Captain Colonial Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Don't worry, it's no one in here! I've got pretty bad asthma, but which is controlled through the use of preposterous amounts of drugs, for which I'm grateful. The drug I'm about to tell you about is taken as two inhales twice a day (morning and evening). Anyway, one of my inhalers finished last night and I started a new one this morning. It was in a different delivery system than normal, a compressed canister rather than a rattle inhaler, but hey ho, same drug so no issues, right? Wrong. Fast forward to this afternoon on the M40. I'm driving along when I suddenly get out of breath, very light headed and start blacking out - not good. I just manage to get to the hard shoulder safely, and get into the recovery position out of sheer instinct, struggling not to pass out. I know it's my asthma, but it makes no sense to me. After about 15 minutes of cacking myself, I manage to get enough strength to finish the drive home and struggle indoors, where I find my new inhaler. My normal one is called FostairNEXT (rattle inhaler) and the new one I got was Fostair (compressed canister). The big difference, but in small writing, was that while it was the exact same drug, it was HALF the dosage - 100mg instead of 200mg. And of course, because I can only take it morning and evening, I didn't need to carry it with me - right? I quickly took another two shots which worked within 10 minutes, and got back into the car and went straight back to the pharmacist. I didn't go ballistic at first, but he tried to wiggle his way out of it, saying the prescription said Fostair, not FostairNEXT. I basically lost it at that point and said the name was irrelevant, you should have paid attention to the freaking dosage and that I could have been killed on the damned motorway due to your negligence. Seriously considering filing a formal complaint, but a little lesson for us all: Don't trust your local pharmacist to get it right - always check it when you collect it. I need a stiff drink now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonPeffers Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Sorry to read of your problems Scott and as a fellow asthmatic I empathize. One of my favourite things is breathing. I now always carry my inhalers with me everywhere as was caught out once before. I too have been given the wrong prescription in the past but at least in our cases the medicine was for us and not another patient. Having Googled 'pharmacy wrong prescription kills' and 'suing pharmacy for wrong prescription' I was surprised at the amount of material traced. If I was ever stopped and asked to blow in a breathalyser I probably would struggle to provide enough puff but at least if I can show my inhalers then the police would know I wasn't faking. Enjoy your drink. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Algar - Competition Secretary Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Enjoy your drink Scott and toast to the Karma which will eventually get the Pharmacist. Who would have been far better to act mortified and apologised immediately to you. Unfortunately his insurance company had probably told him under no circumstances to admit liability 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrie Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Pleased to see you survived. It looks like you've got it bad. My son had a little box that you had to open, then break open a capsule, put the powder in, close the box, stick it in his mouth and tell him to suck. Most of the powder stuck to the box as he'd breathe out a bit and the moisture made the powder stick to the box. We all know the NHS is in dire straights - did you see those epi pens are $500 each, but under pressure they're half price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Colonial Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 Thanks all. I'm fine now and one drink down, so even better. It's just that you trust your pharmacist to get it right - particularly when they've filled it correctly before! We all know the NHS is in dire straights - did you see those epi pens are $500 each, but under pressure they're half price. Yep, saw that - the price of those pens is obscene, all because they have a patent. Most people have 2-3 so they have one to hand wherever they are - and they only last 12 months. Did you know they were originally developed for the CIA as a covert way to kill people with nerve gas ala Georgie Markov and the umbrella gun? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 The M.O.T.C.O.'s Law of Universal Incompetence rules! "Always assume that the person with whom you are dealing is incompetent unless and until they show otherwise." You will not be disappointed! Lawyers, dustmen, doctors, and shop assistants. They're all likely to conform to the assumption more often than one would like to expect. Glad you're okay, Scott, it must be a terrifying experience. I'm metaphorically gasping as I think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrie Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 You forgot to list accountants. At least you can't blame them for Apple's Irish problems There's a nice little café over the road from the local pharmacist, who seems to have a problem every time the missus and I go for our drugs, but we have a good lunch whilst we're waiting. God alone knows what they get wrong with the hard stuff. I hope the second one's gone down well 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Eeek... Not a good story to read and like the others glad that you survived... By all accounts way more accidents on the roads are caused my medical issues than the authorities care to tell us. Agree with all of those saying the pharmacist would be trained / conditioned never to admit liability as the legal implications of a medical case would be hideous. Interesting point about checking the actual dose on the meds itself. SWMBO has to take daily tablets (just for a short term) but the health care team will only deliver a weeks worth at a time. Problem is every week they are a different colour, in a different pack and are a different dose. She needs 20mg. Sometimes we get 1x20 or 2x10. So like you say reading and checking is mandatory. And epi pens are pretty neat. I use one every Friday for my MS meds and they are so easy to use even I manage it. Hope the 'stiff one' did its job (fnark, fnark) Not for public consumption, but as far as Evil Despotic Over Lord Dictators go, you're not the worst one we could have got... So look after yourself... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noggin Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 You can't trust the specialists either. I had chemotherapy a couple of years ago and, as you probably know, it can have some nasty side effects. I spent four hours having the stuff pumped into my arm and then I was sent home. That night I started throwing up and feeling extremely ill. This went on through the night until I collapsed on the lounge floor in the morning and I really thought I was dying. I rang the hospital who sent a taxi immediately to pick me up. I was admitted to hospital and ended up in there for 8 days. Turns out that the chemo people should have issued me with four separate medications to counteract the chemo drugs and they forgot!! I decided not to have any more chemo after that! I'm all clear now but this was a horrible experience. I'm glad you were safe in the end, Scott but that was a scary one! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man On The Clapham Omnibus Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 I couldn't possibly have listed all the jobs/trades/professions liable to incompetence. I can list those that are not though: Long isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamperMan Posted August 31, 2016 Share Posted August 31, 2016 And I think the moral of the story is TRUST NO ONE... Wrong dosage.. Wrong drugs... Who needs enemies when you have incompetence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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