How many unopened packs of unused prescription drugs do you have or have you returned for destruction?

We only return some to the chemist if some of the medications are changed. My DH has chronic health problems and takes a lot of medication. On another note, we recycle the pill packets through TerraCycle, it is surprising how many we have.

Rosie51

I am going to have to speak to our local pharmacy. Since Covid my GP surgery has insisted we had to have a designated pharmacy who would request our repeat prescriptions. Somehow mine has got hugely out of synch and I have one month's supply left with another two month's supply having just been supplied. I like that I no longer have to go to the surgery to submit the repeat requests, but if I did this build up wouldn't have occurred. I really don't expect that I'm unique in this.

They cant actually insist you can still get paper tokens, I had problems when My GP automtaically assigned me a Pharmacy which as I work between 3 sites is not acceptable, I got an apology and back to paper tokens. But if it does work for you its your choice. www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/prescriptions-and-pharmacies/electronic-prescriptions/

Nana56

I would like to mention that as a retired dispenser I used to have to dispose of a huge amount of returns. Any meds returned whether opened or not legally have to be disposed of.
Many of my patients would order repeats " just in case".
One if the worse I remember was a return of over 20 inhalers at a cost of about £25 each.!!
I don't think some patients realise the cost

I often think the price of medications and dressings should be clearly marked on the packet. People just don't realise that their "little pill" or daily bandage, might actually cost £50 or £100 a month.

We are all thankful that we have access to modern medicines, but knowing the cost can ensure that we really do appreciate it and not waste it.

Omeprazole- too big. Buscopan which I shouldn't have been prescribed due to glaucoma risk.

None at all; I had no idea you could order extra.

We have not long started on this trail but in my town the pharmacies are not coping and you have to give 10 days to have a prescription made up then wait for over an hour outside the building to collect it. If you see GP and get a prescription you still have to wait in the hour long queue outside to hand it in then wait another 30 minutes outside to get it, old and young, children and babies (and dogs) all waiting outside. Only two people are allowed inside at a time - still! So people do request double the amount and as GPs are aware they now prescribe it if you ask. However before I retired we often destroyed 15/20 vials of vitamin B12 which people kept requesting and handing in for nurses to store. Given that it is normally 1 vial every 3 months there is no b=need to keep ordering it. Some people do not understand repeat prescriptions and tick box for everything each time even if they don't need it!

It’s not just medication though. When a family member died lots of unopened packs of incontinence pads etc were taken away to be destroyed. Such an expensive waste.

I had a few from DH in the medicine cabinet that were muscle relaxants and pain killers that were out-dated. He has a bad back which occasionally will go into spams. If it happens, the doctor will usually give him a 10 day supply, but he doesn't like to take drugs longer than necessary, so usually after 3 or 4 days he will stop taking them.

I wish I could claim to be medication free, but I just started taking a blood pressure medication a few months ago. I just turned 60.

I was clearing out a cupboard this morning and found quite a lot of assorted medicines. All out of date and half or threequarters empty so no use to anyone, but it's amazing the way they build up.

Returned 2x carrier bags full when MiL died some of which was FiLs who died a few years before. Also returned large bag of metformin which Dr. kept prescribing for OH even though he didn't need them.

When my husband died I had quite a lot of medication such as morphine which I donated to a charity which sent it to be used in Africa.
The pharmacy would have destroyed it which I feel is so wrong.

I am not on any medication and am in my late 70s.

The doctor hasn't met anyone in their late 70s and older not on medication has actually answered his own question, he has never met us because we rarely visit a doctor. Just vaccinations and similar.

I would like to mention that as a retired dispenser I used to have to dispose of a huge amount of returns. Any meds returned whether opened or not legally have to be disposed of.
Many of my patients would order repeats " just in case".
One if the worse I remember was a return of over 20 inhalers at a cost of about £25 each.!!
I don't think some patients realise the cost

None, don’t have any either. Neither does my mum aged 93, not even aspirin.
Our family is very cheap to keep!

My mum died at 92, all she took was half an aspirin daily, at her own volition. Her own GP was amazed that she was not on anything else.

Amberone exactly the same happened to me when I went for my flu jab I was asked what tablets I m on and I said none and he asked again I repeated none and he said he d not come across anyone late 70 s not on prescription drugs
My mum although had Alzheimer’s wasn’t on any regular tablets She was 90 when she died

i get mine every two months, i phone my order in, if i have too much i tell them and get the amount i need, it is often items for my psoriasis (creams, lotions and shampoo), i take my dosette boxes into hospital as they have problems getting the medicines i am on, this means i do not need to wait all day to get re-fills from the hospital pharmacy when i am coming home.

I have 3 items I need regularly. Two I get every month, the third lasts longer than a month. Earlier this year I ordered the 2 I needed but they added the third so I've still got one of those spare.

I recently changed to a different drug for blood pressure, I can’t remember what it was called but each week came in a separate box! I wondered why I had been given 8 boxes! What a complete waste of materials.
It didn’t suit me so I arranged different tablets and returned about 5 packets unopened to my pharmacy. It’s the first time ever I’ve done this.

None.

Apart from some antibiotics about seven years ago don't think either of us has ever had prescription drugs. I didn't realise that was uncommon until I had to go to the eye clinic last month and got asked the question not once but three times by the doctor there, who seemed to think I was unable to understand the question. He told me it was rare to meet someone mid-sixties who was not on any medication. I see there are a few others here too (although don't know their ages, sorry - not trying to age anyone ? )

None at all I don’t have any prescription drugs

None, I order my repeats via the app when I need them.

One half used prescription medication. My GP gave me the prescription after I returned home from hospital where I was being treated for Covid, and I was still really ill. The GPs were fantastic and prescribed several medicines to help, partly because I came home not yet recovered from Covid (that took about 3/4 months) but I also had a hospital acquired infection. I was able to be treated at home, and I used all the prescribed medications but only about half of one medicine as it was no longer needed after a couple of weeks.

None at all - and never have. When we get medication we take it, all of it. DH has monthly prescription drugs and I only have the occasional one off prescription, and I always finish the course.

After my DH died in March, I too was left with a bag full of meds - most delivered in his final week, unopened and unused, including phials of morphine and several bottles of Oralmorph.
It seemed immoral to hand it all in for distraction.