What’s really in your medicine and who prescribes it

[Josephine]

Unfortunately wise eating and lifestyle takes time to improve our health. Some conditions seem to have a geographical/genetic link e.g. neural tube defects in Ireland and bowel cancer in Japan. Well that’s what I was told in nursing school. Curiously when people moved to a very different area this link disappeared.

My husband said he didn’t like the new asthma medicine he’d been given. It tasted sweet and left a powder like residue in his mouth. From my perspective it did nothing for his asthma. I had a look at the small print on the side of the box (always a good idea). In order to bulk up the medicine (the same as on his old style medicine) was lactose and milk powder! I can understand the need to bulk up the active substance but add milk powder and lactose?

Asthma and eczema go together. Avoidance of milk products is often practiced by sufferers and others for ethical and religious reasons. In my experience certain ethnic groups tend to have asthma and eczema and also diabetes. We know how even artificial sweeteners can raise insulin levels. Why is sugar (lactose) being put in this medicine! Medicine that is often used by vulnerable groups. Those for whom English is not always their first language and wouldn’t dream of questioning what they’ve been given by someone in a white coat.

Spoke to the surgery and was offered a telephone appointment with the doctor. (So no peak flow to check his lung function). Later it was disclosed the call would be made by a pharmacist specialising in asthma, who had prescribing rights. That’s not all bad but I did have reservations. Health visitors are given prescribing rights (turns out these are mostly for ‘over the counter medicines’, the ones you can buy yourself). The doctor supervising her course allowing her to write prescriptions said it was more complex than the one he had. Trouble is, one thing links onto another which the pharmacist might not have as their specialty.

By the way have you noticed the careful wording of the contents of the new vaccines? Some communities are very faithful to their beliefs and that means things of animal origin are precluded. The tv doctor said the vaccine didn’t contain pork and stated the vaccine had been approved by all religious groups. She didn’t give an adequate specific answer to those that followed say vegan principles.

We all have to weigh up the pros and cons and make decisions for ourselves and for those that we have in our care. Others outside our family are influenced by our decisions. It’s not an easy path to walk. Take care.

[Soupee]

Josephine, the doctor (and presumably others who can prescribe) can prescribe your own peak flow meter to use at home. Obviously it’s the cost of a prescription, but very useful to have.

[Gilli]

Did your husband manage to obtain an astma medication which did not have lactose as a bulking agent?

[Josephine]

Good idea, hadn’t thought of that. Will enquire about getting a flow meter. Our daughter bought us an oxygen monitor. If his asthma was really bad would have had to take him to A & E. Don’t want to end up in the Covid section just because it’s difficult to tell the difference between asthma and Covid. Was difficult recently to get the 999 operator to understand I wasn’t well enough to answer the list of Covid questions having told her I didn’t have it. Don’t want a repeat.

[Josephine]

Thanks Gilli. We’re getting a call on Monday. Will go now to our local pharmacist and discuss with him. Want to take care and also consider others but I need to get feedback from the body language to help with decision making. My husband dissected the new inhaler. Think Ivor Cummins would be impressed with the engineering inside. Not necessary, the old fashioned design is enough if not better. Wonder how much more the new design costs the NHS.

[roseymary]

I have found pharmacists to be more thoughtful about what is prescribed. I took a new script to my normal pharmacy and when I went to collect it the pharmacist wanted to speak to me. He was alarmed that the drug was known to put BP up and I'd been put on the maximum dose. As I'm on BP meds already he rang the specialist and go tot talk with him and it was agreed I'd halve the dose. I took it for 2 days then stopped as guess what it put my BP up dramtically. And as it wasn't a life saving drug I decided not to take it at all and live with the side effects of not taking it.