Dangerous medication?

I am almost 78 years old and I had used Pholcodeine on and off for the past 50 years - and you used to be able to get the Lozenges (Potters Pholcodeine Lozenges) but the lozenges were withdrawn several years ago. However, I had to have a General Anaesthetic just over a year ago, and I had discovered the huge risk of death whilst under anaesthetic, which remains with users of Pholcodeine indefinitely, so I had no choice but to have a very nasty procedure done under LOCAL anaesthetic instead. I discovered all this about Pholcodeine myself - no doctor had ever told me it was this dangerous. So now I am incredibly worried in case I ever have to have a General Anaesthetic again ... next time it might not be possible to have a future procedure under local anaesthetic.
To vampirequeen: You will not get any obvious side-effecte etc ... it is just that this drug remains dormant in your body FOR EVER, so no matter how long ago you took it, the same risk still applies that you can die whilst under General Anaesthetic. A risk NOT worth taking for me now.

Medication is all about a cost-benefit analysis. It's very individual. Do the benefits outweigh the risks. There are always risks with meds, so small and mild, some serious and alarming. I'm afraid it's very naïve to say 'doctor wouldn't prescribe it if it wasn't safe'! A couple of thousend of British people die every year due to medication mistakes and side effects!

Know nothing of your medication but know MUCH about a persistent and embarrassing cough. Buses, theatres etc., are a nightmare and only made worse by personal discomforture. My only solution has been gentle but constant sipping of water. Tried sweet sucking but doesn't work as well. Don't know why but suspect a temperature 'thing' involved. Genuinely try to avoid medication at all times. The side effects of everything scares me.

I was prescribed an antibiotic by the doctor. Good thing I read the leaflet inside. In large red letters it said "Do not take if on Statins". I am very wary of taking any medication. Will suffer the pain of arthritis rather than take constipating drugs or those which make me sleepy.

I have used it occasionally.
www.evidence.nhs.uk/formulary/bnf/current/3-respiratory-system/39-cough-preparations/391-cough-suppressants/pholcodine

www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/25385/SPC/Pholcodine+Linctus+BP/

However I now use 'Anaesthetic sore throat relief' (Lidocaine Hydochloride) which you buy from behind the counter in Boots. The pharmacist will check out if it is OK for you before you are allowed to buy it. It is a spray for the back of the throat and I only get it out of my bag if I feel the cough coming on in a public event. It works immediately and very little gets swallowed.

The surgeon for my cataracts allowed me to use it preoperatively to prevent any coughing in the theater. I find it a very useful fall back.

My mother was being prescribed Ibuprofen amongst other medications for her arthritis, she was also blind so had to rely on the GP and Pharmasist to point out any problems. No-one mentioned that longterm use of Ibuprofen damages your kidneys until she was referred to the Renal Clinic with virtual kidney failure.

The leaflets shopuld always be read, but having read them, one wonders if it is safe at all to take the medicine, there are side effects on every leaflet, like diarrhoea or constipation, what do you choose, then on one leaflet for Statins, it said if you stop taking them then you can be subject to Stroke or a Heartattack, not much choice. Good advice would be to try to avoid all unnecessary medication!

I can't take either ibuprofen or pholcodine due to their potential side effect of respiratory depression. Not advisable for an asthmatic

I Try not to take painkillers at all. It fills me with horror when I see youngsters reaching for them because of something minor.

I ended up with Gastritis after taking Ibrofen for 2 weeks on my GP's advice, I can no longer take it so Paracetamol is my only painkiller now. I'm not going down the road of stronger painkillers, Tramadol sends me "away with the fairies".

I am on Epilim for my Epilepsy, I cannot take Amatryptylene as this reduces the effectiveness of Epilim however I can take Pregabalin which I find very effective.

I also take Metformin for my Diabetes Type 2, slight constipation when dose is changed & the wind, so glad I live on my own.

When your GP prescribes new medication there should be a warning come up on their computer if it will react with medication you already take. I ignore the leaflets most of the time, you could frighten yourself with all the side effects

DH's neurology consultant was not too happy with me for asking questions about his symptoms and medication. He could tell that I'd been doing 'my research', and told me that, "you read a lot of 'guff' on the Internet" !

