Red 5 mg tablets anyone ?

[suzy1959]

For the last 12.5 years, my 5 mg pred tablets have been red, 2.5s are black and 1s are white. This helps enormously when trying to reduce etc. My pharmacy are wonderful but I have been getting all sorts of different brands recently, I’m guessing either supply or cost issues. For my last prescription the new brand’s tablets were white and, since I take so many other white tablets, I got quite confused while filling my dosset box. The pharmacy agreed to swap them for my old brand but have just opened that and they are now white as well!

Does anyone have a UK brand of 5mg that is still red? Then I could go back to the pharmacy and request that brand.

[Bluey-1]

Yes Suzy, I am on enteric coated pred and they are as you describe. I think you may have been given plain pred (white pills) which absorb differently. Ask for gastro resistant or enteric coated and you’ll get the coloured pills you’ve had before. I’m also on several medications and it’s far easier to manage your pill box.

[suzy1959 in reply to Bluey-1]

Thank you so much for pointing that out! I had not realised that for some reason I have not had the gastro- resistant tablets that I have always had before. Another visit up the tarmac’s is now required!

[PMRpro Ambassador]

"For the last 12.5 years, my 5 mg pred tablets have been red, 2.5s are black and 1s are white"

You have been getting enteric coated or gastric resistent pred for 5s and 2.5s. These must be specified on the prescription from the doctor. Either it wasn't specified or the pharmacists was being lazy/at fault and just dispensed plain pred,

You do need to find out which.

[lesley2015]

hi Suzu1959

I have been on press for over 10 years now - my 1mg and 5mg have always been white, 2.5mg varies from tan/orange or dark brown.

Maybe it depends on the area and pharmacy in the uk.

Best wishes

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to lesley2015]

Your white tablets are plain, non-coated pred. The brown 2.5mg tablets you have been given are enteric coated or gastro resistent. The enteric coated 2,5mg tablets are CHEAPER than 2.5mg plain - all to do with supply and demand - so are sometimes dispensed when a GP kindly offers 2,5mg rather than cutting 5mg tablets. It may be a mixed blessing - plain tablets are absorbed in about an hour. E/C take up to 4 or 5 hours to get into the circulation!

[suzy1959]

I have looked at my latest issued prescription and it doesn’t say gastro resistant so someone has changed the prescription unbeknownst to me! I will be having words with my surgery in the morning!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to suzy1959]

I should think so. That could really cause a problem for some users of e/c/g/r

[Telian in reply to suzy1959]

That happened to me Suzy. The prescription clerk could not understand that I only needed a few of 1mg non coated pred depending on my dose, but she took the gastro resistant pred off altogether. I finally got it corrected but only after receiving 3 x 6 boxes of uncoated pred.! My 3 request emails were not read properly and when I asked to speak to her she got her act together and I now have both reinstated. As Pro says can cause problems to some if the don’t get EC coated - me included with severe gastritis.

[Purple-Owl]

ah if only my Prednisolone 5mg and 1mg tablets were coloured! Indeed colour coding for all would be hugely helpful. So much easier to identify. I am in hospital (have C Diff) and the dispensing nurses are very strict about the tablets I take.

[Sophiestree in reply to Purple-Owl]

Hope you feel better quickly

[Purple-Owl in reply to Sophiestree]

Thanks Sophiestree. An extra complaint to add to my seemingly everlasting PMR Qexhaustion was all I needed!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Purple-Owl]

Oh dear - not nice, Get well soon xxx

[Purple-Owl in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks so much PMRpro.

[Birder21]

Mine have all been white (5s & 1s) I use a marker and write on the tab, 2.5 are cream colour.

[Purpleprimate]

My red 5mg preds are made by Bristol Laboratories Ltd as are my 2.5mgs. My 1mg gastro-resistant tabs are made by Phoenix Labs in The Republic of Ireland, which are light yellow.

[pmrdec112014]

Hi SuzyYes I have red gastric resistant 5 mgs tablet, here in the south east, UK.

The box has the name accord on it.

[suzy1959]

so, I have just been in touch with the GP surgery and, sure enough , it was a cost issue. They gave an automatic pop up which tells the prescriber that there is a cheaper alternative that they should prescribe, so that is what happened. Never mind that it makes a difference to those of us n the gastrointestinal- resistant version, nor to those of us who have gastric issues like my hiatus hernia.

So, be vigilant that this can happen at any time!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to suzy1959]

The pop-up should also mention the cheaper alternative is NOT necessarily a direct equivalent ...

[Bcol in reply to PMRpro]

May be worth a letter/email to the surgery letting them know that the computer "pop ups" don't tell the full story and need to be checked.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Bcol]

They'd argue back, I have no doubt!!

[Bcol in reply to PMRpro]

Given what we read here at times it would probably go straight in the bin unactioned ( is that a word?).

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Bcol]

It exists in a few dictionaries ...

[Bcol in reply to PMRpro]

That's good.

[Bluey-1 in reply to suzy1959]

You can save costs by not having a prescription for a stomach protector with gastro resistant. Try that argument. I had problems way back in 2022 with the prescription nurse. I was on a high dose at the time and full of ‘roid rage, understandably as it was the day before a bank holiday and fairly recently diagnosed with GCA. Never had a problem getting the enteric coated pred from that day onwards. Good luck

[suzy1959 in reply to Bluey-1]

Unfortunately because of my hiatus hernia, I need the esomeprazole anyway.🫤