UK members — Renagel prescription

[Stoday]

Do you get a prescription for Renagel from your GP or your neph?

It's a long story, so I'll start at the beginning.

Way back before I started dialysis I was prescribed Renagel by my neph, so got it from the hospital pharmacy. Before I ran out, I had 8 days in hospital as an emergence and started dialysis. I didn't have my medicines with me when I was admitted, so I was given a fresh supply of everything. A couple of months later I got a heart attack, so got admitted to hospital as an emergency again and got yet another set of medications.

Then there was the problem with medication issue and NHS bureaucracy. The nurses always gave me my Renagel 2 hours after my meal. After grumbling without effect, I saved the pills to take at the right time. Wasn't making a secret of it but the nurses jumped on my pill store and threw them away. Must take pills when handed out; saving them means I might overdose. So I grumbled to the doctors on their next round. They overcame the problem by supplying me with another bottle of 180 Renagel that I could keep and use as required. This is crazy of course, but it's a way of beating the NHS system. So that's why I haven't needed to restock my supplies of Renagel until now.

Last week I emailed my tablets order to my GP in the normal way. Then on Friday I got a telephone call saying that I the binders should be obtained from the hospital. So, on Friday night's dialysis I asked my neph (who attends the first hour on Fridays for the twilight patients) for a prescription. Oh no, you get it from your GP. Indeed I asked a couple of other patients and they get it from their GP.

Well, I'm not going to play piggy-in-the-middle whilst sorting out whose budget should pay for Renagel, so I shall be writing an appropriate letter to my GP. It would be useful to know if patients based on other hospitals in the UK get their Renagel prescriptions from their GP or neph.

[Poppylicious]

Definitely GP.

All Blokey's medications are prescribed by his GP, and most of them were originally prescribed by the hospital/neph.

I imagine that somebody has forgotten to inform your GP that you're taking them.  Isn't that what usually happens?  A letter gets sent to your GP when you start taking new medication and that gives them the go ahead to begin - and then continue - prescribing them? I may be wrong, but I could be right!

Hope you get it sorted.

 

[KICKSTART]

Yeah Poppy is right , usually anything that your neph prescribes , the first lot is given to you by the hospital pharmacy and then after that your neph emails your gp for follow up supplies. Just tell the unit and they will email it over to your gp who should then supply you. 

[Stoday]

Got the prescription from my GP today.

Disappointingly, without an argument. 

Thank you Pops and Kicks

[KICKSTART]

 

[Stoday]

Took the prescription to a pharmacist today. Oh, they don't stock Renagel it's too expensive. Come back this afternoon.

I'll go back tomorrow. What's the betting they don't have it then & I'll have to wait a week?