I was diagnosed with PD over 10 years ago. And still managing to be able to do every thing for myself. Pain yes, fatigue easily yes, constipated yes…I could go on but this nothing to do with this topic. “WHAT NO MADOPAR.”
I have been prescribed madopar for 10 years, and take 350mg of Levodopar daily & x 50mgs. And my local chemist has had no problem in supplying the branded Roche drug.
But for nearly 2 weeks now, his local distribution centre(s) is unable to supply. To date only a generic version might be available.
We can’t blame Brexit for this supply problem as we are still in the EU. And more worrying is that to my knowledge Madopar is made in the UK. So what’s is going on?
Do other fellow forum members have this problem?
I live 15 miles from Cardiff, so is it just “LOCAL” problem?
I’m sure you’ll soon be hearing whether other members of the community have also been having trouble getting their usual presentation of Madopar. In the meantime, if you can’t find it at your usual chemist you could try others or ask your local pharmacist to contact Roche Customer Care on 0800 731 5711 to check directly with them on stock availability.
I hope your chemist manages to secure the usual Madopar supply soon to save you any further hassle, but please keep us posted and speak to your GP, consultant, Parkinson’s nurse or our helpline to explore alternatives if you are unable to get your usual medication.
I had difficulty getting Madopar last year. I can’t remember exactly when. It lasted about a month. I’m not sure Brexit can’t be blamed because it could be due to pharmacy stockpiling. This was in Devon.
Chemists chains buy their drugs from one supplier. Their are a number of different suppliers in the Uk. Depending on which supplier (wholesaler) they use supply of all drugs can be compromised at times. My wife had real issues with one self supplying rural practice as they never had her drugs available. We were always left at the last minute having to demand the script so we could go 8 miles to another chemist who always had the drugs available. There were 2 issues the doctors practice was paid extra to self supply so didn’t want her to take the script away and their wholesaler had issues with supply. We both moved Gp to one much further away and that cured the problem…
With Madopar though it’s important to ensure the surgery actually prescribes it and not the generic version. Some GPS have changed their prescriptions to generics to save money.
Suprise, surprise…I eventually managed to get my branded Madopar today. Thanks to PD moderator , I informed my Chemist that there is no UK shortage of madopar. and gave him the telephone number to contact Roche Customer Services. Wether he did or not I don;t know. So all is now “sweetness and light” again. I wish!
Why do you suggest the Generic dug is inferior to Madopar?
The Madopar leaflet is plain wrong on how to take the drug, the Generic gives some info with no explanation.
Ahlskog in ‘The New Parkinson’s Disease Treatment Book’ page 162 (a must read) explains that you should take Levodopa one hour before meals or two hours after. He explains that the drug cannot pass the blood brain barrier if is competing with proteins from your meals.
I didn’t suggest it was inferior. Frosty said he was having problems getting Madopar but could get the generic. I said he should ensure madopar was being scripted. I have used both with no issues… if my Gp writes the script I get Madopar. If it comes from the online repeat reorder I get Generic.
I agree the info on food is poor on the data sheets. As I recall it says certain foods will reduce the effectiveness… I spoke to my a Parkinsons nurse and she said to avoid dairy products like cheese before taking my medication. Roche could be more helpful with their advice
