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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Me or the pharmacy

45 replies

RainbowCottonCandy · 21/05/2022 09:04

My 17 yr old dd has been on anti depressants for a few months now. She's also awaiting a formal diagnosis of adhd/asd. She has very low mood and is prone to anger outbursts.
Her prescription review is done over the phone by the GP then it gets sent to the pharmacy. Last month the GP booked the review for a month later after giving her a month's supply of medication. Now I assumed this would mean the review date would tie in correctly to ensure the meds don't run out but that wasn't the case. I realised on Tuesday she had the review Friday (yesterday) but would take her last dose on Thursday. I called the GP and they said there were no more appointments but as soon as the GP called it would immediately get sent over for collection. It likely meant dd would only be a few hours later than usual taking it so I had to accept that as there were no other options given.
So yesterday dd was agitated by late morning. She had the GP call about 2.15 and he asked her how she felt etc. She said really really angry and I haven't had a tablet yet. He said he would immediately send it over and mark it as urgent. At the time dd was about to go into her therapy appointment so it was nearly 2 hours later we got to the pharmacy because the traffic was so bad.
Arrived and they said they had it but it was in a queuing system and be at least an hour. Dd was visibly distressed by this point. Pacing and fidgeting with things in the shop. A clear sign to me she was going to have a big meltdown soon. I discreetly explained the whole situation and said she's run out, needs it asap and is now so late taking it etc but they refused to do anything. There was no one else waiting btw. They text you when prescriptions are ready to collect.
I then walked out as I saw no further point of discussion but unfortunately dd had had enough. She was shouting and crying and then this carried on for about an hour. I then had to go back and get it whilst battling awful traffic again as thee is roadworks next to it.
I think they could have hurried up things on this occasion. When there isn't a physical queue with people waiting, they could see she was distressed. It could have been avoided. The meds only needed signing off. Aibu?

OP posts:

Pandarinio · 21/05/2022 09:08

I get it as I too have been in a similar situation but they have a system and they have to stick with it or mistakes might get made.

Mydogisagentleman · 21/05/2022 09:09

Of course YANBU about the pharmacy, but I can’t Understand why your DD isn’t able to take care of her own prescription.
My DD was taking ADs at that age, she either rang or emailed the surgery for a repeat.
she has Asperger’s and a personality disorder so not entirely neurotypical

Pandarinio · 21/05/2022 09:10

And at least you now next time to check the date of the appointment and the supplies next time.

BakedTattie · 21/05/2022 09:15

Yabu.

i get your daughter needed the prescription and was upset, but that doesn’t mean she can trump the other people who need their prescription too.

it also doesn’t matter that nobody was waiting, they could have been made up to be delivered.

next time, check the dates.

Hercules12 · 21/05/2022 09:17

Yabu. You and your dd got the dates wrong hence the “urgency”.

Happyplace88 · 21/05/2022 09:17

YABU. You don’t know what situation the other people waiting for their prescription were in; just because they weren’t physically there for you to see their distress. Will teach you daughter to be a bit more organised next time.

girafferaffle · 21/05/2022 09:17

You or your daughter need to get on top of the dates. Get a shared calendar or something. I don't think this is down to the pharmacy at all.

EmeraldShamrock1 · 21/05/2022 09:23

Yanbu. The UK system stinks when it comes to prescription repeats around anti depressants.
It was one of the reasons why I was happy to leave.
I have PMDD it's not going to disappear, I don't need to discuss my feelings every few months with a gp similar to a counsellor asking questions it caused me huge anxiety.
Yanbu I'd put in a serious complaint and would ask for an extra month in advance on the review
If it's a 3 month script ask for a review after 2 months.

These days I email the doctors office when I'm out, he emails the pharmacy and leaves a footnote to call if I need review. Simple.

EmeraldShamrock1 · 21/05/2022 09:24

I don't think it was the pharmacist either.
The late GP appointment and system caused distress.

BeyondMyWits · 21/05/2022 09:24

I work in a pharmacy and we do try to hurry up the dispensing for walk ins, and often it is within a few minutes. But if the pharmacist is already busy it is not possible.

Last week from first thing on opening, the pharmacist had 2 morning after pills in succession, one end of life medication pack, 2 hospital discharge medication updates with queries and a worried carer who needed to know whether someone taking 2 lots of a tablet needed to go to hospital. Walk ins were advised of at least a 40 min wait. (There were also around 200 prescription requests come down overnight ready to be actioned in the morning, which the walk ins were placed ahead of.).

