Friday, February 13, 2009

Confusing the Chemist

Last Friday we ran out of prednisolone tablets. I dashed into the chemist (pharmacy) to pick up a repeat prescription on Saturday morning. But we had no refills left. Oops.

The man serving me was the actual pharmacist rather than one of his minions like normal. He looked at the array of drugs showing up on PuffyFingers computer record and said:
"I think, I shouldn't leave you without her meds over the weekend. What exactly is she being treated for?"
(Hurrah for the common sense pharamacist! I've had this argument with a chemist in the UK and totally failed to get any help.)
Anyway, he gave us 3 tablets to get us through to Monday when they'll fax the hospital about getting a repeat prescription.

Monday rolls around... I phone the hospital explain about the lovely pharmacist and ask if they've received the fax. No they tell me, they haven't. Hmm, maybe the pharmacist isn't so lovely.

But don't worry says the nurse, we'll phone through the prescription now. You can pick it up this evening.

Monday evening, I stop at the chemist to pick up the prescription. But, lo, there are two prescriptions waiting for PuffyFingers. One, a repeat prescription of the prednisolone at 2.5 mg per day, the other a new prescription for prednisone at 5mg per day. So the pharmacist was lovley after all.

I chat with the pharmacist (a different one). Prednisolone and Prednisone do the same thing (I wonder why they both exist?). Bu the dosages advised by the hospital are different: the refill is a repeat of the dosage before the sausage finger incident. I decide to go with the prednisone in the higher dosage, which is the new prescription phoned through from the hospital that day.

So one new medication to add to the list: Prednisone.

I did phone the hospital on Tuesday to check on the dosage - see, I'm not a total space cadet.

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