Heart attack

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

New Medications

Following my doctor's appointment on Monday afternoon, I have been put on two new lots of medication. The first is ramipril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor. It is a vasiodilator, a drug which widens the blood vessels, making it easier for the heart to pump blood around the body and thus lowering blood pressure. The second tablet is lansoprazole. It is known as a proton pump inhibitor which help reduce the amount of acid your stomach makes. I have to admit that I have been suffering from really bad indigestion and heartburn recently. This is most likely as a result of taking statins. It seems incredible that you need to take another dose of medication to counteract the side effects of another drug. 

Now that I have turned 60 I don't have to pay for prescriptions. It's just as well, because at well over £7 for each item I would be paying something in the region of £30 a month for all my medications. At my former doctor's surgery I was allowed to have all my repeated prescriptions to last two months. Well, it made a lot of sense to do it that way, apart from cutting the cost of the prescriptions, it meant not having to keep going back each month for a repeat of my medications. I wanted to do this at the Farthing Grove surgery but was told off because the P.C.T. wanted to avoid any waste of medication. I would say that was the last thing I would do, as all my medication is life saving and I can't do without any of it, so to waste any of it would be totally untrue. It means that I now have to make sure I have sufficient medication at any given time and that my repeat prescription is put in well before any of it runs out.

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