I went to my local pharmacy this morning for my repeat prescription for 1 mg pred tablets and methotrexate. It should have been there, but wasn't. The pharmacist said she would phone them and gave me 10 1 mg pred tablets to tide me over, as I'd completely run out of them.
What I cannot understand about my GPs is that they won't issue me with a reasonable number of 1 mg tablets at one time. I'm currently taking 8 mg per day which requires one 5 mg tablet and three 1 mg tablets. Last time I got 5 mg tablets they prescribed 150, but since I started reducing below 10 mg they will only prescribe 56 1 mg tablets at a time. I've pointed out to them that it would make more sense to prescribe a larger number of 1 mg, but they ignored me.
I also had a problem with folic acid. Originally I only took one tablet per week, but my rheumy increased this to 5 per week a couple of months later and I have a copy of the letter she sent to them telling them about this. Yet they would only prescribe 4 tablets with 4 weeks' worth of MTX. As folic acid is very cheap, I've given up on that one and I buy it for myself, but of course, I can't do that with pred...
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Marijo1951
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I had the same problem trying to get them to give me enough 1mg pills. 56x5mg 28 or 30 x 1mg. I ended up having to book an appointment with the go and explaining it all. It drives you mad and takes up an appt you don't need!
It's obviously a 'thing' with GPs, goodness knows why. The pharmacist advised me to mention it at my next appointment but, like you, that would probably mean making a special appointment just to discuss this matter. I have a hospital appointment on 22nd May so I'll try to get the rheumy to prescribe a reasonable number then.
It’s ridiculous, as there is a fee every time they dispense a prescription wether it’s 28tablets or a 128tablets plus the cost of the Meds.
You’ll have to go & see them to get it sorted, you need what you need!
I get my Meds every two months & a good supply but when l was on Methotrexate that had to be collected monthly if my bloods were OK.
You need to check your dosage of Folic Acid as you can’t buy 5mg Folic Acid OTC & that’s what you should be taking.
Do the maths before you go, then tell them what you need & if possible up to the next 28 Tablets so you don’t have lots of bits of strips where the Mg isn’t clear!
We are talking about tablets that cost very little, so why are they being like this?
Thank you for the advice re folic acid. I just assumed a folic acid tablet is a folic acid tablet and never looked at the dosage. I've been taking 400 'ug' per day so obviously need to do something about it quickly. 5 mg tablets are available via various sellers on Amazon, so I'll buy them online.
Further to the above, I tried phoning the rheumatology nurse at the hospital to ask about the correct dosage of folic acid, but got a very bizarre and garbled message about only phoning between 9 and 5 Monday to Friday (it was 1.40 pm on Thursday), so I decided to order the 5 mg folic acid tablets through Amazon. Reading up a bit I see that you're definitely right about the dosage Mrs Nails, but that 5 mg tablets are prescription only in the UK, although not in other countries. This made me recall a conversation I had with one of my local pharmacists when I told him that I 'd decided to buy folic acid tablets as the GPs would only prescribe 4 at a time. He didn't tell me that they were a very different dosage! And I always thought pharmacists were far more knowledgeable about these things than doctors...
in reply to
The daft thing is my prescription hasn't changed since I was at 14mg. I order as I need them now. Although I must admit I try and keep enough 5mg to take 2 GCA dosages... just in case. I do rotate the pred boxes to keep longest expiry date.
I have had the same problem when getting repeats for 7mg daily. Even when the request for repeat asks for exactly how many tablets I want I still get equal quantities of 5’a and 1’s.
I have spoken to GP about it...no change. To pharmacist....says he has to dispense what GP says. I have explained in detail on request form that I need twice as many 1’s as 5’s, but it makes no difference.
Our surgery has a person who prepares scripts for doctor to sign. So even though she knows I need more 1’s than 5’s the prescription does not have a system which specifies exactly what combination of tablets makes sense.
So for now I am stockpiling 5’s for when I am taking 5mg or 2.5mg!
I really thought it could only be my doctors that were so obtuse - well, my eyes are well and truly opened. I wonder if it's a specifically UK thing...
