Chemists who f*ck about with your meds 🤬

[LittleeJuann]

Currently sitting on my doorstep covered in sore itching hives and trying keep my airways open in the fresh air, because I've been without my correct tablets since the weekend.

I take fexofenadine 180mg tablets up to 3 x daily to manage an assortment of auto-immune conditions

I've learned by trial and error over time what brands work best for me.
Problem is my chemists try to give me a different brand every time.

Went to collect my latest supply last week and they gave me a brand that doesnt work and gives me heartburn, I could take a whole sheet and they'd wreck my stomach but not touch my symptoms. So I politely declined and asked for different ones. They said I'd have to come back in a few days as that was all they had.
I always keep a few days supply aside, so not a prob.

Went back, and they gave me yet another different brand I've never tried before. I was a bit annoyed but took them as I'd totally run out by that point so didnt have much choice.

Took a tablet of this new brand before a walk in park with DD 16 months, DP came along, and thank god he did because I suddenly came over like I'd drunk a whole bottle of wine. I could barely even walk straight, I was absolutely off my face. If I'd been alone with DD and passed out, I dont even want to think what could have happened.

Staggered back to the chemist, gave them back these new tablets and stated very clearly how badly they affect me and insisted on my proper brand, that I know works and doesnt knock me out cold.
Again it was "You'll have to come back in a few days" -leaving me with absolutely no tablets at all.

I went in yesterday and it was just /shrug/ "Dont call us, we'll call you"

So I've now gone 4 days without the tablets I should be taking every day, and my asthma and immune problems are kicking up. I'm absolutely wrecked.

I work full time and have a toddler to take care of, ffs! I'm just so fuming

Does anyone else have this issue getting their correct meds?

Why do chemists think its ok to do this to people, mixing and matching tablets like fucking pick n mix!?!!

Yes the ingredients might be the same but the quality is different in different brands, and we all absorb them at different rates.
Its like asking for Chanel No 5 and getting Impulse -yes they might both have sandalwood, but one is top quality sandalwood, the other is shite. Meds are no different.

Rant over. Thanks for reading!

Because it entirely depends on their supplier situation.

I work in the pharmacy of a large supermarket, our supplier contracts are national contracts set by Head Office and are restricted to two of the largest suppliers - AAH and Alliance Healthcare.

If an item is out of stock/not stocked/unavailable with those suppliers then we cannot get the item as we literally have no way to order it via our supply chain and as our contract is centrally controlled we have no flexibility with that at a store level .

However, a mile down the road there is an independent pharmacy that also has supplier contracts with AAH and Alliance but because they are an independent they have more flexibility - if they can't get something via AAH or Alliance then they can call round any other supplier to find one who does have the item they need and get it sent to them because they control their own contracts at the store level.

Yes it must be difficult for you and people probably know it's not your fault and that you do your best. I don't envy anyone who works in dispensing medicines these days nor the staff who work alongside them.

I asked the chemist who their suppliers were - they told me the 3 companies they use and that they were all saying they couldn't get this particular brand - this wasn't a one-off conversation, it was a regular monthly occurence. So in the end I rang the manufacturer and they said there were no supply issues - obviously somebody was lying. I then spoke to the area manager for the chemist chain and she told me there was nothing she could do about it.

A few phone calls to the GP surgery about my findings finally got situation remedied - the medication is now delivered to our door from the next city.

Thank you for explaining the process - if people are given an insight and an explanation it helps us to understand the situation and at least gives us an answer we can process. Then comes the next round of questions.

I have this I’m allergic to one particular e number that is in one brand of the antibiotics I am on, I always check that they haven’t given me this brand.

You've been banging on about no longer receiving the £34 box in your rants that appear to based on your belief there is some conspiracy ongoing.

Poster after poster has explained the entire set-up, yet you bang on and on about differentials between north/south, and the 'secrets' the chemist spills to you whilst being told to maintain the lies, and your umbrage at being told you could not have the £34 box on an emergency basis. An emergency, btw, created solely as a result of your own tardiness in ordering vital medication for yourself.

Therefore, I believe it's reasonable for any reader to understand you do, actually, want the £34 box whilst not explicitly saying so.

