Lots of Medications and no reviews

[Heartbroke]

Looking for advice about my medications. Who would be best to talk to pharmacist or BHF nurses?

[Taviterry]

Both? The best person would be your surgery pharmacist, if you have one, as they have access to your records and can consult with your GP. A pharmacist in a chemist may deal with simple queries (sometimes in the presence of other customers). I gather that the BHF nurses are very good, though I wonder how much more information they can offer than what is to be found on the leaflets accompanying tablets.

But then we can react to medication in different ways - earlier this week we had a thread about varying experiences with the antacid Lansoprazole (including the conflicting advice I had from my surgeon and GP).

[Heartbroke in reply to Taviterry]

Thank you for your reply.

[Happyrosie]

as Taviterry says. In the UK all surgeries (except perhaps remote rural ones??) should be in a group that employs one or more pharmacists. As they, the pharmacists, are the ones with years of training on medications and their side effects and inter reactions, they should be helping their doctors who are generalists.

My own dispensing pharmacist in a high street chemist, not part of a chain, is a man who does stints at the local hospital and he advises the doctors there. So I am happy to go to him for advice

[Heartbroke in reply to Happyrosie]

Thank you for your reply.Do you go to surgery pharmacy to make an appointment with pharmacist or do you have to do it through the actual surgery receptionist?

[Happyrosie in reply to Heartbroke]

There should be information on your practice website. They all differ.

With mine, I phone or visit and speak to receptionist.

[Heartbroke in reply to Happyrosie]

Thank you. Will pop in and speak to receptionist at surgery on Monday.

[Taviterry]

Depends on the surgery. Mine is one of those that likes/expects initial queries and requests for appointments of any type to be made on-line. (After my initial doubts, this works well for me.) Otherwise, ring the surgery receptionist. Pharmacists (and nurses and GPs) are too busy dealing with patients to answer the phone to make bookings.

[Heartbroke in reply to Taviterry]

Thank you

[Happyrosie in reply to Taviterry]

Lucky you to be able to do things online. I’m fortunate enough to be able to visit the surgery and there are no queues (or only a minute or so).

Otherwise you have to phone and that might be forty minutes of hanging on.

[momander]

I'd say both