AIBU to raise with my GP a prescription interaction concern?

[Mariets]

My Dr has prescribed me tablets that I shouldn't be taking as they interfere with other medication.
I only found out when I googled to see if I could take them together or separately. I spoke to the pharmacist and he agreed and said I need to stop taking them and speak to the doctor, but how do I approach this without it seeming like an accusation?

You say you need them to prescribe something else as the pharmacist has advised there is an interaction.

But shouldn't the GP have checked this before prescribing them them?

It depends. Some drugs are interactive but the dose is adjusted to take that into account. Some drugs are completely incompatible. Which drugs were they?

Pharmacists are more expert on the bigger picture meds

Just say what you've written here - that you looked it up and have also spoken to the pharmacist. Doctors will use their clinical judgement to decide if an interaction is clinically important/relevant so it may be that they will be able to explain to you why they have prescribed that medication despite the interaction if it isn't a serious one - it may also be that this was an error picked up by you and the pharmacist so would keep an open mind!

Did they specifically check what medication you were already taking? Sometimes there might be some medication that isn't advised to be taken with another, however it might depend on the overall benefits or issue if delaying starting another.
I would go back to the GP to clarify if it is ok or whether they need to prescribe another.

As others are saying, there might have been a reason. Saying the pharmacist has said there is an interaction is enough. I would allow the doctor to explain their decision before making an accusation tbh.

Email the surgery to check citing the pharmacists voncerns There may well be a reason why they have been prescribed but you won't find out unless you ask.

Sometimes the interaction is only there at a particular dose - for example, you can take amitriptyline at the doses given for pain relief (10-50mg) alongside codeine or Tramadol but you can’t take it at the doses given for anti depressants (200mg plus) as it can cause respiratory depression. But if you google it it will tell you not to take them at all together, which is incorrect. So I wouldn’t leap to assume your doctor is wrong. Just query it.

I had a stroke years ago and take a blood thinner. The new anti depressants prescribed stop the thinners from working at the dose I'm taking even though its low and I can get another clot causing either a heart attack or a stroke.

That's quite unusual. Most risks associated with taking antidepressants and blood thinners relate to increased risk of bleeding.

Not this combo, fluoxetine and clopidogerel.

Id actually be more annoyed at the pharmacist then the gp if its dangerous they should of blocked it but its not always as simple as that im on multiple medications that interact with each other and when you google it comes up red do not take together but its important to have the conversation as a dr can explain your personal circumstances to you more then a Google search. Medicine is always risk vs benefit.

Doesn't matter if it does. Obviously don't be rude, but if this could have seriously injured someone, they need to know.

I’m concerned at how often this happens tbh. I was walking the dog and passed out with a racing heart after the GP prescribed tablets I should not of had. I spoke to the pharmacist who agreed I should not have them and told me to discreetly speak to my GP. Don’t be worried about raising it and sounding accusatory you are asking a perfectly reasonable and valid question. A wrong prescription could have serious consequences so I can’t imagine they would take offence at you checking it. In my case the Dr had totally missed that I have heart arrhythmia thankfully all was ok but it was scary.

There’s not a lot of evidence for that interaction and therefore they might have decided that the benefits outweigh the theoretical risk. However it’s absolutely fine to say to the GP that the pharmacist has raised it as a concern.

Better to piss off a GP for a few minutes than be dead forever from a stroke

Some drugs interact but it’s non consequential.

For example i take verapamil which is a calcium channel blocker. I take it for chronic cluster headaches.

There’s a lot of interaction with other drugs that can affect the BP lowering effects of the drug (its primary use).

The GP has told me it’s irrelevant to me as I don’t take it to lower BP. Plus my BP is 102/55 so they aren’t really concerned if it goes up a bit 😂

bug yes I would do an e consult and request a review as the pharmacist has advised possible contradiction.

Alternatively does your GP online service offer a meds review option? Mine does and this would be something they dealt with.

Most interactions are expected to be checked by the pharmacist. It's quite literally their job. Doctors can't be expected to know all the possible interactions between all the drugs, it's not their specialty.

They’re supposed to look them up!

Most computer systems alert the GP to drug interactions. Like a PP I thought the fluoxetine increased the bleeding risk but it's the opposite but I knew there was an interaction so wouldn't have necessarily prescribed. The pharmacist should have picked it up too. I would tell both GP and pharmacist. We would do a significant event analysis if this were brought to our attention to avoid it happening again.

I’m surprise the computer system didn’t flag this interaction also.

Go back to your GP and ask them to double check the prescription. Blame the pharmacist if you have to.

Mine keep prescribing drugs that people with Lupus cannot take. GP says ignore what Google says! and then I show them the manufacturers leaflet from inside the medication packet that says Not to be taken if you have Lupus. GP goes ooohhhhhh 🙄

I have 2 medications I can't take together but my GP is happy for me to take together and because of my job I'm aware of many other people also on both families of drugs.

That's pretty terrible! Definitely raise it