Generic Ibruprofen and Paracetamol

[PatsyMFagan]

I always make sure I have a supply of both these in the house as I find one of each tablet sorts out my aches and pains …. however, in the last few weeks (months) I have noticed that these now seem no longer available … these are the pack of 16 tablets that cost about 30-40p .… the more expensive Nurofen brand are still available.

I have been told (unofficially buy a couple sales staff at Tesco) that they these cheap tablets are being discontinued as youngsters are buying them up when they are depressed enough to want to attempt suicide !

Anyone know any different ?

[Seatallan]

Sainsburys seems to have stopped doing them Patsy so I've noticed it too. I've been buying them from local B&M (still really cheap). I really don't want to have to spend a fortune on the branded ones.

[Prettykiwicrazy]

Our local Boots still does them . I understand the reasoning behind them restricting sales , but I think if someone was depressed enough to want to overdose , paying an extra £2 per packet of paracetamol wouldn’t deter them .

I always buy own brand pain relief . Exactly same ingredients , just without the fancy packaging . It’s the same for people that unnecessarily have paracetamol on prescription . Costs the NHS so much money and it’s so cheap to get the own beans alternative . I know for someone reasons , they have to be prescribed . Our clients can only be administered prescribed medication, so unfortunately that’s all their paracetamol as well

[KC2]

Does Superdrug still do them? I think I used to get them there.

I bought some Ibuprofen at Boots a couple of days ago and thought they were expensive, but then I remember them as always being more expensive than some other places. Curiously, it was much cheaper to buy 2 x 16s than a larger size.

[Herbidacious]

Oh dear. We buy a fair amount. I get migraine-like headches. (Pain and nausea.)

Sainsbury's have had a policy for a while of not letting you buy more than two packets in one go of anything with the active ingredients in. (V annoying when two of you have a cold and want sudafed, lemsip and ibuprofen.) I suppose it's easy enough to get around that.

Sounds like a cynical reason. Why can't they put them behind the pharmacy counter and only let adults buy them? (Yes, I know that adults can commit suicide too, but...)

Re having these things on prescription, it does seem crazy, but it's not always straightforwardly profligate. My mother, who is housebound, takes aspirin daily on prescription, and would have to ask someone to go and buy it for her on a regular basis (you can't necessarily ask someone to go and buy a load all in one go because of policies such as Sainsbury's have) which is sometimes awkward. Her carers would probably look askance on her taking on prescribed things too. She had one who used to hide her tube of topical ibuprofen, which she sometimes needed to apply in the night when her pain got very bad.
I am sure that in many cases it's foolishness too. Local pharmacies do usually use the cheapest version of whatever drug they can though.

I don't think you can get cheaper Ibuprofen in continental Europe and the branded versions are v expensive. Husband used to always try to make sure he bought here to take back to Germany.

[StokeySue]

Sainsbury's have had a policy for a while of not letting you buy more than two packets in one go of anything with the active ingredients in.

That’s not a Sainsbury policy, that’s a national policy from the MHRA.

I don’t think it’s so much about prevention deliberate overdose as preventing people from routine overconsumption. If you saw any of those Dr In the House tv programmes where a GP moves in with a family to find out how their treatment needs tweaking to suit their real habits there was at least one woman who was routinely taking paracetamol with every cuppa, and this is quite common I believe. It’s also very dangerous, even taken little and often paracetamol can cause terrible liver damage, only recently been appreciated how big the risk is.

Yes, tHats one reason why doctors will sometimes prescribe large dispensing packs to chronically ill people, so they only have to collect them occasionally or can get them delivered.

You should be able to get cheapest generics from pharmacies
If the doctor prescribes the generic version, then the pharmacy will dispense the cheapest version. I seem to get a different brand of my eye drops every time. The drops are fine, it’s the quality of some of the dropper bottles that annoys me.

[Herbidacious]

I did wonder if that was a general thing.

I over take Nytol...

[PatsyMFagan]

Sod's Law … today Tesco had plenty of the cheap versions in stock The only difference is that they are now on the bottom shelf rather than at eye level.

I am aware about the over dosing on a regular basis … I only use them when I have an occasional twinge in my back, or a bit of joint (arthritis) pain …. I rarely need more than one dose in any day.

I also know about the dangers of overdosing accidentally having lost an alcoholic friend who OD'd on paracetamol for her liver cirrhosis !

