Has anyone else had problems getting their medication?

[askyourgran]

I ordered my prescription but I have received a note from the chemist to say that they are struggling to get some of the tablets on my prescription. I think I saw a thread recently about this. Is there a reason why our medication is becoming scarce? I am completely without my cholesterol tablets now.

[DaisyNonna]

Think I will join with you mamya.

[mayennaise]

Hymie - My MIL's meds WERE ordered by repeat prescription - only when I went to collect them it was at that point that I was told they couldn't get hold of them - how is she supposed to prepare for that ??

[ubasses]

The dosette packs are quite normal. A lot of elderly have their medication delivered in them and care homes have each residents medication delivered in them as well. They prevent mix ups. I put my OH's in a re-useable dosette box as I was fed up with him getting to the end of the prescription and having a different number of pills left in each of the 3 packets.

[Ann]

I get mine from Boots but sometimes if they have run out, they usually have some emergency supplies to "tide you over" - I'm sure they are not supposed to leave you with no tablets at all! Have you told your GP? I understand in some surgeries they have a drugs cupboard with a few supplies.

[askyourgran]

Thanks for your offer of the Simvastatin Jem but I can't take them, they affect my joints and muscles. My missing tablets were delivered today, the delivery man couldn't give any explanation for the delay. I had ordered the tablets with time to spare, even though I'd had to wait until I'd had a medical review of my tablets (getting an appointment to see the doc is the biggest hurdle), as it was the tablets are unchanged.

[lillylemon]

I work as a dispenser in a pharmacy and drug shortages are the bane of my life at work. There are several reasons why drugs become unavailable,
1. The manufactureres have not made enough for demand
2. With the exchange rate being in favour for exoprters from the UK, a lot are being exported abroad as the drug companies can get more money
3. There is a actually a problem with the manufacture or quality control of a drug
4. The manufacurers put a quota on a pharmacy for the month and if the pharmacy has had their quota of a drug then we cannot get anymore until the next month.

As others have sugessted, contact your surgery and ask if there is an alternative, also ask at the pharmacy if they have tried to get them directly from the manufacturer as often we are able to get enough direct, to cover a prescription although this usually takes a few days.

[Hymie]

Mayennaise – Should on collection the chemist advise of some difficulty with the medication – I would have well over a week to sort things out with the GP. This has happened in the past where the chemist could not obtain the particular strength of medication. This was sorted by the GP issuing a double strength tablet with instructions to take ½ a tablet twice a day.

As others have indicated here, it is possible to build up a stock of medication, if you continually submit your repeat prescription every 3-3½ weeks – it appears that the recording systems used by GPs do not flag this up, no doubt because they are getting paid for each prescription issued.

[mayennaise]

Hymie = MIL drops the repeat script request at the chemist and they are supposed to contact her GP to request a new script. If they are unable to obtain the items prescribed by her oncologist via her GP then surely they should contact her to advise this - not just wait until she (or me in this case) turns up to collect them. What is the point of the pharmacy offering the 'repeat' service if they are unable to fulfill their side of the bargain?