Too many prescriptions?

Had my thyroid gland removed,janea, over 35 years ago, so it will not recover.
I was put on statins and ended up not being able to walk without pain, so I was taken off them. They keep suggesting I try another, but the side effects are the same, so I just say no thanks. My GP said I didn't need to take anything if I didn't want to. Not a good thing to say to someone who does not have a thyroid gland. I do not go to see him any more.

Up until April last year I'd never been on prescription meds for more than just one prescription, now I'm on meds probably for life, and certainly until my heart operation. They print review dates on the prescription, but they just come and go with nothing said and a new date to replace the old. The meds I'm on now are toxic, so I'm supposed to be tested at regular intervals, but nobody has said anything about it.

Crun - you really must complain about not being reviewed and being tested or even better, could you change practices? This really is absolutely dreadful and a sign of a very dysfunctional practice as, in general, a medicines review is generated automatically. It really is very serious - I don't want to frighten you but you must do something. If you find complaining difficult, have you got someone who coukd do it for you?

Crun you must also take some responsibility for your own health - if you know that you should be reviewed but have somehow slipped through the net why not demand a review?

Rose - what would you suggest? That the millions of us on free prescriptions to keep us alive/ functioning and who take our meds should have to pay? I think it's dreadful that some people are behaving like this, but it's not confined to those on free prescriptions and has its roots in poor patient education to some extent. The answer is most certainly NOT to charge for prescriptions

I'm wondering if those people who stockpile prescription meds they don't need actually go and collect them from the pharmacy or if the meds are delivered to them. Then, if the GP never recalls the patient and the patient doesn't bother to inform the GP they're not taking the meds they obviously pile up.

Seems to me the GPs should be a bit more proactive to prevent such things happening. Mine is. Last winter I didn't need to take one of my prescribed meds and when I did need it again I had some left so used those before ordering a repeat prescription. My GP noticed that I hadn't re-ordered for a while (a few months) and asked me, during a consultation about something else, whether I still needed the meds. I explained and said yes I did once I'd used up what I had.

I agree that if you've been told (or have found out) that you should have a review every so often, you should make an appointment with your GP yourself and not wait to be recalled. It's just taking responsibility.

I agree about taking responsibility as a patient but in RL it doesn't always work like that for many reasons and the GP also has a professional responsibility to review and test patients as required by protocols. Not doing so is very serious snd contrary to a Good Medical Practice

Agreed about GP responsibilities but they live in a Real Life world too and have a very stressful job. Patients' responsibility for their own health in ways they can is not much to ask. If one needs a medication review once a year what's difficult about making a note in one's diary about that?

My surgery sends a letter and it makes it quite clear that you won't get another repeat until you've seen a doctor.

I had a review the other day and as part of the review the doctor did a quick health check. It's a chance to mention any niggles or worries that you might have.

My meds have a tendency to make me tired but it's not a good idea to ignore being tired all the time just because I know it's a side effect. I wouldn't have 'wasted' a doctors time by taking up an appointment over tiredness but this gave me the opportunity to talk about how it seemed even worse than usual. She took some bloods and it turned out I was deficient in folic acid and needed a few months of supplements.

Obviously, not everyone will be able to do that (people suffering diseases of senility for instance), but most people could.

vamp, that is good practice.

I guess I'm just saying we shouldn't blame doctors when we could do something ourselves.

durhamjen, it's not just you who had side effects with statins, it is very common and many people stop taking them for exactly that reason. It may be the same with lots of drugs. I was prescribed a steroid inhaler to replace my previous inhaler which worked fine. The steroid one made me feel peculiar and I hated the taste. I looked on the internet and discovered endless lists of, and discussions about, side effects so I stopped using it! I'm interested in reading those of you who have GPs you can discuss things with, you are lucky, not all of us are in the same situation and some people have to fight for months if not years to get listened to and to be properly diagnosed (people with thyroid problems are a case in point).

The other thing that occurs to me about this is something that occasionally gets in the media - the fact that so many people are on medication means that many of these drugs are actually in our drinking water! Probably worse in the larger cities and the water companies play it down, but I remember not so long ago that there was a hoohaa about Prozac and the like affecting fish and birds!

