Possible law later in the year about driving on certain drugs not allowed

[Lizzyear]

Hi All,

I hope you are all having a good day and not in too much pain.

I went to the pain clinic today, my first time and I must say, I was very anxious, but the Doctor was brilliant, so helpful and thorough and really empathised with the fibromyalgia pain and problems.

When I was there, the doctor mentioned about the government trying to put through a law about not been able to drive on certain meds and that the medical profession was trying to fight it. This has quite concerned me as this was the first I had heard about it. I totally understand about people not driving on drugs, such as cannabis, heroin etc, but where has common sense gone if they are going to dictate on medical drugs, after all we can work out whether we are feeling whoozey, because we have taken extra meds to relieve the pain, and had better not drive that day. After all we don't need a car accident on top of everything else!!

Sorry to go on, but quiet concerned as driving is my lifeline to the outside world.

Thanks for reading.

[Hidden]

I suppose there are silly people who do not heed how they feel, but I agree you can't police the whole system. Like you there are days I will not drive as you say who needs an accident

[Lizzyear]

Thank you for your reply. I think the majority of people are sensible, but looks like we could all be 'punished' for the stupid few!!

[Ginsing]

i agree we do need to use our brains and if you have a problem don't drive. i

have recently been suffering from double vision and yes i have been off

the road as a consequence. so please be safe that is all that matters.

xxgins

[Ginsing]

i agree we do need to use our brains and if you have a problem don't drive. i

have recently been suffering from double vision and yes i have been off

the road as a consequence. so please be safe that is all that matters.

xxgins

[TheAuthor]

Hi Lizzyear

I sincerely hope that you are feeling as well as you possibly can be today? There was something on the BBC News channel about this, I think about a month ago?

I was told not to drive many years ago due to a health condition, and I have to admit that it can be quite inconvenient at times. I want to wish you all the best of luck if they try to assess you on this issue.

Take care

Ken x

[Mdaisy]

Hello Lizzyear,

There are many articles on the internet that reassures people taking prescribed medication, just one of them is written by Boots in which they explain the new law for Summer 2014;

People taking medicines prescribed by their doctor shouldn’t have any difficulty. The new law will state that people who take prescription drugs will have a legal defence (that means it’s not likely they will be prosecuted) as long as:

*they haven’t been taking more than the recommended dose of their medicine, and

*they haven’t gone against the advice about their medicine given in the manufacturer’s information leaflet.

Doctors are already well aware of which prescription drugs can affect people’s ability to drive - usually by making them drowsy. And doctors should make sure people who use these prescription medicines know about how these drugs might affect them.

To make doubly sure they are aware of what the new laws mean, doctors are being given updated instructions by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the body that makes sure medicines are used properly. These instructions will remind doctors to discuss carefully with people how some drugs can affect their ability to drive. The leaflets that come with the affected drugs will also be updated to include this information (BMJ group January 2104)

To read more of this article you can Google 'drug driving law boots'

Hope this helps

Emma

FibroAction Administrator

[mitziblue]

What country do you live in sweetheart? Hope you start feeling better!! It's always wonderful to have a great doctor!!! xxx Mitzi

[Lizzyear]

Thank you for your replies. Sorry I haven't replied individually, but your replies are much appreciate. Feel very lucky to have found this site. Hope you all manage to get some restful and good sleep. Gentle hugs x