Nanny State on OTC Medicine

R

roker

Registered User
Messages
2,045
Yesterday I tried to buy 2 x 12 packets of Panadol in Supervalue, I was told I could only have 1 packet of 12, to which I responded that the pharmacy directly opposite in the shopping centre sells 24 packets, I was told that this is the law. I purchased 1 packet, walked across the shopping centre about 10 meters and purchased a 24 packet in the pharmacy, so now I have 36 tablets.

I suffer from migraine headache and for years always keep Syndol or Solpadeine in my car or at my bedside, 2 tablets usually does the trick, they are much more effective because they contain Codeine, and there lies the problem.

Someone has decided that Codeine is addictive and I have great trouble obtaining them now. Boots will refuse outright to sell them, I cannot take Nurofen because they are hard on my stomach, so I cannot get something effective for my headache but they are promoting the morning after pill.

Who makes up these crazy laws? I get my Syndol in large quantities now from the UK when I am over there, they don’t have the same silly laws.

Because the odd person can get addicted to Codeine we all must suffer, a pity they do not have the same outlook on alcohol.
 
roker said:
Who makes up these crazy laws?
Click to expand...

That's the whole point. This nanny state is being run by minorities. Nobody listens to the majority. All is needed to introduce crazy laws is some pressure group to moan constantly.

The collective minorities have their way always and much to the detriment of the majority. Take the guy would normally would have one pint of beer (there are some, you know) and suddenly now they cannot even have the one pint and drive a car without being over the breathalyser limit. People can drive like lunatics at Formula 1 speeds on country roads ignoring Stop signs and hugging the wrong side of the road. But, have one pint and drive a few people home you are in big trouble.
 
I am allergic to Anadin and Solpadeine is the only one I trust not to bring on an alergic reaction,I just dare not risk trying anything else as the reaction is very severe,I am sick to the back teeth of being treated like a junkie every time I go to buy a packet,on one occasion I got a lecture off an Indian lady in a pharmacy in Ongar who told me she would sell me a packet but if she saw me back in the shop a few weeks from now she would not sell me any more,needless to say she didn't get very far into her patronizing lecturing before I pulled her up on it.

On another occasion in Eniscorthy I was given the same treatment by an old school Irish pharmacist who looked me up and down and asked me in a tone surely reserved for morphine addicts who would sell their own mothers,why I wanted to buy a pack and that he would only sell me a pack of 12...this to a shop full of people waiting on scripts etc who all went silent to have a good listen to him lecturing the Dublin junkie,needless to say he got both barells in return and didn't look half so clever when I was finished filleting him.

If I want to buy a packet now I go to chain pharmacies where I am treated like a human being and not some drug addled brass monkey,I now refuse to have any prescriptions filled in small Irish owned pharmacies,preferring instead to deal with professional large chain Chemists who when selling me Solpadeine do so in full compliance with their legal obligations in a polite & decent manner.
 
I was able to get the equivalent to Solpadol over the counter in Portugal, which is stronger than Syndol or Solpadein (500 mg Paracetamol + 30mg Codein), this requires a prescription here.
 
Yorky said:
Do you mean asprin? Anadin is a pharmaceutical brand with the active ingredient being asprin.
Click to expand...

Yes correct,it took me 2 such reactions before I was able to link the incidents to the 2 occasions I took anadin/aspirin,I had a face that looked like a boxer who had gone 20 rounds with Mike Tyson and I was almost unrecognizable,very unpleasant.I was never allergic to aspirin before these incidents so at some point unknown to me I must have become desensitized.
 
roker said:
Someone has decided that Codeine is addictive and I have great trouble obtaining them now.
Click to expand...

Codeine is addictive. It is an opiate and some people are dependent on it.
[broken link removed]

If you need to take Solpadeine regularly, ask your doctor for a prescription. They will have no problem writing you one if you need it.

Personally I am glad of the new guidelines. As long as the pharmacist asks the required questions and doesn't treat someone like a drug addict, I'm more than happy to explain my symptoms or reasons for wanting to buy them. If a pharmacist DOES treat you badly, don't give them your business again.
 
Smashbox said:
If you need to take Solpadeine regularly, ask your doctor for a prescription. They will have no problem writing you one if you need it.

Personally I am glad of the new guidelines. As long as the pharmacist asks the required questions and doesn't treat someone like a drug addict, I'm more than happy to explain my symptoms or reasons for wanting to buy them. If a pharmacist DOES treat you badly, don't give them your business again.
Click to expand...

I havent got the money to pay my doctor 60 quid for a prescription for if I have a headache. I would far rather drive across the border, visit a few pharmacies, buy a pack in each one and come back to the nanny state with a years supply of pain relief and not having been treated like a junkie.

One of my local pharmacists, while not treating me like a junkie, did shout at me from 20 feet away behind a counter as to why I wanted the pain relief, I did not wish to shout about my period pain with a number of local neighbours standing around - so I left. Now they probably think Im a junkie, but in reality I was just embarrassed.

