I wonder how many other people find it difficult to get APS brand tamoxifen.
I used to have a blue pack when i first started taking tamoxifen but felt quite naseous, whether it was the fact my body was getting used to it or the brand i don’t know. However i found once i started taking the pink box APS brand i am fine.
However its a constant fight at tesco to get the APS, the woman said ‘they are exactely the same as the blue pack’ I am paying £7.10 for the blooming things i feel i should be able to get what i want. She had me feeling that i am just being fussy. Anyway i stood my ground and suprise suprise they had 32 tabs in and will soon be getting in another order. Does anyone know if the APS are more expensive than the others?
not sure about price and stuff but I absolutely always insist that I am given APS Tamox and not other brand. I had probs with the CP Pharmaceuticals brand and so now I daren’t stray from my trusty APS again.
My circumstances are slightly different to yours because I am in the forces and so always get my px from the dispensary at the medical centre on camp. However, when I went to pick them up yesterday the lad that works there said he had hell on trying to get the APS ones as that company has actually recently been taken over by another. Not sure how much longer I’ll be able to get the APS ones!!
Fortunately I don’t have to pay for my prescriptions but if I did I would certainly be demanding that I get the brand of my choice, so good on 'ya for standing your ground!
Yes, I had to go around to about 7 pharmacies before finding APS. Worrying about them having been taken over though-who by?
Pharmacists seem to think that we imagine the differences between brands and patronise us horrendously. The active ingredient may be the same across all brands but the inactive ingredients vary enormously.
I had to renew my perscription today, the chemist always stocks the APS brand, but I want the CP Pharmaceuticals brand. It took me ages to persuade her that I get different side effetcs, (well I think she was humouring me in the end) but she evenyually agreed to try and alwyas get the brand I want.
Yes, me too i used to get mine from superdurg but then they couldnt get APS anymore, i tried about 6 different chemists and eventualy found one that could supply the APS brand. I got my GP to write APS brand on my percriptions as that is what my onc first gave me .and i had no problems with them.
There is a difference between brands , although the tamoxifen is the same the bulking agents are different and can cause different side effects. The blue box CP Pharmacuticles (spelling) contain lactose where as APS does not. The APS brand of Tamoxifen is more expensive than the CP brand and i was told by the chemists that they buy in the cheapest. i pay for my perscriptions too so also think i should get the brand i want.
Thanks for replies they are interesting. Oh heck though i dont like the sound of it being taken over by another firm. Maybe thats why they said at tesco they had probs with the suppliers. I wont go to superdrug on principle as my perscrip always used to be for 56tabs, tesco and asda just dispensed 60 as they come in packs of 30, but not superdrug, idiots gave me exactely 56.
Now perscrip is for 60, dont know what i have done to deserve the increase, maybe the longer your on them you get a few more added to the script lol!!
Oh well come Jan am I right in assuming i will be £7.10 better off every two months?
I desperately need antibiotics for sinusitis but £14.20 for them and tamox is steep.
I believe that the free scrips for cancer patients in England start in April 2009. Also curious to see if it includes all items or just cancer drugs. And what happens after 5 years on Tamoxifen? Will we have to pay again. Also read that you have to get an exemption certificate from doctor. Not looking forward to that…
Regards
Debbie
I had a packet of APS from when I was 1st dx, I only used it recently but after a year of arimidex and a year of CP Tamoxifen, I felt strange in a couldnt put my finger on it way, I get mine from boots.
I was given 3 months’ supply of Tamox when I started to take them but pharmacist must’ve been running short as I got 1 packet of Generics, 1 packet of CP and 1 of APS. I got few side effects on the Generics, hardly any on the APS but the side effects on CP were dreadful. Unluckily, my last 3 months’ supply has been CP but thought I’d see what happened over time but the side effects haven’t lessened. I’ve just got my next 3 months’ supply from the pharmacy in Asda and luckily they’ve given me APS - definitely going to insist on this brand in future.
Well its getting ridiculous, tesco gave me 31 tabs promising they could get the rest they were on order however they had some probs with supplier. Now they are sayin they cant get APS. If i want the rest of my 29 tabs i have to go to the GP and get another perscription and then pay another £7.10 at a supplier who has APS.
Quite honestly, couldnt believe the nerve of the woman in tesco. I am holding out until i have about 5 tabs left.