Wiping away tears of laughter
Oh you poor thing. But why in the world didn't the prescribing doc also write for some bowel meds to keep you regular? That's standard practice here. What a jerk.

The more I hear about the NHS the more I wonder a civilized industrialized country can put up with it. Jesus, please don't let me get sick in England.
(TDub Nunc id vides, nunc ne vides on, Sat 18 Sep 2010, 20:05, 2 replies)

I know this one.
The reason they don't prescribe bowel meds as standard to accompany drugs that bung you up is partly so that people aren't swallowing tablets they don't really need, and partly because of the way our prescription system works. We have a flat fee of £7.20 per item regardless of its 'real' cost, an item usually being one month's supply.

"Controlled" items have to be prescribed, you can't walk into tescos and buy some valium. But stuff like laxatives, ibuprofen, paracetamol, cough mixture and whatnot are available over the counter, usually for much less than the cost of a prescription.

So you'll get prescribed the prescription-only drugs, advised to drink plenty of water and eat high-fibre cereal, and told that IF you need them, you can buy over-the-counter laxatives as it's cheaper than getting them prescribed.
( Batsgirl, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 15:01, closed)

That's funny
because when I heard that America didn't have a national health service and effectively left poor people to die because they couldn't afford healthcare I wondered how it could claim to be civilised at all.
(jennymnemonic, Sun 19 Sep 2010, 16:07, closed)