In a nutshell, you're all over the place with your 'facts'.

Signed: A monkey.

My local chemist insist on ordering my 6 regular medications from the GP. Initially I thought it would save me a whole lot of stress, apart from, the last 6 months, not one collection has gone correctly. I am either missing medications, the GP has refused because they have over ordered, or they forget totally and I have to plead with the GP to give me the script in a hurry.

That sounds familiar - so much time and effort is spent chasing up their mistakes. No wonder everybody is stressed. I don't think anybody knows what they're doing anymore, the whole process used to be stress free and simple but now it's a bombsite.

In summary, as it seems to me anyway, all the rules we previously lived by regarding medications, prescriptions, GP's, chemists etc have changed. Instead of being 'grown up' about it and telling us the new rules and procedures so that we're aware that changes are afoot, they've said f*ck all. Instead we've had to find out the hard way - 3 years later and ultimately via mumsnet a few of us have learned something through sharing our stories. It's sounding similar to the PPE fiasco and the Post Office saga - along with all the rest of the underhand tricks they keep trying to pull and then cover up - all designed to dupe the public. Don't be silenced, know your argument and fight your own corner - there's always someone else in the same or similar situation, always x

This doesn’t bear out the recent news stories regarding pharmacies not being properly reimbursed by the NHS for the drugs they supply.

Spoken like a true conspiracy theorist. The NHS have advocated the use of generics for decades and it has saved billions which can then be used for other things in healthcare. There is no silencing of pharmacists or other people in chemists shops by their employers. Most can easily get jobs elsewhere if they want to.

I'm surprised you want the NHS to give more money to big pharma but perhaps that is your agenda.

The active ingredient (i.e the medication contained within the tablet/capsule or whatever medicinal form it comes in) will have exactly the same chemical structure- it has to be or it cannot be sold/dispensed as a medication it is not. So, the medication will be just as effective whatever the brand you are given, The only issue can be with one of the other excipients in the medication- e.g. the coating on the tablet or the buffer that they use. A particular brand may not be stocked at the wholesaler or may be quite a bit more expensive. GPs are asked to prescribe generically, with some exceptions (often due to licensing issues) or where the brand is cheaper than the generic (infrequent but does happen). They would need a good reason to prescribe something like an antihistamine by brand and if you don’t know what the issue is (e.g. patients with coeliac needing gluten free formulations), they might be reluctant. So, unless the Dr knows about your issue and prescribes a certain brand, the pharmacy will dispense what they have- and that is often what is cheapest. Even if the Dr is aware, some brands are so much more expensive and are discouraged or prevented from specifically prescribing as it would be “off formulary”. I doubt that applies in your case though.

You can keep back-chatting and arguing all you like but it won't change a thing. You can flip anything I say as much as you like to try and make out that you're better or more knowledgeable than me - but you're really not. Inbetween all the flack and criticism you've given me for sharing my experiences, you've managed to write a few things that have given me further insight and filled in a few more gaps.

Everything I've said about the pharmacist, the staff, the corporate image etc is true - if you take the time to speak to people on their level you might learn something. I was there - were you - no. Churning out tory bullshit that you think people are daft enough to believe is just that - bullshit - you might believe it but that's your problem not mine.

@Dotcomma While the supply issues are to some extent down to the Tories as is the underfunding of the NHS, the preference of generics to expensive brands has been in place for decades. Stop making things up.

I don't need to make anything up, you're trying too hard to swerve the truth to suit your agenda - it's called hoodwinking in today's world.

What do you think my agenda is?

I'm only sorry to see the comment in which I was referred to as a dick head and included other slurs has been removed. This was not done at my request.

I'm sorry for two reasons. The first being I've never been called a dick head before 😁

Secondly, and more importantly, it would have afforded readers an insight into the mind of a poster who is painting a very sad picture of themself.

I saw the post you mention. I was called a bottom feeder and a nitpicker ( so did I get off lightly??! 🤣)
I think this person has really got their knickers in a twist and can now only resort to insults.
I actually feel sorry for them.

Please guys, take your argument outside.

You're right. I'm done with this spat.

