CO-PROXAMOL. THE CONSPIRACY THAT THE GOVERNMENT AND MHRA DON'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT.

[Ventorist11]

I recently read a lot of comments on Co-proxamol. I fought a campaign for years (and still am) to get this drug reinstated with a licence and stop people having to pay over the £100 mark for a private prescription. The way this drugame was treated back in 2006/07 was appalling. I still think it was to get certain people a pat on the back at MHRA London. Stories were brought into force about how terrible it was,suicide rates were up, people dying taking 2 extra by mistake. A lot of total rubbish whipped up in a flash and fashion by Gov med depts. All MPs were ignored, Doctors were ignored, the BMA was ignored,charities and clinicians were ignored and disgustingly, long term users were ignored and treated shockingly. They conjured up almost instantly reports that the opioid and paracetamol were ineffective and paracetamol was just as therapeutic on its own. Suicide rates are higher now than before Co proxamol was withdrawn and I have reports from the National statistics beaurex to prove this. There is something not quite right about the way this was initiated and dealt with. Please contact me with any questions or if you are campaigning yourself. The drug is dangerous taken in overdose but isn't that what someone suicidal wants?..or an addiction taking strips of them for a high?. The problem was not the drug it was the wrong people who had their hands on it abused it and the people in need of it and used it for years were the 2nd rate citizens who shockingly lost out.

[Madlegs1]

Unfortunately this is typical of Big Pharma, greedy individual politicos, overfussy government, brown envelopes and ignoring the legitimate end user.

More kids are killed by guns in Amerika, than soldiers on active service. Just shows what a powerful lobby can achieve. Jacinda Ardern (PM in New Zealand) brought in tough gun control laws and told the gun lobby to get stuffed. That's the leader the world needs.

I fully support the logic of your crusade and wish you all the best.

(Are we allowed to use 'crusade' any more, for fear of causing offense?)

Boo hoo!😎

[GillyGangGong]

After years on it my GP suddenly took me off Co- Proxamol said it was dangerous back in the early 2000’s he gave me tramadol saying it wasn’t addictive we all know now how addictive it is. It’s a shame as co- proxamol worked for me.

[nodmeister]

My G.P. was very cross that he could no longer prescribe it. It took a few months for us to sort a replacement.

[cyberbarn]

I am sorry to hear that you are struggling without this drug. I take it they have tried to find a replacement for you? For instance my son takes paracetamol and codeine phosphate separately so that he can control how much he takes (which is very little on the codeine side) without the accidental possibility of paracetamol overdose of taking paracetamol then co-codamol on top without thinking. Sometimes taking the basic raw drugs separately can work better than taking a combined drug. And it is often much cheaper too.

As for suicide rates being higher now than when it was withdrawn, have you actually got the adjusted figures, because the population is higher now than when it was withdrawn in 2005. Also the reason why it was withdrawn was not just suicide but accidental poisoning. Research showed that accidental poisoning dropped significantly after it was withdrawn.

It is easy to think that decisions that are made that affect our lives are done to deliberately make things difficult for us, but these things start with research and epidemiology, and as a researcher I know that we are not part of some conspiracy. The drug companies would never want to withdraw a popular drug unless there are problems with it, because if you can't sell your drug, then you are not making money. In fact it is usually the other way; they are reluctant to withdraw anything until the evidence is overwhelming.

[TheLongWait]

There is a high death rate with taking Tramadol, huge addition and problems relating to that drug. It will be down to cost. The pharmaceutical industry and NHS together will cause so many unnecessary deaths and suffering. We all know this world is wrong in so many ways due to those in power being about money and nothing much else. Most drugs are dangerous in the hands of people who will abuse them, to take drugs off the market to replace with a cheaper equally damaging and addictive drug is what should be advertised to us as nothing more than cost effectiveness.

I am a realist, the government and NHS are run by the vile evil psychopaths who make these decisions that will kill millions in the name of money, but buy a porsche and yacht with their bonus, so that is ok, I mean they are ok, that's all that matter right?

Sick world, getting sicker and people talk about over population being an excuse to ignore unnecessary suicide deaths. The population is always growing, but suicide is on the upward trend. Social and health problems being linked, and the single most common cause of depression and illness.

Sorry for rant, but I feel for anyone who needs to take something that works, something that allows them to better get on with their life. It isn't like we can ever trust these industries with our lives really.

[waylay in reply to TheLongWait]

Almost all tramadol deaths are in people who misuse/abuse it (i.e. they haven't been prescribed it). Chronic pain patients have low rates of addiction to opioids: between 1 and 8%, but most numbers are clustered around 1. Addiction is to do with the user, not the drug.

[bluebell99]

I was on co-prox for over 20 years. My daily dose varied between 4-8 tablets depending on the pain levels. My rheumatologist had me as a named patient when coprox was originally withdrawn and I managed to get an extra 3 years until my GP told me he could no longer prescribe it because his insurance company would not cover him if I took an overdose.

He was sympathetic and tried different options for me to get it, even writing to a private consultant. Unfortunately the consultant was under the same constraints about insurance and even though I had never given cause for alarm by overdosing, I found myself left high and dry.

My GP went through the options, Tramadol, Paracetamol, Morphine MST, Oramorph or Fentanyl. I had tried Tramadol before and found I was leapfrogging with more stronger dosage to get effective pain reduction, so that was out.

I don't want to go down the Fentanyl route, that is my standby when pain relief from other medication stops.

So, I am left with paracetamol and morphine, talk about from the sublime to the ridiculous. I have been given MST at night, with Oramorph during the bad days, with a fill in of paracetamol. Surely Oramorph and MST are more dangerous and addictive than the co-prox ever was? My GP agreed it was nonsense but he had to follow the government guidelines, particularly where his insurance liability was concerned.

As an aside, my prescription is for 100 paracetamol tablets for which the NHS has to pay the full prescription fee. I can get 16 paracetamol tablets for 39 pence from any supermarket, but I cannot buy a 100 tablets, again because of government guidelines. What a complete waste of NHS money.

As regards to the overdosing/suicide rate, the numbers dropped in the 70's with the introduction and use of natural gas replacing coal gas which was lethal. Unfortunately the numbers grew again with those wanting suicide changing to tablets, particularly morphine, Tramadol and paracetamol.

If someone wants to kill themselves they will find a method to do it whether it is by medication or other means. Co-proxamol has been unfairly blamed in my opinion and should be put back on a named patient prescription.

[waylay in reply to bluebell99]

Many chemists keep boxes of 32 or even 64 paracetamol behind the counter. You have to ask for them and explain why you use them.

[Whowillgiveastuff]

Please read my latest post on Co-proxamol.

healthunlocked.com/nras/pos...