just had a thought

[mandy72]

i do appologise if you smell burnt rubber lol

the NHS are complaining about the amount of wasted meds

ive been on many meds over the last couple of years for depression and anxiety, many of which i have had min 1 tablet max a weeks worth and had to stop because of the side effects

ive just been given more meds and was given 60

surely with my past record on not doing well on anti d's ect they would give maybe a weeks worth at first to see how i react rather than a months worth all at once, i dont mind collecting weekly meds for a month or so to see if i get on with them

after all when they get returned to pharmacy they have to bin them

[Brubru]

I've been through the same and fell bad about binning medication that didn't agree with me so yes doctors could have a more proactive approach.

[mandy72 in reply to Brubru]

so much money down the drain

[Fruitandnutcase]

Makes me mad to hear that - I've git to trail down to the chemist every 28 days because my blood pressure tablets come in 28s - everything else comes in 30s. I just find it so annoying, when I had to get a prescriptfrmy brothers doctor in Scotkand I was given a tree month supply of them. I've been taking them for about 15 years and I have no problems with taking them. It is just so annoying to be tied to 28 days. You've got my sympathy with your problem, you do have to wonder sometimes don't you!

[mandy72 in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

thats stupid surley long term meds could be given every 4 months or so

not too bad for me as only a 5 min walk (well 30 for me 5 for a normal person), plus my kids past the pharmacy daily for school so one of the older ones could collect for me

just makes me mad that im having to bin meds that dont suit me

[SmallBlueThing in reply to Fruitandnutcase]

Mine are on a 2-month cycle, but a couple of them are out of synch, so I added them to my last request, to tide me over Christmas. Doc refused, so there'll be more paperwork for her, more work for the pharmacist and an extra trip into town for me to collect them.

For the next request I'll ask for just a month's supply, to get everything back onto the same schedule.

I'll bet there's a proportion of patients who decide not to bother taking them if it's above their effort-level to get their pills.

[Fruitandnutcase in reply to SmallBlueThing]

I sat and waited for a bus recently an listened to an old man who had just come out of Papworth hospital (one of the leading specialist heart hospitals in the UK) after his second heart attack and that is exactly what he said!

He didn't bother with taking pills! He hadn't even had to go and collect them - he said he was given a big bag of tablets. How stupid can you get and yet there he was proudly telling half the queue. You have to despair don't you.

[greygoose]

Are you sure they bin them? Here in France, if you take them back to the pharmacy and they're still within their sell-by date, they donate them to Doctors without Frontiers, or something like that.

[mandy72 in reply to greygoose]

yes everything here is binned

when mum died prospect nurse came round to see us and we asked what to do with all the meds ect and she said take them to phamacy to be disposed of, was quite shocking really as lots of new boxes and bottles

allso a tonne of protein shakes were in mum kitchen, we asked if they would be thrown and she said yes so we had them

[greygoose in reply to mandy72]

What a terrible waste! It's wicked, really.

[mandy72 in reply to greygoose]

it is a waste

hubby just said he thinks some goes to the vets

i know my inlaws had out of date human

eye drops from the vet for their dog at one point

[greygoose in reply to mandy72]

Well, I guess that's better than nothing - except that you would be paying for médicine that's already been paid for by someone else if you have a pet!

[mandy72 in reply to greygoose]

thats is very true

[rustyspokes]

Can you really be certain that a particular med is not suitable if you have only taken 1pill?!

[mandy72 in reply to rustyspokes]

1/2 a tablet for 2 nights

i was psycho for 2 days, and super super hungry (no matter what i ate it was not enough)

stopped tablet and i was fine

even on my worst of days i am no where near as bad as i was with the tablet

[Lilian15]

My husband only takes two pills a day and he gets three prescriptions at a time (not one to cover three months). Maybe they do that because unless exempt, people paying for prescriptions end up paying more. However as I take several pills a day I am only allowed one prescription for a months supply. I did suggest to my MP that the pharmaceutical companies should make up 'sample' packs of their medications. So when giving a new pill one gets a sample pack first to see if they agree with you, so not so much wastage. I was thanked for the idea and that is it. Obviously pharmaceutical companies don't like the idea (if it ever got that far). The reason for binning medication is that they have no idea how the medication was stored.

[Angel_of_the_North]

I just tell the pharmacist not to make up that part of the prescription. Since I pay I just say I can't afford it, if asked.

[mandy72 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

ive handed over meds at the counter that i asked for a week or two before only to get new ones prescribed, that way they get reused

(i allways order repeats well in advance)

[Angel_of_the_North in reply to mandy72]

I'm not sure they do get reused. I did prescription training for the Co-op Pharmacy staff a few years ago and the rules are that, if the meds leave the pharmacy, they must be destroyed if handed back, even if apparently unopened (they could have been heated or injected with something by terrorists). Even if you walk out the door and then go straight back in, they are supposed to destroy what you hand back. If your prescription is delivered, the meds can be reused only if they don't leave the sight of the delivery driver (possibly the hand of the driver - it's been a couple of years since I delivered the course).

[mandy72 in reply to Angel_of_the_North]

the ones i handed back were in front of the woman behind the counter before even turning away

[Glynisrose]

Any anti - depressant means there is little point in taking thyroid meds as they won't work, even if you take your meds well apart the anti - deppressants will stop any thyroid meds from working, your doctor should know that.

[mandy72 in reply to Glynisrose]

ive had to be put on something as things were looking pretty bad for me

once im feeling better i will wean off of them

[budd_james]

Here in the UK as soon as a person leaves the pharmacy then the pharmacist may not take the medication back for "re-use". Even if you walk out the door, turn around & go straight back in, the pharmacist may not re-issue the meds. The medication is then destroyed.

I'm in the same boat - get prescribed something, have bad side effects & stop after a pill or 2 yet they still prescribe at least a months worth

I wish the NHS would try & have a go at me for wastage - I've got much up my sleeve about how the Dr is wasting time / money, etc. by not listening to me & doing a poor job of diagnosis that they would rue the day they tried to "tell me off".......