Do you buy name brand medicine? poll discussion

Trialia

I get free prescriptions anyway, but there are a couple of the medications I'm on that don't have generic versions yet...

Gemmzie

LouBlue wrote: »

Wasn't til my sister, who was working in a pharmacy, pointed out to me how much I was paying for Migraleve, when I could get paracetamol and codeine.

Migraleve - about £7
P&C - £1.49

Its true, you just get used to buying a brand and think that 'brand' is to be trusted. What a way to get people to fork out a fortune.

Not exactly the same, Migraleve Pink (the one you take at first) also has an anti-sickness drug in it.

irrelevant wrote: »

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.

See above, not sure of the cost of the anti-sickness drugs over the counter, the branded equivilant is Motilium 10 (active ingredient is domperidone) but I think the generic version is prescription only and it's not suitable for under 16s.

omelette451

fezer wrote: »

Own brand for me, but the kids branded purely as they are formulated with better tasting flavourings. I know it is the same active ingredient in there for them but with kids and medicines its a taste thing and they like it, the cheaper ones don't have such a good taste so a waste of money if they wont have them.

If you hadn't given the expensive ones to the kids in the first place they wouldn't know it even existed so wouldn't have a choice!

LouBlue

Gemmzie wrote: »

Not exactly the same, Migraleve Pink (the one you take at first) also has an anti-sickness drug in it.

Fair enough, but I got bad headaches for years, and always took Migraleve, then switched to P&C, and they are just as good. I hate to think how much I spent on Migraleve over the years.

rottertron

Theres another category to consider other than Branded and Generic. Thats Parallel Imported pharmaceuticals. These are products produced by the branded company that are destined to be sold in another country. Then companys import these products back to the UK, repackage them and then sold in the UK.

gelato_cat

I take it Customs don't mind about things like this? Might try it next time I go somewhere!

Suze

DKLS wrote: »

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.

gelato_cat

Last time I took cough medicine I realised it was mostly sugar and flavourings! I wouldn't risk it with anything stronger than that...

Suze

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.

DJB83

I always buy the cheap supermarket Ibuprofen as I find Paracetamol ineffective personally. I resent paying over the odds for Nurofen or other overpriced non-prescription drugs that claim to work faster! The other thing which is crazy is paying prescription prices for products i.e Creams, which can be purchased without a prescription for less!

GrahamH

irishwench69 wrote: »

Your post (and esuhls) are insane and offensive in the extreme.

I'm sure that a few pharma companies might find it offensive - this is a nice little earner for them.

I don't believe there is a current issue with my sanity. I'll let esuhl defend him or herself, but I see no signs of trouble there either.

irishwench69 wrote: »

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?!

Yes. My experience is in negotiating these types of deals. This involves detailed analysis of the prescription volume data coming in from pharmacy chains and modelling against the NHS Prescription Pricing structures to determine the commercial benefits. At the same time ensuring the mechanics abide by the Pharmaceutical Society Codes of Conduct, so that the individual Pharmacists are able to deliver it on the shop floor.

irishwench69 wrote: »

Do you not think government waste and reorganisation is a bigger problem than supposedly greedy and corrupt pharma companies?

Government waste and inefficiency is certainly an issue, but a totally separate one. I'll stick to this topic for now.

irishwench69 wrote: »

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

Drugs spending vs other NHS spending is a separate issue. I'll stick to this topic for now - ie the choices being made within the drugs budget.

These deals generate rebates worth many £M each year in the UK (with a corresponding payback to the Pharma companies funding them)- more than enough to fund some of the drugs currently denied by the NICE rationing process. The economic choice is therefore simple - go figure, as an American might say.

salster1

reply to 'worried jim'
i would suggest please use caution, there are a number of problems of buying antibiotics and other medication abroad

how do you know which ones you need and when?

if you self medicate (especially with antibiotics) drug resistance develops, really we do not have that many variables of antibiotics.

also they may interract with your current medication regime in ways that you may not know

also some conditions appear very similar so when you may be treating something fairly simple, a more complex or serious condition may have been missed.

i would really advise get medical opinion every time as your gp as all your medical history, drug history, and allergy history.