Last week my GP gave me a prescription for 1mg gastro-resistant Pred. Today after many visits to the local Boots to collect the Pred I was finally informed that 1mg gastro -resistant pred were unobtainable. I phoned Lloyds pharmacy at the District hospital to see if they could get some, but they can’t either.
Is anyone in the UK able to obtain these or is it just the East Riding?
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Omanain
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We had a spell of this earlier in the year. My surgery’s dispensary said then that it was due to Brexit stockpiling by larger companies so smaller outfits are bottom of the list. Don’t know if this is the case now.
So far can get 5 and 2.5 gastro coated. My GP agreed to prescribe them because the acid was causing crushing pains in my chest and he thought it might be my heart. Told me to dial 999 when it happened again!! The Pains stopped after he gave me gasro-resistant pred!
I always get this with Boots. To be honest I don’t think they can be bothered asking different suppliers if their normal one doesn’t have them. Other than a spell earlier in the year when no one seemed to be able to get them for a couple of months as SnazzyD said, Superdrug have always managed to get them for me eventually (sometimes after a bit of a sigh and 'we'll have to try and order them for you if you really want'.......er, yes I do actually). Sometimes it takes a while so you need to persevere and also have a small stash to get you through the wait.
I felt that Boots were very naughty. They generally didn’t say anything at all so it was only when I got home with my big sealed bag of meds that I’d find they’d given me the uncoated ones. That’s why I moved to Superdrug which luckily is quite near my work. They at least always tell you if there’s a problem and if they can’t provide the coated ones immediately. On occasion I’ve had to keep going back in every couple of days for about a fortnight and make a bit of a nuisance of myself and there were some attempts along the way to persuade me just to accept uncoated (I did have to earlier in the year when I was aware no one could get them) but otherwise they’ve always got them eventually except once when I caved in under pressure (and need as my home stash of 1s was running out). They’re not without fault as once they didn’t give me my 5mg ones and denied that they’d been on my prescription when clearly they had been but they’ve been significantly better than Boots in my experience. Obviously it may depend on individual branches and it would be more difficult for you if it’s a complicated journey. I don’t have any independent pharmacies near me.
Things may have got worse again in the last three/four weeks since this thread. I’ve not had to get a prescription for them since then but I will have to soon.
Sigh! Sadly I can’t see it getting better anytime soon either........
I haven't had too many problems so far and as I am hoping to start tapering soon I have GR 5mg, 2.5mg & 1mg. The only issue so far is that the 1mg GR tablets don't seem to have a very long expiry date. I alternate between Boot's & Morrison's pharmacy although Morrison's seem to put themselves about a bit more if they need to be ordered. Good luck to you!
Oddly it's my GR 1mgs which have the longest expiry date and by some distance! They're from a different manufacturer than the GR 5s and 2.5s that I get. You do wonder what's going on in the supply chain don't you.....?
They are lying through their teeth!!!! It is actually the same company that now owns Boots that supply the enteric coated 1mg tablets - but the most likely pharmacy to claim they don't exist is Boots! It isn't the first time.
I have just collected 4 boxes of 1mg gastro resistant from my local chemist (Well Pharmacy). I’d suggest phoning around to see if any other chemists have them in stock.
I have found that Lloyds chemist were never much good. Also the pharmacy attached to my GP practice. If they couldn’t get things from normal supplier then that was it. I have built up quite a good relationship with Tesco who always ring round and do their utmost to get what I need.
I will ask my doctor for a printed prescription (ours go electronically to the local Boots) and take it to Tesco. It is quite a long way but I can probably persuade my doctor to prescribe quite a large amount.
I always use a local, independent pharmacy and although we all had a 'blip' earlier this year, they always manage to get me the 1mg G-R tablets - as well as 5s and 2.5s.
I had a problem earlier this year but have since got them up until now. Next prescription is due in a couple of weeks so I hope Superdrug will be as helpful as they usually are.
I haven’t tried it myself but the pharmacies that advertise on T.V. to post your prescription may be worth a try. I know we try to use local chemists to keep them open but if they are not providing the service.....
I've not come across 1mg coated, just 2.5, 5 and10mg. However, uncoated Prednisolone has never caused me any stomach problems as I'm taking the prescribed Lansoprazole as stomach protection. I also take Adcal-D3 for bone protection.
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