The way things are now, GPs get paid for prescribing certain drugs just as they were recently offered £55 to diagnose dementia early. It's about the power of the pharmaceuticals and the invasion of our lives by government directives. Which is not to say that those who need their drugs to stay alive and well, shouldn't have them or have to pay for them, but it is a more complicated situation than one illness=this drug. Sometimes people see their doctor because they are lonely or depressed but they don't actually get enough time or a thorough investigation because it can't be done in 5 minutes and a quick prescription makes it look as though the person has been dealt with. Hence the person doesn't take their prescribed medication! Such a waste on many fronts.

My surgery will not give a repeat prescription if a patient has not had a 6 monthly review. They are very strict about it and after I was discharged having my ankle pinned and plated, I could not get to the surgery for a couple of months so I had to write explaining the reason why I wanted a repeat prescription and I could not make an appointment. I was at least a month over my due date to be seen. It is a superb practice.

I was on Painkillers for Bursitis , but I had been to the Doctor with breathlessness and he had got the results of my blood tests and I was Anaemic so have had all sorts of tests to see where I am bleeding so that is why the tablets were stopped

I really dont know what or why this whole story was about apart from another excuse for the health fascists to have another nag at us all.

Thatbags - you are wrong to excuse the doctors. There are computer systems and admin staff who send out letters for medicine reviews ( six monthly). The doctors responsibility is to ensure that s/he has systems in place that facilitate that. Usually the practice manager would oversee it. But if a patient were harmed through not having the tests or reviews required, the GMC would not accept the doctors busy stressful life as a mitigating factor. I also think you are being very unrealistic expecting patients to make notes in diaries of expected reviews. The examples given above demonstrate why such regular reviews etc should happen. It's called patient care. I really do wish that more of us were more proactive with our GPs but in RL I know some people who still are in awe of doctors, or lead chaotic lives ( without diaries) for many reasons - mental health issues, stressful personal relationships, huge family responsibilities, poverty - such people are much more likely to suffer ill health and require good medical care. In my very considerable professional experience, badly run GP practices are usually the result of the GPs involved not bring willing to invest in good staff and good computer systems as that would decrease their lrofits

Or even their profits

BTW - I belong to a superb practice ( apart from the two obligatory foul receptionists - the others are nice). They really listen and discuss options with you but I do appreciate that I am very articulate and well- informed and not in the slightest in awe of any of them. A GP practice has to be run to cater for all types of patients

durham perhaps you should push to have your thyroxin increased as high cholesterol can be caused by an under-active thyroid. I persuaded the GP to increase mine to 125 and my cholestrol level has gone down a little.

I don't think that the government has any intention of charging for prescriptions because the largest proportion of people taking meds are older and we are the ones who vote.

The methodology of this research was to contact a random number of people and send a nurse round to measure height, weight etc and ask them questions. From that they extrapolated the figures.

Our pharmacist keeps an eye on what we are taking in our regular prescriptions which would keep us in check if necessary.

I think that more education about things like weight gain, alcohol and smoking could reduce the amount of prescribing and don't know why GPs don't push people harder. A friend of mine who has type 2 diabetes never gets nagged.

I should have added that the friend is very overweight.

GrannyTwice I am not suggesting that patients should pay for their drugs and never said so and do not believe so.
If I had to pay for mine I would not be here.
(Do I not make myself clear in my posts? Please tell me, as you often misconstrue what I am saying.)

I was just suggesting that some people do not value what comes free.
It was also the GP's fault in the case of the stockpiled drugs that did not work - he/she should be doing a regular review. However patients themselves also have a responsibility not to waste NHS resources.

Nonnie - good point about the role of the pharmacist . They are also professionally responsible for what they dispense - they have to be aware of drug interactions, correct dosages etc and contact the doctor if in doubt. I know of cases where patients have been saved from serious harm by a pharmacist. I agree with you about doctors not pushing hard enough - my sister is very overweight with hypertension and she says the GP never mentions her Wright - on the other hand - maybe she doesn't want to hear?

Wright? Try weight!