Sorry, but I wouldn't have taken up a doctor's appointment for a cough unless I thought it was a chest infection which would need anti-biotics. If I felt I needed cough mixture I would have asked the chemist for advice and bought some (I do get free prescriptions) but, to be honest, I have never found cough mixture to work in the past.

Saw the physio, have a rotator cuff tear in my shoulder- she said to arrange for a muscle relaxant prescription from Doc. Could only get a telephone appointment and Doctor couldn't get through(no signal) but he left me a message saying I should take ibuprofen and cocodamol, for my knee pain and I could buy them at chemist. I rang the surgery, explained it was shoulder, not knee and I didn't need painkillers but a muscle relaxant only available on prescription. She said she'd contact Doctor and I was to ring back later. When I rang back she said Doctor had arranged two items to be picked up - ibuprofen and cocodamol, neither of which I can take. Will need blood pressure tablets at this rate!!

Medicine should never be poured down the sink. It gets into our water courses and causes damage. Please hand in any un used medicine to a pharmacy

Best thing for an annoying cough is Boots Nightime Cough Relief. It works a treat and you get a good nights sleep. I think they also do one for the daytime. Can't remember the ingredients but I and all my family have been taking it for years with no noticeable side effects.

Elrel,, it's a good job I'm not your GP. I would have told you to take some bottled water to the theatre as your cough is probably due to the atmosphere in the theatre.

nips - if you look at the ingredients in Boots Nightime Cough Relief, it contains a large dollop of.... Pholcodeine!

Ivee had pholcodeine occasionall for coughs for years wrh no problems. IVe also had general anaesthetics with no problem. Also ibuprofen gor a longish time (months) but always with colifac which minimises tge effect on the stomach - no problem there either. I think tge problems generally arise after long term general yse but thats only my opinion.
I did stop taking statins (with gos knowledge) due to awful itching which is one of the side effects. .

So, I wonder, did the prescribed medicine work, Elrel?

Slightly over reaction I think to pour it down the sink.

What a waste.

We nearly all take medicines that might be detrimental to our health, but I think, if they work, then keep taking them.

Chris - As I said yesterday 6th at 12:47:34 I did think the cough could be a chest infection - I'd had a similar one last year which was.
Lew - this was so unlike my usually super vigilant pharmacist. He's very careful and if he has concerns about a prescription rings the GP surgery.

I found out two years ago that I was deficient in vitamin D after having a blood test. My GP prescribed 25000 units of Vitamin D3 every two weeks for six weeks and 1000 units a day thereafter. After 15 months the dose was reduced to 800 units a day because Scientists further research proved it would be a safer dose. I did not have any more blood tests until now (2 years later) and it revealed that I now have too much calcium, consequently my GP immediately stopped prescribing it. An appointment was made to see a Endocrinologist (I have not had an appointment yet) but my worry is that I may have to have an operation to remove some parathyroid glands? In all this time my calcium levels were not monitored. I have had a few blood tests recently and the odd thing is that the first one showed a lower calcium level than the later ones which is puzzling as I have stopped taking the Vitamin D3 capsules. Has anyone else experienced problems taking this medicine and can they give any advice? It would be very much appreciated.

I can`t imagine my GP giving me something to stop me coughing in a theatre but there again I would not ask for anything ! I am also taking drugs with unpleasant side effects but without them I would have no quality of life . We are so lucky to have all the medicines we have these days , without which some of us would not be here . Try a mild codeine/paracetamol from the chemist , the codeine suppresses the cough reflex . It really only causes constipation if taken long term and even then there is another medicine containing just fibre which will prevent this . Don`t blame your GP , he /she was probably dumb struck by the request - it costs the NHS about £70 for a consultation .

f77ms, I posted earlier about the drugs I take, without which I'd be in a real pickle. All have potentially awful side effects but pre-diagnosis and associated health problems, I avoided even a paracetamol, it's different when the choice is between quality of life and possible dreadful impact on vital organs if a disease is not treated and the simpler health issues we all face from time to time.
I agree with your post.

77 the consultation was for a possible chest infection.
I think to say exactly how the violent cough was affecting everyday life might be TMI. I only mentioned the theatre to my GP as an afterthought. The worst aspect was rapid trips to the loo.

What I was most concerned about and my reason for posting was that the pholcodine would affect whether I could be given general anaesthesia in the future. I feel there should have been a warning. The cough had caused enough inconvenience to keep me housebound for a week already.s