Repeat prescription one box 28 other 30 explaining excess to Dr's receptionist.
I'm on repeat prescriptions that I order at the same time each 8 weeks except one comes in boxes of 30 So over time I have extra pills, building up I learnedl I have a full box Attempt explaining that, this moment only, I only would like 1 box of the 30 as I have a spare box, to the receptionist, no the Doc hasn't reduced the prescription, no I'm not reducing how many I need/pick up, just 30 is bigger than 28....
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42 Comments
Just don’t take the extras and keep them as backup or dispose of them You tried to do it the proper way and it’s clearly causing issues so just don’t?
I would say keep going till you have 2 full boxes then miss ordering that item once. You will use up the excess and one missed order is unlikely to cause any concern to the surgery.
You have not understood the issue.
This is the answer....
Yup, that's what I do.
Just take the pills, man. It’s usually a supply issue that is out of the pharmacist’s/dr’s control.
It is better to have a few spare, it means if your chemist doesn't have any for a few days or you order late for some reason you have spares you can take until you get yours.
Why not just take the prescription as is and say nothing? So you have extras. Not really the biggest problem in the world. You're just making unnecessary complications.
Thank you. I sometimes wonder if everyone else is out to make life far more complicated and stressful than it needs to be.
Because every time they've saved up enough to not need another prescription they save money on that prescription!
Do it online, then you only have to deal with the issue when they get locked by a 'This item needs to be reviewed by the responsible clinician before it can be requested again.' I tried doing it the proper way at the start of this week using their app for my OAP mother, aft...
Does your surgery not have a practice pharmacist? Ours does and part of her job during meds reviews is to sync repeat prescriptions for this reason, with the exception of controlled drugs (gabapentinoids, strong opioids, benzos etc) which by law can only be issued 1 month at a...
Just order them through the NHS app and only select the tablet you need that month. Saves you carting to the doctor's to ask for a repeat prescription too
I use the NHS App and I don't have to speak to anyone.
As a GP... It's frustrating. I wish manufacturers would standardise around 28 days. 30 days isn't consistent for months anyway, and with lots of medications being weekly doses, sticking to a 4-week standard just makes things easier for everything. We *can* tell the pharmacist ...
My GP surgery defaults to 28 days for all long term meds, even if it comes in packs of 30. As I’m on something where it is prescribed generically but different generics really do make a difference to the side effects (fillers/coatings vary), prescribing 28s when it comes in 3...
The repeat prescription process in a gp is usually a blunt tool your repeat is for 2 boxes so that’s what you get. If you really want to return one open the bag in the pharmacy in front of the person who gives it to you and return one box. As long as it doesn’t leave the shop ...
I’ve given up trying to explain things like this to the GP. You’re better off just disposing of the excess. I have a seasonal allergy (April-Aug) and am prescribed some heavy duty antihistamines along with a very expensive skin ointment. As soon as I stop ordering them in autu...
when you collect at the pharmacy tell them to remove one box , that way the box is still sealed and has not left the pharmacy so can be used for someone else .
I order more frequently than I need to ensure I have a few months in stock in case of any shortages like we saw the other year. Can’t be without them so can’t risk running out or being forced to chage to an unknown.
Ask if they have a pharmacist at the GP practice as they are used to reviewing and synchronising the quantities. If not a medication review with the GP will also do the same thing if you want it done but they will likely be in much higher demand
I wouldnt even bother asking the GP, just order as normal then when you collect at the pharmacy open the bag and hand them back what you don't want. They'll amend it on their system, and as long as you do this when you collect and the tablets haven't left the pharmacy they can...
Please don't dispose of them as many people have recommended. That's such a waste of NHS money. Medicines can cost anywhere from a few pence into the £1000s depending on what it is. You can tell the pharmacy that you only want a month's worth instead of two whenever you buil...
I just keep my excess in my drawer and some months I don’t order the ones I have more of. I have two pills that are 2 a day come in boxes of 28 so I get 2 boxes. I have a pill that is at least once but up to 3x a day, so I get a box of 60 if I order. I only take it once bu...
I order online and only order when I need to. It does require and element of ownership i.e. i have to remember to order. But the app i use also reminds me. I have never run out, always have back up and never had any issue with the GPs. Most meds have a fairly long shelf li...
I wish my app reminded me. I have to order mine a week before I want to collect them, so have to set a reminder on my phone to order them for three weeks after I’ve collected the last lot.
How do your repeat prescriptions get handled, do you have to request every month? I have to take an antidepressant and 2 progestin tablets every day, all for the same thing. The antidepressant, they give me 1 box of 28 at a time - so I order every month via the NHS app. The...
If you open the package at the pharmacy return the box to the pharmacist there and then saying you have a build up and don't need this box. That way it hasn't left the pharmacy and they can reuse it and you don't have to adjust the prescription
I just tell the pharmacists I don't need that part of the prescription, the doctor wrote it down in error.
You can also ask the pharmacist to open the bag and remove an item if you don't need it. So long as you ask before it's removed from the pharmacy, they'll take items back.
Honestly I do this, I order repeat on the NHS I purposely don't. Click for one of my meds because I have a surplus then when I check later in the day if it's been approved I see that the medicine has been added anyway. Honestly wish there was a way I could donate the pills be...
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Same here, fine when the 28 was an available over-the-counter, every now and again I'd buy a box at the chemist ... now there's another 28 in the mix and I can't get it without the prescription
I seem to have a separate NHS experience - I order my prescriptions when I need them, so the only surplus I build up is my buffer for when I forget to order. Baffling the surgery can't help. I would ask someone other than the receptionist (there will be someone with the tit...
Does your GP not work with the NHS app? You never have to talk to Karen on reception again. Order repeat prescription—> yes. Fuck Karen on reception———> yes.
I have the opposite problem. Trying to explain to literally anyone there that a month and 4 weeks are not the same thing. I thought about passive-aggressively sending them all calendars for Christmas.
They can’t take the excess pills you have back so you have alerted them to what’s occurring and now it’s on them to deal with it. It ain’t your responsibility. If you are concerned about being brought up about it at some point down the line then don’t be. This would only oc...
The proper way to dispose of unused medicine is to take them to a pharmacy
Speak to your GP.. my medication is 122 tablets a month so my GP changed the prescription to say that, even though the pharmacy hates it cause they have to put it in a different box etc.. (normal boxes hold 90). Problem solved!
That’s different though for the pharmacy when it comes to dispensing it. They honestly don’t hate it, they break up boxes all the time. In the numbers you’re talking they split a box and are left with 78 tablets they just use that split on the next dispensing. In ops case th...
I only pick up the prescriptions from the pharmacy when I need to (and there is an NHS poster that says to do this) so the prescription that is 3x a day but I often only take it two, I just get the next box when the first one runs out. You can go in later for medication and pi...
After many years of this exact problem. I just throw the 2 extra pills in the bin now each month.