Paracetamol on prescription

Its not the cost that is the problem . For some people who can't get out easily the problem is the amount you can buy in one purchase. If you are taking the max 8 tabs a day then you only get 4 days supply.

Just been watching the recording of Behind Closed Doors (fly-on-the-wall at a GP surgery) and an elderly gentleman was taking co-codamol and, as it wasn't curing the pain, he was taking paracetamol as well. GP had to explain to him that he must not do that. He obviously thought that an OTC drug added in was benign.

Higher dose co-codamol has to be prescribed.

We pay for our prescriptions so if our doctor suggested we take paracetamol or other pills we can buy in the supermarket or chemist then I'd buy them rather than pay for a prescription especially when it costs a lot less than the prescription. I think even if we got prescriptions free I would still buy my own paracetamol and co-codamol as they're cheap enough anyway.

I am one of those people who have free prescriptions and have paracetamol on a repeat prescription for a chronic condition which leaves me in a great deal of pain, particularly if I don't keep on the move. Unfortunately I do have to sleep making the need for two nightly paracetamols and one or two first thing in the morning. I might add that I also take steroids and at times far stronger painkillers. Why do we give free exercise classes to the obese, free nicotine patches to smokers etc. Maybe those who suggest paying for them should try having a chronic condition through no fault of their own. Sorry to sound so bad tempered but it's a bad day.

As others have already pointed out, if you are prescribed the full dose for chronic pain you can only obtain a 4 day supply at any one time over the counter. When my OH was very ill it was impossible to get out to the shops regularly to buy medication, usually only once a week (we live in a rural location) and I once had a complete stranger in the queue buy the extra for me and sorted it out after leaving the shop. Embarassing and unnecessary stress. Yes, the drug is very cheap to buy and so, in the nature of things, it must be a very small part of the overall drugs budget, too. Once the drug was on the repeat prescription for daily use packs of 500 were the norm.

're the limit of number of tablets... anyone can buy as much as they like in one go from Amazon and have it delivered by post. No need to go to three different shops. There's a loophole.

're accidental or inadvertent overdosing - I think another factor is the "familiarity breeds contempt" aspect. I had a young relative staying with me who was knocking back a welk-known cold remedy until I reminded him about the daily paracetamol limit and he was like "Of course, completely forgot about that".

A few years ago when I had a terrible cough that lasted for weeks I realised that I was mixing and matching over the counter medication that I shouldn't have. I felt so ill and tired from weeks without proper sleep that I honestly didn't know was I was doing. The worrying bit being that I was a dispenser at a medical practice for 20 years so should have known better .

Re your post from yesterday evening, ana, no, I would never blame anyone for an accidental overdose, but a deliberately careless overdose (not reading the packet because can't be arsed and chucking out the info leaflet) is the careless person's fault. It isn't anyone else's when every effort is made to make the important information available.

miep; do you not qualify for a free delivery from the chemist? Most provide a delivery service these days.

Yes - I just think it is important that folks are aware that OTC drugs are not benign and that sticking to the recommended dose (which, as harrigran so rightly says is 8 tabs per 24 hours, rather than per day) is vital. I am quite sure that Gransnetters would not be daft enough to over medicate, but many people do, in spite of the warnings on the packs. Sometimes it is because they inadvertently take another drug (like a cold remedy) that also contains paracetamol; and sometimes because they take an overdose as a "cry for help" thinking that an OTC drug cannot be too harmful - they are wrong. And, as had been said before, death by paracetamol poisoning is slow and grim, and often occurs when the patient has changed their mind about ending it all.

By the way harrigran, how goes it all? - well I hope.

Paracetamol limit is 8 tablets in a 24 hour period not just in any day, there is a slight difference. My blood tests showed that liver enzymes were altered after prescribed doses of the painkiller, so I have to very careful. never underestimate the power of OTC drugs.

I have to take 8 500mg paracetamol tables a day, along with a shedload of other drugs. Nearest shop is 3 miles away, I have no car and the buses are once an hour. The bus turns round and departs immediately from outside the shop, so no time to get anything! Also the cheap ones seem to be 300mg, so yes, I do get them on prescription, which involves 2 buses to collect from the nearest Chemist!

if it's a 'free' prescription, that is.

100 paracetamol cost a dispensing doctors very little; better they get paid for a prescription than Tescos et al make a huge profit on them.

My mother in law lived on 8 paracetamol a day for years. Her GP prescribed it for her arthritis. If she was running out I used to offer to buy her some while I was out but she always insisted on getting a new prescription so she could get them for nothing! My father in law used to get all sorts of creams and medicines on prescription and then hand them out to friends and relatives because they were free.

That's just ridiculous jingl. I was just trying to say that not everyone is aware of how dangerous it can be to exceed the stated dose.

Not everyone reads the bumph and if they've been taking paracetemol for headaches etc occasionally for years they may get a bit blasé if they have to take it regularly for long-term pain relief.

Don't know where the 'paranoia' comes in...

I may need to run for cover but my GP prescribes paracetamol and slow release ibuprofen for my chronic pain condition as, on her advice, I take 8 paracetamol a day and my local chemist was very suspicious of my purchases. The GP commented 'people who need paracetamol understand the dangers. It isn't them I worry about'. My body won't tolerate a stronger, more expensive and sadly more effective pain medication, so it's my best option. I have no concern over accepting the prescription other than a deep seated wish not to need it.

So what's the answer Ana? Take all cold meds off the shelves if they contain paracetamol?

I think there's a bit of paranoia going on on here.

Yes. An extra dose of paracetamol over a few days, ie multiple extra doses, would probably do you harm, but one extra dose on its own wouldn't. It wouldn't be sold OTC if it was that lethal.

So it's all their own fault if they die of an accidental overdose then...?

Bottles or packets of cold remedies that contain paracetamol say so on the labels and the labels also tell you not to take other paracetamol products at the same time. I can understand someone who is unable to read not knowing, but nobody else has the excuse. It's ridiculous not to pay attention.

thatbags sometime people take other medication not realising it also contains paracetamol (like cold remedies).
On the subject of cost. It doesn't sound much when you price one pack at 32p, but my mother takes 8 a day, so a week would be just over £1 which is over £50 a year. Why should she have to pay for pain relief? If the doctor prescribed her something more expensive would that make it more acceptable?

Yes, I'd be surprised, but if people really are that daft, give them a Darwin award.

Some people need the maximum dose every day. It would be very innefficient to have four-day repeats: waste of doctors' and pharmacists' time.