Prescription charges

Have any of you seen the programme hosted by Dr. rangan Chattergee? He spends a lot of time finding alternatives to pain killers. If only he could visit and advise all who need him.

The pharmacist made a mistake, then; it was only last week.

DD told me yesterday that buying paracetamol over the counter is banned in Germany because it is considered to be very dangerous; she preferred to take Nurofen for a headache although my GP will not prescribed NSAIDS.
I prefer to take Naproxen but he will not prescribe it.
? Me too.

ps not for headaches - for knee pain.

You can buy 3 packs of 16 at a time in poundland.
Its probably less elsewhere?

It’s only guidance Jal but clearly if breached and there was liver damage there would be a case for damages ( and quite right too) which is why we should stop being self righteous and think about those who need the medication everyday

I suppose the chemist has to make a judgement.

But Poundland don’t have a chemist do they? I just think it’s playing to the gallery by NHS England without considering those who need long term pain relief - some of whom need it of course because of longer waiting lists for knee and hip replacements

Had this discussion with the GP when she recommended, well no insisted on, 8 per day as the least damaging route for me. She was firm in her opinion, paracetamol should be prescribed if appropriate for chronic conditions as otherwise the GP has no way of monitoring both consumption and the patients wellbeing.

32 paracetamol is 4 whole days supply at maximum dose. Surely those with mobility problems still have to buy food or get someone to buy it for them. This is hardly an insurmountable problem.

Medicine that can be bought OTC should not be on prescription IMO

Don’t be so harsh Old Meg - I’m on thyroxin, I’m prescribed 8 weeks at a time(and it’s free) - why should people living with chronic pain have to sort out arrangements for getting their medication every few days just because it’s available OTC- there’s a medical need for it. As I’ve said, my BIL does pay,the least NHS England could do is come up with a system whereby he could get at least 4 weeks at a time at the chemist and pay for it - I take it you don’t need daily OTC painkillerss - well lucky you

Exactly cornergran, exactly.

Housebound people have their prescriptions delivered, if there is nobody to go to the shops for them I certainly don't resent them getting paracetamol in with their other stuff.

There are lots of problems that aren’t insurmountable, it doesn't mean that we should as a society therefore leave people in need to work out for themselves how to surmount them but rather that we as decent human beings should devise solutions for them - living with mobility and pain problems is bad enough without sanctimonious people telling them to just suck it up. FFS

But now they won’t be able to get their paracetamol on prescription - but OldMeg thinks that’s fine and dandy

And of course the OP thinks it’s fine as well

Well, everything is fine whilst you or your loved ones are well. Sad that things dont stay that way.

Quite right.
Why on earth have an over the counter med on prescription? Similarly Savlon, Germolene, Alka Seltzer, Strepsiks etc etc etc
You can buy paracetamol for under 50p a packet and dont have to wait three weeks for a doctor’s appointment!

What’s really really sad is how incredibly self centred and selfish some people are - a total inability to look at an issue, especially a health issue, from any perspective other than their own - other people’s problems are not insurmountable.

Maw you’ve missed the whole point - it’s not the bloody money, it’s the fact that a person who needs it daily has to keep buying it in small quantities. FFS

Bloody Savlon isn’t needed 4 times a day to make you able to function pain free is it?

My MiL had Paracetamol on prescription and if she ran low wouldn't let me buy more for her because she could get it free, so I had to go to her GP and order more (in my spare time!) When she moved into a home we found she had boxes and boxes,of the stuff hidden away in her cupboards.

I buy 2 packs of 16 paracetamol @ 19p per pack each time I visit Aldi. Supermarkets are quite strict about the 2 pack limit as I discovered when I unthinkingly put a cold remedy in my trolley along with the paracetamol and was told I couldn't have it. It's much more expensive in Waitrose and somewhere in between in Tesco. As for Panadol, which is the branded version, and exactly the same - why does anyone buy it at a vastly higher price?

Well, my daughter needed and used hers. She was in no position to pop to the shops and buy more.
It took almost 2 years to get her prescription delivery sorted, all too late really.

I think the cheaply made ones are not so good for your stomach, as far as I know.
Maybe its an urban myth, but I think they aren't so well coated?

PS Once,in Boots, I bought two packs of paracetamol and gave my GD the money to buy me another two packs. On leaving the store, madam, in ringing tones, announced, 'That's the last time I buy drugs for you, Granny!' Goodnight!