Soon to need a prescription for Nurofen/Solphadine/etc?

ebixa82

watna wrote: »

You can get a 100 pack of Nuerofen in New Zealand. It's actually great value and means you rarely run out. Great when you wake up with a killer hangover!

You can get that in Ireland too. But in both countries Nurofen+ is harder to come by...

Wertz

ebixa82 wrote: »

Why not produce a Feminax without codeine??

Less repeat business?:pac:

Another vote for tylex...don't take painkillers bar paracetamol for colds/flu, but got some after wisdom tooth removal (all of them >.< ) years back and they certainly take the edge off.

I can see the point in pharmacists dispensing advice alongside the products...they do it with something your doctor prescribed for you so why not do it with something, usually more harmful, that you can self-prescribe?
They arguably also protect themselves from allegations that they're making it easy for people to buy somehting they might get hooked on or that might harm them from long term use.

Wibbs

raveni wrote: »

People have to understand pharmacists and technicians have studied this stuff for several years, they know what they're talking about. The amount of side effects, possible interactions with other medicines and contraindictions (i.e maybe can't be used in asthmatics, etc.) is endless, though of course this applies to all medicines but painkillers in particular need to be more closely monitored. It has become far too common practice for some people to take painkillers for the smallest twinge of pain. It is necessary to have restrictions on painkillers, they have destroyed lives and always have that potential.

Yea that's great and all, but I do find it funny that a couple of months ago the same "pharmacists and technicians" who "have studied this stuff for several years" and "know what they're talking about" were only to happy to have the space behind the counter floor to ceiling with codeine based pain meds and only to happy to dole them out with nary a warning and happy to make a nice profit on them too. These drugs were among the best sellers in Ireland. Ive seen a pharmacist hand out the bumper pack to a local woman two days in a row. I had a mate housebound with a buggered back and I asked for a small ten pack of these yokes on his behalf, only to have the pharmacist suggest the bigger pack for economy's sake. She even asked me did I want a glass of water to dissolve tow of them there and then. I must have looked headachey. No doubt the same pharmacist would give me the third degree today, a few months later. They even brought in generic ones to pimp out more at a cheaper price and bigger markup FFS.

The fact is this new found "concern" and holier than thou bollocks is because of a few in their field rightfully saying hang on this is daft. So please spare me most of the rests all too sudden expertise and reticence now. :rolleyes: It doesnt quite ring true.

poppyvalley

ceegee wrote: »

Technically they are (pharmaceutical)chemists as well as pharmacists.

They do a 4 yr course. They are qualified to follow dr's orders, so if you want your solpadeine..no questions asked.. get a RX from your G.P for 6 mnths, then ask him to keep repeating the RX as you are in chronic pain. Should'nt be a big problem

ebixa82

Wibbs wrote: »

Yea that's great and all, but I do find it funny that a couple of months ago the same "pharmacists and technicians" who "have studied this stuff for several years" and "know what they're talking about" were only to happy to have the space behind the counter floor to ceiling with codeine based pain meds and only to happy to dole them out with nary a warning and happy to make a nice profit on them too. These drugs were among the best sellers in Ireland. Ive seen a pharmacist hand out the bumper pack to a local woman two days in a row. I had a mate housebound with a buggered back and I asked for a small ten pack of these yokes on his behalf, only to have the pharmacist suggest the bigger pack for economy's sake. She even asked me did I want a glass of water to dissolve tow of them there and then. I must have looked headachey. No doubt the same pharmacist would give me the third degree today, a few months later. They even brought in generic ones to pimp out more at a cheaper price and bigger markup FFS.

The fact is this new found "concern" and holier than thou bollocks is because of a few in their field rightfully saying hang on this is daft. So please spare me most of the rests all too sudden expertise and reticence now. :rolleyes: It doesnt quite ring true.

I can understand where you are coming from. But what you need to understand is that these new regulations were brought in by the Pharmaceutical Society who are lothed by Pharmacists and are working against the profession for the apparent good of the public. If you have a problem then complain to these who enforce the regulations.

It was the same said regulators who allowed said products be sold freely for all these years.

Up until now Pharmacists were told codeine containing meds could be sold without strict control and so they allowed it. If they didn't then customers simply wouldn;t go to their shop and they would be out of business.

Now do you understand what's happening?

RMD

These laws are idiotic in the highest.

1. If you cause harm to yourself with paracetamol based products or the likes, it's your own fault for being a ****ing idiot and exceeding the prescribed dose without medical advice.

2. If you're trying to commit suicide via paracetamol you're an absolute ****ing idiot yet again, not for committing suicide but for the fact that you are doing it via paracetamol. If I'm not mistaken, death by a paracetamol overdose takes about 2-3 days to occur and only happens because your liver is so incredibly ****ed it can no longer function.

