---Double the cost

[Flynnsmum]

Who pays /who doesnt As another mother of a child with epilepsy I decided that my views were too controversial to post. suffice to say I was upset but feel sure that there was no intention to undermine epilepsy sufferers

[Guest user]

prescription charges I currently pay my years subscription(90 something £\'s a year)and am saving a lot of money. As well as tamoxifen i am taking 2 tablets of clodronate a day, which are to prevent my bone density thinning,( and i suspect because they\'re in trials to prevent bone cancer and onc thinks they may help), and my lovely gp just prescribed me glucosamine which is doing wonders for my joints now.
I am glad not to live abroad where everything is paid for , as the chemist told me the chlodronate tablets were never in stock when i went for them because they cost £145 a box???
Thing is i have a brother in law with diabetes, who doesnt try to stay healthy, just eats whatever he wants ( & occasionally smokes) and thinks the diabetic tablets are there just to counteract his overeating( or rather eating sugar etc..)
.He gets all his medicines free. He isnt scared that his life is threatened,
Every person diagnosed with cancer has their life threatened, so the pressure of paying for their drugs should not come into it.
I have often wondered how many people dont pick up and take their prescriptions because of the cost.

lynne

[Guest user]

Review Of NHS charges now being considered by House of commons Health select commitee

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmhealth.htm

[Guest user]

Breast Cancer Care Campaign Breast Cancer Care is currently campaigning about unfairness of prescription charges. If you click on \'Campaigning\' above and then go to \'Prescription for change\' you can find BCC\' s policy document. If you really feel strongly about this you could send the document to your MP. Just a suggestion!
Ellie

[Guest user]

You are welcome Jan :)) Glad I could help.

With regards to BamBams comment on epilepsy, I would say that I fully agree, all we need is parity for any life threatening illness, just fed up with uneven playing fields.

Rgrds/Siggy

[Guest user]

Lyndaf & Staffy I agree breast cancer sufferers should not have to pay for prescriptions. I\'m lucky I get mine paid as part of a research trial.

Can I just reiterate what staffy says - Epilepsy most definitely IS a life threatening illness, I also have a child with epilepsy. He lives a normal life and is at university but purely thanks to his medication.

I think as breast cancer patients we must continue to fight our corner but on it\'s own merits and without denegrating other conditions.

B x

[Janice]

---Thanks£££££££££ --Siggy

Thanks a lot it worked look ££££££££££££££££££££££££££.

I know we\'ve wondered off my initial thread but I\'m glad we did, I\'ve printed your instructions out for future reference, although I shouldn\'t need them.

THANKS AGAIN

Jan

[Guest user]

Staffy I wasn\'t trying to say us BC suffers had the monolopy. But I have an Ex Husband, hasn\'t fitted in the 35years I have known him. Gets free prescriptions, for everything - has his own company and is very well able to pay prescription charges.

There are others who need assistance and can\'t get it

Lynda

PS - Sorry that your child has Epilepsy, hopefully he will grow out of it

[Guest user]

Must say I have never had more than 1 month My GP has only ever prescribed me 1 month at a time of any of my medication, with the inhalers that can be a problem as I always like to have a spare for each type to take in handbag, so I simply get round it by taking in repeat prescrip a couple of weeks after last one.

But of course I realise that is easy for me to do coz of yearly prescrip card, not so easy when you are having to pay for each prescrip....

[Guest user]

Lyndaf I really don\'t want to split hairs but Epilepsy IS life threatening too many people are still losing their life through it. We all know what a terrible thing breast cancer is to live with and die from but we should\'nt under estimate how terrible other illnesses are.
From a mother of a child with Epilepsy.
Kim

[blondie]

That\'s what I love That\'s what is so great about these forums - you never know where I thread is going to end up! It makes me glad I have a Mac - much easier but don\'t get me started on the PC/Mac debate.

I thought that GPs could decide what time limit to prescribe - ours is about fifty days max. I have been given 2 week prescriptions by my doctor and requested longer - so far I haven\'t been refused.

The bill for disposal of unused drugs runs in to tens of thousands every year and so I have no problem with doctors tightening up on precribing so long as they are prepared to be flexible where the case is justified.

Blondie

[Guest user]

OK check the following Jan Start
Control Panel
Regional & Language Options
Make sure English (United Kingdom) is selected under the regional options Tab
Click on Lamguages Tab and select Details
Make sure that English (United Kingdom) is selected under Settings Tab [Default Input Section) This is the important one.
Click OK
Make sure that English (United Kingdom) is selected under the Advanced Tab

Once all the above have been checked then click OK.

