Getting ndt on nhs

[Lumac1988]

Can someone clarify what the ruling is on getting ndt on NHS. I've seen that some people get it on NHS and others don't. My endo said she wouldn't prescribe it, but I'm wondering whether to try my GP. But need to go armed with some info. Why is it some get it on NHS and others don't?

[shaws Administrator]

Private Endocrinologists may prescribe and you have to pay for the consultations plus the prescriptions.

NHS Doctors can prescribe Armour, etc on a 'named-patient' basis but because rumours have been made about NDT and inconsistencies few doctors will do so as the onus if patient takes a bad turn it all comes down to the doctor.

The British Thyroid Association also states the mis-information even after being given Scientific Facts about the usefulness of NDT.

thyroidscience.com/Criticis...

[shaws Administrator]

This may be helpful:

thyroiduk.org.uk/tuk/treatm...

[bluebug]

NDT is an unlicensed medication. (The only other one I can think of is some Vitamin D supplements.) So it is up to the prescriber to give a good justification on why they prescribed them for a particular patient. As the doctor can be dragged in front of the GMC if another medical professional questions their prescribing of a drug enough times, many simply won't take the risk especially if they are have the opinion the drug is unsafe.

There are actually pages on .gov.uk about unlicensed medicines and off-label medications, and the rules around around them. So you can Google that.

The only thing you can do is find another healthcare professional who is happy to prescribe what you need, and unfortunately if they think a drug isn't safe or are worried about their career they won't prescribe it.

I actually over heard a GP arguing with a patient years ago about an unlicensed medication - the patient was told in uncertain terms if she wanted the drug prescribed then her private specialist had to do so as none of the GPs in the practice would - I then worked in medical regulation for a bit and around the same time I was given unlicensed Vitamin D supplements. Due to the cost at the time of my supplements the prescription had to be referred to some local committee for approval. Pharmacists are the ones who end up keeping an eye on doctor's prescriptions and report them if they prescribe say loads of vitamin B12 injections of antibiotics.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to bluebug]

The British National Formulary actually mentions high dose B12 tablets as a possibly useful treatment - and then says they are not licensed. Also mentions 50 microgram B12 tablets and says, pretty much, that they have no place other than in, say, a vegan diet.

There is a huge amount of off-label prescribing - much of which seems never to be recognised as such.

[bluebug in reply to helvella]

Vitamin and mineral supplements are a bit odd as they fall under food regulations. Some hormonal and herbal supplements do as well. This is why their regulation is odd and prescribing them is off-licence.

In regards to off-label drug prescribing, some drug manufacturers have hissy fits if they can't rip the NHS off enough. Avastin is one example where the drug manufacturer was going to take the NHS to court for using this off-label instead of the more expensive drug they also produced. I'm sure that particular manufacturer Roche has been accused of ripping off the NHS many times with drug pricing.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to bluebug]

Indeed! At least with Avastin it has become widely known and very public.

[Hidden]

A question in this context: when you go to a doctor's appointment with the intention of asking for NDT, which NDT do you have in mind? Which brands are readily available in the UK? In Belgium, only Erfa and Armour are available (in a few pharmacies), neither of which works very well these days...which is why more and more patients order online. Prescription NDT is also horribly expensive in Belgium, which makes Thai NDT all the more interesting...

[dtate2016]

Whoo-Hoo! Bravo! Bravo!! This is it guys - StickyBloodMentor has it!! Preparation is the key, and then be prepared to stand up and be counted. They know you are coming.

Hey StickyBloodMentor....how about posting / reposting the link for the spreadsheet?

[cwill]

Can you suggest how we get the data on thyroid medication and NDT? The first link opens another Thyrid page with two links. I cant get the first link to open and the second is in drug categories. Not sure what is going wrong.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to cwill]

Have you got Microsoft Excel (or another compatible spreadsheet program) installed on the machine you are using?

If not, you could try saving the download and then opening it with suitable spreadsheet software - but you are not going to be able to view it without such software.

[cwill in reply to helvella]

Yes I have excel but the link tries to open and then disappears. Will ask other half what is happening.n Thanks.

[Glynisrose]

Some doctors prescribe because they are endocrine specialists and not worried about the cost.

[Val-55]

Just a quick question about the spread sheet , my daughter lives in Bristol how would she narrow down her surgery on this list ?? Thankyou Val

[dtate2016]

Thank you so much! Still see many of those in the UK with Dr.s insisting that they can't prescribe Naturethroid. Going to share this.

[JGBH]

Wishing you much luck with endo.... and please keep us posted. It is such an unpleasant situation when one has to fight with one's GP for much needed treatment. So very unfair as some people dare not (intimidation) or do not know how to "challenge" their GP.