowadays - £9? so yes, cheaper to buy it otc for me.

@OddBoots thanks - but our gp isn't on the electrical prescription thinngmy ... they are in the Stone Age still .

@Mamamia456 it was costing me a fortune until I realised I could buy a pre paid certificate - no one there actually told me about them !

YABU because if everyone is selfish and does this, then it creates shortages where there might not have been any. Sorry, it sucks. I am concerned about it but I’m not going to screw everyone over in the process of worrying about myself. I do think it’s sensible to order a bit early if you’re due a prescription on 31 October or the days after just in case but that’s different to ordering double.

My sister's and I were all moved off Microgynon years ago and on to rigevidon as it was cheaper for the doctors, I'm surprised you're still being prescribed it now as this happened to us (in two different counties) years ago. I was also prescribed naproxen this week with no waiting so there may have just been a delay in delivery in your area.

Of course it matters, Thrush cream is one of the medications that is no longer available on prescription. Because it is £4 and costs the NHS much much more than that to give out on prescription. Like a 23p box of paracetamol.

It is only oral thrush treatment that isn't on prescription now, not vaginal thrush.

I've managed to get a stock of a couple of months worth of my meds by ordering a bit early every time since early this year, my GP has set up the repeat ordering system so that you can only order a few days before you run out now though.

For thrush treatment, 3 fluconazole capsules and 2 tubes of clotrimazole cream for £4.99 on pharmacy first.

www.pharmacyfirst.co.uk/2-x-clotrimazole-cream-1-20g-unboxed-3-x-fluconazole-150mg-capsu.html

I honestly don't know why you'd want paracetamol prescribed when it would cost you £9 and you can get OTC paracetamol for far less.

People want paracetomol prescirbed if they have free precriptions and can not afford it at that moment in time. Also, it is often requested by parents who have children im childcare where it is insisted on being prescribed or they won't administer it.