3. If you get addicted to Codeine, well guess what, once again you're an absolute ****ing idiot and only have yourself to blame. Codeine is a prescribed drug in most cases before this new legislation, and it was under prescription in large amounts because of it's addictive properties. If you get a prescription, your told how much to take, how often etc, if you exceed this, you're an absolute ****ing idiot who can't be trusted with prescription substances.

Simple as.

Alicat

Well it may be the case with the pharmacies you and your acquaintances have been to Wibbs, but it's certainly not the case for every pharmacy!

It is an extremely difficult addiction to monitor, seeing as customers can go to pretty much any pharmacy they want and spread it out over a couple of days/weeks/months. Unless you have a pharmacist or even technician or OTC staff who is at the counter EVERY day and knows EVERY regular customer who comes in, and can spot the 'newbies', it is extremely hard to manage.

I know in our place we've been pushing at controlling the codeine products for certainly the past year, before this came out. We even made our own little 'warning leaflets' and had them displayed at the counter and smaller ones to give out to customers who we felt were abusing the products. We even had a woman ring and complain to the manager because a colleague mentioned to the lady that it was not for long term use, and to maybe rethink her options if she was taking the Nurofen + a lot. She abused my colleague and called her a bitch, saying we had no right to pester her for her personal medical background! :eek: We had done NOTHING of the sort, but as addict, she took umbridge to it immediately. And she was perfectly 'respectable' looking! These are the people the new guidelines are tackling. It's not an attempt to screw the general public over, they just happen to be getting a rough deal with it.

The companies producing and pushing the products and the Pharmacy regulators and the PSI have a lot to blame, the products should have been monitored more closely to start with and then perhaps we wouldn't have the problem we are having today. The new guidelines are harsh, but neccessary in some cases. Ideally, most pharmacists should be using common sense when consulting with the patient, but it's not something you can teach apparently, listening to some of the stories.

Wibbs

With respect to ebixa82 that sounds like the usual all too common abdicating of judgement and responsibility to others. Nothing new, but particularly prevalent in this country. Oh it was because of X and now its because of X too. Not our fault you know. Not in the past and not now.

Those in the industry were all too happy to go along with the previous regulation and now are all too happy to go along with the new regulations. The very same people, trained and aware of the issues of these drugs, now apparently have full understanding of the dangers and get a conscience on the back of that?

I've yet to see one of those people complain the new regs are bad. Indeed they're all falling over themselves to say Oh we knew that these drugs are bad OTC and should be under doctors supervision. So simple question: Where was all that concern, expertise and making a professional stand a few months ago?

If these drugs were such a mainstay of the pharmacy business that those who made a stand could go out of business, then why the hell didnt the pharmacists say "eh hang on?" long before now? IIRC you could buy these drugs for the last 20 odd years. Bit of a long time to not notice eh? Bit of a long time to pimp these drugs in full view of every customer who came into the shop. I can think of only one chemist where they weren't making up at least a third of the behind counter space. And then the generics. Not only were they happy to push the standard yokes, they were even happier pushing the generics.

The industry had 20 years to spot the bloody obvious. IE, a group of meds containing a known addictive drug was among, if not the biggest OTC seller in the average pharmacy. Yet did nada for the most part to control it. Have they no minds of their own? Apparently they do when it comes to political maneuvering and point scoring. Yet when the really bloody obvious is pointed out, an obvious they should have acted on, they all become reformed whores?

IMHO the industry screwed up and did so for a very long time, so you may excuse me if I throw my eyes up to heaven now they've suddenly seen the light. Take responsibility, hold your collective hands up and move on. Pigs might fly, but seeing that kinda thang takes pills your mamma dont give you.

So no, pardon me if I still don't buy it.

JayEnnis

JaxxYChicK wrote: »

Ah go way with you all and your "I'd only take painkillers if my leg was falling off"/"Man up a bit of pain never hurt anyone" idiocy.

Come back to me when you've had a thumping migraine with aura for forty-eight hours, then we'll see how hard and hoity-toity you are. If I'm in pain and I don't want to be I'll take a painkiller. I'm not a masochist. Some ibuprofen or codeine isn't going to singlehandedly shut down my liver or kidneys. As usual the health freaks and the extremists in our nanny state are making mountains out of molehills.

Ah **** off and stop getting so offended over a simple comment I made. I get migraines as well. Pounding headache, tunnel vision, dizziness and all the other symptoms. Of course I take painkillers for that (Migralieve). I don't take painkillers when I get a normal headache or if I stub my toe off a door. Some people take painkillers for the most ridiculous things and you seem to be a great advocate of them so I guess you're one of those people as well? I have ausgood schlatters in my knee's, have broken 4 of 10 digits, various cuts and scrapes from downhill and bmx, broken collarbone which I mentioned above and countless pulled muscles from athletics yet I didn't take painkillers for the majority of them as I didn't deem it necessary.