[Ratatouille]

I had to kick up a real fuss to get genereric ibuprofen. Our local phamacie says they only stock branded stuff. Of course they do, that's how they make their money. 20 generic ibuprofen cost €1.70 whereas Nurofen costs €3.50 something. Apart from the shiny packet there is absolutely no difference. Of course you can't buy either in a supermarket - it has to be over the counter in a pharmacy.

As for things like Nytol = no need here you can buy melatonine based products over the counter which are unavailable in the UK. I always keep a box around because they really do work and Mr R quite often finds sleeping all throught the night. These don't give you that sort of hang-over effect things like Nytol produce

[StokeySue]

My impression has always been that the UK is way ahead of most countries in terms of awareness, distribution, and use of generic medicines, a bonus of the of the way the NHS pricing system works and the role of NICE.

[scullion]

you can always get round the two packet rule by taking your stuff to the car and going back in to the supermarket or by just doing the rounds of the supermarkets - that was told to me by one of the checkout ladies.

i definitely won't be taking ibuprofen ever again - i had a really nasty, sudden onset reaction to it nearly three years ago which took well over a year and a half to wear off - the naproxen i was then (wrongly) given has left me with an effect which hasn't gone yet and may not.
i am obviously one of the 5% who have a reaction (according to the literature) - although i know quite a few people, now, who have had the same reaction so maybe it's more than 5% with not all of them being reported, i doubt mine was .

[StokeySue]

You can self-report an adverse drug reaction using the “Yellow Card” system. Manufacturers and the regulators are obliged to report and review all reported events annually, for drugs with an identifiable marketing authorisation but I’m not sure how it works for generics where the manufacturer may not be identifiable.

https://rdtc.nhs.uk/services/yellow-card/patient-self-reporting-adverse-drug-reactions

[Herbidacious]

As for things like Nytol = no need here you can buy melatonine based products over the counter which are unavailable in the UK. I always keep a box around because they really do work and Mr R quite often finds sleeping all throught the night. These don't give you that sort of hang-over effect things like Nytol produce

Rats, could you give me some namefor that? (Brands or just how you would ask for it in French, if it's not obvious. I can look it up, of course.) I can get some next time I am in France (3 weeks albeit very briefly.) I don't get the hangover feeling with Nytol, but it's been linked to dementia, so need to stop taking it really. It doesn't always work anyway. Possibly partly because my body is used to it, but I seem to have resistance to various drugs (including pain killers.)

[uschi]

My impression has always been that the UK is way ahead of most countries in terms of awareness, distribution, and use of generic medicines, a bonus of the of the way the NHS pricing system works and the role of NICE.

Our health insurances have stipulated that we are given the best price medicines or pay more for the ones we are used to. Normally I am perfectly fine with that, but I once had a strange reaction to a different brand of antibiotics (the pharmacy had run out of the original stuff that I had taken in the first three weeks without problems and gave me a different brand. It was probably more expensive, but it did not agree with my stomach. Not too badly, but it made life uncomfortable).
In general, though, we pay more than most other European states and you can't buy Aspirin or other medicines in supermarkets. Pharmacies have a monopoly in medicines.

[cyprusmoira]

I have been self medicating on Ibuprofen for about a year. I have to buy branded as that is what is available. At my request on their last visit my Bro bought me some Ibuprofen, much cheaper in the UK, one of the generic brands gave me nausea. I know that can happen with NSAIDS but the nausea was cured by reverting to the branded product. I suspect that it may be because of the Enteric Coating.

Moira

[Ratatouille]

It's called Mela Sommeil Herbie

[Herbidacious]

It's called Mela Sommeil Herbie

Thanks!

[Gruney]

Loads of generic paracetamol in our Morrisons.

[KC2]

[quote="Herbidacious"

I over take Nytol... [/quote]

Funnily enough, I was thinking about asking on here about what non-prescription sleeping aids any of you use!
In the end I went for Kalms. One of my friends said she used them. I got the larger dose ones that you only need to take one of - I think they've helped on the occasions when I've tried them. I've got a lot of them now as they were on a 3 for 2 at Boots, so I hope they are successful!

(Buying things on a multi-buy for the first time can be expensive, if you don't get on with them, as OH discovered when he bought an awful lot of something called Saw Palmetto that was very expensive but on offer at Holland & Barrett!)

