The Amount of Prescription Medication

Does anyone else like me worry about the number of pills that we are prescribed?

The amount of pills that I have had to return as they caused known interactions with other medication. What a waste as some have not been opened.

[Simba1992]

Sadly enough this is one of dark sides of modern medicine. You are prescribed a med to foremost will take away symptoms. A med that does not address the root cause has always some kind of adverse effect then you need new meds to attack these symptoms and so on and then at some point you sit there with a huge number of pills that lo and behold have together caused even more health problems! Many medical professionals today are infact wondering if meds really all too often make you sicker.

[Hidden in reply to Simba1992]

I have had some nasty reactions with combination meds. It is so wrong to destroy unused medication when they clearly have not been opened and could be used to help others less fortunate

[Gnarli in reply to Hidden]

Unfortunately Minty, not everyone will be as fastidious in the storing of meds as yourself. I would not want 'second hand' medication from an unknown household but then I never eat from a buffet for the same reason.

[Hidden in reply to Gnarli]

I hear you but have worked very closely in central Africa and during my spare time helping out building shacks for orphan children with nothing, some of whom could benefit.

Funny the wealthy say in central Africa when the mines moved In they brought technology built new clinics and schools, the truth is that locals cannot afford new clinics and the animals have fled and the locals cannot afford the cost of fees for fancy schools .

I have experienced the same when I was stationed in South America and many other countries around the world.

The same goes for British ex pats in Cape Town. I have seen so many times older people being turned away st the pharmacy as they do not have enough funds in their medical aid pot for chronic meds. Some older people I also know pay zAR 12,000 pm fomedical aid and that might not cover everything that is about £700 pounds. It is criminal to waste these meds that we don’t use.

Surely the drug companies and others have a responsibility to recycle ♻️ back into a system to help people less fortunate. Thank good ness for free meds for those in UK who cannot afford to pay but how much is this costing and how much money are we wasting on medication that is not used. The pills that were incorrectly supplied to me last month are £37, why are the drug companies nit forced to have X-ray machines etc to be able to check returned meds to ensure that they are safe for reuse.

I wonder how much prescribed medication In UK is taken in for destruction or just flushed down the toilet

[Gnarli in reply to Hidden]

I'm not disagreeing with you, Minty, just pointing out that the situation here is that there are some who may not keep their meds in optimum conditions or indeed maliciously interfere with medication for blackmail purposes or simply because they can. Yes, the waste in the NHS is on an industrial scale and its not just meds. Used mobility aids like crutches, sticks etc are rejected by the hospitals because the renovations needed before re-issue are more expensive than buying new, for example, and it is soul destroying especially as there are people dying for lack of them. I'm no expert and have no answers and just as frustrated as yourself

J

[Hidden in reply to Gnarli]

I know that you are not but why cannon someone design a machine to check the meds and repack them

[Nsmith13]

Yes lots of mtx and benapali abt 6mth all not opened think the bio one is really expensive and I was surprised abt how many they devlivered when it didn't even agree with me so yes it's a waste the mtx had to stop because of an infection 🙇‍♀️

[Hidden in reply to Nsmith13]

I am not sure why we are allowed to waste so much medication as it is not return d for a refund

[helixhelix in reply to Hidden]

Sadly a few cases where people have tampered with unopened bottles has made everyone fearful. There used to be schemes where you could send unopened bottles to an aid charity, but don't know if that functions now.

[Hidden in reply to helixhelix]

Always some that ruin it for others

[Nsmith13]

I have free prescriptions I don't think I would be able to afford them otherwise, but before the RA I got free because of my thyroid problem at an earlier age

[AgedCrone in reply to Nsmith13]

You can get. a prescription prepayment certificate that costs £104 a year £2 a week.......so these days there really is no need not to pick up prescription drugs because of the cost.

The details are written on the back of the of the prescription form & any pharmacist will explain how to get the certificate.

Details available on 0300 330 1341 the Application form is No FP95

[Hidden in reply to Nsmith13]

I have witnessed first hand in noordhoek Cape Town adults in tears as they know that they will die as they cannot afford life saving medication such as warfarin and insulin, even basic antibiotics after surgery. It is very sad to see

[Fra22-57]

The NHS waste far far too much.if medication not suit me I take it back to doctors for them to destroy or what they do with them but the health service seems to not look at the root of the problem but dishes out all kinds of medications.What annoys me is when the doctor asks you what you would like when they have the knowledge to research.many times I have gone home and researched the medication and found it would be unsafe to take with my other conditions so had to return unopened

[Hidden in reply to Fra22-57]

I spoke with the pharmacist only last week as I was having a terrible interaction with my meds. Went onto drugs.com checked and I was right. Insisted that the person responsible for my health at the pharmacy checked. Sure enough I was right but they blame the doctors. Surely after the shipman case in the UK the pharmacist is supposed to check before dispensing

[Simba1992 in reply to Hidden]

I do think that the responsibility is with the doctors. A scary example of pill gathering was seen in the treatment of seniors with many health problems that were prescribed different meds by different specialists, some elders taking 30 pills a day that were in different ways in fact making them more sick. No doctor was taking responsibility over the treatment of the person just different symptoms.

