Wrongly Prescribed medication

baza52

Vent

Had problems with my shoulder being stiff and painful so made an apt with the GP.
GP Surgery is quite large with a few doctors that work there.
Appointment was with a Nurse who could prescribe medication and she gave me Naproxen (an NSAID) to be taken twice a day.

Couple of weeks later I am suffering from a cough, shortness of breath and wheezing, After a week of no improvement make another apt at the doctors.

This time I see a Doctor and she tells me I have either Asthma or COPD and I'm given steroids, an inhaler and a peak flow meter as I'm only able to blow 250 (should be 600) and need to keep track of results.

The following day I'm googling the steroids to see what they will do etc and then also google Naproxen.
At this point I start to read the side effects if prescribed at the same time as an SSRI that I have been taking for many years.
It says the two types of tablets should not be taken together unless under strict monitoring from GP and first signs of shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing should be immediately reported to GP.

Hmmm,

Go back to the doctors again the following day and see yet another doctor who agrees it was the Naproxen that caused it.
Just said don't take them and also don't take the steroids and that he will put a note on my records I'm not to be prescribed NSAID's.


No apology, nothing.
I hate to think what could have happened to my health if I had not found out.
Thankfully no children or small animals were harmed and I'm almost back to my old self albeit with a painful frozen shoulder and no pain relief.

Rant over

Pollycat

baza52 wrote: »

Thankfully no children or small animals were harmed and I'm almost back to my old self albeit with a painful frozen shoulder and no pain relief.

Rant over

You made me :rotfl:.
I like your style.

Have you tried some sort of rub to ease your shoulder?

But don't take my advice - I'm not a doctor.

Torry_Quine

My relative has taken an SSRI and Naproxen for many years.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

No sorry OP, the only cure is amputation. Not what you wanted to hear, but it could not be any worse!

meer53

Always best to read the information regarding side effects before you start to take any medication.

ARandomMiser

Glad you got sorted.
You would think that with the levels of computerisation these days this sort of thing could be avoided.

Mojisola

baza52 wrote: »

At this point I start to read the side effects if prescribed at the same time as an SSRI that I have been taking for many years.

It says the two types of tablets should not be taken together unless under strict monitoring from GP and first signs of shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing should be immediately reported to GP.

I've always found our pharmacists very good at picking up things like this and querying them.

Mind you, I'd never take anything new without reading the paperwork and doing a bit a research.

baza52

Mojisola wrote: »

I've always found our pharmacists very good at picking up things like this and querying them.

Mind you, I'd never take anything new without reading the paperwork and doing a bit a research.

If i had ordered SSRI and NSAID together its possible the pharmacist would have queried it.

Surely its the job of the person Prescribing the medication to check if its compatible with any current meds being regularly taken.
After all they had my medical records in front of them.

VfM4meplse

baza52 wrote: »

If i had ordered SSRI and NSAID together its possible the pharmacist would have queried it.

Surely its the job of the person Prescribing the medication to check if its compatible with any current meds being regularly taken.
After all they had my medical records in front of them.

Correct - but what you will find is that nurses and other non-medical clinical staff in practices specialise in specific areas of care, and will take responsibility for that element of your treatment rather than everything else that is going on. Only the GP or pharmacist would have picked this up: the interaction is well known, although thankfully not something everyone will suffer from. It is something that should have been brought to your attention as a possibility, though.

What surprises me is that the nurse had no IT prompts to over-ride before issuing the script. Surely she didn't hand write the prescription?

nearlyrich

baza52 wrote: »

If i had ordered SSRI and NSAID together its possible the pharmacist would have queried it.

Surely its the job of the person Prescribing the medication to check if its compatible with any current meds being regularly taken.
After all they had my medical records in front of them.

I take several meds including Naproxen and I always ask the Dr if I get something new is this OK with the rest of my meds? I am sure they don't plan to poison anyone but with 5 mins to see each person it must be hard to check every little thing..

VfM4meplse

nearlyrich wrote: »

I take several meds including Naproxen and I always ask the Dr if I get something new is this OK with the rest of my meds? I am sure they don't plan to poison anyone but with 5 mins to see each person it must be hard to check every little thing..

Not the point. If not checked at the point of prescribing or caught at the dispensing check, who is going to do that? Healthcare professionals are well paid with good reason, it reflects the responsibility that is an implicit part of the role.