If you take painkillers for all the little small things then something big is going to be unbearable for you as you wont be used to pain.

sesna

Wibbs wrote: »

With respect to ebixa82 that sounds like the usual all too common abdicating of judgement and responsibility to others. Nothing new, but particularly prevalent in this country. Oh it was because of X and now its because of X too. Not our fault you know. Not in the past and not now.

Those in the industry were all too happy to go along with the previous regulation and now are all too happy to go along with the new regulations. The very same people, trained and aware of the issues of these drugs, now apparently have full understanding of the dangers and get a conscience on the back of that?

I've yet to see one of those people complain the new regs are bad. Indeed they're all falling over themselves to say Oh we knew that these drugs are bad OTC and should be under doctors supervision. So simple question: Where was all that concern, expertise and making a professional stand a few months ago?

If these drugs were such a mainstay of the pharmacy business that those who made a stand could go out of business, then why the hell didnt the pharmacists say "eh hang on?" long before now? IIRC you could buy these drugs for the last 20 odd years. Bit of a long time to not notice eh? Bit of a long time to pimp these drugs in full view of every customer who came into the shop. I can think of only one chemist where they weren't making up at least a third of the behind counter space. And then the generics. Not only were they happy to push the standard yokes, they were even happier pushing the generics.

The industry had 20 years to spot the bloody obvious. IE, a group of meds containing a known addictive drug was among, if not the biggest OTC seller in the average pharmacy. Yet did nada for the most part to control it. Have they no minds of their own? Apparently they do when it comes to political maneuvering and point scoring. Yet when the really bloody obvious is pointed out, an obvious they should have acted on, they all become reformed whores?

IMHO the industry screwed up and did so for a very long time, so you may excuse me if I throw my eyes up to heaven now they've suddenly seen the light. Take responsibility, hold your collective hands up and move on. Pigs might fly, but seeing that kinda thang takes pills your mamma dont give you.

So no, pardon me if I still don't buy it.

Control of medicines is down to the Irish Medicines Board who designated all these codeine products as being available over the counter without prescription. That is fundementally the problem here. A product which requires control should at the very least be on prescription. If that is not sufficient for control, additional safe guards can be put in place. It was largely impossible to control supply when the product was designated as being in the same class as paracetamol which can be bought in supermarkets.

The regulations have not changed, there are simply new guidelines. The new guidelines are in since August 1st, and even if you think of these pharmacists as reformed whores, you should be aware that they are simply acting under direction of the regulator which they are required to do by law.

If you read draft submissions on these codeine regulations you see a mixed reaction to these guidelines - some pharmacists/members of the public think these new guidelines are a waste of time and the status quo should have been preserved, others have had stricter codeine policies in place, while others believe they should be moved to prescription only status.

Vladidim

feelingstressed wrote: »

Can you buy Solphadine in Northern Ireland without the questioning?

I've no idea.
Just wondering if you live in a border county and do up shopping in NI then it's an option for many if you don't fancy being questioned and explaining yourself.

Its SOLPADEINE.

There's no f****ign H in it. You must have dyslexia like half the Irish population, or maybe you're just out of it on too much codeine :pac:

Jaxxy

JayEnnis wrote: »

Ah **** off and stop getting so offended over a simple comment I made. I get migraines as well. Pounding headache, tunnel vision, dizziness and all the other symptoms. Of course I take painkillers for that (Migralieve). I don't take painkillers when I get a normal headache or if I stub my toe off a door. Some people take painkillers for the most ridiculous things and you seem to be a great advocate of them so I guess you're one of those people as well? I have ausgood schlatters in my knee's, have broken 4 of 10 digits, various cuts and scrapes from downhill and bmx, broken collarbone which I mentioned above and countless pulled muscles from athletics yet I didn't take painkillers for the majority of them as I didn't deem it necessary.

If you take painkillers for all the little small things then something big is going to be unbearable for you as you wont be used to pain.

Who said I was offended? That's just my opinion. And when did I ever say I took painkillers for every little thing? I only mentioned debilitating migraines in the post you quoted.

Aren't you great for struggling through that laundry list of pain. Forget painkillers, try a chill pill instead. Not deeming it necessary to take painkillers for the majority of your ails is your prerogative, that doesn't mean everyone else has to follow suit, or that other people can't make their own equally informed decisions with regard to their pain management and medication.

Alicat

Wibbs wrote: »

IMHO the industry screwed up and did so for a very long time, so you may excuse me if I throw my eyes up to heaven now they've suddenly seen the light. Take responsibility, hold your collective hands up and move on. Pigs might fly, but seeing that kinda thang takes pills your mamma dont give you.

So no, pardon me if I still don't buy it.

Hold their hands up and move on? In otherwards, do nothing and let the problem get even worse?

