Naproxen Sodium

[Lioslaith]

Hi All,

I'm in Scotland and I wondered if you are prescribed the above medication have you been told my your pharmacy when trying to get your prescription filled that it is no longer available at all and you have to get your doctor to change your prescription.

Boots told my Dad this when he went to get my last two month supply of this drug.

It seem very strange that my GP hasn't been informed of this as our pharmacist or our GP themselves contact me immediately on the rare times this has happened in the past to say that my prescribed medications would be changing. It also seem strange as this drug and this dose is so popular amongst GPs that it's hard to get your prescription filled in one go due to high demand and now the Boots is saying that it's no longer being made?

I can't help think that they don't want the hassle of tracking down enough of this drug to fill all the prescriptions and want patients to change to a less popular one. Because if a manufacturer(s) were stopping production of a drug wouldn't the GP's/Hospitals prescribing said drugs to patients be one of the first to be informed instead of leaving it to chemists to tell patients to go and get their drugs changed because they weren't being made any more?

It seems strange that my GP hasn't contacted, not even the pharmacist, at all about Naproxen Sodium. Its a small blue tablet with NPS-275 imprinted on it. In fact the last time my GP phoned me it was to ask I attend bi-monthly blood tests because of possible side effects of this drug as I already have a compromised immune system and this could make it worse. So it's doubly strange that if this was what was happening that he wouldn't have contacted me directly instead of leaving it to a chemist to tell me to go get my medications changed.

To be honest I don't know if Boots just cant be bothered to source it, because a lot of people in our area are on this exact drug on this strength as they always have problems filling my prescription and it takes two or three pickups to get the whole prescription every time.

It took years to get my drugs all working with the minimum interaction flare ups and I don't want to have to change if its just Boots not being bothered to get it in as I've heard nothing from other people on it to say their being changed off it.

[Hidden]

Hi there....I don't know if Naproxen is being withdrawn or not, but what I do know is that you are often better to get good information from the small independent chemists rather than the big high street stores or supermarkets as they are very often limited having perhaps just one supplier. Whereas the smaller independent pharmacies can go to a variety of suppliers.

When I was working I had to regularly ring our local chemist (small independent) who had a wealth of experience and would readily help in all medication matters. If you have a local chemist I would try ringing them to see if they can shed any light on the drug.

As you say it could be a supply problem which your chemist is limited to track down. Try not to get worried yet. There might be a simple answer. Hope this helps.

Nicki

[susie59]

i got some naproxen at the end of march, it was from my local chemist, mine

are not in capsule form though.

They are a white tablet, 500mg, makers name says "ACCORD".

best wishes, x

capsule with

[LindseyMid]

What it may be is that if the generic medication manufacturer Boots were dealing with have stopped making this drug, then they will need to find another company that is making it.

You could ask your pharmacy if they stock any of the branded versions. Some brand names for this drug are listed on this website: patient.co.uk/medicine/Napr...

A branded version will cost more, so NHS GPs tend to prescribe generics, but that doesn't mean you can't get the branded ones if needed. It's just like Pepsi being more expensive than a supermarket own version of cola.

[Ang01]

I have recently had a prescription for Naproxen which were yellow capsules, not sure if they are the same as Naproxen sodium though. I didnt have a problem getting them from my local chemist. xx

[retiredpharm]

As a retired independant pharmacist I can agree that you stand a better chance of getting some naproxen from an independent than Boots or even Lloyds. Working for themselves they are keener to keep your business and as other people have said they can draw from a wider range of suppliers.

Last year I had a severe hip problem and naproxen was prescribed for me. It worked well at relieving the pain but I started having problems with side affects. I still have a few left and now if I am really desperate for pain relief or if I am going to do something physical then I do take just an odd one and it helps .

I have also found that taking an ibuprofen 200mg at the same time as a paracetamol 500mg I get more relief than either taken individually

I do hope you can sort it.When you think you have cracked it as far as medication goes, to keep flare-ups to a minimum, it is frustrating to not get what you need.