For once I must be lucky, last appointment a couple of weeks ago told GP I was at 8mg, she asked how much pre d would you like, I said as many as is allowed please of 5and 1mg...and got them, but I think it have had something to do with a trainee sitting in on the appointment......lucky me for a change.......it's all so ridiculous....I normally just order online.....good luck....
I used to have three months supply of pred from my surgery but recently that has dropped to one month for some unknown reason and if I need more than two 1mg tablets a day even less. I think there has been a look at prescribing within the NHS which is affecting us all. One doctor did say to me they were worried about people reselling the drugs or handing them on. I think that may be true in the case of Tramadol for example.
Not only have they put me on 2weekly prescription for tramadol, I had to sign in the box in upper right corner. Usually women at the till in the pharmacy do it. 3 changes to how the prescription dispensed in a year. But pred? Surely not 😂
I think pred is just considered another pill. I don’t think they are going into any detail, they are just cutting back. I think I did read that pred is available on a black market in the US.
I suppose so, but not in the case of 1 mg tablets of prednisolone surely? Is there an underground market for them? I suppose there might be if people made the mistake of thinking they were anabolic steroids but when their muscles failed to develop, they wouldn't come back for more.
I sometimes suspect that these anomalies look like we are being supervised on paper but we aren’t because there is simply no time or resource in the surgery. I still have to return Omeprazole in a wheelbarrow, cancelled it years ago, dry mouth pastilles, and various other items that are no longer required or far too many are sent. My teeny, tiny 25 mic Thyroxine to supplement the 100 micrograms every other day are like gold dust and they won’t supply any extra - they are sooo easy to lose.
The waste is awful, none of these unnecessary medications can be used for anyone else.
They've sent me Omeprazole twice, although I certainly never requested it. I only ever needed one pack when I was getting over alendronic acid. I've never had similar symptoms since.
Oh so frustrating sounds like my surgery .Every month for the past 4 months I have had to go back again because my doctors, who have agreed to prescribe my Methexotrate .Have not signed it out .In the end I had to get the Rheumatology dept to contact them and insist they make sure the Methexotrate is signed out .Its been a run around to the point that last month the prescriptions clerk said Oh no not again . Which is exactly what I said only in different format . Its not even as if they have to think for themselves is it ,Just do what it says .I get very frustrated when it looks as though I am always complaining when in fact they are causing the complaint .The situation was made worse by the fact that The receptionist made me order them again ,That meant because of the ordering system including a weekend ,I would be 4 days late taking them .So then I went to Rhematology 7 miles away and got them to give me some and sort the surgery out . I now am met with one particular sour faced receptionist who clearly feels I have ''Told on her ''sigh.
Oh gosh, we can do without all that palaver when we feel so unwell and weary all the time. My doctors were a bit weird about prescribing methotrexate at first, despite my rheumy writing to let them know she was starting me on it, but they didn't explain what the problem was. I afterwards learned that they like to see the results of the monthly blood tests from time to time which is fair enough, but they didn't make this clear at first.
No sympathy - should have done your job in the first place. It is what you signed up for and what you are paid for! In my day you got hauled over the coals for less ...
I have the opposite problem. Too many 1mg pills. Each time I went to rheumi he would give me enough pills for next 90 days, but as I tapper down, I end up with extra pills. I am careful to use up the older pills first, so whatever I have is not older then 90 days or so, but at this point I may have enough for next couple of months. I have done it on purpose, so if I have a flare, I don't have to rush back to a doctor.
What I would do if I were you, ask for (5 mg +3mg) per day for certain period, say 60 or 90 days and do the math beforehand, so you are ready.
I can't believe this. I've just collected my prescription. Before I left the shop I glanced in the bag and was very excited to see 5 packs of prednisolone. I thought hooray, the message has got through. Home now and find it's 5 packs of 5 mg tablets! Aaaaaagh... Fortunately my GP surgery is only 3 minutes' walk (okay 6 minutes with PMR) so I'm going down there now before they close to try to sort things out.
I went but no chance of seeing a doctor today. I was advised to go in as an emergency on Monday morning, which is fine except that it means I'll have to miss my book group...
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