MIL taking medication when she doesn't need it

annep has it ever occurred to you that the government might just love data and research that shows that doctors are prescribing more than they used to? It gives them a stick to beat the doctors with, issuing ‘guidelines’ telling them to prescribe less, in the hope of ‘saving money’.

Over the last 20 years there has been a big increase in prescriptions for antidepressants.

Does that mean doctors are over prescribing?

Not necessarily.
It might mean that antidepressants are more efficacious than they used to be so doctors are more willing to prescribe them. It might mean more people are suffering from depression for a variety of reasons.
But research showing that more antidepressants are being prescribed isn’t a reason to deny an individual patient drug therapy that will help them to function and have a knock on benefit for their family.

How would you and Gabriella feel if you went to the doctor with chronic pain or because you were feeling depressed and you were told you couldn’t have any medication and you just had to lump it because the government had told doctors to reduce the amount they were prescribing?

Codeine is addictive and the guidelines say it should only be prescribed for a short period. I have a relative who has been taking them day-in, day-out for years. For the resulting constipation she also takes laxatives every single day.
I wonder if her doctor allows this because she is a very bad tempered woman to deal with (and more bad tempered when her next dose is due, because she is dependent on them)

Of course I would be very annoyed if I needed pills and wasn't given them. I would be annoyed too if I was given pills as an easy option instead of investigating the problem- which has happened. The government may well like these reports but that doesn't mean the reports are wrong. You do have a point that pills are possibly working better now and treatments have improved. But its not the whole story.

Codeine can be addictive, watermeadow, not is. Most people who take codeine do not become addicted to it.

For the resulting constipation she also takes laxatives every single day.
codeine can cause constipation!
Perhaps it's her constipation that is making her bad tempered watermeadow!

janeainsworth I sometimes wonder if the present guidelines advising GPs to tell patients in pain to take 8 paracetamol each day are more to do with cost - in many cases they don't prescribe even the paracetamol and send the patient off to buy them cheaply over the counter.

I'm sure the docs are not using best practice (at the very least!) by not regularly reviewing medication.
Most repeat prescriptions come with a request to book a review before another can be issued about every 6-12 months.

Off topic I guess but I am fascinated by the fact that quite a few posters have MiLs! It makes me realise that I must be one of the oldest Gransnet members at 84! I do sympathise with paddy Ann because I sometimes come across women who take medicines without any thought. If the doctor says take this, they do so without any questions! I have a friend who tells me she takes a “small pink tablet” for BP, but has no idea what it is! I take meds but I know exactly the dosage and what the med is for. We have a duty to ourselves to know what we are taking if we have the mental capacity to do so.

It's interesting how many 'experts' on medication there are on this thread. People who know far far more than any GP could possibly know.

My understanding is that doctors advise patients to use pain killers regularly, over several days, in pain relief is to be effective. Most of us try to manage with less, or avoid taking painkillers at all. I'm in that camp, which is probably why my knee hurts all the time recently.

Baggs is quite correct, some of us take co codomol sensibly and don't become addicted. Some of us don't care, swallow it down, enjoy the slightly spacey feeling it gives. I do care so I try only to take it when absolutely necessary. That brings me back to my original post about the medical advice on pain relief....

As a retired GP ,medications have to be reviewed annually. The computer has to be updated for scripts to be printed beyond a year ( or shorter period of time for some meds or if the doctor sets it up in that way). Paracetamol is a very effective analgesic if taken regulatly and is not addictive and has very few side effects. It is not always necessary ( although usually desirable) to have a patient sat in front of you to review the medications

Thank you mofmb

There are side effects of long term use for some people.

A new review of previous observational studies found that long-term use of paracetamol was linked with a small increased risk of adverse events such as heart attacks, gastrointestinal bleeds (bleeding inside the digestive system) and impaired kidney function.3 Mar 2015

www.nhs.uk/news/medication/is-long-term-paracetamol-use-not-as-safe-as-we-thought/

This is a long article that concludes with:

Paracetamol is an effective treatment for mild to moderate pain and fever in adults and children, when used as directed in product information. The maximum dose within a 24-hour period must not be exceeded. However, if you find you need to use paracetamol on a regular basis, it is worth consulting your GP to look at the cause, and possible treatments. You may find your symptoms respond better to an alternative painkiller or possibly a non-drug type of treatment, such as physiotherapy.

There are also a number of self-help techniques that can help people cope better with chronic pain.

Analysis by Bazian
Edited by NHS Website

I understand concerns that prolonged use of laxatives can make it so you cannot 'go' without laxatives.

I think this depends on the sort of laxative. I've been using Laxido for years as I have no rectum, and although I take the minimum dose I've never needed to increase the dose.