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!

I haven't have certain brands of meds. As PPs have said if your go is amenable the easiest thing to do is get them to write the brand on the prescription.

Alternatively, you need to ask the pharmacist for the specific brands you want. So in your example above, had the "right" brand not been available I'd have asked them to order in x brand. Not just asked for another brand. Sometimes this means I have to ring around chemists to find somewhere who stocks/can order what I need - independent chemists are usually better for this.

If a pharmacist has already filled a prescription but you don't want that brand, and they can't get you what you want, you can ask them to put the prescription "back on the spine" and then another pharmacist can pull it off the "spine". They can only do this if they haven't dispensed any other medication on that prescription. If they have you have to either get the meds from the original pharmacist or ask the gp for another prescription. For my tricky meds, I tend to try to get one item per prescription to avoid this.

Having said all that, my local pharmacist has recently gone independent and they have been amazing since then at both noting what brands I can tolerate and ordering in what I need. It's been so much easier and I've not had to do any ringing around. So if you can find an independent chemist and be specific about what you want/need it will make your life a lot easier!

I have a stoma and everything I need comes on prescription. The products I am allowed to order have changed because the prescribing guidelines (differing from area to area) have changed. A lot of the branded items I use have changed from branded to generic.

You don’t need to spin conspiracy theories around the reasons, you just open your mouth and ask. And you will be told the truth. I asked the question when I was having skin problems as a result of a change in barrier products. We all know the problems surrounding Tory funding for the NHS, so very simply, the NHS has to make savings and cut waste wherever possible. Our Clinical Commissioning Group for the area, who, among other things control the budget for GP prescribing, ask GP’s to stick to generic prescription items unless there is a clinical reason not to do so - patient preference is not a factor In some cases generic meds will replace branded items removed from NHS prescribing because they have been found not to be cost effective, or if another drug works better. It’s that simple. It’s not a matter of preference, it’s clinical need v cost. l was asked to try a couple more generic products on the prescribing list, before being switched back to the one l’d always used - a clinical decision taken because in my case, nothing else worked as well as the branded product.

CCGs all over the country are doing the same thing, so each area will be slightly different in what can and cannot be prescribed. In our area over a million prescriptions are dispensed every month, at a cost of £97m - here that’s 13% of the overall CCG budget. And on a point raised upthread regarding private prescriptions - GP’s here are only allowed to write private prescriptions for items not available on the NHS, if they consider it appropriate. They are not allowed to prescribe privately solely based on patient preference for branded items. Some classes of drugs will mostly be prescribed by brand, for example biologics, insulin, anti seizure meds to name a few, but these are limited as according to our local CCG website, the cost of a branded product can be up to 56 times that of a generic one, and the NHS does not always reimburse pharmacies the full cost of meds dispensed.

They’re also running charitable schemes to avoid waste - leftover medicines, stoma products and other unused prescription items can be handed back in at our local hospital and the various charities distribute them to poorer countries who are struggling to meet need. For example, I was shocked to learn that stoma users in Argentina - including children - don’t have regular access to the products they need, and in many cases, instead of collection bags they are using plastic drinks bottles, sourced from bins and waste dumps, cut down and taped to the skin. I can only imagine the levels of injury and infection as a result. So maybe bear in mind that overall, we’re lucky to have an NHS which gives routine access to things those less fortunate are in desperate need of.

Our chemist is really under pressure at the minute. I'm prescribed 2mg diazepam tablets and received 5mgs last time (I didn't say anything but they're obviously really addictive), also prescribed cocodamol 15/500mg and they gave me 30/500mg. Their stock take will showing some discrepancies. I think they're understaffed and rushing.

That is not acceptable from any pharmacy and very dangerous. I would follow this up. Miss labelling can happen. But that's why there are 2 signatures on each dispensed item. To reduce the risk of it happening.