Just because the assholes in the big offices running these pharmacies or pharmaceutical companies are in to make big bucks and don't seem to care about the consequences, doesn't mean that your average pharmacy worker (be it Pharmacist or otherwise) doesn't care about the problem. It's so frustrating to see a customer (even some of our oldest customers, who we all know extremely well and have seen all of their wedding/baby christening/birthday party photos and know all of their family) abusing the product but not be able to prove it or have some official line to step in and stop the problem. It has been a great relief to us to have the backing of the industry to tackle the abuse, even if it wasn't set up with the best intentions.

In the case of the Nurofen + woman I mentioned above, one of our managers actually apologised to her. We were livid. Here we were trying our best to control the problem and stand our ground against an addict, and our manager backs down and apologises to the first person that complains? I know it's a business and money has to be made but ffs :mad:

Dudess

God love pharmacists - I can only begin to imagine the sh1t they've to put up with because of this, as if they personally introduced it. And no doubt there'll be geniuses demanding to speak to their managers... because of course the managers can contravene the law and the pharmacists are only refusing them to be awkward...

Pdfile

phasers wrote: »

I don't understand the point of this law at all, it just makes people hate pharmacists

like we dont already ??

snoothy suit themselfs Muppets ( just the ones ive met * puts down tarring brush * )

Valmont

Alicat wrote: »

In the case of the Nurofen + woman I mentioned above, one of our managers actually apologised to her. We were livid. Here we were trying our best to control the problem and stand our ground against an addict, and our manager backs down and apologises to the first person that complains? I know it's a business and money has to be made but ffs :mad:

So what, she enjoys N+ a bit much, it's her own business so stop pestering the poor woman- she is an adult after all. N+ are the only painkillers I ever buy because I find them quickly effective for even the worst headaches. If I encounter some annoying pharmacist giving me a lecture next time I make a purchase, simply because of some new nanny state regulations, then I'll tell them to cough up or I'll go to another pharmacy down the road. Have you ever heard a barman lecture one of the locals for drinking a few too many pints on a Friday?

Goodness I'm sick of the government thinking we're all retards and that they need to ban this and regulate that for our own good. Let us bear the consequences of our own actions, the nanny state just gives people the impetus to blame the government for their own shortcomings, talk about ****ing up the incentives. **** you, Nannystate!

Alicat

Valmont wrote: »

So what, she enjoys N+ a bit much, it's her own business so stop pestering the poor woman- she is an adult after all. N+ are the only painkillers I ever buy because I find them quickly effective for even the worst headaches. If I encounter some annoying pharmacist giving me a lecture next time I make a purchase, simply because of some new nanny state regulations, then I'll tell them to cough up or I'll go to another pharmacy down the road. Have you ever heard a barman lecture one of the locals for drinking a few too many pints on a Friday?

Go to another pharmacy? Is that supposed be a threat? Sorry, we don't succumb to bullying where I work, and if your pharmacy does, well they are the stupid ones. And I couldn't give too hoots what barmen do! We're running a pharmacy, not a bloody pub.

Gummy Panda

Alicat wrote: »

Go to another pharmacy? Is that supposed be a threat? Sorry, we don't succumb to bullying where I work, and if your pharmacy does, well they are the stupid ones. And I couldn't give too hoots what barmen do! We're running a pharmacy, not a bloody pub.

A pharmacy is a business like any other. If you handle the situation poorly, people won't be return customers whether this is for prescriptions, toiletries, over the counter medicine, etc.

I won't use Boots pharmacy section again after trying to get Nurofen Plus. The girl behind the counter had better approach then pharmacist.

Johnny Bitte

It think its odd that they are trying to get people who they know are addicted to SolPADeine to stop taking them but offer no advice on how too.

I'm not saying its the Pharmacists fualy or duty to do this but surely if they wanted people to stop they would offer advice on how to and not just give them the Mammy speech.

Think that's bad? Try scoring Morphine!

JaxxYChicK

I don't see the problem here. She wasn't refusing to sell them. She was making sure you understood the consequences of using them incorrectly. Here in England, they often have a spiel they do when they sell certain products and ask if you're on other medication. It's their job. I'm sure if they didn't warn people, there would soon be outrage and people demanding to know why the pharmacist hadn't informed them of the side effects. Doctors often don't mention them.

JaxxYChicK wrote:

Aren't you great for struggling through that laundry list of pain. Forget painkillers, try a chill pill instead. Not deeming it necessary to take painkillers for the majority of your ails is your prerogative, that doesn't mean everyone else has to follow suit, or that other people can't make their own equally informed decisions with regard to their pain management and medication.

Defensive much? He's right. It's alarming how little pain some people can put up with because they overuse painkillers. It's really not good for you. The only time I've ever taken Solphadeine is when I had a dry socket after a 1.5 hour operation to have my wisdom teeth removed under local anaesthetic and it worked to take away most of the pain. Why on earth are people popping these for headaches and pulled muscles?

