Do you buy name brand medicine? poll discussion

irishwench69

GrahamH wrote: »

Next time your doctor prescribes you or your kids a branded medicine, ask whose cancer WON'T be treated as a result. And what the consequences are for that person... :mad: It's that simple.:mad:

The scandal is that UK doctors are allowed to prescribe a BRANDED medicine when the generic alternative does an identical job. The taxpayer is then obliged to pay for the branded version (If the brand is prescribed by the doctor, the pharmacist is legally barred from giving a generic to fulfill the prescription)

:mad: :mad: PRESCRIPTIONS FOR BRANDS KILL (other) PEOPLE:mad: :mad:

Result - people's relatives die - the NHS can't afford their specialised drugs needs, because of the money wasted paying for unnecessary branded medicines, as so eloquently put by esuhl
Politicians and Doctors are quite happy to see these vulnerable people die - much more palatable than the threat of irrational middle class mums complaining about being prescribed generic paracetamol instead of Calpol for their precious children.

And, despite being much more knowledgeable about what's going on, doctors are totally supine - they can all afford to pay any price for their own drugs if they ever need to (and meanwhile are heading off to Champagne Receptions at Wimbledon/The Opera, paid for by the drugs companies' sales promotion budgets...)

Your post (and esuhls) are insane and offensive in the extreme. Do either of you actually have any knowledge of the Pharmaceutical industry, the codes governing it, and the price schemes in place with the government?!

Do you not think government waste and reorganisation is a bigger problem than supposedly greedy and corrupt pharma companies? Do you even know what small % of NHS spending goes on drugs? It's certainly not the crazily high figure you seem to think it is!!

IW x

Mark_Beech

I worked for the NHS for over 20 years and have also been a massive user of NHS services (Renal Transplant, Gastric Surgery, Hip Replacement, Skin Cancer .... you name it I've had it!).
I would NEVER buy a branded medicine where there is a generic alternative. Particularly odious (bordering on being immoral) are the massively inflated prices charged for branded versions of simple analgesics such as Paracetamol (Panadol et al) and Anti-histamines such as Loratidine (Clarytin et al).
I buy 'own brand' Loratidine from Tesco for about 72p. The equivalent size pack of Clarytin would be over a fiver!!!!!
Always amuses me when some of the drug companies attempt to justify spending more on their product by saying that they are a different formulation .... usually meaning that they have added a bit of caffeine or something equally benign and ineffective.
Better in your pocket than theirs.

irrelevant

I stocked up on generic hayfever meds from Chemist Direct in the summer following Martin's recomendatin. Best buy I ever made.. Whilst we do get free prescriptions, it seems churlish to waste the doctors time for such trivial stuff. For the most part, colds and suchlike, I buy unbranded or own-brand meds. For migraleive, the yellow tabs are just co-codamol, but the red ones have something extra in them.. It's a while since I needed to buy them, so haven't looked into what the alternatives are.

Catwoman_Kent

What are your views on using out of date meds?

I had a long lasting cold this winter and a cough that wouldn't shift. I found a half bottle of cough medicine in a drawer and took that which worked wonders. Days later when I looked at the label I saw it had expired in 2003 but it did me no harm.

Biggles

MSE_Lawrence wrote: »

Which of these do you mostly buy for yourself/your family?

A. Name Brand Medicines
B. Own brand for me, name brand for the kids.
C. Supermarket/Chemist Own Brand
D. Uber-cheap unbranded.
E.I get free prescriptions (so there’s no price difference)

Why is option E there at all? That's just confusing the issue and invalidating the poll.

If we're talking about which over-the counter medicine we buy (that is the word used), what difference does it make whether you pay for prescribed drugs or not? I get free prescriptions but I still have to choose which painkiller to buy, should I want one.

mindgames

teddyco wrote: »

My wife and I don't use prescription medicines or over-the-counter concoctions because I don't trust the harsh ingredients. We use alternative therapies and herbal remedies as much as possible.

I don't generally feel the need to comment on things here but this post is seriously dangerous. Many people use herbal and alternative medicines giving the above reason. It is completely untrue to say that the ingredients in herbal medicines are safer/less toxic or whatever! There have been a lot of studies done into the herbs that people use, things like ginseng, ginkgo biloba, kava, St John's wort and many more including herbs used in traditional chinese medicine. When analysed these products have been found to contain extremely toxic substances like lead and mercury, prescription drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories and, also to the point, varying amounts of what they claim to be or even none at all. As they are classed as food supplements rather than pharmaceuticals there is no regulation on what they contain. Also a lot of these 'safer' medications work in similar ways to conventional Western medications but minus the strict testing on their safety and efficacy, and using herbal medicines can have serious effects including liver failure. Many of our established medications are originally from plants but we have rigorously tested them to ensure they are as safe as possible. You have absolutely no guarantee of this with herbal medicine, and if you do take something herbal it can interact with other medications such as warfarin or the contraceptive pill.

heather38

Catwoman_Kent wrote: »

What are your views on using out of date meds?

I had a long lasting cold this winter and a cough that wouldn't shift. I found a half bottle of cough medicine in a drawer and took that which worked wonders. Days later when I looked at the label I saw it had expired in 2003 but it did me no harm.

i would take them within reason but i would never give them to my kids. just because something says use before xxxx doesn't mean that it no longer works.
at work we have to throw out meds 1 month before the expiry day as they have to be given to a patient with a full month on the expiry date. such a waste.

DKLS

9/10 I buy Non branded in the UK, but usually stock on an assortment of meds when I am on holiday/work trip to the likes of India, Mexico, Egypt, Parts of Europe etc.
You can get some great stuff that I would never get prescribed here. e.g. I usually have a stock of valium, purely for use on flights, Large G&T, 2 valium and my bose earphones, and I am set to enjoy the flight in peace.

coat_and_cloth

Epilectics Beware! Generic anti convultion tablets contain differing combinations/amounts of the non-active ingredients. These differences have been known to alter the effectiveness of the medication.
My every time the brand of my husbands medication changed he suffered a serise of fits for about two weeks before it settled down. Asking the doctor perscribe only one named brand stopped these fits. I am not saying the cheaper alteratives arent just as good, I am saying that changing from one to the other can have adverse effects.

poppy10_2

DKLS wrote: »

You can get some great stuff that I would never get prescribed here. e.g. I usually have a stock of valium, purely for use on flights,

You get into trouble at airport security though if you are carrying unprescribed benzos.