High Street Chemists

[MarkPilling]

Good Morning Everyone

We (the BLF) would like to hear from you about the experience you have with high street chemists – how have they helped you with your lung condition?

Please share your experience here.

Thanks

Mark

[sassy59]

Not really helped Pete with his lung conditions but are always helpful and friendly at the Lloyds Chemist which is attached to our Medical Centre. We had our flu jabs there too which were fine.

[cofdrop-UK]

Hi street chemists I have not found particularly helpful, especially with regard to bronciectasis. Opposite our surgery we have a high street chemist beginning with the letter L and I always had to wait for ages whilst feeling rough.

About a year ago a family run pharmacy opened a few doors down from the high street chemist. The owners are husband and wife and both are pharmacists. I have found them to be amazingly helpful and to be honest I would always ask them in preference to doctors about interactions of drugs etc.

When I was put on a new (for me) drug and started to feel dreadful, it was my knowledgeable and helpful pharmacist who worked out that this drug was interacting with one of my regular drugs and was causing my liver to flush out my usual drug. He turned out to be right.

Sinus problems - he gave me a free sample of Neil Med which the rep had left with him.

I was asking him about the best probiotic to buy and he informed me I should be getting them on prescripftion as I have to take so many abs and wrote it down for me as there is only one you can get on prescription.

I just have to 'phone then and they will electronically send it through to the docs. In the meantime they will order stuff like Tobramycin for nebbing and Nebusal and deliver.

On the odd occasion I have overlooked an item, he will send it up and then sort out the prescription with the docs.

I have never had such good service from a high street chemist.

They are amazingly good and I realise I am very lucky.

BTW if you look back on flib's posts, she had a dreadful encounter with Boots whilst having a severe asthma attack when she had forgotten her inhaler.

c

[Hidden]

I go to a local independent chemists. Several times when I have either forgotten to order my inhalers, or when they have run out too early they have always given me one immediately without argument. . A couple of times I have asked the pharmacist to explain something about them to me and s/he is always very helpful. x

[Hidden]

I have found that when it comes to the nebulised drugs which I have, there is an impression of suspicion on the part of some chemists, especially less experienced staff who only see many vials of antibiotic for injection. I have frequently had to explain this in front of other customers which is embarrassing. My worst experience was recently in Tesco Stratford upon Avon. Their senior pharmacist was not there. Another, young, female pharmacist came to serve me. The drug I am on is difficult to obtain. She asked what my condition was. She then called me out of the line but in the hearing of other customers told me that she was recently diagnosed with the same condition, bronchiectasis and that I could infect her. I was devastated. This is totally inaccurate. I have had bronch for 63 years and never infected anyone. In fact she and I were much more at risk from infection by the other people in that queue. I told her politely why she was wrong and fled the store. This behaviour was, above all, grossly unprofessional. I wrote to the manager of the store but have not had the courtesy of a reply.

[O2Trees in reply to Hidden]

That's the same kind of ignorant and stigmatised reaction people with HIV used to get. In fact, like them, ppl with Bronch are as you say more at risk from others than they are from us. What a horrid thing to happen to you Stillstanding.

[mikeadams51]

They do what the it says on tin. Chemists are pharmacies not doctors. All advice copd and other lung deceased should be obtained from trained medical people or blf

[Jessy11]

Other than dispense my meds I don't tend to ask for advice from my pharmacy. I go to the GP or consultant for advice. Don't think pharmacists are qualified enough.

[O2Trees]

Actually pharmacists, perhaps with the exception of trainees, are much more knowledgeable than doctors around drug interactions, how/when to take your meds if you are on a lot which may be problematic to take at the same time.

Mine are great and do the same as Cough's and Cofdrop's, will give me my repeat meds without the prescription having been processed if I've run out by mistake.

I would always go to a dedicated pharmacy rather than the counter in a supermarket though.

[Jessy11 in reply to O2Trees]

Yes my pharmacy will give me meds without a prescription if need be. Yes they have the knowledge about drug interactions but I would go to my GP first if I had the choice. 😀

[O2Trees in reply to Jessy11]

Well, of course Jessy. They are good for different things.

[Pentreath Volunteer]

Can't help as our GP practice is a dispening one as I live beyond the mileage limit to get to a chemist.

[Hidden]

Mine is waste of time ... Only ask you stuff out of liability issues

Supposes if you have minor ailments the ok

[clematis5932]

Lloyds pharmacy attached to our surgery are very helpful, will go through all medication with you explaining side effects etc. Order all our meds, and will deliver if unable to collect. Will also let us have medication if we make a mistake and run out, before prescription.

[Toci]

I will not use the pharmacy attached to my GP surgery because the chemist is very rude. There is another one, Lloyds, who are excellent, ordering my repeat and delivering, always cheerfully and they saved my life when they questioned a drug my GP prescribed that I never should have been given. When the surgery messes up my prescription (often) they will dispense without and sort it out later for me (for example given the right drug but in the wrong dosage). I often turn to them for advice, mainly because my GPs are not very good.

[grannyjan]

Don't think my chemist even knows what is wrong with me!!! I just collect my meds and that's it. Don't get me wrong they are very nice but that's it really.

[freefaller]

Usually good. Have my repeat prescription review there. Always helpful and friendly. These days though quite often go there and they don't have the medication or enough of it to make up prescription. Had to go there 3 times to get the full amount of my antibiotics. This annoys my partner who has a lot of medication due to back and neck problems he is on a monthly repeat prescription and I would say 8 out of 10 times they have not got the whole prescription. Annoying because they know the date his prescription has to be ready by and he gets the same every month!

[freefaller in reply to freefaller]

By the way we have to travel 6 miles there and 6 miles back to do this so 3 times to get one prescription is a little annoying.

[Ergendl]

I go to the Well pharmacy (formerly the Co-op) and find them always friendly and helpful, just a bit chaotic with their filing after filling the prescriptions - you can wait for quite a time as they track them down. When I asked to buy a Haleraid they told me I could get it on prescription and it wouldn't cost me anything extra - but I didn't mind paying the £5 or so. They do regular reviews too.

[Parvati]

..often 'run out' of Symbicort inhalers so have to wait anything between 1 day and 3 weeks .. have got home only to open bag and find someone elses meds and repeat script in there .. last month no Symbicort again, waited 5 days then they had it as they gave me meds bag - opened it when I got home to find they had substituted with a DuoRespSpiromx without asking ot letting me know! Always long queue at both of ouR towns pharmacies. Actual staff friendly enough but service is overstressed and muddled- they just can't keep up. In quiet times they have 'invited' me for meds review - felt very pressured as when I declined they kept on at me until I said 'OK then but please make it quick'. My argument re meds review is this: the times when they 'invited' me I had just had one with my COPD nurse - in fact I have a meds review as part of my 6 month check up - annoyingly on the 2 occassions I have got home to find one of my inhalers has been changed without my prior knowlege, no one has offerred a 'review' then to explain reason for change or check if I know how to use new inhaler. I despair!!!!!

[Hidden]

A Rowlands pharmacist came running out to tell me I should not have been prescribed Volteroll for osteoarthritis as it can affect lungs. They are much more helpful than Boots. Kaye