Let me know how you get on

Rgrds/Siggy

[Janice]

---Challis --I am using Windows XP,

Jan

[Guest user]

What version of Windows are you using Jan ? ---

[Janice]

---Challis ---How do I get my keyboard set to English(UK)? I have looked in the control panel under keyboard but can\'t see any options to change.

Jan

[Guest user]

So sorry to hear that Gandalf Unfortunately it shows how careful you have to be re cc payments, was it an online payment [presume so from fact that it was AOL], if you need any help with making your PC more secure then do ask BCC for my e-mail and I will try to assist as IT is my daytime job.

Rgrds/Siggy

[Guest user]

Prescriptions I have been getting 2 months worth of Tamoxifen and Efexor at a time, but it sounds as though that might change. My GP needs to see me to re-authorise my repeat prescriptions, so I\'ll see what she knows.

Have also had a bad day - checked the transactions on my credit card online and discovered I have been the victim of credit card fraud. Not for a huge amount, thank goodness, but I was not impressed by HSBC\'s customer service - they insisted I must have let someone else use it. Fortunately it was a payment to AOL (with whom I have no dealings) and they were able to tell me the name given by the fraudster and close the account he had set up. I feel so angry...

[Guest user]

Your Keyboard Jan If you are running under windows then you currently have your keyboard set to English(US) instead of English(UK). Amazingly Microsoft do realise that the 2 versions of English are different and this is why you cannot get a £ symbol.

On the subject of Tamoxifen or any regular prescrips, I am lucky and can afford a yearly prescrip card which saves me literally £300 per year as I am also asthmatic and have gall stones.

I do object intensly to anyone being charged for prescrips for any life saving drugs and wonder if this is being caused by possibility that they are scared that somehow people are getting additional monthly supplies and then selling them on the web - just do not understand the need to make people pay even more to stay alive !.

Siggy

[jacks]

I agree Prescription charges are far from fair. I have thyroid problems and when it was overactive I had to pay, then they gave me radioactive iodine made it underactive now I dont have to pay!
So luckily I got all my prescriptions free when I had the treatment for bc. But I don\'t understand the reasoning behind which conditions qualify for free prescriptions.
Is it because the medication will be needed for life?
Suex

[karen]

So far.. i\'ve been fortunate, in that my doctor gives me 3mths supply of tamoxifen at a time, so have to only pay one charge, does this mean a new rule has been brought in and thats going to change?

i strongly believe that any drug treating a life threatening condition should be exempt from charge.
we didn\'t ask to be in this position, yet drug addicts [ a self inflicted condition ] recieve free prescriptions!!

further more, and slightly off the subject, they recieve either DLA or incapacity benefit, and doubt if they ever get called in for a medical!!..........

sorry will get off my soap box now.......

karen

[Janice]

---I must say ---I always have a little smile when I read your name Geronimo, I am also not working now but my husband is so that appears not to count. He has trouble with his Thyroid and doesn\'t have to pay for prescriptions at all, mind you he\'s 61 now so wouldn\'t have to anyway. I\'ll be 60 next year then mine should be free as well not that its anything to look forward to.

Jan

[Guest user]

--- I think that --- .... is awful that you were only given one month\'s supply. I could understand them giving one month \'in case of wastage\' for something which might be cleared up in a month\'s time, but to do that for Tamoxifen just stinks to my mind.

I am \'lucky\' (?) in that I lost my livelihood through cancer, thereby unemployed, and also have Thyroid problems, so don\'t have to pay for prescriptions, but really feel for those of you that do.

Joy xxx

[Guest user]

--- Whoops, one of those air head days - meant NOT exempt

Lynda

[Guest user]

Anger ---Hi Janice,

As you say just a way of getting double the money from people are dependent on this for 5 years. It does seem strange to me that cancer treatment (Life threatening) is Prescription Charge Exempt the same as it is for Epilepsy (NON Life Threatening). Would be interesting to have other peoples comments opinions.

By the by - tried to get on the GMTV site to look at the article about Kerry Roberston and gave p in disgust - it\'s so well hidden I couldn\'t find it (and I work in Software development)

Lynda xx

[Janice]

---Double the cost ---Hi everyone

I went to the pharmacy yesterday to collect my repeat prescription for Tamoxifen, in the past I have been given 2 months supply which means one charge. I was told this time that they were no longer able to give more than one months supply at a time, giving me a leaflet explaining why. Load of gobbledygook, but saying it was to cut down on wastage. Rubbish it’s to get double the money, the people at the pharmacy said it also meant double the work for them. I know it’s only a small incident, but it made me feel very cross. Then I got home and found a letter from NTL saying we owed them #100. (no pound sign on this keyboard) which we don’t, took me ages to actually speak to someone to sort it out, ended up canceling our TV with them in temper.

Not a good day.

Jan

[Janice]

---Double the cost