Legality of ordering medication

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horizonverizon

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I have a female friend who suffers from chronic pain. She's not satisfied with what her GP is giving her and wants to purchase pain medication on the internet. She wondered whether this was legal or not?

The medication in question is prescription and much cheaper in the UK.
 
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The objective of the Health Products Regulatory Authority is to ensure in so far as possible, consistent with current medical and scientific knowledge, the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines available in Ireland and to participate in systems designed to do that throughout the European Union.
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Ask the GP for a referral to a pain specialist (often an anaesthetist with a special interest in pain management). Or a specialist in the field applicable e.g rheumatologist or orthopaedic surgeon etc. I would not recommend or risk ordering pain medications online. You might end up getting a bad reaction to a replica product or worse. Not worth the risk. You might not be aware of interactions with other medication etc. Work with the GP they will help with onward referral. You could go privately if it’s urgent. Any fees are eligible for tax relief on the med 1 form or could be claimed against private health insurance. Pain is a complex field and expert review will undoubtedly benefit.
 
horizonverizon said:
I have a female friend who suffers from chronic pain. She's not satisfied with what her GP is giving her and wants to purchase pain medication on the internet. She wondered whether this was legal or not?

The medication in question is prescription and much cheaper in the UK.
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I know of someone who did that and the stuff they bought killed them within 24 hours of first dose.
 
Mamamia22 said:
Ask the GP for a referral to a pain specialist (often an anaesthetist with a special interest in pain management). Or a specialist in the field applicable e.g rheumatologist or orthopaedic surgeon etc. I would not recommend or risk ordering pain medications online. You might end up getting a bad reaction to a replica product or worse. Not worth the risk. You might not be aware of interactions with other medication etc. Work with the GP they will help with onward referral. You could go privately if it’s urgent. Any fees are eligible for tax relief on the med 1 form or could be claimed against private health insurance. Pain is a complex field and expert review will undoubtedly benefit.
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She can't afford that at the moment but I'm fairly certain that they would be reluctant. The medication in question is an opioid (codeine) and so doctors would be unlikely to prescribe it.

T McGibney said:
I know of someone who did that and the stuff they bought killed them within 24 hours of first dose.
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Wow, that shocking. Was it a more potent drug or something else entirely?
 
It is extremely difficult to control the impact of chronic pain using prescribed medication - opioids such as “oxe” requires higher doses over time (was up to 250mg per day), Lycra etc - the impact on the quality of your life far outweighs the impact of the effects of pain..one becomes very dozy to put it mildly..impossible to work, pursue hobbies, fun activities etc. pain injections can provide temporary benefits but these need to be repeated over time. There’s no silver bullet I’m afraid…distraction does help…part time work,exercise, other hobbies, friends etc is a better long term solution…
 
horizonverizon said:
Wow, that shocking. Was it a more potent drug or something else entirely?
Click to expand...
In fairness it would be inappropriate to risk compounding anyone's grief by speculating. I only noted it here as a warning to help prevent repeats.
 
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The original question has been answered and we are bordering on the banned topic of discussing medical issues.

Brendan
 
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