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Canesten cream unavailable for prescription

C

Cdean8780

Active Member
Ever since being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes I have struggled with a fungal infection down below.

The canesten cream clears it up then it comes back.

My doctor had kindly spared me the embarrassment of having to show him every time and I had the item available to custom request for prescription.

However this as now changed according to the doctors receptionist who telephones me earlier and said this and other items now have to be bought over the counter. Has any else heard this and is it definitely correct.
 
Cdean8780 said:
I also sometimes require eurax cream for under my arms is this affected too.
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Hi there, I do recall reading an article about certain products no longer being available on prescription. I think it's because each prescription costs the NHS £8.50 when the same product over the counter is half that.
 
Yes surgeries have been advised to no longer prescribe where the item costs less over the counter than the prescription charge. this was explain by our new practise Pharmacist at a recent PPG. So for example a doctor will no longer prescribe Paracetemol but will tell the patient to buy their own. And yes it is indeed a cost saving measure.
 
Yes, I agree with the others. All (or most) medications that are cheaper to buy over the counter than the prescription charge cost are no longer prescribed. For people that have to pay for their prescriptions it saves them a lot of money. It also saves the NHS a lot of money.
 
If you don't mind paying for postage you could order it online. tbh I wouldn't be embarrassed about asking for it, it's a very common infection.
 
Maybe you need to consider why the infection keeps coming back? How are your blood sugars? If they are high, getting them down will help. Plus any sexual partners need treating for the infection at the same time.
 
@Cdean8780 - What diabetes medications do you take? There is one sort of medication that I can think of that can increase the chances of yeasty infections recurring.
 
Personally I agree that things like canastan cream should now be bought over the counter and not be provided on prescription.
I have bought this item several times and would never have dreamt to ask my gp for a prescription for it.
Like many other items that now can,t be prescribed.
 
Apologies if you already know this but here are my experiences, I suffered with recurrent bouts of Thrush for about a year before I was diagnosed with never more than two to three weeks Thrush free in that time. I did not see my GP with it as Dr. Google told me that some post menopausal women can go through a period of 'adjustment' and may go through such infections. Once I got my blood glucose levels into a better place the infection did not return. At first I used Canestan Duo but this became unaffordable so then I was buying just the cream knowing that I was just treating the symptom instead of the cause.

If yours is not due to poorly managed bg levels I suggest you request a referral to a skin specialist who may be able to get to the root cause. Best wishes.
 
Paying for things that are cheaper OTC is a good thing isn't it?
I was gutted to pay £6.50 or thereabout for aqueous cream once, on prescription, only to find I could have bought exact same thing in the pound store.
Ever since, I go through my prescription with a price comparison type eye, before I get whatever is on there.
I find that the practice sends the prescription straight to a pharmacy on the premises no matter how often I tell them not to.
They pay me no mind. I don't like using that pharmacy ever since I found out, I could have purchased aqueous cream OTC at a fraction of the prescription cost.

Same thing happened with Vitamin D.
The Dr had to prescribe Vit D because according to him mine was very low.
I later found out I could get 13mths supply from Costco at 60% of what a 30day supply on prescription cost me.
Edited for punctuations
 
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I have medical exempimtion card so it was free. I can see why they have done it
 
Oh a warning from me about Canesten Duo. I did read the leaflet which explained that if you had an irregular heartbeat you shouldn't take the tablet....Mine had been cured, but came back immediately after I had the tablet. These things are so strong, please be careful to read the leaflet and if in doubt don't take it. Of course you have to buy the pack to read the leaflet and that cost a small fortune and I didn't want to waste it.... I wish I had just thrown it out.
 
Cdean8780 said:
Metformin 500 mg. Sitaglyptin. Atorvastatin and ramipril
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OK, I don't straight away associate those meds with the yeasty things. As someone else suggested, keeping the bloods tight usually helps.

Two things to consider:
Have you ever had a tablet to take at the same time as using the cream?
Secondly, if you are in an intimate relationship, it's usually a good thing that your partner would be treated too.

Not everyone will show symptoms of yeast issues, so if your being intimate, you guys could be passing the bugs back and forth.
 
Much the same problem but I had to return to the docs as the pharmacist wouldn’t give it to women over 60! I get a slightly milder generic cream now which works just as well.
 

Brassyblonde, if you are having to pay for prescriptions your argument holds weight but for those who get free prescriptions as individuals, they will lose out. For anyone short on funds those extra few quid makes all the difference. x
 


Don't bother with Canestan. Used it for years, it 's temporaray relief. I decided to try coconut oil and works much better and its cheaper. Cocounut oil has anti fungal and anti microbial properties.
As others have also said, get your blood glucose levels down too, if its high a lot thats the main cause as the thrysh is feeding on the glucose in your body.
Also I suggest you change whatever you are washing your parts with. Again I went for coconut based product. Its an organic coconut shower gel from Holland and Barrett.It's not cheap (you often get 2 for 1 offers) but if you just wash your parts with it and use you usual product for the rest of your body. If i dont use the shower gel for few days i feel I start to get itchy but now its rare i even have to use coconut oil..
Once you've showered and dried melt some of the coconut fat in your hand, it will turn to liquid, rub it on.
I saw improvements soon after changing my regime. Thrush doesnt bother me at all since i swapped about 6 years ago. Prior to that I had it for 10 years and I didnt just get it on the front!
 
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