To be annoyed with the Co-op’s painkiller policy

[LunaLoveLemon]

Just popped into the co-op for a takeaway coffee on my way home from the nursery run (awful habit, I know). Thought I’d get stock up on painkillers whilst I was there as it’s cold/flu season. Picked up one packed of ibuprofen, one of paracetamol, and some cold and flu sachets. So two products containing paracetamol, and one of ibuprofen. Not against any sales restrictions AFAIK and certainly not an excessive amount.

The woman at the counter then tells me that I can’t buy three packets of any painkillers. I can’t recall ever having this problem before in any shops? Usually it’s been two of each drug. I’ve just checked the guidelines and two packets of ANY painkiller does appear to be the Best Practice guideline on the .gov website (although not law)! So I suppose I can’t really take issue with it.

But AIBU to think that this is excessively restrictive? I’m a healthcare professional fwiw so do understand the risks wrt overdose. But equally, being able to buy enough painkillers to get you through a few days of illness doesn’t seem unreasonable!

I suggest more recent posters read and digest this post.

I answered my phone one afternoon, expecting to hear DD2's voice. It wasn't, it was one of her friends. She'd taken four boxes of paracetamol and two of cold remedies from her father's kitchen. The only reason anybody knew was that the overdose of decongestant made her collapse.

He always insisted that the law on painkiller sales was 'the fucking idiotic nanny state' and he had frequently criticised me for infantilising her because I still kept medicines and sharp items locked up, either, because 'only idiots do that with anybody over 6'.

When they tried to find a vein for the antidote - which was damn near impossible, due to the effect of the decongestants, they found she'd been cutting for months, as there was always something sharp left laying around at his house.

Had she not collapsed from the decongestants at 3.25pm, she'd have gone home and been alone until he got in from work whatever girlfriend he'd been seeing when he was supposed to be parenting his daughter sometime between 11.30pm and the following evening. He said he was 70 miles away when he got the call instead of the 12 minute drive from his workplace, at any rate. Still took him 3 hours to get there.

Had they not been laying around in his house, she'd have had to find money, then find somewhere willing to sell that amount of medication over the course of days/weeks so they wouldn't recognise her and somebody willing to break the law and sell her the bladed items she'd been using.

By the time I saw her, she was sobbing because they said they couldn't make her sick to get them out of her system and had to work out exactly what she'd taken and when to see if there was enough time left to administer the antidote. She had very much lost the impulse to end her life at that point.

I had chronic pain. My medication was locked up in a cashbox at my house. But he had a large quantity easily accessible - and she had the impulse and the means right at the same time.

Restricting sales saves people with a transient impulse where sheer luck doesn't.

I'm more surprised by how many people think it's "normal" to "stock up" on pain killers.

I'm more surprised to find that people don't do this. I live alone, if I get sick and feel too ill to go to a supermarket I like to know I have painkillers in the cupboard, and one packet might not be enough. I certainly don't buy them every time I go shopping, but as soon as I start a new packet I buy a replacement. I never need to buy several different types at once as I always have some at home.

Thank you for sharing @NeverDropYourMooncup, but I'm very sorry you had that to share.

I’d echo this. I don’t have the words myself. I’m sorry that you had to experience that.

If I pick up any painkiller in Tesco, the scan as you shop handset beeps and says you can only have 2.

This has been a thing for years... as a way to reduce impulsive suicide attempts. I am pretty sure having the tablets in blister packs instead of a bottle was also introduced as a way to combat suicide.

I have chronic pain I have morphine, tramadol and pregabalin on repeat. If your doctor isn't giving you adequate pain relief get a new dr

They do so that people can get the quantities they need for chronic pain and also get the ones that are easy to swallow. I have a relative who gets big boxes of them.

ThTs good to know @lieselotte. Last time I asked the question (not on here) I was told it was the likes of DM having paracetamol prescribed that waste NHS money. When I explained she was housebound someone actually told me that if DM had food then she was capable of getting paracetamol. She was blind and housebound but apparently that made no difference.

I highly recommend you stay with your doctor. Mine (practice with several GPs) have refused any kind of painkiller but is willing to forward me to a six week cbt therapy course so I can discuss ways to manage my pain (ie pace myself, rest more often, think the pain away). I was also offered hydrotherapy. She also said the NICE guidelines have changed . She is willing to dope me up on anti psychotics though where I take a large dose every day for years as opposed to taking a stronger painkiller as and when (my pain fluctuates).

I wish I was joking

You just have to give a good reason why you want them prescribing. I’ve had them in the past. Generally though they won’t prescribe because they are cheap - Aldi for example do a box for under 50p.

Posters keep mentioning why not see a gp for pain management. I do already and rather than start with the more powerful stuff I start with paracetamol and take the stronger stuff along side these. Just like when on a hospital ward and on a couple of different pain relief meds.

and why stock up? .

16 pack give me 2 days, not that great if you need them for several days in a row as you are coming off the stronger stuff as the pain starts to lessen.

@lieselotte you can’t get them prescribed round here anymore. I have 2 types of pain killer on prescription, my mum has 3 (we live together and have the same disability which causes chronic and extreme pain), but we can’t get paracetamol on prescription anymore.

I agree the policy saves lives from suicide but it also makes life extremely difficult for disabled people (we are both supposed to take the max paracetamol and ibuprofen every day and have aspirin for emergencies).

They need to start prescribing otc medication for chronic illness/disability again.

So, as per posts above, I could take a hospital letter into a pharmacy saying that I have chronic pain / painful arthritis / etc, and ask for the qualified pharmacist to sell me a larger amount of OTC painkillers? That would be helpful for me, thank you.

Btw, my understanding of the NICE guidelines on chronic pain is that painkillers should be withdrawn, especially codeine, only where there is no known cause of pain. I had an MRI to show the cause of my pain in my lumbar discs.

However I'm also handing myself over gladly to the chronic pain clinic (finally on the waiting list) because I really would like to be taking fewer painkillers, not more. I'm happy to try any approach, because this can't go on.

I've been on cocodamol and gabapentin for over 12 years now and ibuprofen for about five. I am cutting down on the gabapentin as feel I am dependent on it, so I managed to get an appointment with the clinical pharmacist and went on a tapered dose. I still take the 300g at night and two x 100g during the day. I have to pay for 28 days worth of 300g gabapentin, 60 days worth of 100g gabapentin, 33 days worth of co-codamol (2 a day) and now fluoxetine every 28 days. That's four lot of charges every 30 days.

I really wish the NHS had investigated the reasons for my pain instead of shoving me on highly addictive and expensive drugs for the rest of my life. Or offered me a CBt course or hydrotherapy. Think of the money they would have saved me and I might no be suffering the horrendous affects of being drug dependant now.

Its all very well and dandy them doing this but they are meant to reassess you twice a year, I've had two drug reviews in 12 years!!

I guess what I'm saying is I see it from the other side of the coin.

I also meant to say co-codamol 2 x 3 times a day, although if I gym/swim its often 2 x 4 a day.

I go to the pharmacy / pharmacy counter and explain why I need more than 2 packs, and pharmacist sells them to me. Never had a problem.

A pharmacist is a highly trained medical professional who can make this call and is allowed to. A person on the check out of a super market isn't.