Indigestion

I do get Gaviscon Advance on prescription and can't see why your GP thinks it's too expensive. I also get a supply of Gaviscon Advance tablets because if I go away for a weekend, I can't carry a heavy bottle of the suspension in my luggage!

It seems my local health authority won't sanction it, anno. The cheapo alternative my GP prescribed is Peptac Liquid, which I don't find effective, and the dosage is much higher.

That's a pity, Elegran...

Tact is paramount, ana

It's my belief that if you suffer from regular acid reflux and it's been properly diagnosed, then whichever medication works should be prescribed. I would change doctors if they were refusing to prescribe something like Gaviscon.

It's the health authority guidelines though, pollyparrot - goodness knows how far I'd have to travel to find a GP who would prescribe Gaviscon Advance. It would probably work out cheaper to buy it myself as I do now.

I think you should complain. Get in touch with PALS. It's a total disgrace.

Only just catching up.
ana I think it's quite concerning that your local health authority (clinical commissioning group?) is refusing to allow the prescription of gaviscon advance.
I googled 'NICE guidelines dyspepsia in adults' and quite a lot came up.
One CCG (Oxfordshire I think) explicitly stated that since Gaviscon is available over the counter, it should not be prescribed and patients should pay for it.
There may be good clinical reasons for not prescribing it, but the fact that it is available OTC is certainly not one of them.
This is from the NICE Guideline:
"The recommendations in this guideline represent the view of NICE, arrived at after careful consideration of the evidence available. When exercising their judgement, professionals are expected to take this guideline fully into account, alongside the individual needs, preferences and values of their patients or service users. The application of the recommendations in this guideline are not mandatory and the guideline does not override the responsibility of healthcare professionals to make decisions appropriate to the circumstances of the individual patient, in consultation with the patient and/or their carer or guardian.
Local commissioners and/or providers have a responsibility to enable the guideline to be applied when individual health professionals and their patients or service users wish to use it. They should do so in the context of local and national priorities for funding and developing services, and in light of their duties to have due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, to advance equality of opportunity and to reduce health inequalities Nothing in this guideline should be interpreted in a way that would be inconsistent with compliance with those duties."

NICE is saying in effect that if a patient in the opinion of the doctor would benefit from the prescription if a particular drug, they should go ahead and prescribe it.
No wonder doctors are fed up when they are bullied by CCGs into not acting in their patients' best interests, which is their primary responsibility.
The NHS is not just there for acute illness, cancer and heart disease. It should be there for the management of chronic conditions too.

Many minor medical conditions nowadays are the direct result of lifestyle choices. I know for a fact that if I followed much of the excellent advice here and ate less and earlier, used more pillows to raise my upper body etc I probably wouldn't need to buy over-the-counter medicines such as Gaviscon! I'd say the NHS has far greater priorities than handing over commercial stuff you can buy in the supermarket.

Madmartha I don't suffer from indigestion myself and have been surprised by the number of gransnetters who clearly do.

But if making lifestyle changes was that easy, everyone would do it, wouldn't they?
Self-help is great but sometimes it's not enough to make a difference and if people need medication I think the NHS should provide it.

I agree about the prescribing of Gaviscon. Until there is a true generic version of Gaviscon Advance, I don't think it should be prescribed. Doctors know quite well that it is pretty useless anyway.

However, Madmartha many people on this thread are not talking about the simple indigestion you are probably thinking of. Perhaps you could google LPR?

The prescribing policy of the NHS is usually preventative where possible, insofar as they wish to avoid having to fork out for more expensive treatment down the line. Makes sense really.

*jings] just because something doesn't work for you it does not mean it fails to work for everyone - clearly a number of us do find relief from a variety of things - many of which you seem to think are rubbish or do not work - why on earth would you think that people are lying when they say things work for them? We are all different and different things work.

Gaviscon Advance definitely works for me in reducing my symptoms. I tried not taking it for a week not long ago and my throat gradually became more and more sore and the awful retching came back...

So while it's certainly not a cure, it makes life a bit more bearable by controlling the worst of my symptoms, and I'll continue to buy it, even though it's not cheap at £8 odd a bottle!

Hmm. I think a lot of money has been made by the likes of the Gaviscon makers. My doctor agreed with me when I told him it didn't work. He prescribed a bottle when I first got this trouble, but I have said no thanks since then because I feel it would be a waste of funds.

Welshwife an awful lot of people on various sites on the net have said Gaviscon Advance doesn't help them.

I find a couple of Bisodol tablets helps. Much cheaper too.

I don't actually think we are all different Welshwife.

jingl with all due respect you have missed my point.

I wasn't saying that the NHS should prescribe everything under the sun.

I was saying that when when NICE approves a drug (and it approves Gaviscon advance), local commissioning groups should not override the NICE guidance, which supports individual practitioners exercising their own clinical judgement.

AnaI have found the larger bottles of Gaviscon Advance much cheaper at Sainsbury's. Not much dearer than the smaller size, but you have to ask for it at the counter. It is kept in the pharmacy.

Maybe Ana's doc doesn't feel Gaviscon Advance would help Ana.

The last time I looked at the NICE website they were recommending patients try otc stuff before going on to ppi's. I don't think they said anything about otc products being prescribed.

My GP said she couldn't prescribe Gaviscon Advance, but would if she could.

She took my word for it that it did help...

Did you read Ana's post jingl?

Gaviscon Advance definitely works for me in reducing my symptoms. I tried not taking it for a week not long ago and my throat gradually became more and more sore and the awful retching came back.

This is from the latest NICE Guideline on Adult Dyspepsia, in the section 'Patient-centred care'
"Treatment and care should take into account individual needs and preferences. Patients should have the opportunity to make informed decisions about their care and treatment, in partnership with their healthcare professionals"

"...in partnership with their healthcare professionals"

Ana go back and tell her your friend down south gets it on prescription, so why can't you. Make a fuss.

Bye ja. Please.

I'm holding fire until after I've seen the consultant and had the endoscopy...#shakinginmyboots

Ana I absolutely understand your anxiety, I was the same. Tell them how anxious you are and tell them you have a powerful gag reflex. Ask for as much sedative as they can give you.

I think you are wise to wait for your results. You may well be prescribed whatever you need, when they can see what's going on.

Those of us who get symptoms in their throat, known as LPR, should really see an ENT consultant, who specialises in LPR. The scope needed is different to a gastric endoscopy.

Try not to worry too much about the procedure Ana - the general consensus on here seems to be it's not as bad as you think it will be.