Are you struggling with the blister packs Ralnea comes in?

[sharong]

Last time I collected my prescription I was given Ralnea instead of Ropinrole. Presumably this is a generic version of the drug and saves the NHS money. However the blister packs are so loose and made of such thick material that I struggle to get the tablets out without the use of a small sharp knife or a pair of scissors. I have emailed the distributors asking if they have plans to improve this design. Anybody else annoyed and frustrated by this?

[Hidden]

Hi ,

I have same trouble with them, have to get my wife to pop them out as its too difficult for me , on the odd occasion i open them , it usually end up on the floor

Al

[Beachdog]

Blister packs were a curse even before I knew about PD ...

[alllowercase]

Hi

Yes, a bigtime pain in the nether regions. And yes, they are a generic version, but have worke fine since I started with them a year ago. The slow release ones also work fine.

Adrian

[Cerelia]

I have a problem with all blister packs, but I ask the pharmacist to pop them out and put them in bottles, which any pharmacist should do if requested. Tthe only one they won't do is Mirapexin (pramipexole) but they are quite big and not so difficult.. Some surgeries have a pharmacy on their premises and they automatically put the tablets into trays, in sections. Most, if not all, pharmacies collect and deliver medication, in the UK. .I do think it's ridiculous that medication for Parkinson's in particular is so often provided in very small fiddly tablets, but at the same time they shouldn't be too big as a lot of people have dificulty swallowing

[sharong in reply to Cerelia]

Dear Cerella

Pharmicists do seem to have a role here. They can halp in practical ways as you suggest but they can also collect feed back and represent us. Thankyou. I will in future ask nicely to have my tablets removed from their bleep bleep blister packs!

Best wishes

Sharon

[soup]

Hi Sharong,

I assume by your use of the term NHS that you are in the UK. In England the pharmacists have a brief to be able to review meds and packaging to ensure that they are tailored to the ‘patient’ more closely. You have to request this though. I am not sure how the drifting away parts of the UK such as Wales and Scotland offer this service.

Go back and show your pharmacist the problem and put your foot down with a firm hand. You want mediation in a way that helps you to maintain your independence.

It would cost a lot more to have you in hospital because you can't take your meds until help arrives and had taken a fall or some such.

The pharmacists down here in Cornwall have a wonderful senior advisor who has spoken at support group meetings and who makes himself available for calls from people with Parkinson’s.

Good luck

Sue

[sharong in reply to soup]

Dear Sue

That is seriously helpful information. Thankyou. I will go to see the pharmicist this afternoon.

Pharmicists keep their light hidden. A few years ago a pharmicist wrote me an emergency prescription. I had moved house that week, not joined another doctor and allowed myself to run out of my medication. I wonder what else they can do?

I do know they have a brief to monitor patients starting taking new medication.

Best wishes

Sharon

[Hidden]

Blister packaging is so difficult to use at times. I have three drugs which are all blister packed, quite impossible to open some days without the aid of an axe and a butchers block.

[sharong]

Dear Oldtyke

Like it!

We really do need our sense of humour dont we.

Best wishes

Sharon