[Seatallan]

I used to take Nytol regularly (though I found just one of the 'two a night' pills worked) but I managed to wean myself off them.

I'm like Patsy with generic pain-killers. It's just useful to have a supply for when they're needed. I keep a supply of heavy-duty ones too (including an emergency stack in the hill walking first aid kid) and Mr S, who is prone to back problems, has a supply of Tramadol too. Again, only taken when absolutely necessary. I have to be careful anyway because I'm on meds for hypertension (and they don't mix with some pain killers).

[Herbidacious]

Herbal sleep aids just don't work on me. My insomnia is caused by inability to relax, and anxiety, and they don't do anything for me.

However 3am warm milk does, usually. I don't take it by default at bed time in case in doesn't work at that point. I don't want to have to do it twice in one night. That probably makes no sense, but it's my preferred modus operandi. Maybe I should cut out the Nytol and try the milk earlier in the night. Last night it was a 10pm bedtime, midnight milk, and that worked.

[PatsyMFagan]

Herbi, have you tried listening to a mindfulness/relaxing app on your phone to help you relax and unwind ? I think there are foods that are meant to help with this too... bananas spring to mind (I was going to say Turkey, then remembered you are veggie ) I too have milk in the night if I wake up and can't get back to sleep, but I add some honey too … I think sometimes I wake up because I am hungry, and this helps.

Meant to add that Pukka do both 'Night Time' and 'Chamomile, Vanilla and Manuka Honey' tea bags that might help earlier in the evening as part of a bed-time routine …. although I have to be careful that the extra fluid doesn't mean interrupted sleep due to comfort breaks

[Herbidacious]

I find mindfulness and meditation very difficult...

I bought a Dodow, but found concentrating on it made me tense. (Mind you being too short sighted to see the lights preoprly didn't help... )

I probably just need therapy Or to retire. A move to the country?! A less troublesome family?!

It has to be said, getting to sleep has been difficult since teenage years. I may have a faulty brain. It's not bad all the time though.

[uschi]

The term "mindfulness" is bandied about these days for what my grandmothers called "enjoying small moments". Cheap and cheerful ... doesn't sell many gadgets and books, though - and you have to have the gift.
I have been playing with my hair since my birth. I still do and I listen to the tiny noise the ends make on my skin or fingernails (hence no nail polish, it kills the sound).
That's a highly specialised tick, I realise, but it soothes me like nothing else.
So does dreaming up good night stories for myself. I am onto a very good string of those at the moment.

[Herbidacious]

Uschi I do the stories thing too! I've been doing since I was a youngish child. Most of them have not been for public consumption/worth writing down - long rambling sagas some of which have gone on for years - but I have more recently found myself 'working on' ones I am actually writing. One has to be careful not to get too involved in them though, if one wants to sleep, so this is usually a weekend afternoon nap thing. I hardly ever have a problem falling asleep in the afternoon...

[smitch]

I find mindfulness and meditation very difficult...

I bought a Dodow, but found concentrating on it made me tense. (Mind you being too short sighted to see the lights preoprly didn't help... )

I probably just need therapy Or to retire. A move to the country?! A less troublesome family?!

It has to be said, getting to sleep has been difficult since teenage years. I may have a faulty brain. It's not bad all the time though.

Not to poke my nose in but have you spoken to your GP? I’ve been going through a tough time recently with health stuff and an extremely stressful new job. It got to the point where I cried several times per day and was barely sleeping. My OH finally persuaded me to see the GP, who put me on a low dose of medication for anxiety and depression. I’ve also been put on a waiting list for CBT after a telephone triage through the mental health team.

I didn’t realise just how bad things were until the medication started working. My husband and close friends have commented I seem more like my old self. I never thought I was a person who needed antidepressants but in hindsight I should have done it years ago. I’ve got a difficult family too and it can be so stressful

[Busybee]

Herbi and Smitch

BB

[uschi]

Uschi I do the stories thing too! I've been doing since I was a youngish child. Most of them have not been for public consumption/worth writing down - long rambling sagas some of which have gone on for years - but I have more recently found myself 'working on' ones I am actually writing. One has to be careful not to get too involved in them though, if one wants to sleep, so this is usually a weekend afternoon nap thing. I hardly ever have a problem falling asleep in the afternoon...

