Grr!!! Prescriptions

[Madeline]

My surgery is fine. My pharmacy on the other hand is an absolute nightmare. No permanent pharmacist, a constant round of locums, my dosette boxes have been wrong 2 months running (over medicating), prescriptions not ready - this month they were 5 days late and still hadn’t made the repeat request from the surgery. There’s no local alternative and I can’t drive any more so I’m stuck. These are my meds - I can’t miss any doses of my lung meds or I’ll end up in hospital.

It’s terrifying that someone could dismiss you with a casual ‘you’ll be ok for a few days’

 

[Ljc]

The 17th! you are lucky mine is due for ordering on the 24th and the unhelpful twerp I spoke to said It's your problem live with it a few days without wont kill you.
Was tempted to murder her myself but that's another issue

OMG Sue that is (putting it mildly) disgusting . Perhaps an email or letter to the practice manager .

 

[Ljc]

We used to have dreadful problems here. They were forever getting prescriptions wrong, omitting some , prescribing what hadn’t been ordered, requests going missing etc etc. The pharmacy blamed the practice and vice versa. It eventually turned out both were making mistakes, all sorted now though 🙂.

Then a couple of months ago, my months repeat prescription was disallowed , my dad’s which I ordered online at the same time arrived ok , when I checked online all my meds had an order date of 28 days from my previous order😱, which is somewhat stupid when you have them delivered and it takes up to three days for my pr@ctice to authorise them.
This too was sorted but I’ve noticed a couple of mine now have the 28 days date back again, so I’ll see what happens this time, oh what fun.

 

[Northerner]

Do you know if the rude being who is the receptionist, is a Vegan, Sue?

Pete commented the other day that since proper ones don't take anything tested on animals, they can't be Type 1 ethically. We wondered if they curl up and 'expire' naturally under a tree, or what? She obviously doesn't approve of you taking whatever it is you wanted to order anyway …… so insulin is just my first guess. Who knows what other drugs have been tested on and I would rather not know TBH. I've always been extremely grateful to the ones I know about.

And also sad, for them.

Sue should be fine with that - there's Cornish Clotted Insulin she can use... 😱

Cornish Clotted Insulin





TV dramas vary in their respect for accuracy when including a diabetes storyline, which is a shame as the general public’s knowledge of the correct facts about the disease and its treatment is further confused by this lacksadaisical approach. Recently, there was an episode of the BBC hospital drama ‘Casualty’ which involved a young diabetic girl who was involved in a boating accident. We learned that the girl had strict moral principles and refused to be treated with any insulin that had been tested on animals. To my knowledge, this excludes all insulin currently available, unless somewhere there is a type that has only ever been tested on humans (or is in fact acquired directly from other humans!)

Animal insulin is obtained from the pancreases of slaughtered animals, and the synthetic stuff has all undergone animal trials before being approved for human use (although I could be wrong about that). So, what did the girl use instead? Cornish insulin of course! Apparently, the only stockist of her particular type was Jacob’s Pharmacy in Penzance, Cornwall – quite a distance from the hospital she now found herself in. As a result, a debate ensued whether to override her principles and give her a more readily available kind. Eventually, after she had developed diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and fallen promptly into a diabetic coma, an enterprising young doctor administered some ‘common’ insulin and hey presto! she recovered!

Clearly, Jacob’s Cornish Insulin is not a well–known alternative, and must therefore be a secret, family preparation that is not widely publicised, and most probably based on the renowned Cornish ice cream – that delicious, golden yellow, creamy concoction that has delighted both young and old for decades…

Now, there’s Novo and Aventis and Eli Lilley too,
All pharmaceutical giants that take care of me and you,
But have you heard of Jacob’s? The Chemist of Penzance?
He’s the only known supplier of a remarkable advance!

For, once we all thought insulin was porcine or bovine,
But Jacob’s stocks a product that is utterly divine!
If you’re allergic to synthetic, and against the animal kind,
Then there’s only one type you can use, though it may not spring to mind!

Cornish clotted insulin! An ice cream-based solution!
In the field of diabetes treatment it’s a total revolution!
In seconds it will bring you round from ketoacidosis,
So ask for Cornish insulin at your Type 1 diagnosis!

It’s only stocked at Jacob’s, it’s the only place on Earth –
An insulin monopoly, goodness knows what it is worth!
But Jacob’s secret recipe, handed down throughout the ages
Keeps the people of Penzance employed on very decent wages!

Now Jacob has some other plans, still on a dairy theme,
For a fudge-based sulphonylurea that involves some clotted cream,
And a Cornish pastie statin to keep cholesterol low,
And a pilchard source of omega-3, caught fresh in Polperro! 😱

 

[silentsquirrel]

Although I can pnly order a month's supply at a time, I can reorder after 21 days, so by doing that have been able to accrue a very modest buffer. On SystmOnline I can make a custom request where necessary, although I've never had to do this,........... yet.