Kurtosis

Valmont wrote: »

So what, she enjoys N+ a bit much, it's her own business so stop pestering the poor woman- she is an adult after all. N+ are the only painkillers I ever buy because I find them quickly effective for even the worst headaches. If I encounter some annoying pharmacist giving me a lecture next time I make a purchase, simply because of some new nanny state regulations, then I'll tell them to cough up or I'll go to another pharmacy down the road. Have you ever heard a barman lecture one of the locals for drinking a few too many pints on a Friday?

Eh, you do know Nurofen plus is a medicine? You're not supposed to enjoy it...so it's nothing like your ridiculous pub example.

Wibbs

penguin88 wrote: »

Eh, you do know Nurofen plus is a medicine? You're not supposed to enjoy it.

Yea that part confused me too.

Stark

Sparks43 wrote: »

Got a 5 minute lecture telling me about new laws and im not supposed to take them for more then 3 days

Jesus, who does she think she is? Some kind of pharmacist?

Herbal Deity

Most standard meds are 10-20x cheaper in the north. That's the primary reason people go to pharmacies up there. Nothing to do with getting stronger drugs or anything.

Wibbs

TBH I bemoan the fact we are becoming more and more a nanny state in all sorts of areas, but I also bemoan the fact that too many act like kids so they need a nanny.

mikemac

I never knew this problem existed and people were popping painkillers on a daily basis until last month when this got in the media.

Bigger issue then I thought

phill106

Rulmeq wrote: »

When I get migraines the only thing that has any affect (or is it effect, I never know the right one to use), is neurofen+ (well non-prescription anyway). So I made the mistake of telling the Pharmacist that I hadn't taken anything else. She refused to give them to me, and since it was a Sunday evening, I had to just cradle my head in my hands for the night. She told me I'd have to get a doctor's letter if I didn't want to be asked the same thing in future.

Next day I went to a different Pharmacist, and I told her the "right" answers and got myself 24, and the migraine had actually gone away.

I could have gone around to all the local shops and got myself 100 paracetamol and either killed myself or destroyed my liver.
Stupid, stupid, stupid nanny state.

Edit: I want to point out that I don't blame the Pharmacists for this

Im with you on that. Also get migranes and nurofen+ is perfect for them. I have tried otc things like migraleve and prescription things like imigran, but for me, the nurofen+ is the best. Dont even have to take them often, but I do like to have them handy, as I dont fancy rolling round the bed in pain all night.
I havent been stopped buying them, but they do all ask have you used them before, are they for yourslf etc etc.
Dammit I can barely open my eyes with the light in here, give me the tablets!

Stark

feelingstressed wrote: »

I never knew this problem existed and people were popping painkillers on a daily basis until last month when this got in the media.

Bigger issue then I thought

When I go up North with people, people often pop into a pharmacy so the can bulk buy boxes and boxes of generic painkillers up there. If they were using painkillers anyway responsibly, they'd never be buying enough to have to worry about the price. None of them have any debilitating long term problems that I'm aware of.

I'd use them once a year at most myself. I used to use them more often but most of the time they were just masking some other problem like dehydration or some vitamin/mineral deficiency (in the case of muscle pains).

biko

Sparks43 wrote: »

wtf i barely take any medication and when i do its when absolutely necessary and im made to feel like a junkie

She wants what's best for you and you get offended.
Normality in "Ireland after the boom"

Btw, merged with general "omg my meds" thread.

Looking through the vitriol in this and the other codeine threads I wonder how many unwitting boardies are going through the horrors without their codeine and don't realise it.

Stark

ronoc wrote: »

Looking through the vitriol in this and the other codeine threads I wonder how many unwitting boardies are going through the horrors without their codeine and don't realise it.

Shut it you! I need it for my shakes. It's the only thing that's effective for them.

Stark

Stark wrote: »

When I go up North with people, people often pop into a pharmacy so the can bulk buy boxes and boxes of generic painkillers up there. If they were using painkillers anyway responsibly, they'd never be buying enough to have to worry about the price. None of them have any debilitating long term problems that I'm aware of.

I'd use them once a year at most myself. I used to use them more often but most of the time they were just masking some other problem like dehydration or some vitamin/mineral deficiency (in the case of muscle pains).

Exactly. I can't think of any good reason why a normal, reasonably healthy person would need to be bulk buying codeine. The fact that so many people are so defensive is quite telling. It wouldn't occur to me to be annoyed or offended if a pharmacist warned me of the dangers of long term painkiller use. They're strong drugs, they can be extremely addictive. I find it odd that so many people seem to be taking these warnings as insults.

HavingCrack

This sounds more like a money making racket for GP's rather than anything else. The nanny state is really getting out of hand. I wouldn't be suprised if Paracetamol is next on their prescription hit list.