I had a recent root canal and was in a lot of pain that evening, I tried for Solphadeine and was asked had I tried anything else, yes, but plain paracetmol is not cutting the mustard, what about ibuprofen - no it doesnt agree with my stomach so I cant take it, what about aspirin.........- just give me the bloody pain relief that I know works! I havent the time, the money or the willingness to risk a bad reaction on trying every other pain relief on the market when I know 2 solphadeine will do the trick!!

Or this business of only selling you a small packet. I will only sell you 10 Syndol. Well will you sell them to me at half the price of a 20 pack? Because otherwise you are fleecing me for an extra euro.
 
ajapale said:
Thanks Paddy,

An estimated half of all liver transplants carried out in Ireland result from poisoning from this drug (paracetemol).

aj
Click to expand...

This info is based on this.

A total of 25 liver transplants was carried out in Ireland in 1999. It is estimated that half of all liver transplants result from paracetamol poisoning. People have a perception that this is a harmless drug but it can cause severe damage. Taken in small doses, paracetamol is an excellent drug which is broken down in the liver to harmless by-products to be eliminated by the kidneys.
Click to expand...

There were 25 liver transplants in Ireland in 1999. So for 12 an a half people we now have to have the 3rd degree in a pharmacy for pain relief? Doesnt make any sense at all. How many people die every year from tobacco and alcohol related illness yet people are able to legally drink and smoke away without being made to feel like junkies for it.
 
truthseeker said:
There were 25 liver transplants in Ireland in 1999. So for 12 an a half people we now have to have the 3rd degree in a pharmacy for pain relief?
Click to expand...
It's not even for the 12.5 people because a determined person can easily do a tour of a few pharmacies/supermarkets to get their hands on as much paracetamol as they want.
 
As someone whos family member was addicted to this specific drug, I still stand by the new guidelines as I know how easy it can be to addicted without realising it until its too late.
 
Smashbox said:
As someone whos family member was addicted to this specific drug, I still stand by the new guidelines as I know how easy it can be to addicted without realising it until its too late.
Click to expand...

Paracetamol or codeine?

Im not saying addiction doesnt happen but should we all suffer for the addictions of a minority?

Alcohol is a far far bigger problem in this country yet the pubs and off licences happily sell.
 
Codeine is the addictive substance. They were addicted to Solpadeine. Up to 1.5-2 packs a day which were easily available by visiting local pharmacys without question.
 
I have had solpadiene for years and only need 2 tablets when I have a migrain, I am not addicted, Codein in liquid form is also excelent for chest problems, have you tasted it? its vile, how can you get addicted to that?
How many people that overdosed Panadol also over indulged in alchol? how can they tell the difference if they take both.
 
Smashbox said:
Codeine is the addictive substance. They were addicted to Solpadeine. Up to 1.5-2 packs a day which were easily available by visiting local pharmacys without question.
Click to expand...

Yes, this isnt a surprise, I know a couple of people who were like that myself.

However, do you not think, that people need to take personal responsibility and not be nannied by the state?
 
+1 At least they only affect themselves and not others like alcohol when they go binge drinking, get violent, and need the police/gada to sort things out
 
roker said:
+1 At least they only affect themselves and not others like alcohol when they go binge drinking, get violent, and need the police/gada to sort things out
Click to expand...

Well it probably does affect the families of those addicted as any addiction would, but the question remains, is it the states responsibility to stop a small minority of people from becoming codeine addicts because they dont follow the instructions that are written on the packet of an otc medicine?

This article from 2008 says:
Fresh statistics from the Health Research Board reveal 52 patients hooked on the over-the-counter painkiller such as brand-leaders Solpadeine and Neurofen Plus were treated in rehab centres in Ireland in 2006.

Experts say the sharp rise is a reflection of how codeine addiction in this country is becoming a "serious problem."

In 2005, the number was 42 and in 2004 it was 22.
Click to expand...

I mean, for these numbers was it really necessary to make it so difficult for the rest of us to get a painkiller? The mind boggles tbh.

I appreciate the numbers are no doubt higher because of a large number of people not diagnosed, but seriously, even if the numbers were 10 times higher, or even 100 times higher - thats still not that many people!
 
Codeine the silent addiction - Health News, Health - Independent.ie

Finally, whilst codeine based analgesia is widely available I would guard against restricting its use by making it prescription only. The vast majority of people use these drugs safely and as directed. It would be unfair to penalise the majority because the minority are misusing them, however greater awareness and better treatment options are needed than currently exists.
Dr Garett McGovern, Dublin-based addiction specialist
Click to expand...



I remember hearing Eamonn Dunphy speaking candidly about his addiction to Solpadene a few years ago.


I find it reassuring when on my biannual visit to the chemists I get grilled by the pharmacist and get reminded about the dangers of Solpadene.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top