I know the problem. The storylines that are not for the public go back to my primary school days. The personnel has changed a little over time, but not much. And they have multiplied. I can pick and choose.

I wrote a mystery many moons ago, that would sometimes keep me awake. Still, it was fun.
I used to love an afternoon nap, but these days I get hot flushes the moment I hit the matress.

[Seatallan]

these days I get hot flushes the moment I hit the matress.

You and me both Uschi....

Smitch and Herbi- big hugs . I think Smitch may have the rights of it Herbi. Nothing to lose by having a chat with your GP...

[Herbidacious]

Sorry about the hot flushes, Uschi. That must be horrible. I seem to have had virtually no menopause symptoms. I worry about this!

Smitch, I am sorry you have been having such a rough time, and great that the ADs are helping. I have done the antidepressant thing (for about 4 years- came off them in 2014) and really don't want to do it again, if I can help it, for various reasons. When I found one that worked (took a bit of tinkering), it was great for a bit - revelatory, even - but then it flattened out... as did my emotions. (One of the reasons...)

I was offered counselling quite some time ago, but they couldn't give me a regular slot so it was a bit useless.

That said, I can't remember whether my sleep was better while on ADs or not!

[musselsandfries]

If I may add my two penneth worth

I have had 10mg of AD for 6 months as a mediction for a physical health problem, I have had to adapt a little to the feeling of 'dullness' but touch wood its doing its thing.

Anyway I wanted to say re sleep...husband swears by Sediplus, after trying several products. He has recently been to sleep clinic and apparantly 'nose bone' slightly not straight causing snoring and restless breathing therefore lack of sleep.

I personally go to bed at exactly same time every night, somehow it has trained body to know when it is expected to go to sleep. I then listen to podcasts, series on radio etc for an hour....completely stopping reading in bed helped enormously.

hope you find a solution, sleep deprivation is really miserable.

[miss mouse]

I seem to have had virtually no menopause symptoms. I worry about this!

I also had/have virtually no menopause symptoms apart from chronic anxiety about everything. Anxiety/worry is very wearing, exhausting even.

Re Ibubrufen, it was not good orally but topically it is excellent. A purely personal reaction of course.

[Seatallan]

I seem to have had virtually no menopause symptoms. I worry about this!

Actually.....the menopause could explain why you feel so generally 'pants' Herbi. A friend of mine was just the same. She had a host of physical symptoms including frequent headaches, recurrent urinary tract infections and generally having no energy. She said she felt constantly as though she had low-grade flu. With the help of her GP she's found an HRT combination that really works for her (I know it isn't for everyone but it's really made a difference to her quality of life). As I said on another thread, I think a visit to your surgery might be a good plan.

And I can sympathise with the chronic anxiety thing miss mouse. I was NEVER anxious until I hit the menopause. I've learned to deal with it (and have found ways of controlling it) but it is wearing isn't it? Only last night I found myself peering out of the french windows at 3.00am and pacing up and down because I'd convinced myself something had happened to Ollie. Which (of course) it hadn't (other than he'd found a mouse ). Oh the joys of being a girlie!!

[miss mouse]

I was NEVER anxious until I hit the menopause.

Nor was I, I just assumed that 'things' would work out in the end whatever the 'things' were. It is indeed very wearing. Plus others (probably quite rightly) are baffled by it.

[Seatallan]

Plus others (probably quite rightly) are baffled by it.

I know... Mr S is very understanding as far as it goes, but it's impossible to explain isn't it? There's nothing logical about it but you can't help it. We were out for a lovely hill-walk a week or so back and randomly I became paranoid that I'd left the cooker on and that the house would have burned down when we came home. I knew it was ridiculous but until we turned the corner and I saw the house was in one piece I just couldn't get the image out of my mind.

One day we'll be through this!!

[Herbidacious]

Anxiety is the worst. I would rather feel low than anxious.

My anxiety tends to be of the more unfocussed variety, rather than about specific things (or at least things of which I am conscious of.) I assumed that was a facet of depression (which is an ongoing issue, not a new one.)

I have started having extreme headaches with nausea since I stopped being er perimenopausal, I suppose.

