prescribed different iron tablets..?

[looobylooo]

for the last 9 months or so ive been on iron tablets - 'ferrous fumerate 210mg'

today when i picked up my repeat prescription, there was a written note on my attached email, crossing through the old which id ordered as normal, replacing it with 'ferrous sulphate 200mg as accute'
and they are what i received earlier from the chemist, as per the revised prescription.

does anyone have any ideas why the tabletss would be changed please?
and is there much difference in them?

thanks :o)

[Jemisa]

You must phone your doc for that information Looby.

jem

[looobylooo]

hi jem
yes i will enquire,
i was just hoping someone might know ... but, erm, it was rather a long shot i suppose wasnt it ... lol
maybe sqad might know in the morn..? :o)

[Jemisa]

Yep, Sqad might know. I think it was remiss of your doc to change 'em without even telling you. You tell 'im.

jem

[Buenchico]

According to the drugs 'bible', the British National Formulary, there's little difference between the two compounds. Ferrrous fumarate is normally prescribed purely because it costs less than one third of the price of ferrous sulphate.

However it seems that your GP prefers that you receive slightly less elemental iron (which is the 'active' bit of the compounds). You're getting 65mg per tablet, instead of 68mg.

Chris

[boxtops]

could be due to the relative cost against the practice prescribing budget.....

[looobylooo]

cheers chris, thanks :o)

[Halifaxmum]

i know it doesn't help, but my docs changed mine without telling me too! i suppose they must have a good reason...in their wisdom...!

[Sqad]

They are both the same basically and do the same thing.........ferrous sulphate is dirt cheap.......ferrous fumerate is more expensive..........no big deal.

Reminds me of when at med school this Consultant asked us the dose of iron tablets for treating iron deficency anaemia. We all gave our idea of the dosage and he told us that we were all wrong. Underneath the table he had a cardboard box filled to the brim with iron tablets and a shovel.

No he roared this is the dose...and with that he showered the whole class with showered the whole class with shove loads of iron tablets shouting

"This is the bloody dose"

A fantastic teacher and my hero, the likes of which we will never see in this modern era.

[Sqad]

http://en.wikipedia.o...ld_Hunter_(physician)

[Jenarry]

Yes it's purely a cost thing. this happens occasionally with prescription drugs . I don't think there's an awful lot in it with regards these iron tablets but it must make a huge difference to the cost to the NHS nationwide.
They will work just the same.

[slaney]

Ferrous fumarate, as Buenchico says, is a third the cost and contains more elemental iron than ferrous sulphate, so it's hard to see why it's been changed . Most PCTs would be giving advice to GPs to change to ferrous fumarate.
uk/uploads/media/CPCT_Action_Sheet_-_Ferrous_
sulphate_to_fumarate.pdf

Perhaps, as others have said, check with your GP why the prescription has been changed.

[slaney]

Sorry, can't C&P on this iPad - try again
http://www.calderdale...phate_to_fumarate.pdf

[Sqad]

Apologies to slaney/Buenchico for getting the cost of the iron tablets, the wrong way round.

[looobylooo]

aw thanks all for stopping by to answer my question, i really do appreciate it, thank you :o)

heres the reply i received this morning from the surgery :-

''Yes it is correct, there is a production problem with the Ferrous Fumerate so we had to change it to the Ferrous Sulphate which is another iron suppliment''

[Sqad]

loooby...thanks for the update.

[looobylooo]

thats ok sqad, and thank youuu tooo for your tale about your teacher at med school! lol ....