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!

Well I take a variety of measures for a number of complaints. Mymeds are often different brands, I never knew the brand made any difference. Surely its the medication that matters not the brand

I've had this with DD Meds. Had one of the brands stated on prescription. But they have been giving us a different brand for another med even though the brand has been written on script's. Pharmacies are struggling to get hold of some brands though. I watched a programme a few weeks ago. They don't always get back off the NHS what they paid.

If you are trying to keep your airways open then you need to present to hospital.

If you do this a couple of times when you are having breathing issues then you might qualify for a biological therapy which would help mitigate this prescribing issue (which many posters have now offered the solution for)

Don’t sit at home trying to manage an airway without your meds

To some it does as a friend of mine explained it. It's like Heinz beans and Asda own supermarket beans. They might be the same product but they taste different. Some of the different brands my DD has been given. The tablets are different colours. The brand she's used to are white. The other 2 brands are different shades of orange.

Fexofenadine can be bought in Savers for a few pounds, why not go and buy some. If i was struggling to keep my airways open i wouldn't be sitting on my doorstep or starting a thread on mumsnet.

perhaps you need an alternative antihistamine altogether as the usual differences between brands of pills will just be in the fillers or binders of the medication, not the active ingredients.

This. It would be quite unusual to so widely allergic to the fillers/binders/inactive ingredients. If you actually are its worth you getting that checked out because it could affect a massive number of the medications you might take in life. There's no difference in "quality" of the active ingredients as they are chemical compounds. The whole point being if you change it it is no longer the same drug.

If they are actually giving the wrong medication, ie perhaps a combination of what you have actually been prescribed with another active ingredient added, thats a more serious issue and you should complain immediately & seek medical advice.

Yeah… reuse the old bottle to store the pills you keep at home. Give the new bottle, with the up to date expirations date on it, to the school. Not difficult.

In our pharmacy, they enter that it's a medical exemption onto their system with a renewal date as per the medical exemption certificate. They never ask again until their system flags up that the exemption has expired and then there's a coloured sticker on the bag which is a prompt to the counter assistant to ask to see the new exemption certificate, they make a note of the new exemption date onto their system, and so it goes on.

Perhaps some pharmacies use a system that doesn't record it, and maybe some do have such a system but just don't use that functionality in it?

The active ingredients will be the same, but there are variations, such as colour of the capsule. My OH has a similar problem with some bright/vivid colours. He has had some pretty serious reactions to deep red colourants, so he always checks with the GP when prescribed anything new that it's not red, and if the pharmacy prescribe a red generic version of one of his regular drugs, he'll refuse it and insist on a non coloured, or lightly coloured version instead (he checks before leaving the pharmacy and if it's a different packet to the usual, he asks the counter assistant to check what colour the capsules are, so he doesn't need to open the packet, hence them being able to re-use).

I have Fexofenadine on prescription. It is a much higher dose than OTC. You can’t cut up the OTC tablets to make the correct quantity or simply take 2 as they are enteric coated to modify how the drug is realised to the stomach.

Why can't you take 2 ?

Yes. You need to look at the leaflet, Section 6, Ingredients, EXCIPIENTS.

These are the things added to the main drug / medication, like binders, casings and colouring.

Many people like me cannot tolerate certain brands because they contain, for example, ACACIA. This has been a significant issue for Levothyroxine users prescribed Teva and Mercury brands for thyroid problems, rather than Accord or Wockhardt.

This is such an interesting subject - most clinicians will swear that there is no difference between medicines with the same active ingredient, yet some patients experience a difference. There is little sympathy with this from pharmacists I know.

To be fair to the pharmacist, they often don’t have control over which stock/brands they are given and will dispense the cheapest brand. They won’t be able to dispense some of the more expensive brands unless specified on the prescription (they don’t get paid for the difference without this). They can also be very specific about where on the script it states the brand so worth checking with them.

My dose is 180mg. The dose you buy OTC is 120mg. I can’t take 2 as it would be too much. I can’t cut a tablet in half as it would break down the coating and dissolve in the stomach, not the intestines as it is supposed to do.

I use an Independent pharmacy who have my acacia intolerance as an allergy warning on their screen.

Having said that, they still get it wrong around a third of the time, but they WILL replace when asked. It's just a ball-ache.

There's a term used in pharmacy; Teva Diva. 🤣

YANBU OP.

I have the exact same issues with two medications in on for a chronic condition and every month I go around in circles with my GP and the Chemist.

It’s so stressful - I get nervous every month when I go to collect my prescription because I know I’m going to have to go through the whole rigmarole again. It’s horrible.

So why doesn't your GP prescribe the brand you want rather than writing the generic name on the prescription?

I agree, so annoying, one of my meds is the brand name, the brand name is on the prescription (for valid reason) local chemist always gives a generic (cheaper version) so I go to Boots now.

Of course you can take more than one at a time.

OP has already stated they are on the 180mg tablets up to three times a day, so a dose of 540mg/day. You can buy the 120mg tablets on Amazon, OP could just take five of those across the day in a pinch. Even buy the 30mg tabs and take two of those as well to get closer to the perfect dose.

But OP won't be back because they have been shown there are far bigger issues than the manufacturer of the antihistamines.....

Claiming to be struggling for breath, near passing out, dizzy and so on is a medical emergency and requires a serious investigation to understand which ingredient is causing that as they will also see the same fillers etc in other meds whlch will surely cause the same physical responses. And describing anaphylaxis type symptoms isn't just about which box of pills you took one of.

Are they actually writing the brand and not the generic name?

@Flossflower they're not modified release or modified release you can usually break them.

The acid in the stomach will displace the tablets - who told you that they dissolve in the intestines???

People being unwell with a reaction to their thyroid medication isn't as funny as you think it is.

@AutumnCrow fexofenadine isn't for thyroid - it's an antihistamine