coproxamol

[Poppy]

No, if they could indicate that they are willing to prescribe it, you would have to go over there. unethical to prescribe otherwise. But they could give you a script for 6 months worth afterwards.

Looks like I need to plan a holiday then

[bobbin]

BBC NEWS | Health | Painkiller ban 'has cut suicides'
18-06-2009
The controversial withdrawal of a common painkiller has dramatically cut suicides, say researchers. A gradual phase-out of co-proxamol led to 350 fewer suicides and accidental deaths in England and Wales, a study in the British Medical Journal reports.

Misleading. Obviously, less people will overdose on co-proxamol if it's prescribed less frequently but there are many different methods of suicide.......most of which don't involve painkillers at all.

Such articles provide no help to the people who received pain relief from co-prox.

[Sir_Dispensalot]

The main crux of the argument is that co-prox hasn't been withdrawn - it is its license which has - a major difference. Many doctors are assuming that if the license is gone, it can't be prescibed, either nhs or privately. This view is mistaken. Some drugs get their licenses withdrawn and have a full recall and removal from the market - eg vioxx. This simply is not the case with co-proxamol as it is still made by some specialist manufacturers and still imported by companies such as clinigen. We even got hold of a few boxes directly from phoenix the other week at a fraction of clinigen's prices. The drug is still out there and many patients are still obtaining supplies. I have dispensed both NHS and private prescriptions for co-proxamol within the last 12 months.

As the others have said it simply requires slightly more justification to prescribe on the part of the doctor. Some doctors may be reluctant as they could be in a little bit more hot water if something goes wrong.
You could do worse that point out to the doc that they merrily write out scripts for unlicensed specials all the bloody time for other medicines - some just as potentially 'dangerous' as co-prox.

As i said in an earlier post - if the doc or pct is not able to prescribe it locally, go private. If the private doc won't, simply find another who will - phone around the area and speak to a few gp surgeries. I'm sure a few of them will happily take your dosh. If they are no help, try contacting your local private hospital for some advice. Don't let a poorly-informed healthcare professional fob you off in this matter.

[peshawar]

As of January this year 43,000 patients were still being prescribed co-proxamol http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=4117895 and with 630 patients being prescribed it for the first time - would the old supplies + Meda/Clinigen really be servicing that?

ALL the 'new' co-proxamol tablets I've seen have been in this new 'tub' format, and all have had DALKEITH LABORATORIES LTD labels stuck on and the code MS4421/01 - if Clinigen/Meda were the only game in town, wouldn't their names be somewhere on the label?

Here is everything I could find that might be relevant

First some stuff about Dalkeith:

SITE ID : 90604 DALKEITH LABORATORIES LIMITED
UNITS 4 & 5, QUEENS SQUARE BUSINESS PARK, HONLEY, HUDDERSFIELD, WEST YORKSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM
HD9 6QZ

NON-STERILE PRODUCTS BATCH CERTIFICATION OF IMPORTED MEDICINAL PRODUCTS NON-STERILE PRODUCTS

PROCESSES/ACTIVITIES OTHER MANUFACTURING/IMPORT ACTIVITIES STORAGE AND HANDLING

STERILE PRODUCTS BATCH CERTIFICATION OF IMPORTED MEDICINAL PRODUCTS ASEPTICALLY PREPARED PRODUCTS

[peshawar]

Sorry, that text was way to big, here is the full info:-

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16649865/Cp-Sources

[DavidS]

As of January this year 43,000 patients were still being prescribed co-proxamol .......

considerably more than TEN green bottlefuls, then.

I had no idea it was this many. Makes you wonder how many were on it before.

When I spent some time in hospital in 1965 (15yrs old, back injury) I was given a couple of "DG"s for my pain if I nagged for long enough. Usually I got them once a day! At least they were guarding me against habituation. Then each ward seemed to have a pot of 500 which the staff would dole out prn (after the doctor's nod). How times have changed.

[johnep]

I dispensed co-prox today. Pt also on dih, diaz and temaz.
with link of propoxyphene to methadone, wonder if pain on withdrawal is simply withdrawal symptom. Ie Co-Prox pts are addicted.
johnep

[peshawar]

I dispensed co-prox today. Pt also on dih, diaz and temaz.
with link of propoxyphene to methadone, wonder if pain on withdrawal is simply withdrawal symptom. Ie Co-Prox pts are addicted.
johnep

Why, does methadone withdrawal habitually manifest as pain in the 3rd 4th and 5th vertebrae?

[mhb08112]

The problem we have with it where I work is the only brand we can source is Distalgesic, which is blacklisted in Scotland (we have had scripts returned saying this).

We therefore don't get paid for dispensing co-proxamol on a GP10!

[johnep]

Always possible that there could be a surgical solution to chronic vertebral pain which could possibly be due to disc problems. Would need a specialist spinal surgeon.
johnep