Supply problem for Rotigotine patch Aaaarrrrggghhh

[Bookseller]

Rotigotine 2 mg unavailable ! Supply issue they say. So how can I get through the weekend? I have none left. They were supposed to be in pharmacy Thursday and I checked each day and pharmacist say there is a supply issue . No doctor available at weekend, so for Saturday and Sunday can I increase dose of Gabapentin to help? Or else... it's a weekend of cold turkey!

[Hidden]

First sorry the 2mg patch is having a supply issue, they could have given you your prescription in 1mgs patch so you used 2 of them. Increasing Gabapentin MIGHT help, but i do think you are going to have withdrawals from the patch. Do you have any pain med in the house at all,. like codeine .?

[Joolsg]

As Elisse advises- you’re going to get withdrawal symptoms so get some Solpadeine Max ( it contains codeine) and that may help a little. It’s very worrying that supply problems are causing this issue- withdrawal symptoms can be very severe and it’s not acceptable to leave patients in that situation. Discuss with your pharmacist and explain how severely supply issues will affect you- maybe he/she can check a week in advance in future and phone you so you can discuss alternatives with your GP.

[Hidden]

OMG, what a nightmare, this has happened to me a couple of times in the past with Pramipexole.

A few months ago it happened with Gabapentin. Luckily it wasn't weekend and I was able to ring round all the local pharmacies. i found a major pharmacy, a city centre Boots that keep a large stock.

If you have a repeat prescription, Boots do have a service where they order and collect your prescription for you and may even deliver it.. That may be more reliable.

As Elisse and Jools suggest codeine might help, you can get a codeine paracetamol product in a supermarket. Don't exceed the stated dose

Patches have more of the medication in them, than you're actually going to get Simply put, this is because for them to work there needs to be a gradient i.e. there needs to be more drug in the patch than there is in your skin.

Consequently, even after 24 hours there's still some of the drug still in the patch.

I've never used patches but I've read that if they're loose, you can fix them with surgical tape. I suppose if you had several - - -

Apparently, if you apply a bit of heat over a patch, it releases medication faster.

[Oldcolner]

Hope you got fixed up, if in the UK you can ask for your prescription back to take elsewhere and phone round to see who has it.