GP short prescription

[Dollyparton3]

So, my GP is well known for being absolutely worse than useless with HRT, I had to go private after they sent me for rounds of blood tests aged 44 "no, you can't be menopausal yet", eventually I got my prescription sent to them by the private doc. I've not managed to see a doctor and my last HRT review was a blood pressure check with the nurse, no questions about the ACTUAL HRT and then sent away for another 12 months.

I notice now they will only prescribe me with 21 days at a time of oestrogel and guess what? It's 21 days supply at 3 pumps a day. Progesterone is then prescribed at 30 days supply every 28 days.

This means that if I don't set an alarm to get the prescription bang on each day they're due I have no room for error and forget going on a holiday and running over the deadline .

Friend of mine only recently managed to get them to prescribe her 2 months with a heavy travel commitment in her job and a lot of pestering. Surely not all GP practices are this tight with the frequency of prescription? It seems like creating work for everyone for the sake of it surely and we're not into hefty shortages at the moment.

My GP seems to have had a sudden change of policy, and I've gone from being given 1 bottle per prescription (like you, 3 pumps/day means it lasts 3 weeks) to 3 bottles!

I already put repeat requests in early, as you never know whether stuff will be in stock. Or whether there will be a shortage, as there has been several times with HRT. This often means I end up with a little stockpile. Nothing excessive, maybe one bottle extra, but it gives me some slack in case of supply problems or unplanned travels.

If I'm planning to go away, then I explain this in my unusually early repeat request, and spell out that I will be away during the time I would normally expect to make the request or start a new bottle. GP has never refused to issue me a double quantity or early repeat for this.

You can usually get 3 months or 6 months on one prescription.

Thanks ladies, I'll go back and request longer. Even through the NHS I'm restricted to THE DAY before I can get it again so if I blink I'll run out.

My GP is incredible in so many ways, but I can still only get one month of patches at a time.

If I add in the month of asthma inhalers and estriol cream, excema cream and prescription anti/histamines, I'm at the doctors on a constant loop collecting my prescriptions!!

I've asked several times for multiple boxes of patches but they keep referring to HRT shortages.

My GP does 2 months supply bit shortages seem to have eased now.
I think that due to the new HRT prescription passports capping costs at 2 prescriptions they are less worried about extending

I have a bulk prescription at the chemist, I can only pick up one month at a time, but don't need to keep requesting a repeat prescription.

Find out if your chemist can arrange this.

I've been on HRT for over 15 years and this has changed in the past year or so.

Ah this would be helpful. The system I have says in the NHS app prescribed July 19, says cannot order again until Aug 9. I have to put that date in my calendar as an alarm to remind me.

Then the same again for Progesterone tablets on a different cycle

I sent a message to my surgery this morning and they've booked a call with me in 2 weeks to discuss. My GP is like some sort of nightclub bouncer for HRT and put me through round after round of blood tests aged 44 then said it was inconclusive so I'm not holding out a lot of hope of them saying yes. I think they think we sell oestrogen out of the back of our car boot or something

I couldn’t get my GP to give me my HRT proscription on the NHS I was literally fighting for them to prescribe it. I was paying privately for consultations and HRT medication despite it all being on theNHS ppc certificate. Anyway at my annual review with my menopause specialist she wrote again to my GP and told them to prescribe it on the NHS. I then requested a prescription with lots of resistance from the receptionist however it went through and I got 6 months worth .

I honestly didn’t think I’d get anything and to receive everything in vast quantities left me more than shocked.

Yeah I could only get one prescription (three months worth) having to see the advanced nurse practitioner twice before I can get it on repeat it would seem.
It was same when the surgery got me their highest in weight loss medication (couldn’t have it on repeat)

It’s never quite as simple as dropping off a prescription and picking up the medication a couple of days later.

It’s all so disorganised. Since when has the patient been responsible for continuity of care? To find out what happened to the last repeat prescription you handed in? To complete your own ‘annual review’ in a cupboard with a self service blood pressure monitor, then chase up the HRT?

…and the only reason I’m on HRT is because a TV presenter (Davina’s documentaries) gave me the information to support my decision.

I'm on 9 regular medications, none of which are HRT, and can't get longer than a month's supply for any of them, so don't think this is specific to HRT. I built up a fortnight of leeway by ordering one day earlier each month for over a year.

I don’t honestly think she can help me with my post menopause bleeding though. I’m pretty sure Davina’s prescription is tailored to her needs so no issues.

Pretty sure the BMS says to increase Progesterone dose while waiting for a specialist opinion but I’ll probably have to inform the doctor of that fact and chase a referral now that other investigations etc are done.

@Moresummertimes everyone who takes HRT has their prescription tailored to their needs. There isn't a magic differential between NHS and Private that Davina has access to.

I see a private gynae who agreed with the prescription I have from GP - mirena, 100mcg oestrogen and testosterone.

Mine is tailored in so far as I changed the oestrogen dose several times, changed from utrogestan to mirena and added testosterone. Mine is all NHS prescribed and always has been.

It is sometimes different @Droolylabradors
My prescription is private.

With monitoring, I'm on a slightly longer cycle than the usual 4 weeks, using less Utrogestan than the usual number of days. I have a scan (which I pay for) to monitor the lining and my ovaries, approx once a year.

So the products are the same but the rest of it is individualised.

Yes, sorry I see there is an additional layer there.

But my GP would offer/support that, alongside private scans. Eg. GP was happy to go above 100mcg if consultant said yes following a private hysteroscopy. Also when I used utrogestan, they happily prescribed pessary utrogestans which I understood were more expensive.

None of that helps though if you have to fight to get HRT from your GP in the first place I guess 🙄🤷🏼‍♀️

I get hrt through Gp . I get 3 bottles at a time - never had to get one bottle at a time … I don’t know why some people are having problems it’s not like you are going to OD on it .

i get my anti depressants 2 monthly - they are higher risk 🤷‍♂️

This is similar to my experience with this nurse (not ever been able to see a GP to talk HRT) it's disgraceful that we had to go privately to get the same free service that our NI pays for that other women get.

I'm pretty sure that the nurse fobs me off now that she can see I went private, almost as if I've insulted their opinion on the matter. That said they never gave me an opinion.

I'm keen to know what they will say during the call they've told me to drop everything for tomorrow, I'll report back afterwards.