question for UK patients about getting eye drops on NHS prescription?

[britgirl]

Do you get your eye drops on NHS prescription? If so, how many are you prescribed?

Due to irritation I can only use the preservative-free vials. I am very economical with them, but still get through about 3-5 vials a day.

30-pack box lasts less than a week. They cost £12 each OTC, so that's about £60 a month on eyedrops.

Whilst I wouldn't mind paying for this if I had my job, the sad fact is that due to my dry eye pain I am unable to work.

My GP is aware that I am purchasing these drops OTC and has not offered to prescribe them.

Would it be possible to request this many drops on NHS prescription? I feel I no longer have a choice but to do this or I will be unable to afford basic living costs.

[littlemermaid]

Our GP prescribes: Celluvisc 1% preservative free single use vials ad lib, FML, antibacterial drops/ointments. It helps if they're standard budget NHS prescription. NHS hospital eye clinic prescribes refrigerated Chloramphenicol preservative free single use vials but will not supply sufficient quantity, asking us to re-use each vial 5 or 6 times! Feels like Russian roulette. Lloyds pharmacy tell me they can supply Chloramphenicol, preservative free single use vials, different strengths, on GP prescription.

[lizibet]

Hi britgirl

I am prescribed celluvisc and catacrom (non preservative) both in vials, I also have doxycycline. I buy a pre payment card which costs around £28 for 3 months and then I get all the prescriptions free. I have at least 3 items every month. Your GP should prescribe them for you.

Liz

[y-gwair]

I think my repeat prescription for celluvisc is for 2 boxes (30 vials) at a time. I don't find them very useful, but I'm sure I could order repeats if I needed them.

If you have a thyroid condition you are be entitled to free prescriptions (not just for levothyroxine but all medicines). You probably already know this, but thought I'd mention it as most GPs don't go out of their way to tell people this.

I went through a similar stage last when my problem suddenly got much worse, putting celluvisc in every 15 minutes or so. It didn't help at all, and eventually I virtually stopped using it as it really wasn't helping. I suspect using drops too frequently might have been making the problem even worse, destabilising what little tear film I had left every time I put more in.

[britgirl]

If you have a thyroid condition you are be entitled to free prescriptions (not just for levothyroxine but all medicines). You probably already know this, but thought I'd mention it as most GPs don't go out of their way to tell people this.

Interesting you mention this. I have hypothyroidism. I went through my entire life paying for my prescriptions because my GP failed to tell me that I could claim them free. Even after I complained about spending so much money on eyedrops my GP didn't say anything!

It was only 4 months ago when I ranted on a money-saving forum that I found out about this.

[y-gwair]

That doesn't surprise me at all. Luckily a kind pharmacist pointed it out to me after I'd been taking it for about a year, I wouldn't have known otherwise. It makes a big difference when you are taking quite a few daily medications.