Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => All things menopause => Topic started by: joziel on August 15, 2024, 03:17:56 PM
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If you get your HRT on the NHS, do you only get a month's worth at a time?
We recently moved house and my new GP, whilst very nice, will only prescribe a month at a time. This sucks because it goes like this:
- Request HRT via the NHS app (easy part)
- Wait 3 working days.
- Walk down the road to the surgery (only open a few hours on certain days of the week, which I always get wrong) to get the HRT (small rural village where the meds are dispensed in the surgery itself not in a pharmacy)
- Invariably find something wrong in terms of not enough of something (dosage) and have to request this to be fixed.
- Walk home
- Walk back 3 working days later to get HRT
- Repeat all over again the next month....
Arrrgggg :o It wouldn't be so bad if I could just get 3 months at a time, but doing this every month..... :o
How does everyone else get their NHS HRT and how many month's worth do you get at a time?
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Especially in the snow or when it's raining!
Is there a pharmacist working for the Practice? We have a dedicated bloke who does annual reviews over the phone - to save the GPs time - if he has queries he will ask the GP and ring me again. Hopefully once the practice gets used to your medication requirements, U won't have such difficulty. If there is a problem when I attend to collect, it is sorted there and then, as long as I check B4 leaving the premises.
So much medication is wasted as they can't take it back once out the door!
My prescriptions are monthly, I don't think that GPs are allowed to hand over more than that ......... this is supposed to stop patients hoarding meds as well as being a safety issue. So hand in the script 2 weeks in advance and pick up without problems, unless I walk down on their monthly closed 'training days'. Which I feel could take place after hours, however our opening times vary during the week in an attempt to accommodate those working shift patterns.
When I'm going away and unlikely to be here to put in a script I order 'extra'. Recently our Surgery has stopped accepting repeat requests over the phone because they want patients to go onto their apps etc., which I refuse to do. Not that we go away much due to my anxiety.
Our surgery is about 10 mins walk from the house so I try to consider it part of my daily exercise requirement, though I tend to call in when driving elsewhere ;-).
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I don't know if there's a pharmacist working there or not, but I seem to spend about half of each month from the beginning to the end of this process and life is already busy enough...
So far I've got there to find they've lost my entire prescription (giant bag of loads of Oestrogel), once there was no utrogestan, once there was a single bottle of Oestrogel instead of 5.... and so on. It's always a good month if I don't have to go back again.
My old GP used to give me 3 months at a time, sometimes 6 months once I was stable on something. How many practices still do that?
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At my last review the nurse was going to ask the GP if my Vagifem could be on a 3 monthly supply as its for life. When I went to collect my prescription only one box was included. I assumed the doc thinking that she's getting on a bit she might not last three months but hey ho, I don't mind as long as I get it.
Pharmacy is like a tiny box next to the surgery but they are so helpful and I have never had a problem obtaining my other meds.
Like you we have recently moved and its a bit country bumpkin here compared to London but was pleasantly surprised at how wonderful the nurse was when it came to menopause matters, she was amazing which was a great relief.
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Every 5 months for HRT, I asked years ago if I could have it in one go as cheaper. Vagifem every 3 weeks , because we all know what a dangerous drug that is ::)- we might over use it!
PMXX
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Hi Joziel
I have to do exactly the same as you, request every month.
It’s a pain in the arse because when I was on Femoston conti, I was always given 3 months supply.
Not sure why they only prescribe just one month, but they do. 🤷🏼♀️
I feel your frustration! ;D
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There is a lot of info on the NHS - mainly monthly prescriptions to avoid wastage when drugs have left the surgery.
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Four months for hrt, two months for anything else. Utrogestan was reduced to two months when there was a shortage. It doesn't make a difference in cost with hrt due to the exemption but with other repeat prescription medication I'd not want it less than every two months as you pay per prescription rather than per product.
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I did ask the doctor why it was every month and she was a bit evasive and said 'so we can keep track...' [of something or other].
I didn't want to get too assertive with the questioning as she had just approved my incredibly high dose of estrogen ;D ;D ;D
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I get 3mths worth per prescription, both for Vagifem and for Oestrogel. When I first started HRT I had to pay for my prescriptions, initially I only had one month each time but I asked GP if this could be increased to save me money and she changed it to 3 months. At that time I was using 2 pumps a day but over time I've increased this to 3.5 pumps so she's increased the amount prescribed accordingly and I pick up 5 bottles every 3 mths.
I guess with you using so much there might be a reluctance to hand over a wheelbarrow full of gel each time 🤣 But, once you're settled, it's def worth asking for a longer period.
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I did ask the doctor why it was every month and she was a bit evasive and said 'so we can keep track...' [of something or other].
I didn't want to get too assertive with the questioning as she had just approved my incredibly high dose of estrogen ;D ;D ;D
Lol perhaps she thinks you're flogging it or something. One month is ridiculous though, I can see why that would be frustrating especially if they then get it wrong
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Well she does have the letter from Newson Health saying I need this dosage so don't think she can think I'm flogging it ;D
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It would be great if the BMS or NICE would issue a guideline recommending hormone therapy prescriptions being issued for a year once stable.
The oral contraceptive pill is typically prescribed 12 months at a time, so there's a real disparity between the care of fertile women vs those seen to have passed their usefulness.
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If you get your HRT on the NHS, do you only get a month's worth at a time?
We recently moved house and my new GP, whilst very nice, will only prescribe a month at a time. This sucks because it goes like this:
- Request HRT via the NHS app (easy part)
- Wait 3 working days.
- Walk down the road to the surgery (only open a few hours on certain days of the week, which I always get wrong) to get the HRT (small rural village where the meds are dispensed in the surgery itself not in a pharmacy)
- Invariably find something wrong in terms of not enough of something (dosage) and have to request this to be fixed.
- Walk home
- Walk back 3 working days later to get HRT
- Repeat all over again the next month....
Arrrgggg :o It wouldn't be so bad if I could just get 3 months at a time, but doing this every month..... :o
How does everyone else get their NHS HRT and how many month's worth do you get at a time?
I haven't read all the other posts but I usually get 3 months at a time. The only time it was different was when there were shortages. I live in rural SW England. My husband gets his BP medication usually monthly though he often wangles two months if we're going away or something.
Hurdity x
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I have a review of medication annually for local hrt. The GP authorises a years worth to a pharmacy of choice and I pick it up. It was monthly but I asked for a two month supply each time which is better. But I don't have to keep going back to the GP, just once a year.
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6 months of patches at a time.
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Where do all you people getting 3 months and 6 months at a time live??
Hurdity, I also live in rural SW. In Wiltshire, but pretty close to the Dorset border.
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I think it depends on the surgery. There are 2 in our small town, mine gives me 3 months whilst OH's will only prescribe 1 month for anything (though he hasn't asked about hrt yet :)).
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When the GP was prescribing gel and utrogestan I got 1 month at a time and agree it’s really inconvenient.
Since NHS menopause clinic appt I’ve got 6 month of patches (I changed from gel) and a box of testogel which will last 10 months (this was because the chemist wouldn’t split a box) my utrogestan is still monthly, despite asking every month for 3!
I’m planning on asking the nurse prescriber to increase utrogestan to 6 months at my next appt.
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I am wondering if this is about the utrogestan shortage, although I don't think it can be as I seem to be getting Gepretix now....
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NHS advice is 1 month at a time to avoid wastage. With estriol I get two tubes at a time. Our surgery won't prescribe over the monthly NHS advice.
When I think how patients go into Hospital taking their meds., then get sent home with more of the same or totally different meds.: ......... much of which are never used :-\