MNHQ here: your thoughts around Brexit and medicines - and what Leave voters think now

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello

We've had a request from Heather Saul, the woman's editor at "the i" newspaper, who'd like to find out more about what Mumsnet users think about how (or indeed whether) Brexit is affecting their approach towards prescription and over-the-counter medicines.

We know from a recent survey of Mumsnet users that 11% of respondents said they were stockpiling over-the-counter medicines, and 8% said they were stocking up on prescription drugs. We've also seen from quite a few threads that for those who have chronic or serious conditions - or who are caring for people who do - the availability of medicines and things such as prescription formula seem to be causing some anxiety.

Heather Saul covered the grocery-stockpiling aspects of our survey in the i at the time and she's now interested in finding out more about which conditions and medicines are causing MNers the most concern as B-Day, and a possible No Deal, approaches.

So if there's anything you'd like to share about your thoughts, specifically on medicines and health, please add your posts here. Of course if you're not at all worried and think the risk has been overstated, you're very welcome to say so!

If anyone would like to share something with Heather off-site, you can email her directly on [email protected] [contact details edited by MNHQ 26/02/19]. She's also on the look-out for people who might be willing to be interviewed on this topic, so if that's something you're happy to consider please email her and she can let you have more details.

And she's also keen to talk to Leave voters about what they think about Brexit now - so again, if you've got something you'd like to share, please let us know here or email Heather directly.

Thanks
MNHQ

My son is on antidepressants. I also know someone else with a more severe mental health condition. My biggest worry is that medicines for physical illnesses will be given priority and medicines for mental illness will be forgotten about.

I'm not saying that insulin or isotopes for chemo aren't a priority, of course they are. But missing meds for a severe mental illness can result in death too. And mental health services have been 2nd best always.

Yes it is a worry about possible shortages of medications people have to take to survive/prevent death/long term chronic illness etc.
I have family & friends on anti rejection drugs, insulin, heart medications, blood pressure tablets, anti depressants, anti convulsants, drugs to manage severe asthma & severe allergies (epipens.)
If it all goes tits up after March 29th & people do have problems getting their medications, if deaths or severe relapses occur because of this, well you can't just blame the government. I will also blame the people who voted leave.

Inhalers for ds2
Morphine for dh
Anti depressants for me.

I honestly don't know which one would be worse running out of first.
I'm scared and I'm angry these medications alone are life and death for each of us and there are people out there worse than us.

I've managed to stockpile an extra of each inhaler for ds2 thankfully his asthma isn't severe so we can normally wait a bit for them if I'm on the ball.
The Dr won't prescribe me any more than a months supply of anti depressants but I've got 1 weeks supply.
We can't stockpile morphine but have managed to get 2 extra but the dosage dh is on they won't last long.

What can we do? What happens to the nhs when everyone relying on medication turns up at hospital because not having their medication has caused them to need hospitalization?

All of the three thyroxine manufacturers who have sourced my prescriptions in the last year say 'made in the UK'
However when I followed up by asking whether all the precursors (raw materials) were sourced in the UK I couldnt get a meaningful response.

I suspect there will be at least some drugs made in the UK which rely on imported raw materials - so at some point even "made in the UK" may not be a guarantee post brexit and our scientifically illiterate politicians won't even know to ask the question :(

I'm on quite a bit of medication to manage the symptoms of autoimmune disease.

I'm particularly concerned about one of my meds as there's only one European manufacturer / supplier (and none in the UK), it's not a common medication and there have been supply issues in the past even without brexit.

It wouldn't kill me to be without it but it helps me to produce saliva (I have sjogren's syndrome) and managing my oral dryness without it is extremely unpleasant. At its worse, before I was prescribed salagen, I could only eat soft foods, couldn't speak for more than a few minutes at a time, had trouble swallowing other meds, loads of mouth ulcers, greatly increased risk of tooth decay etc. So it's a significant quality of life issue for me.

I've been taking 3 rather than 4 a day for a few months now - quite tough in itself - and so I have quite a few in reserve.

I've also been buying extra eye drops and gels (very dry eyes too) as they are available without prescription.

My thyroxine is more of a problem as I have to take one pill per day. I've been ordering repeats after about 3 weeks and now have about a month's spare stock.

I've been buying OTC stuff too and doing some (fairly minor) stockpiling generally. My cat is on a specialist veterinary diet which comes from the EU (sensitive bowels!) so I have a lot of that in stock.

More seriously my MIL is concerned about the availability of her cancer drugs and she hasn't been in a position to stockpile as she's only been on this particular drug for a couple of months.

We're all very worried about a no-deal brexit generally. I feel pretty bitter about our government and its shocking handling of the whole situation. I voted Remain.

Medication for epilepsy here. Five different meds that come from three different countries. With AEDs it's important to take the same brand every time - you can't just take another brand of the same drug. There are often shortages of one of my meds anyway, and I have no way of stockpiling it. I can quite foresee that I will end up housebound at best if I can't get any of my meds.