We are also on SystmOnline, and the "cannot order before 21 days from last order" thing appeared a few months ago. I have usually left reordering until the last possible moment, being a chronic procrastinator, but the last couple of months have been worried enough about future supplies to do the same as @AndBreathe and order after the 21 days to build up a reserve. You are way out, @DaveB , I need a box of Lantus after 26/27 days.

I hope you get this sorted swiftly, @Northerner - if they won't budge on the frequency, perhaps you can change the quantity to double what it was each month? @Pumper_Sue , I am lost for words!!

Automated systems are fine in theory, but need helpful people ready to adapt when necessary.

 

[SB2015]

I also order online. The dates are applied by an automatic algorithm. I simply ignore the dates and order when I need each item. I have never had a problem so far. If I need extras or need them early because I am giong on holiday i just phone and they order them with a note attached.

I hope that it gets sorted for you Northerner.

 

[SB2015]

Ps
I think problems seem to occur where people have their meds ordered automatically. I only tried that once and it went wrong as they ordered everything on the list, which does not work, as I use insulin at different rates, and only need ketostix when I have used them due to illness. As soon as I went back to to ordering them myself problems were eliminated

 

[SB2015]

The 17th! you are lucky mine is due for ordering on the 24th and the unhelpful twerp I spoke to said It's your problem live with it a few days without wont kill you.
Was tempted to murder her myself but that's another issue

I hope she is not still working there!!!

 

[The_petal]

I think most people try and build up a 'buffer' stock of essentials like Insulin, and in my case Creon, as there is no substitute for these if there are supply issues.

 

[Madeline]

I think most people try and build up a 'buffer' stock of essentials like Insulin, and in my case Creon, as there is no substitute for these if there are supply issues.

Bottom drawer is my ‘meds’ drawer. I’m guilty of squirrelling. Although I have noticed that I have been getting ‘extra’ boxes of nebs for a good 6 months or so, and wondered if my GP was secretly aiding my stockpiling.

 

[Robin]

I assume a worst case scenario. What if I compromised my current cartridge when out and about by gettting it too hot or too cold, and when I went to change it I dropped and cracked the new one? I always have a buffer of two cartridges.

 

[Northerner]

I assume a worst case scenario. What if I compromised my current cartridge when out and about by gettting it too hot or too cold, and when I went to change it I dropped and cracked the new one? I always have a buffer of two cartridges.

I have back-ups of all my essential meds, but it seems the new surgery operates on an 8-week ordering timescale and over the past 10 years I have needed to re-order some items every 6 or 7 weeks. I'm sure 8-weeks works fine in most cases, but it's the reason I didn't get the automatic re-order option. I'm going in to the surgery tomorrow to get the dressings changed on my wounded shins, so will have a word then - as I say, they are very good and I am sure they will be accommodating of my requirements 🙂

 

[Carlos]

The 17th! you are lucky mine is due for ordering on the 24th and the unhelpful twerp I spoke to said It's your problem live with it a few days without wont kill you.
Was tempted to murder her myself but that's another issue

Speaking like that to a patient should be a disciplinary matter, surely.

 

[Pumper_Sue]

I hope she is not still working there!!!

She wont be by the time I have finished 😡

My surgery used to be fantastic, unfortunately it has been taken over due to the previous partners resigning. It's a complete and utter shambles now, so many people have left and gone to the other surgery that they have had to close their books to new patients. Once it's open again I will be off.

 

[DaveB]

Insulin isn't the only essential to life drug that Sue needs to take - and if 5 x 3ml cartridges of it lasts you longer than 30 days - your need for it must be an awful lot less than a very large number of people, Dave - therefore your statement is very dismissive of what can be a huge problem for any of us, when or if it arises.

The online ordering system at my surgery sort of has the opposite problem - when I'm going abroad in excess of 28 days, I obviously need more than 28 days supply of my meds, but it only allows one to order 'I month' worth of anything. Hence I have to order as many repeats of 28 days worth, that the length of holiday dictates. I have to put a note on Request 2 and 3 saying why. It's never been a prob doing that as long as I explain. But, if the system doesn't allow anyone to do it - then that would be a prob !

OK, there are some who use very large amounts of insulin and perhaps the surgery should list 2 packs of 5 cartridges rather than I pack? Mind you 50 shots of Bolus or Basal per day is quite large for many of us. I'm on my surgery's PPG (Patient Participation Group) which is the group to contact with any surgery issues. All surgeries are supposed to have a PPG and we have the Practice Manager and one of the retired GPs at each meeting.

 

[trophywench]

Well, after 50 odd years T1, I would imagine, knowing her, that Sue got it sorted PDQ anyway. Neither of us suffer fools!