Urso?

[Lisacj]

Each time I get fill to a new prescription the chemist give me a different brand or the generic version. Rather annoys me. Any way my question is the current lot I have just picked up have for titanium dioxide in,(none of the other brand listed it) It has been classified as a carcinogenic, even used in sunscreen it has warnings. Has any one come across this and do you think it could be a problem. Thanks in advance,,

[Annac]

Hi Lisacj, This is one of my hobby horses. I was on Ursofalk for a good many years then for no reason my pharmacist issued another (cheaper) brand - coincidentally ? I started itching, this went on for a month and the only change had been the Urso. After writing to the pharmaceutical company I was advised to insist on the brand I had always had, if it had been ok. I did this and the itching went away......As you said each brand has different ingredients. My feeling is that it is important to stay with the one brand - your liver is trying to deal with the problem with some help . Decide which brand you have felt the best on and ask to keep to that. Get the pharmacist on your side by saying could he/she help you with this as you are having different concerns all the time and need to stabilise the medication. Hope this helps , be positive about your request. You need piece of mind with the medication. AnnaC.

[Oidra]

The chemist told me that it is the doctor who needs to write on the prescription the name of the brand to dispense other wise they give you whatever type they have in.

[littledragon23 in reply to Oidra]

No, the doctor doesn't need to write the brand on the prescription. I was on two different types in the beginning and couldn't tolerate Destolit and now they made a note that I only take Ursogal. It's enough if you state that you don't tolerate a brand and that you would like to stick to the one you tolerate well.

[Hidden]

Interesting as to what you have posted Lisacj.

I used to be on 300mg tablets (600mgs per day) of URDOX and then July 2013 they werew withdrawn due to manufacturing problems. I started on the brand Urdox in Dec 2010 and had continued to do so until Sept 2012 when I collected them and never thought as Urdox was still printed on the tablets. I only took another look at the packaging (they were boxed with tablets in blister packs) and noticed the word Urdox had been removed from it but same pharmaceutical. I had checked as I had been going through heartburn every night which I experienced on first starting urso. I had now been given the generic of the 300mg. I perisisted and the side-effects vanished.

September 2013 when I collected my prescription due to withdrawal of the 300mgs I had to have them prescribed in 150mg tablets. I took the prescription to Boots local which is next-door to the GP surgery as I used to get the 300mgs at Tesco as they used to have them in stock when I went being a regular customer of the urso by then. I got home from Boots and I had got brown labelled pharmacy bottles with the white 150mg tablets loose in them. I noted they were printed with UDCA. I had no patient leaflet but knew form growing up pharmacies used to just label the bottles and you didn't get much info then. Started to take these new 150mg tablets and boy did I suffer heartburn. It actually persisted. I did go back to the chemist and they printed out the patinet leaflet that came with their huge drum of urso. I found out that they were by Galen and generic of the brand Ursogal. I noticed the ingredients were slightly different to my original Urdox.

I asked for a different urso when I tried Sainsburys with my next prescription as it was generically written with just 'ursodeoxycholic acid 150mg' as GPs in UK are supposed to if a generic equivalent. The pharmacist looked and said he had Destolit that he could get me. I had been taking those, NO problems since later 2013 and then in April when I went to Sainsburys and mentioned they were Destolit the pharmacist who was on said he could not prescribe, I had to have the generic (which would be by Galen). I refused and contacted my GP surgery. I rang several pharmacies meanwhile and they all told me the same, they could not supply Destolit, they are more expensive than a generic. One pharmacist went out of her way to check urso for me and rang me back and told me to return to the GP and tell her of side-effects and ask if I could have a brand name written on the script. The GP informed me that as I had been having problems since the 300mgs were not able to be prescribed she would write me one with the brand name Destolit as the rulings state they can. I got Destolit and thought plain sailing until I wanted some more recently, the GP never altered my records and I had to go in and see her! I noticed later on at home on checking my online records that I still do not have the urso on so I'll have to speak to a GP yet again when I need them.

[Hidden]

Hello again Lisacj. I am just finding my way round this new site, forgot to say that my tablets do not contain titanium dioxide. On checking, the current Destolit I take contain:- The other ingredients are lactose, pregelatinised maize starch, acacia gum, talc, magnesium stearate and purified water.

The Ursogal I did get for a short while but was experiencing heartburn badly with are:- lactose, microcrystalline cellulose and magnesium stearate.

I have seen titanium oxide on ingredients for food before and just looking, it is quite horrific but also I see it as something that you seem to have no control on if it is an allowable ingredient. Unless we all did our own farming and growing then we don't appear to be able to escape a lot of chemicals in what we consume and also what we use externally on our bodies.

I've always tried to not use anything that has a nasty in it but it is increasingly difficult. I dont' go overboard on face creams, body lotions, etc., never have. I did read last year that an ingredient by the name of methylchlorooisothiazolinone and methylisothiazolinone are to be removed under EU regulations from toiletries at some point. I took note of products afterwards that contained and noticed that they are in a lot of baby toiletries. I have stopped purchasing a lot of products like this and as my husband does, have gone back to using the good old fashioned soap bar to have a shower with. I buy good quality and many a time organic and ones that aren't said to dry out the skin.

If you are experiencing problems with urso I'd certainly speak to your GP with regard to this as I for one do not deem it fair that we have to keep being given differing brands or generics each time we take a prescription in to a pharmacy. I can't say for certain but given I recently had good blood results like I did used to have with the original URDOX, is it due to being on the Destolit now as only taken it for 6 months or thereabouts.

[judyt]

In this country, which is a very similar system to UK one needs to remember to get the Doc. to mark prescription NO SUBSTITUTION then you get the brand you want. Only trouble is here you have to pay to get the original brand usuallyl

[sophie666]

My urso come in a brown plastic bottle and just says ursodeoxachollic acid no make on the bottle on the capsules it says udca 250mg how do I know what fillers are in them x

[highwood]

I told my consultant the only "urso" I can tolerate is Usofalk so he wrote to my GP and said they can only prescribe Ursofalk