My family all voted to leave. Even given the predicted shortages and the effect it could have on me, none of them regret it and would vote to leave if given the choice again.

Btw, I voted remain!

T1 diabetic... I veer between high levels of anxiety about there being insulin shortages and it being difficult to get strips/libre scanners and "fuck it, no point worrying, they're not going to let people die"..... "Are they? 😬".

I can't say it's doing my mental well-being much good, so I'm doing my best to bury my head in the sand...

I'm the only one in my family needing medication (asthma) I have tried to build a buffer. I'm starting to feel hatred for the people responsible for Brexit. I voted Remain.

I’m very worried about insulin supplies but also insulin pump supplies and test strips.
The pump supplies come from Holland. I’ve used a pump for over a decade because my sugars were impossible to manage prior to that. I really really really don’t want to go back to injections.

I voted Leave and would so again in an instant.
I take prescription medicine and am confident there will be no interruption. I think people are just panicking unnecessarily.
I think some people will do/say anything to try and stop Brexit and to cause people to question they way they voted.

mmmmm the meds i need to prevent chronic headaches has been in short supply recently, the first time in over 11 years.

I don't know if its due to brexit, pharmacist says many meds are hard to get hold off now - due to everyone throughout the supply train holding onto stock.... because they are worried about supply!

The Govt wouldn't be stockpiling meds/buying fridges if there were no danger.

Anti epileptics here too. I've got prescriptions a week early for a few months so I've got a month spare. I can't switch brands as for some reason they don't work as well. I can't do anything with my rescue meds as they're PRN so I can't get a repeat unless I've used them.

We're in the process of changing my migraine meds which is a nuisance. As my pain days have increased again in the last 3 months.

Then it's epi-pens for me and DH. And most importantly, asthma and allergy meds for DS1 who's only 4.

I'm really worried, can't believe that it's coming to this and veer between being angry that it's come to this, and bewilderment that anyone thought this joke of a government would do anything other than mess it up. DH voted Leave (and takes great care to explain his considered economic reasons for doing so) and is furious at how it's panned out. I suspect if there was another vote he'd choose to remain.

I have hypothyroidism (and also Graves' disease that causes an overactive thyroid but this is in remission at the moment). I am very concerned about the availability of levothyroxine as I need this to function. I can't stockpile as am titrations up at the moment so new meds are not prescribed until after a blood test which for me is only every 8 weeks. I am also concerned about particular brand availability as different brands have different tolerances and fillers (which can cause reactions in some people) so I try to stick to the same brand (as recommended).

If my Graves' disease becomes active I would be equally concerned about availability of carbimazole.

I hope the government are stockpiling but am concerned they have not considered issues around brands.

I'm on 4 meds for high blood pressure but the one that I really can't bear to be without is Pregabalin for spinal nerve compression. Life won't be worth living if I can't have that.

Have a DD on Lansoprazole, antihistamines and epi-pens, a DH with severe brittle asthma and the 101 essential meds that entails, a T1 diabetic sibling, and parents on various meds.

Our GP keeps us on an extremely short leash when it comes to ordering prescriptions - no chance at all of making life a bit easier and less stressful at any time by getting a little leeway over timing of repeats. This is stressful enough at the best of times, and involves convoluted hoop-jumping if we ever have the temerity to go on holiday, and hence need to order prescriptions a little early. So we have no stockpile of any of it. Given the risk of shortages post-Brexit, I am extremely concerned about the life-threatening issues that will arise if some of these drugs have shortages. I could lose a close family member, my husband or daughter, on the basis of a pack of lies and a blue passport.

If you were to ask me at any point in my life until a couple of years ago if I thought we were in any real danger of the British government not being able to ensure supply of essential medication, I would have scoffed. Now, however, with this shower of shite 'government', who couldn't run the proverbial piss-up if their lives depended on it, I have no faith whatsoever that they will come good. An incredible state of affairs.

I have been watching the farce that has been the Brexit negotiations with mounting disbelief and horror, wondering when we will see a sizeable-enough coterie of senior politicians who will actually have the balls to stand up and tell the great British public that, now they have actually looked into the details , they realise Brexit will be so disastrous they will actually be exercising the power they are invested with to decide, on behalf of the people they represent, that they will not go ahead with Brexit.

Why do we not have politicians with any courage these days?

I voted remain, as if you couldn't guess.

That's a good point about brands. Some people can't tolerate some brands, because of lesser ingredients like lactose and acacia.

Wierd thread - I'd almost think GF but MNHQ posted it. Went 'cold turkey' on my antidepressants a few months ago so no meds. My DS with ASD takes no meds either (not a route I ever wanted him to follow) but despite his age (17 now), I'll still be taking care of him for a few more years at least.

I voted Leave.

None of the above is connected at all. Is that relevant to what "Heather from 'i'" was trying to find out? Who knows, don't care.

In addition to both me and my DD needing daily medication, I am massively worried about those who provide vital public services not receiving their medication.

