The ME Association has just been approached by a major TV news channel which is collecting stories about people who regret the day when the pain-killing drug, co-proxamol, was taken off prescription – except for doctors using it on a very restricted 'named patient' basis.

The researcher has already found one story about a man with severe arthritis, who says she was only able to set up a business with 70 employees after taking co-proxamol.

She reckons that, because co-proxamol was previously valued highly within the ME community, that their may be other stories like that one to tell.

If you are interested in telling your co-proxamol story to a TV news researcher, please contact us as soon as possible. If your story is selected to be told, arrangements can be made for filming at home.

Tony Britton
ME Association
Tel: 01406 370293 This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

This is information about co-proxamol that we carried on our old news blog on 25 July, 2005:

Co-proxamol prescriptions

Feedback to The ME Association over the past few months indicates that some of our members who previously used co-proxamol – a painkilling drug which contains a combination of dextropropoxyphene hydrochloride and paracetamol – have been unable to find a satisfactory alternative since it was withdrawn as a licensed prescribable drug back in January this year. The drug was withdrawn because of concerns about its growing misuse in cases of self-harm poisoning and suicide.

The problems facing people with ME/CFS who have been unable to find a relatively safe and effective alternative analgesic were passed by The MEA to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), as have concerns from other charities such as Arthritis Care. But there has been very little indication this action could be looked at again by the MHRA and some flexibility introduced.

However, the Government has now indicated that it would be permissable for GPs to prescribe co-proxamol on what is called a named-patient basis. The announcement was made in Parliament after Anne Begg (Labour, Aberdeen South) asked what could be done for patients whose pain was not being satisfactorarily controlled by alternative analgesics. In response, Caroline Flint, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Health said that 'provision will remain for the supply of unlicensed preparations' and that 'For a minority who have gone through all the alternatives there may be a clinical need to continueprescribing co-proxamol'..

So the way is now open for doctors to prescribe co-proxamol again, but only on a very cautious and restricted basis. But with doctors becoming increasingly reluctant to prescribe drugs whose status has moved from licensed to unlicensed, it looks as though obtainingco-proxamol, although theoretically possible, may not be so in practice.

Are you still able to obtain co-proxamol from your doctor?
Or are you having difficulty in finding a suitable alternative?
Or have you found a suitable alternative drug?

If so, please let The MEA know so that we can continue to carefully monitor the situation and, if appropriate, ask the All Party Parliamentary Group to make a representation when the House of Commons returns in October.

To email The ME Association, click on the following link putting 'Co-proxamol' in the subject line.

Email

Dr Charles Shepherd
Medical Adviser, The ME Association