Ducksinthebath · 21/05/2022 09:26

Would waiting in the car or doing something to take her mind off not have helped more than letting her pace around the pharmacy building up to a meltdown?

Greenqueen40 · 21/05/2022 09:28

Medication doesn't work instantly anyway, taking it an hour or late so really wouldn't mean anything. I can understand why you keep on top of it, 17 is young to manage meds but she needs to learn to be more patient. Pharmacy were def in the right, they have hundreds of prescriptions to deal with and many would take priority over anti depressants.

TrashyPanda · 21/05/2022 09:30

Sorry, but this wasn’t the pharmacy’s fault.
i take tablets for chronic depression and anxiety, so I know exactly how it feels if you don’t have your meds, but she was only going to wait one hour. Antidepressants build up in your system, so even skipping a whole day would be ok.

it’s not like she was in agony in needed a painkiller asap, or was an asmatic who needed an inhaler, or a diabetic who needed insulin. These are actual emergencies.

Harridan1981 · 21/05/2022 09:30

Surely it would take days to get that agitated? I take antidepressants and have done for years, and it takes days before I get twitchy.

I don't think the pharmacy were wrong here, there is a process.

Harridan1981 · 21/05/2022 09:31

As I'm sure you know, if you get agitated like there is a problem, she will do too. Just head out and do something else.

EnterFunnyNameHere · 21/05/2022 09:34

Assuming the dosage is reasonably set (I.e. the number of tablets to be taken each day is known?) would it be easier to figure out when they'll likely run out when the prescription is issued and put a reminder in the diary?

nearlyspringyay · 21/05/2022 09:34

Sounds like you exacerbated the situation tbh. And I'd be very concerned if she could get into that state after a couple of hours of missing her dose.

Soupsetscared · 21/05/2022 09:38

If you take any medication for a few months it doesn't leave your system straight away.
YABU to blame the pharmacy.

Cerridwen83 · 21/05/2022 09:39

YABU, the pharmacy didn't do anything wrong.

failing40s · 21/05/2022 09:41

I am also surprised to hear of her becoming agitated after her medication bring just a few hours late. SSRIs - assuming that's what he's taking - don't really work like that. Although I appreciate she might be on a different type of medication. I'm not saying this to cast doubt on what happened, more to reassure you that if the same happens in the future you probably don't need to worry - even missing a whole day is unlikely to cause a significant issue.

Pandarinio · 21/05/2022 09:42

Which antidepressant is it? Just wondering as all the ones I've taken I can just submit a request online to ask for more and if I miss a day I feel a bit off but they have such a long half life it would take a few days for me to crumble. Of course everyone is different though.

User1113 · 21/05/2022 09:42

YABU, sorry. Depends on which AD she takes but they can have half-lives up to 4-6 days (e.g fluoxetine) so physiologically taking it a few hours late doesn't make a difference. Her prescription (or review) wasn't late at all, she didn't go a day without meds. The fact she's getting this distressed suggests the meds aren't actually working that well.

Oh and this? The meds only needed signing off Is completely ignorant and dismissive of the role of the pharmacist and the workload pressure they're under.

ManateeFair · 21/05/2022 09:45

I’ve taken various different antidepressants over the course of my life, including when I was your daughter’s age. None of them cause withdrawal or mood shifts if you’re a few hours late in taking them. Antidepressants aren’t like, say, painkillers or antibiotics or whatever. They don’t kick in straight away and the effects don’t just cease the moment you stop taking them. It takes at least a day before you’d notice, probably two or three days. And the pharmacy (and her doctor) would be fully aware of that, hence them not complying with your demand.

Basically, your daughter’s tantrums had absolutely nothing to do with her medication and YABU. You’re probably making her behaviour worse by validating it.

EarringsandLipstick · 21/05/2022 09:46

Medication doesn't work instantly anyway,

Exactly. I'm sorry for your DD's distress but getting the medication wouldn't have immediately calmed her.

It really wasn't the pharmacies' fault, it's insanely busy & they have to work in order of priority & receipt of scripts.

User1113 · 21/05/2022 09:47

Basically, your daughter’s tantrums had absolutely nothing to do with her medication and YABU. You’re probably making her behaviour worse by validating it.

100% agree

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