If nurses, doctors, teachers etc cannot work because they are ill due to either pre existing conditions, or withdrawal effects from suddenly stopping medication, how the hell will the country run?

This was easily foreseeable at the time of the referendum. Over two years later, and this should have been sorted long ago.

I truly hope that, should people die due to lack of meds, the Health Secretary and Prime Minister face criminal charges for manslaughter.

Oh......and all the leavers I know think that Brexit is a badly managed shitshow and are furious at the government.

I did wonder if emergency meds might be affected, say morphine or anesthetics or things people need if they are knocked over by a car or rushed into hospital with fierce infection. Stuff no one expects to need, but...

I think this is a real and valid concern -especially since the veterinary market has seen shortages of a number of anaesthetics and analgesics recently.

Oh......and all the leavers I know think that Brexit is a badly managed shitshow and are furious at the government.
Lovely - but what exactly did they vote for? And which well-constructed-plan were they anticipating?

I'm already on 3 medications which are prescription only and in addition controlled drugs as addicts like them. Dd is on 2 and we're both asthmatic.

I've been asking dr & psychiatrist and cpn and pharmacist for MONTHS for reassurance - which I am yet to get!

One of my medications has a warning NOT to stop cold turkey as this is PHYSICALLY DANGEROUS (effects on heart). Even reducing the dose has to be carefully managed and monitored.

I'm stockpiling paracetamol as although dd and I are on prescription painkillers paracetamol has an augmenting effect (they boost the prescription painkillers so the pain relief side is more effective). I'm also going to get eucalyptus oil in to sub the asthma drugs (but be aware this won't be right for everyone in some it can make asthma worse, I've used it for us before and it helps us with mild symptoms).

I have several loved ones who are diabetics, on life sustaining meds for a variety of other reasons who've ALSO been asking Drs etc for months what's going to happen, are they going to be able to get their meds OK.

None of them seem to have a clue, or if they do its not good (or else they'd be happy to reassure us!) and they're not wanting to be responsible for causing a panic.

It's appallingly irresponsible and dangerous as people are now at the point of looking up alternatives &/or buying online possibly from less reputable suppliers and I'm hearing locally even stockpiling street drugs with similar effects to their prescription drugs (even if they haven't used street drugs for many years)

• so yea well done brexiters and govt you're going to likely be responsible for MORE addiction, general illness (physical and mental), od, psychosis and deaths! Great job!

Any coroners out there I'd LOVE to hear their take on this! Because I think come April they're gonna be very busy!

SusanWalker - I agree! But the one possible positive in that might be that we "crazies" without our inhibitions in place might just riot and then maybe they'll bloody pay attention!

But seriously, I think there will be a spike in suicides from a combination of the stress caused by brexit, other effects of brexit and people not getting their mh meds! Not even "just" suicides but "death by misadventure" from people off their meds doing things like thinking they can fly or are invincible and proving it by playing chicken on the nearest main road etc

"The Govt wouldn't be stockpiling meds/buying fridges if there were no danger." Or preparing the armed forces to support the police in dealing with "civil disturbances" which I feel are far more likely to be mentally ill acting erratically due to lack of access to meds. Nor putting plans in place to evacuate the royal family!

I also think contraceptive meds will be low priority - even though they're not just for contraception. I'm on mini pill continuous for severe endometriosis AND because if my hormones aren't under control my mh is worse too. Dd is debating switching to depo as she uses for contraception but also heavy, painful periods (one of the effects of her disability).

As a republican I'm shocked to find myself actually hoping the queen dissolves parliament, puts in place instead people who actually know what the fuck they're doing (or better cancel the whole damn thing!) and ultimately rescues us all! Although I'm still sceptical enough to think this will only happen if the royal family themselves become genuinely at risk.

"I am massively worried about those who provide vital public services not receiving their medication." That was going to be my next point.

I'm an ex nurse, 2 of my friends/ex colleagues I trained with are both senior nurses...and type 1 diabetics! Quite a large number of Nhs staff are sufferers of illnesses like this, it's often what's led to them becoming Drs/nurses/paramedics etc! From their early experiences and wanting to help others like them.

Then there's all the "less important" jobs that keep society functioning, like carers, bin men, bus drivers...

If they don't get it bloody sorted it has the potential to descend into anarchy.

We’ve been incredibly lucky and I will be forever grateful to the Westminstenders threads on here as they alerted very early to the fact there might be shortages. DH uses slightly less insulin than ‘allowed’ if that makes sense so for years had been putting in prescriptions in later than ‘expected’. He’s been putting them in on time for a fair bit now which means a surplus has gradually built up.

However for most people who are on tablets where it’s a set dosage it’s not possible to do this frequency is closely monitored, as seen in posts above.

I've already experienced a shortage of one of my medications for my autoimmune condition. I had to do without while it was sorted out. Ironically my consultant had reassured me supplies of mine would be ok the same day he wrote out the prescription.
I'm now experiencing a flare of my condition and it's miserable.