Jaxxy

Nash Nutritious Traitor wrote: »

Defensive much? He's right. It's alarming how little pain some people can put up with because they overuse painkillers. It's really not good for you. The only time I've ever taken Solphadeine is when I had a dry socket after a 1.5 hour operation to have my wisdom teeth removed under local anaesthetic and it worked to take away most of the pain. Why on earth are people popping these for headaches and pulled muscles?

You think he's right, he thinks he's right, I don't. This is opinion we're talking about here, not fact. Again my point is it's a personal choice. These medications are available over the counter without prescription so the onus is on the patient to use them correctly or in the correct manner in accordance to whatever condition or pain they might be experiencing.

Everyone has a different pain threshold. Now that's a fact. Just because you don't mind putting up with headaches or a pulled muscle without any help doesn't mean every other individual is the same, or should be the same. You're comparing yourself and your own habits with those of others and concluding that your way of doing things is the best. I happen to disagree.

Sanjuro

Ted, I'm hugely confused. What exactly is the deal now? If I go into a pharmacist and ask for 12 Nurofen +, what are they going to tell me?

Kurtosis

Sanjuro wrote: »

Ted, I'm hugely confused. What exactly is the deal now? If I go into a pharmacist and ask for 12 Nurofen +, what are they going to tell me?

The pharmacist should ask you a few questions to check if nurofen plus is suitable for your situation. If it is, they will explain the risks associated with using such a product such as side effects and warn that they are for short-term use and should not be used for more than 3 days.

HavingCrack wrote: »

This sounds more like a money making racket for GP's rather than anything else. The nanny state is really getting out of hand. I wouldn't be suprised if Paracetamol is next on their prescription hit list.

Codeine-containing over the counter medicines have not been put on prescription, they are still available from a pharmacy without having to go to a GP.

ebixa82

Valmont wrote: »

So what, she enjoys N+ a bit much, it's her own business so stop pestering the poor woman- she is an adult after all. N+ are the only painkillers I ever buy because I find them quickly effective for even the worst headaches. If I encounter some annoying pharmacist giving me a lecture next time I make a purchase, simply because of some new nanny state regulations, then I'll tell them to cough up or I'll go to another pharmacy down the road. Have you ever heard a barman lecture one of the locals for drinking a few too many pints on a Friday?

Goodness I'm sick of the government thinking we're all retards and that they need to ban this and regulate that for our own good. Let us bear the consequences of our own actions, the nanny state just gives people the impetus to blame the government for their own shortcomings, talk about ****ing up the incentives. **** you, Nannystate!

How is trying to council someone who may be addicted to something considered pestering someone? You obviously have no idea what the role of health care professionals are in the community. Or the damage addiction can do to society. You may have no problem if your mother/sister/partner etc. becomes a drug addict but most sensible thinking people would. Don't judge normal members of society on your own disturbing views..

If you came into a pharmacy and told a pharmacist to "cough up" they would more than likely just tell you to politely fcuk off. People who get agitated like this are usual the ones with the addictions. However there also just blatantly ignorant people who think the Pharmacist actually gives a fcuk if they never return to the shop. You can go down the road to the next pharmacy but you will still go trough the same procedure. And remember for every customer who refuses to go into the shop ever again there will be another person bringing their custom into the shop because they have refused to give custom to another pharmacy elsewhere!

You also have to realise that Pharmacists deal with difficult, ignorant, drunk, high, stoned people everyday. Any abuse or treaths they receive is water off a duck's back and they usually have a good laugh at all these weird and wonderful people once they leave..

If you compare someone taking medicine to drinking alcohol then you shouldn't even be posting on this topic. You have bigger issues I would think.

phasers

My Dad was getting me Solpadene last night and a bitch in the chemist started lecturing him on the dangers of codeine. He said "Tell that to my daughter with PMS, I dare you"

She shut up pretty quickly.

ebixa82

The_Goose135 wrote: »

It think its odd that they are trying to get people who they know are addicted to SolPADeine to stop taking them but offer no advice on how too.

I'm not saying its the Pharmacists fualy or duty to do this but surely if they wanted people to stop they would offer advice on how to and not just give them the Mammy speech.

What makes you think they are not doing this? Are you an addict who was not given advice or do you just suspect they are not?

Pharmacists have been directed to refer any suspected addicts to their local GP who can council them. The GP may then decide to refer them to the appropriate addiction councillor, treatment centre etc.

bleg

Just be cause something is available OTC doesn't mean you're entitled to it.

If you came into my shop and told me or my boss to cough up or you'd find another pharmacy we'd both direct you to another shop in town, however telling them to cough up wouldn't help your case much either.

Also, pharmacists aren't publicans.

JaxxYChicK

JaxxYChicK wrote: »

You think he's right, he thinks he's right, I don't. This is opinion we're talking about here, not fact. Again my point is it's a personal choice. These medications are available over the counter without prescription so the onus is on the patient to use them correctly or in the correct manner in accordance to whatever condition or pain they might be experiencing.

