I am worried re new government

[Hectorsmum2]

I am worried they may restrict our ability to self treat. Ever so often a shock horror story hits the press about people buying prescription meds online and I can imagine current gov having knee jerk reaction to this. Problem is they have such a large magority they could push stuff through quickly with out much debate. Thinking about going to see MP to discuss, try to educate. I think we need to raise the profile of our issues with them before they react. Any ideas?

[Jo5454]

Morning...that sounds a great idea! I don't know very much about how the whole system works, others no doubt will, but it would be good to know. Could it carry more weight if many of us contact MP,even by letters at a similar time? There's the other side of the coin too, the new government say they're interested in getting those who are currently unwell and awaiting treatment, back to health and potentially working again? Maybe they'd be interested in knowing ? I know it feels a hard enough job trying to get our local GPs to understand, but anythings worth a try!

[Hectorsmum2 in reply to Jo5454]

It is hard to know if we are better staying unnoticed or if we should be much more vocal. I think maybe letters and petitions about the lack of good thyroid care without focusing on our self treatment would be a good way to go so they know there is a big problem that we are reacting too rather than us being irresponsible with our health.

[tattybogle in reply to Jo5454]

re. getting people back to health and working ( and raising awareness of the continuing problems many of us face after diagnosis).. this paper from Aberdeen business school is perfect for sending to MP's : healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

re. whether to raise the issue of 'obtaining prescription meds without prescription from internet'... my personal instinct is to "Keep Schtum and Carry On" .... i think the new govt will likely be far too busy trying to sort out 'everything else' to have any time/ interest in trying to change this this ... it's not causing a big enough problem in society generally for the govt to have any urgent interest in focusing on it. ... it's probably in the 'far too tricky to deal with' box anyway .... international offshore companies etc Hectorsmum2

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK]

People have been concerned about this for many years.

I do think that raising the issue has lots of appeal. My primary concern is if this raises the whole profile of personal importation of medicines.

It might be appropriate to point out the negative consequences of preventing people accessing the medicines they need. (Or want, after all, quite often we do not know ahead of trying them whether we need the medicine or not. But we know we want the option. Like having the choice to purchase desiccated thyroid, then finding out if it helps.)

There is also the issue that restricting personal importation by internet purchase has a disproportionate effect depending on how rich you are. The well off will be able to travel to obtain what they need. The less well off will not be able to afford to do so.

We should be able to garner support from some who take these medicines. For example, Sarah Vine (newspaper columnist and self-publicist) has written about how she takes Armour. But if she can still exploit private prescriptions, I do not foresee support for obtaining without prescription. And the well off will do what they can to ensure they can still access Armour and not care whether you and I can do so. So routes through private practitioners will be staunchly defended.

And I imagine literal personal importation, where you carry some in your hand luggage, will be largely ignored. It is a huge job to check everyone who might be carrying medicines. Especially as many could have prescriptions from foreign doctors, and for foreign medicines. Making the overheads of checking a potentially heavy burden for customs.

[StitchFairy]

It's natural for all of us who self medicate to have worries like this. But realistically, what benefit would there be to the current (or any future) government to do this? If they have more than a handful of brain cells, would they not realise doing this could place a tremendous extra burden on the NHS? Don't they have more important things to deal with than restricting what has been our right for decades?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to StitchFairy]

The only areas where there might be real benefits to the government and population are where there are clear negatives regarding specific medicines.

But they have already applied effective restrictions on, for one example, diazepam. To the extent that even those who might find diazepam is beneficial, and avoid addiction issues, have real problems getting it.

There is no need for a blanket restriction.

[jodary in reply to StitchFairy]

Hi, how do you go about self medicating? Would be very worried about buying T3 online myself

[StitchFairy in reply to jodary]

Only buy from tried and trusted sources.

[jodary in reply to StitchFairy]

But how do I find them ?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to jodary]

Asking for possible sources of supply is allowed. Write a brand new post!

If you have not already done so, adding some information to your profile might help and encourage replies.

In particular, if you are not within the UK, please make this clear. Some potential suppliers will only supply specific countries.

As we can't name suppliers on the forum, any replies must be by Private Messages (also called Chat). This post will be closed to replies to prevent any information being posted here. You might already have requested Private Messages.

Once the post is closed, there can be no further replies on forum. It is best to ask for sources in a separate post. And to make sure to give sufficient details as they cannot be added once the post is closed.

We hope that you get some helpful responses but, if you do not, feel free to post again.

To avoid being scammed by unscrupulous suppliers who we know contact members when requesting suppliers of thyroid meds, you are encouraged to contact a member of the Admin team to see if we have any feedback on any recommendations that you are sent. Please read the post linked to below and don't part with any money until you have checked any supplier information with an admin.

However, admins cannot make any recommendations themselves. This is expressly prohibited so do not ask us to do so.

You will find few, if any, of the potential suppliers accept the best known and most trustworthy forms of payment such as PayPal and credit cards. The major payment companies are very wary of medicine suppliers.

[StitchFairy in reply to jodary]

Ask here on the forum. But buying the meds is only the first step. You need to understand how to take it too, and be able to monitor your own levels.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to jodary]

Check this pinned post:

📢 ⚠️ Purchasing thyroid medication without prescription - Please Be Wary! ⚠️ 📢 (Repost)

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

[Sparklingsunshine]

I think the new Govt have more pressing issues if I'm honest. The Tories didnt seem bothered about closing loopholes so I think its unlikely that Labour will be in a rush to. They've got a lot of stuff in their inbox to deal with.