I have been to the doctor's about the low energylevels, and met with varying responses ranging from a shrug to questions about my mental health (as in, 'Perhaps you're depressed? No?) and vitamin/mineral deficiences. No one suggested menopause. This could be because last time I went with this I was in my 40s and they never check their notes, though. Maybe I should just go back and say might this be a menopause thing and can you do anything about it?!

I suppose when I say I haven't had menopause symptoms, then, I mean I've not had terrible hot flushes! Although I did used to have night sweats, now I think about it. I think they lasted for less than 6 months. OK I am comforted now

re ADs I was on quite a high dose.

I think I need a nap now...

[Seatallan]

Herbi, it really does remind me of my friend. As with you, no one suggested menopause (her symptoms were almost identical to yours). She was tested for thyroid issues (something she had suffered from in the past but it wasn't related) and one of the GP's prescribed anti-depressants (which she didn't really get on with) but it was only when she saw a new, female GP that menopause was mentioned. New GP tried a few combinations of HRT with friend (as well as some natural remedies) until they hit on something that worked. Made such a difference to her.

[KC2]

One day we'll be through this!!

Absolutely and it'll be barely a dim and distant memory! I honestly can't remember what I went through apart from hot flushes and night sweats.
It's like happily forgetting extreme pain (such as my one and only, and I hope never again, tooth abscess!)

[miss mouse]

No one suggested menopause. This could be because last time I went with this I was in my 40s and they never check their notes, though. Maybe I should just go back and say might this be a menopause thing and can you do anything about it?

As I understand it, we don't wake up one day in full blown menopause mode, it is a gradual thing, a slowdown in production of the various hormones which begins earlier than we think. Worth investigating I would think because you have been feeling so awful for so long which is no fun.

[uschi]

I guess there is nothing wrong with having few or no troubles during the menopause. It's like having one's days without extra problems. A gift!

I just wish my body would not be so sadistical about anything to do with being a female.

[earthmaiden]

Certainly worth mentioning to a doctor. There seems to be quite a campaign for them to recognise the myriad of symptoms with empathy these days. I expect each of us 'of a certain age' has eventually recognised some symptom or other. I haven't had hot flushes or anxiety but suffered greatly from issues relating to lack of oestrogen, none of which I have heard talked about much but all of which have taken a little of the richness from my life as far as I'm concerned. It was a gradual process over several years following a hysterectomy and I don't feel that anyone cares. I accept that I'm not ill but empathy would be nice. If any help is offered - accept!

[Herbidacious]

These things are not talked about much, really are they.

Meanwhile poor Emma Watson, is/was, like, having a crisis about hitting 30. (And clearly lost her ability to speak in, like, plain English English.)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-50299642

["We met in activist spaces, so we had this allyship and solidarity as activists that had been part of a certain movement before we ever worked together."]

[uschi]

I had mood swings at the beginning of the menopause. I could cry from one second to the next and then, at the drop of a hat I was euphoric. I do miss the latter. I fell in love with Axel at the time and whoooo ... did I walk on clouds.
So, not all is bad. I am certainly glad that my days have packed in.
I may have more wrinkles now, and my hair is greying, but hey, Axel is taking boudoir pictures of me and I look better than ten years ago, despite being more wrinkly.
y

[Seatallan]

Nice one Uschi!!

So glad you met Axel (bet he's glad he met you too )

[uschi]

Nice one Uschi!!

So glad you met Axel (bet he's glad he met you too )

He is. And I am counting myself lucky, too.

[slimpersoninside]

Nice one Uschi!!

So glad you met Axel (bet he's glad he met you too )

He is. And I am counting myself lucky, too.

I'll go along with this. Really pleased you found each other and are happy. You really deserve it!

Sea and miss mouse, you have really cheered me up as I now know I'm not going nuts. Anxiety strikes here too and it makes me feel so glad to realise it's part of a bigger picture.

[Seatallan]

Nice one Uschi!!

So glad you met Axel (bet he's glad he met you too )

He is. And I am counting myself lucky, too.

I'll go along with this. Really pleased you found each other and are happy. You really deserve it!

Sea and miss mouse, you have really cheered me up as I now know I'm not going nuts. Anxiety strikes here too and it makes me feel so glad to realise it's part of a bigger picture.

Think we should form a support group slimpersoninside...

[suffolk]

Think we are already a support group

[Seatallan]

Good point Suffs!!

[uschi]

Jawoll!!!