My prescription 🧐🤔
This is what is on my box from chemist - PMRGCAuk
This is what is on my box from chemist
Written by
Lucylooloo
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21 Replies
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Phew!!
MMMM! So you take 40mg for 1 day & reduce to zero in 15 days! What is this prescribed for Lucy? Seems odd to say the least!
Lucylooloo in reply to
At moment I am on 15mg, when I visited my dr he told me to do 15mg one day, then 10mg next day for month ? But when I went to chemist he had written above on it so very confusing 🧐😟
in reply to Lucylooloo
Don't think our experts will be impressed with that plan. Sure to be along shortly. ATB
Lucylooloo in reply to
Just thinking he must have took off old prescription as it’s a while since I was on 40mg ? But just shows how easy it would be for someone to go back up that high does if they were not thinking 🤔I was thinking in 1mg as I get them also , only noticed these were 5mg holy god 😟😳
Bet he didn't look at what came up automatically - that is a normal fast taper for a chest infection. Has nothing at all to do with a patient on long term pred for a chronic condition.
That is totally irresponsible and merits a complaint in my book.
I'd want to check with dr before I did anything. Waiting 2 days won't make any difference, taking 40 when you don't need to would be worse.
in reply to Lucylooloo
This is serious bungling! I would of thought the Pharmacist would have queried the instruction anyway! Think most on the forum would say a reduction of 5 mg from 15 mg is too large! Coming down from 15 mg myself in !.25 mg steps.(quartered 5.00 mg tablets) Almost ready to have a crack at 12.50 mg which would be the lowest I've got so far reducing from 40 mg.
Still think that’s to big a drop 15/10 .
I am just gobsmacked!
DorsetLadyPMRGCAuk volunteer
As PMRpro said to your previous post this is NOT a reduction plan for PMR! It’s aimed at somebody with asthma or similar short term treatment.
Either the GP didn’t write the prescription properly or the pharmacist “assumed” what the treatment was for. Whoever was at fault needs a good talking to!
For our illness you need to be on starting dose for at least 4 weeks.
Not sure what you are actually taking, but don’t be tempted to reduce until you have spoken to your GP and clarified what you should be doing!
This is definitely a short term plan for asthma,l know this from experience.This is a very serious mistake.
This kind of ineptitude - whomever the 'culprit' is - though it sounds like more than 'one' - is one of the main reasons (I think) we need to be very well-informed ourselves. Although we cannot claim or aim to be 'experts' just having a general understanding of how use of Prednisone works with PMR and or GCA means we know when to question such unusual instructions. So to all those doctors who sneer at their patients when they are trying to be informed about their illnesses I say 'rot' - this kind of thing happens far too often !
Our pharmacist gave my OH the wrong tablets completely once
My friend who has PMR has now had two incorrect dosing
instructions (didnt say take all once a day, so he divided his dose
which prolonged his severe pain, chemist said his gp must have told him
more than the labelling did).
He also received a NHS letter stating he was on a drug which he
was not prescribed, he took it all to his GP who agreed
these are mistakes, and now he has all that in writing so what next,
official complaints, press, legal action, cash compensation?
It shouldnt be this way and its a scandal, but
it is this way now, one reason we are all here on this blog
performing due diligence and crosschecking.
Is this your first prescription for pred ? This is similar to the first prescription my GP gave me. Of course it was like a magic wand at first and all the pain disappeared. Including pain I was getting from another condition!! I was told it would last me until my appointment with the rheumatologist. It certainly messed me up for a while.
I am now on a proper PMR regime and doing OK.
No I have been on them since November Down now to 15mg after going to 7mg had bit flare. The doctor just copied prescription (I would think) from earlier one. But if I did not remember what the doctor said to me ? I could very easy have followed this instructions 🤔
in reply to Lucylooloo
That's appalling. It's not down to you to remember the detail of what the dr said. The labelling should be clear and correct. It's supposed to be checked in the pharmacy to ensure mistakes aren't made.
Did you see news reports in UK where Drs were being asked to write in simple plain English so patients could understand! About time! I would add solicitors and energy suppliers to do the same.
Plus, another gripe of mine, terms and conditions we all sign up to should be simple language and 1 A4 page only!
Good rant for a Sunday.
Valerie
As we all know us humans can be prone to the odd mistake here and there but when it comes to something as serious as our health and indeed the drugs that we have to take it is no joke.
Are doctors so overworked in the ailing NHS system or just incompetent? I have had many an example of mistakes being made regarding my GCA and other health issues, the latest being a pain in my abdomen being investigated and after a CT scan my GP phoning to say that after reviewing my scan she found that I had some surgical clips in my abdomen that should not be there and these could be the cause of the pain and that I see a Coloreactal Surgeon urgently. You can't imagine the stress that this caused me, which of course did not help my GCA.
After seeing the Surgeon he stated that the clips SHOULD be there as I have had gall bladder removal and they remain for life and that my GP should have certainly known this as this type of procedure has been carried out for around 30 years.
The mind boggles!!!!
Hello Lucyloo,
You are right in thinking that these instructions are incorrect. I was a dispenser in a previous existence and also have bronchiectasis. All dispensed prescriptions should be signed/initialled to show who dispensed it and then signed/initialled to show who CHECKED it. As already stated the dose you were given is for inflammation, quite often to clear out the inflammation that is left after antibiotics have cleared out infection but inflammation remains e.g chest infection.
There is clearly a mistake either at the pharmacy or by the prescribing doctor. Either way I think it bears a bit of investigation if you are up to it at the moment.
Regards Jannie.
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