Everyone has a different pain threshold. Now that's a fact. Just because you don't mind putting up with headaches or a pulled muscle without any help doesn't mean every other individual is the same, or should be the same. You're comparing yourself and your own habits with those of others and concluding that your way of doing things is the best. I happen to disagree.

It's an opinion most medical professionals tend to share. I'm aware that people have different pain thresholds but I don't know how anyone can argue that taking strong painkillers for every last little thing is a good idea. If you pop pills for every period cramp or muscle ache, what are you going to do when you really need them? My doctor told me that this is a huge problem - people build up a tolerance and then when they do experience severe pain, the codeine does little to help and they end up in a vicious circle of taking more and more codeine just to deal with daily aches and pains. But if people want to believe it's not a problem and complain about the warnings, let them. I personally think taking Solphadeine for regular menstrual cramps (not conditions like endrometriosis), regular headaches, muscle pains etc, is pure madness.

bleg

phasers wrote: »

My Dad was getting me Solpadene last night and a bitch in the chemist started lecturing him on the dangers of codeine. He said "Tell that to my daughter with PMS, I dare you"

She shut up pretty quickly.

So she's a bitch for doing her job. Lovely.

ebixa82

phasers wrote: »

My Dad was getting me Solpadene last night and a bitch in the chemist started lecturing him on the dangers of codeine. He said "Tell that to my daughter with PMS, I dare you"

She shut up pretty quickly.

Ya the Pharmacist (they are not chemists!) really sounds like the bitch in that story.:rolleyes:

I'm pretty sure 99% of Pharmacists would have no problem telling that to anyone's daughter with PMS. i.e. do their job correctly!

Stark

HavingCrack wrote: »

This sounds more like a money making racket for GP's rather than anything else. The nanny state is really getting out of hand. I wouldn't be suprised if Paracetamol is next on their prescription hit list.

How is it a money making racket for GPs? You don't need a prescription so GPs are in no way involved. All that's required is for pharmacists to give you a "please use these only for painkilling purposes and not as sweets" disclaimer before handing them over to you.

Calibos

Nash Nutritious Traitor wrote: »

Exactly. I can't think of any good reason why a normal, reasonably healthy person would need to be bulk buying codeine.

So they don't have to sit through the 5 minute lecture everytime they buy a packet

The fact that so many people are so defensive is quite telling. It wouldn't occur to me to be annoyed or offended if a pharmacist warned me of the dangers of long term painkiller use. They're strong drugs, they can be extremely addictive. I find it odd that so many people seem to be taking these warnings as insults.

I'm not offended by the lecture, merely annoyed that I have to sit through it every...single....time and annoyed that the new guidelines give the pharmacist no discretion to decide whether he has to deliver the lecture on a case by case basis. I can live with that inconvenient waste of both mine and the pharmacists time though. I only get offended on the occasions when I do listen to the lecture, explain why I want them and then get looked up and down with a raised eyebrow and then told I'll only sell you 12 which is basically telling me that he doesn't trust me or believe me to sell me 24.

It annoying that I, who had wisdom tooth removal, dry socket and subsequent infection and who took 8 N+ and 8 Solpadine(offset by 2 hours) a day for nearly 10 days and who got a mild sickly withdrawl headache for a few hours on the 11 day and hasn't taken a single N+ or Solpadine since is looked at and almost treated like an addict. I don't care if some of you only take them for the very worst migraine. I don't care if some of you are prepared to use a lessor tablet that only partially allieviates your pain or takes twice as long to work. If I want to take a tablet that is 100% guaranteed to get rid of the pain 100% in 30 minutes and as long as I don't abuse them and I don't think taking 4-8 tablets in an average month is abuse. Well I don't see what the problem is.

I wouldn't even be posting in this thread only for the fact that my admittedly unusual living circumstances means I need to purchasing enough for similar usage of 6 other family members. ie. 48 a month. If they were just for me a pack of 12 would last me nearly 2 months. The legistlation would just mean I have to listen to the lecture but would be virtually guaranteed to be sold enough (12). My annoyance is that not everyone is an addict or even a potential one and not everyone is only purchasing for themselves, a lot are purchasing for a household and the lack of discretion now available to the pharmacist means he/she can't take these poeples circumstances into account.

What really annoys me about this thread though is the attitude of some people. Instead of people saying, "OK, I see your point, I see your circumstances mean these guidelines have the potential to inconvenience you more than most, but thats just the way its gotta be to protect all the pathetic people who get addicted because they can't handle one mild sickly withdrawl headache" Instead I get, "Why are you living with 6 people, are you a hippy, do you live in a bloody commune??!! Do you live in the middle of nowhere, why is it only you who drives, why do you do the weeks shopping?" Talk about missing the point!!

