Enteric 1mg pred

[diana1998]

Does anyone in the UK get coated 1mg tablets? I know they are more expensive. But seems strange the 2.5mg are always the brown coated ones but 1mg and 5mg round here are plain.

[SheffieldJane]

Yes I have them - a creamy buttery colour. Not sure what you mean.

[diana1998 in reply to SheffieldJane]

Have never seen enteric coated 1 and 5mg, like the 2.5mg. My body prefers coated rather than white. However, will call pharmacy to find out.

[piglette]

It sounds like the 2.5mg you are getting are enteric coated and the 5mg and 1mg are not coated. The coated 5mg is red and the coated 1mg is pale yellow.

[Devonspinner]

I have exactly the same situation. 5mg and 1 mg are white and powdery but 2.5 mg are gastric resistant and brown. The advantage of the 5 mg being white is that they have a line down the middle which means I can split them. Never been offered anything else

[MrsNails in reply to Devonspinner]

DS

You can get plain 2.5mg but you need to specify & make the Pharmacy aware that is what you want.

MrsN

[diana1998 in reply to MrsNails]

No, I like them all coated and not white!

[MrsNails in reply to diana1998]

Just ask your GP to ensure it’s written on your Prescription EC (enteric coated) & you should be OK

[diana1998 in reply to MrsNails]

Will do, thank you

[MrsNails]

I think for a long time there were only 5mg & 2.5mg Coated Pred plus 5mg/1mg plain but you can now get 2.5mg Uncoated.

If you want either type specifically you need to get your Prescription changed & speak to your Pharmacist so they are aware!

Occasionally my Pharmacy send me coated 2.5mg but l want the uncoated

[PMRpro Ambassador]

The brown 2.5mg tablets are enteric coated. There are also 2.5mg non-coated pred tablets - they are yellow. 1mg e/c weren't available at all until 2016 and then there was a hiccup a year ago because the batches made then were running out and the company decided not to continue making them, transferring the rights to another company. There was a bit of a delay in the role out and it was not possible to get up to date batches last autumn but supply has been back to normal since December. What usually happens is that both doctors and pharmacists will tell you they don't exist or that the supplier doesn't have any .

medicines.org.uk/emc/produc...

There was a fair bit of discussion last autumn about it - Phoenix were quite helpful I think.

I do wonder how many people end up with problems in symptom control and dose because doctors/pharmacists mix them indiscriminately. The absorption curves for plain pred and enteric coated pred are very differrent - and you are likely to achieve a lower peak level in the blood depending on how you take them, However, it seems to benefit some because there is pred in the blood stream over a much longer time and that extends the duration of action.

PS - enteric coated 5mg are red

[Coffeebeans in reply to PMRpro]

I was one of those patients receiving a mix of 'what ever they had on the shelf' I have better control since asking GP to specify coated only on prescription.

I've also had a good improvement in morning stiffness by taking before bed as we discussed - thankyou for that nugget! These things all add up and make a real difference to a crappy condition.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Coffeebeans]

Did I say that Prof Mackie told me there had been a move to do a head to head trial between e/c and Lodotra but the Lodotra compny declined. Because, I suspect, they knew it was likely to be a far cheaper solution!!!

[Coffeebeans in reply to PMRpro]

Yes I can imagine it would be cheaper. lodotra is the time release one isn't it? I reckon I get very similar results using e/c before bed. You could even split that dose too I suppose.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Coffeebeans]

Yes - but I can have Lodotra here, I can't get enteric coated!

[Coffeebeans in reply to PMRpro]

How bizarre. I'm sure it come down to individual contracts. Just seems mad when enteric is cheaper.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Coffeebeans]

enteric coated pred is a very British thing - no other country I know of has it. No idea why. Where I live the usual corticosteroid is Medrol/methyl pred which caused me awful problems that I have never had with either prednisolone in the UK or prednisone here. It is the only form of pred available - I'm not complaining, not an adverse effect to be seen

[Coffeebeans in reply to PMRpro]

I'm very glad we have it - I don't get any stomach problems with e/c unlike normal..

I'm glad you can get the lodotra if the usuals give you so much bother. As long as it works...

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Coffeebeans]

Methyl pred made me gain weight and lose muscle and grow a lovely black beard!!! No thanks ...

[Coffeebeans in reply to PMRpro]

Oh my word... I wouldn't have taken it either! I'm traumatised enough by the odd beardy straggler that I tweeze out 😳😂

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Coffeebeans]

The chin bits are OK, not least because like all the rest of my hair they are white. The Medrol version really was dark! I looked completely different after a session with the epilator

[Rugger]

I have all 3 strengths in "gastro-resistant" pred - that's the wording to ask for, as printed on the packets. I'm OK with the 1mg and 2.5mg tablets, but I wash the red colouring off the 5mg tablets as it makes me breathless - E 124 ponceau 4R.

Good luck!

[tangocharlie in reply to Rugger]

I also have to wash the red coating off and find even if I get it on my hands they start to itch. I'm wondering if I should report this somehow? I have vaguely heard of the 'Yellow card scheme'

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to tangocharlie]

Might be worth writing to the company about it - bring it to their attention.

[Rugger in reply to tangocharlie]

The Yellow Card Scheme is at mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard

[panther50]

I was told 1mg didn’t come coated. I have coated 2.5mg (&5mg) in past as I have stomach problems, but when Cutting dose down I had to have uncoated 1mg

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to panther50]

It does - see the link I posted

[panther50 in reply to PMRpro]

Oh yes. Sorry I read this in a hurry and missed your earlier comment. Thanks for correction. Useful to know.

[Dxn12]

I have 1mg enteric coated gastro resistant but obviously you can’t cut them in half. I also have a packet or ordinary 1mg specifically for the purpose of cutting them.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Dxn12]

You don't need to cut until you get to a 2mg dose: 2.5+ 5 plus 1mg for doses above 7.5mg and 2.5 plus 1mgs for doses below allows 1/2mg reductions.

[Lonsdalelass in reply to Dxn12]

Me too.

[Fitch1]

Yes I have the 1mg tablet all the time although I had to fight for them they are cream and made by Alliance

[diana1998 in reply to Fitch1]

Oh great. Thanks for that. Will drop note to gp

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to diana1998]

Not Alliance anymore - Phoenix in Meath

[Highlandtiger in reply to PMRpro]

They still come with Alliance branding. The box has exactly the same branding/colours/design as before but it's a much larger box, for reasons no-one can fathom out!

[Slowdown in reply to Highlandtiger]

Alliance Global Healthcare is the distributor, not manufacturer, formerly owned by Boots, sold in Jan '21 to AmerisourceBergen for £5bn - so I guess the package was made bigger for the USA! Big money, big package...So long as we still get our pred 🚐🚑🛵🛴🪂🚁?

[Lonsdalelass in reply to Highlandtiger]

Yes, I noticed that straight away, quite odd I thought! 🤣

[Coffeebeans]

Yes I have 1mg enteric coated. There was a supply issue last year now resolved.