[AgedCrone in reply to Simba1992]

For everybody..not just Simba

There is a service available for elderly people, or those that get confused when they have multiple pills to take.

The pharmacist will dispense them in a special container with days & dates.

An elderly relative had this & her carer could check she had taken her meds....this was a few years back, but you could always ask in your pharmacy to see if it's still available for anybody you may know who could benefit,

[Hidden in reply to AgedCrone]

Although I am still under 50 confused I am as so many dam pills, if I take everything that has been prescribed my inner thighs are so bruised apart from that I am so sick and off my face. They seem to change the boxes and meds every two weeks.

What is scary in all of this if u forget and I do it just cannot be bothered to live like a zombie 🧟‍♀️ I actually feel ok. So are they giving me too much trying to fix everything at once

[Gnarli in reply to AgedCrone]

Getting a dosette box from your pharmacist is still a free service, we were told at a WI talk not long ago. Those time/day/date tablet boxes from Amazon and others are hated by health professionals as, should something awful happens and you need emergency treatment, they have limited ideas as to what you have taken without original packaging or access to your health records. Just a thought

J

[AgedCrone in reply to Gnarli]

I know what you mean......I seem to remember my elderly aunt had a list with her box from the pharmacist on his company notepaper detailing what pills were in there....but of course that could go AWOL.

It is scary that confused people could get muddled...but apart from someone going in 3 times a day to give the pills what to do?

The District Nurse who used to visit seems to have been abandoned in a lot of areas....& carers have their work cut out to throw a cup of tea & wash hands & face of their "clients" these days.

[Gnarli in reply to AgedCrone]

Unfortunately, no system is foolproof and the current 'caring' system is not working for people in need of it. I feel so angry that people have become 'clients' or 'service users'. More weasel words from the powers that be to reduce people to units or, worse, pax. I find it dehumanising and destroys sympathy for people. Sorry, I'll get off my soapbox

[AgedCrone in reply to Gnarli]

I agree with you 100%.

Being a carer can be a thankless job.....a lot of old people are lonely & ill, & the only people they have to moan at is the carer.

Carers pay is a disgrace, my aunt rarely had the same one twice,& often they just sat & had a cup of tea with her & did nothing else. But with only 20 minutes allotted per visit it was impossible to do the job properly.

The person who delivered meals on wheels had more time & took the foil off her meals....her hands were too frail to manage that & had a chat with her....but until she had a fall & finally agreed to go into a care home (at 94) she had a miserable time.

Thankfully the care home was wonderful & she had a good life there until she died at 97.

But no thanks to our social care system.

[Hidden in reply to AgedCrone]

At least they still try even if we cannot pay. In other countries they will turn you away. This must be heartbreaking for the medical professionals.

[Simba1992]

In the study I was referring to the seniors had meticulously followed doctors orders, many in service homes where distribution of meds was well controlled. The results were very worrisome since after examanation of their over all health the abundance of meds was by no means defendable. This led to a huge decrease of their med arsenal!

[Simba1992 in reply to Simba1992]

Here is some reading on the subject.

washingtonpost.com/national...

[Hidden in reply to Simba1992]

Thanks I enjoyed that read on my sleepless night.it is too hot here in Devon, all my windows are open and my front door.

[Simba1992 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Minty,

I know how it feels. I live in the south of France and was suffering terribly of the heat last summer especially during the night when the mosquitoes made the suffering even worse. This summer however we installed air cond. And this was really the best! We've been having days where temp reaches 38.😰😡I hope your nights will cool down soon. x Simba

[Hattie23]

Golly just been on that website for drug interaction. I have 4 majors and 4 moderates.... I shall ring the pharmacist today and am seeing a gastroenterology consultant tomorrow. I know one he doesn't like me taking.....

We just trust the gp dosing it out. Have good day.

[Hidden in reply to Hattie23]

I was not sure if allowed to post the site on here but it is very useful.

[Simba1992 in reply to Hattie23]

The discussion on med interaction with patients is what I have understood, rare. Perhaps I'm wrong?