Maybe its because I see a lesser risk of potential addiction if I get the 24 tablets and tell people they have to last a fortnight so people are more likely to only use them when they really need them, than the other option which is for everyone to go out of their way to visit a pharmacy and stock up which people are saying this 'communal living hippy' (I am not btw, I just shouldn't have to explain what my particular living arrangements are) should do, where everyone has a packet in their room. Now instead of there being 24 at most in the house at any given time there is 7x12 or 24 ie. 94 or 186!!!

bleg

Calibos, there was a public consultation that was advertised in the media a couple of months ago. You could have raised your concerns then. You can also lodge a complaint with the PSI.

Stark

Calibos wrote: »

Instead of people saying, "OK, I see your point, I see your circumstances mean these guidelines have the potential to inconvenience you more than most, but thats just the way its gotta be to protect all the pathetic people who get addicted because they can't handle one mild sickly withdrawl headache" Instead I get, "Why are you living with 6 people, are you a hippy, do you live in a bloody commune??!!

Well that's kind of what we are saying. You can't tailor laws to fit the individual circumstances of every single person. What's a 5 minute inconvenience for you means the difference between someone else being completely unawares to the abuse they're doing to themselves through regular codeine use and recognizing that the headaches that the tablets are "curing" are withdrawal headaches.

Jaxxy

Nash Nutritious Traitor wrote: »

It's an opinion most medical professionals tend to share. I'm aware that people have different pain thresholds but I don't know how anyone can argue that taking strong painkillers for every last little thing is a good idea. If you pop pills for every period cramp or muscle ache, what are you going to do when you really need them? My doctor told me that this is a huge problem - people build up a tolerance and then when they do experience severe pain, the codeine does little to help and they end up in a vicious circle of taking more and more codeine just to deal with daily aches and pains. But if people want to believe it's not a problem and complain about the warnings, let them. I personally think taking Solphadeine for regular menstrual cramps (not conditions like endrometriosis), regular headaches, muscle pains etc, is pure madness.

I'm not saying that taking painkillers for every little ache and pain is by any means advisable. Not at all. I'm saying it's all relative and it depends on the individual. A person might be able to handle three days a month of menstrual pain without once reaching for the nurofen plus, solpadeine or feminax. Someone else might not be able to cope at all. When pain is hindering your regular day to day performance and renders you unable to work or function as normal then I don't see the problem with taking two painkillers.

As I've said before I suffer from migraines. Some bouts are worse than others. When I find I can't get out of bed, can't go outside into the light or am in so much pain I am physically nauseous or constantly tearing, then I take painkillers. I find it insulting that someone I do not know or hasn't experienced what I have should tell me to "man up" or that I shouldn't be taking codeine or ibuprofen based painkillers unless I've had a serious operation.

It's not the "lecture" that I may receive when purchasing a box of nurofen plus from the chemists that's bothering me, it's the attitudes of some people who automatically assume that people who take painkillers are popping them left right and center and don't have the wherewithal to control their own consumption. I'm not saying they're not highly addictive, because I know they are, I'm just saying that not everyone is going to turn into a junkie because they've purchased a box of 24 painkillers to eradicate a headache.

JayEnnis

JaxxYChicK wrote: »

I'm not saying that taking painkillers for every little ache and pain is by any means advisable. Not at all. I'm saying it's all relative and it depends on the individual. A person might be able to handle three days a month of menstrual pain without once reaching for the nurofen plus, solpadeine or feminax. Someone else might not be able to cope at all. When pain is hindering your regular day to day performance and renders you unable to work or function as normal then I don't see the problem with taking two painkillers.

As I've said before I suffer from migraines. Some bouts are worse than others. When I find I can't get out of bed, can't go outside into the light or am in so much pain I am physically nauseous or constantly tearing, then I take painkillers. I find it insulting that someone I do not know or hasn't experienced what I have should tell me to "man up" or that I shouldn't be taking codeine or ibuprofen based painkillers unless I've had a serious operation.

It's not the "lecture" that I may receive when purchasing a box of nurofen plus from the chemists that's bothering me, it's the attitudes of some people who automatically assume that people who take painkillers are popping them left right and center and don't have the wherewithal to control their own consumption. I'm not saying they're not highly addictive, because I know they are, I'm just saying that not everyone is going to turn into a junkie because they've purchased a box of 24 painkillers to eradicate a headache.

Just to recap, I didn't say you should only be taking painkillers for major operations, I myself admitted to taking them when I get migraines. But some people see them as the be all and end all. I never mentioned the addictive qualities of these drugs I just stated that people who get into the habit of taking them for every little ailment won't be able to cope with pain when they really need to. And of course none of this was directed specifically at you. You chose to take it that way. And for people not being able to handle menstrual pains (I have no idea what they feel like but from what I've read are the same as stomach cramps?) Think before you reach for the magic pills, wait 10 minutes, have a rest and a glass of water and you'll see that you might not actually need them.