Having had asthma a since birth I recently discovered Boots repeat prescription service which was great as they text you every time the prescription is ready. This worked brilliantly as it saves me time not having to call into the Doctors as I work 6 days a week and find it difficult to nip in due to parking/traffic etc.
However over the last couple of months my Doctors have taken my blue inhaler off repeat prescription and I now have to go in and order it every time. I asked about it today and the receptionist told me this is happening nationally so they can monitor how much people are using of their inhalers
Is this just me or have any one else's doctors stopped their repeat of their blue inhaler?
I even asked if I booked in for a check up would that reassure them but they said no. My asthma is well controlled and I have not had an attack for years however I do like to order a couple of extra inhalers every now and again to keep in various places e.g home, work, etc (just in case) but this new rule is making this very difficult
Any one else's experience with this would be great
Thank you
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Hrobi256
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Hi this could be because of new research saying that patients are using their blue ventolin inhalers too much if they are using them more than 2/3 times a week (yes I did say week). They say it must be because the preventers aren't doing their job properly and these should be looked at.
I asked my pharmacist about this very recently (see my post of a few days ago) and he sent a note to my doctors and I have been told to make an appointment with the asthma nurse to discuss it. x
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Just checked it was called 'Hi everyone' and I posted it 4 days ago about this very subject. x
They can see how much you are inhaler by how many you get on your repeat prescription. I know you say you have a stock as we all like to. But once you have your stock you only need more when you are either poorly or the inhalers are out of date. Don't forget if you have an open inhaler you should renew it after six months even if you have only used it once. It may be best to check with your GP or Asthma nurse about the actual time there. Ask if it would be OK for you to put the reason you are getting a new ventolin inhaler on the prescription. Like "need an extra as going away". Which is what I do.
Renew an opened inhaler after six months! I have to admit I've never been told that before. With my preventer inhalers obviously that doesn't apply, they get used on a daily basis, but I will frequently go months between occasions where I need to use ventolin. I've been using ventolin for nearly thirty years and no-one has ever said that I should get a new one six months after opening it. Neither is it recommended it on the label of my accuhaler, nor on the box of an unopened one I have, both of which I would expect if this was the case.
I read a while ago that Asda was going to stock it in their chemist shops in store and it would be easy to buy without too many questions asked, probably cheaper too.
A few years ago Asda did Ventolin inhalers without prescription and at the time it was cheaper than prescriptions. I only used it once, next time i went computer said no. Not long after that i heard the service had been stopped cos people were abusing it
Thanks for that tip off LittleMissFaffALot, what a shame the service has been stopped, I was only saying to someone yesterday, not to worry, as I believed we could get a rescue inhaler at Asda. I don't blame people for buying it at Asda if it was cheaper than on prescription.
Hi, I know its probably different here as I live in Tenerife, but can you not simply go and buy the product from the chemist if you cant get it on prescription? I use Nexthaler and if I dont happen to have my prescription with me then I just pop in a chemist and pay the full price (dont like doing it as its nearly 60 euros to buy, whereas 2 euros on prescription), having said that better than not having it at all.....
I'm having the opposite issue with my surgery, which in a way is good. I get 2 ventolin on every prescription, i don't actually need that much, i requested it once cos i'd lost one on holiday then it just happened i got 2 at a time.
At least 2 / 3 times i've requested my preventer by email and when i've got the prescription it's had both my seretide and 2 ventolins. As a result i've got 4 unopened ventolins sitting in their boxes!
I get two ventolin inhalers as well, but that was at my request so that I could always have one staying in the house, and one that comes with me wherever I go, just in case...
No that's strange but I think that doctors are very careful about giving out lots of medication. I think it might be because you haven't had an asthma attack in years. Are you still going to your yearly asthma review. If so and they know your current condition then that's why. Blue inhalers have got a long life self) I have something that is on repeat but they will give me one month at a time. (no asthma but another long term condition)
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