The issue is the provision of generic medication has been ongoing for decades. I'm happy with that as it does not cause the vast majority of recipients any harm. Those who require (rather than simply prefer) the branded medication should be provided with that.

Those who simply prefer the branded medication can opt to pay for it rather than have it come from NHS coffers.

It's not rocket science, it's not a conspiracy and people are not en-masse being lied to about the process.

The fact some people have not investigated the process, or having had the process explained to them in words of one syllable, and still claim it's a conspiracy, is very much an outlier position.

That outlier position has been repeatedly addressed on this thread, apparently to no avail.

I'm out. 😊

On a separate note so far on today's bank holiday all 3 of my colleagues have been shouted at and sworn at and reduced to tears. No way is this acceptable for anyone only earning 11 pounds an hour.

All week leading up to the Easter we have said to customers we won't have deliveries over the weekend.
We ordered more of our fast lines ( even though head office hates this) and even things we knew our regular customers will need.
Now our 2 suppliers sent about 13 massive boxes of supplies yesterday.
But THEY DIDNT SEND SOME OF OUR ORDERS.

We are always honest with our customers and will say if we can't get the item we can order it. And I will always check the supplier before they leave the prescription with us. BUT even when I order then and there in front if the customer I still say there is no guarantee it will arrive.

I also give the option for them to take the prescription else where if they are low and do need it ASAP.
I don't like the insinuation there is a conspiracy or lies from us that we are told to say different????

I have already commented earlier about the generic/branded issues and even on our aah/alliance system we can select teva/accord etc there STILL is no guarantee that is what they send.

Please can people stop shouting and giving the counter staff abuse.

And now we are also faced with the pharmacy first increase and 111 referals. With no more staff to fulfil this service.
Just remember we actually want to help and not come home from work in tears when we do care about patients and there safety and their right to medication that is correct for them.

And now we are also faced with the pharmacy first increase and 111 referals. With no more staff to fulfil this service.

Don't get me started on 111 referrals - especially the way the service is being misinterpreted by many people as giving them the ability to come in and demand antibiotics because they want them.

The pharmacy I work in is in a supermarket, we were open 10-4 today but the store was open from 8am - 8pm.

By the time I arrived at 9:45am the queue was already 25 people long and when I logged into the computer there were already five 111 referrals waiting, and that was 15 mins before opening.

By the end of the day the queue had never been less than 10 people long, we had handed out 200+ prescriptions and dealt with 21 referrals - both 111 calls and walk in Pharmacy First referrals.

We had 7 members of staff and the pharmacist, we normally have a maximum of 3/4 staff on shift at any time, and still had to draft in "queue busters" (IE store colleagues who have basic counter training to help reduce the queues) to help us try to manage the volume of people waiting because so many people were calling 111/OOH GP and being told to go to the pharmacy, even if it is blatantly not the right option . Eg as soon as we opened today we had one woman call because her son was showing signs of scarlet fever, (flu like symptoms, earache, sore throat etc) which her daughter had been diagnosed with earlier this week, but because he didn't have the rash yet the 111 call handler told her to come to the pharmacy for a consultation. Fortunately the woman had some sense and called before bringing her potentially highly contagious child down to us and we were able to tell her not to come in and call 111 to get an OOH GP to call her back ... Two hours later we got an electronic prescription sent through for said child for antibiotics to treat scarlet fever

We were still given abuse and shouted at because we were telling people who were walking in for a prescription that the wait time was 1hr (even though they could see that we were just a little bit busy when they joined the queue in the first place)

@Soberfutures

I come in peace 👍

I was referring to my local chemist and a situation I walked into, I'd only gone in for jabs and felt awful interrupting the chemist when the shop was busy. In retrospect I'm glad it was me and my shoulder rather than somebody else who could have made the situation a whole lot worse for her if she'd broken down on them. I've never told anyone fully what she said but if the gist of a conversation helps someone else - to know that others are experiencing the same or similar - then that's a good thing in my book.

Below is what I wrote in my post specifically about my local chemist, just for info

"I've discussed this in depth at our chemist and have been told that they're not allowed to tell the truth - they have to say what's fed down by their company to protect the business - and they're sick of having to lie and take all the flack"