How Many Different Medications

[Prada47]

Hi

I sometimes wonder how many different Medications there are to treat the same problem . To try to kick start this

I take Bisoprolol and wonder if this was in short supply would an alternative just as good be available !!!

Regards

[Sunnie2day]

Oddly enough, my chemist and GP are both comfortable saying Bisoprolol (and other beta blockers they commonly dispense/prescribe) are looking safe but of all things - plain old common standard aspirin is in short supply. Postcode lottery kind of thing? We were in a different town at this past weekend and the chemist there had plenty of aspirin on their behind-the-counter shelving.

[Calliope153 in reply to Sunnie2day]

Today I picked up my next two months supply of the usual meds and the pharmacist said she had had no problems with supply of anything to date.....

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

There are many medicines to treat the same/similar conditions but they ,may not suit everyone. A typical example is statins where someone may be fine with Atorvastatin but get muscle pains with Simvastatin. Another example is CCIs (calcium channel inhibitors) use to treat BP and an anti-anginal. Amlodipine gave me oedema but Diltiazem did not. Any shortage or lack of availability can cause a lot of extra work for GPs/cardiologists.

[Qualipop]

Just yesterday my pharmacist called to say he can't get my Ranitidine but he can get a different brand which has bright yellow tablets. I'm allergic to yellow colourings. The chemist only uses one supplier so I can't go elsewhere unless I get a new prescription from the doctor. I'm stuck on one brand of simvastatin because of bad reactions to different brands who use different preservatives so if that becomes unavailable I'm in a mess. Luckily I have a spare couple of weeks worth of ranitidine.

[shopman in reply to Qualipop]

Thought Ranitidine was subject to a possible recall in some parts - particularly the USA - whereas we have this from the BMJ bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l6087

[Qualipop in reply to shopman]

It's only certain brands that have been withdrawn and as far as my GP knows, only those sold over the counter.

[Qualipop in reply to shopman]

Unfortunately there is no other treatment for me as I'm allergic to PPIs

[Qualipop in reply to shopman]

Having just given me yesterday a prescription for ranitidine the gP )receptionist) is now telling me it's been pulled and they can't prescribe it yet Sainsbury's pharmacy have some that they are holding for me- if only I can get a new prescription via this darn receptionist. According to that article they should have changed it on October 15th.

[shopman in reply to Qualipop]

I appreciate we are off track from the OP but have you tried the alternatives - cimetidine, famotidine and nizatidine .

[Qualipop in reply to shopman]

Yes in the past I had cimetidine and famotidine which were no help at all. The GP Pharmacist just rang me. I tracked some down at Sainsburys albeit 1/4 strength so I'll have to take 4 tablets LOL I'll rattle. It hasn't yet been banned but is in very short supply. I'm safe for a month.