Inside Health

Pregabalin and gabapentin misuse, Natural birth after caesarean, Adrenaline auto-injectors


Listen Later

Prescriptions for nerve drugs pregabalin and gabapentin have risen dramatically in recent years and at the same time, concerns about abuse. Former prisoner and addict "Patrick" tells Dr Mark Porter that "gabbies" or "pregabs" are drugs of choice in jail and Dr Iain Brew, a GP who works in prisons, says misuse is a growing problem and there are examples of doctors being pressurised into prescribing them. Dr Cathy Stannard, consultant in pain medicine at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, chaired an expert group that drew up new prescribing guidelines for pregabalin and gabapentin and she tells Mark that more attention needs to be paid to emerging evidence of misuse.

Many women say that if they've had one caesarean section, they feel pressurised to have another one and Sara describes how her medical team planted "a seed of doubt" about the potential risks to her baby which she says for her meant another C-Section was inevitable. But new guidelines from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists spell out that vaginal birth after a previous caesarean is a clinically safe choice, with a 75% success rate, the same as for first-time mothers. Inside Health's Dr Margaret McCartney discusses the history of changing attitudes to natural birth after caesarean and says why the new guidelines should give future mothers the confidence to discuss, well in advance of their birth, the best option for them.

How do you fill in health check forms that ask for family history if you don't know who your family was? Inside Health listener Jessica is adopted and her heart health check suggested a very low risk of a stroke or heart attack when she couldn't answer the family history question. Mark and Margaret discuss how common this is, and what difference family knowledge would make to Jessica's risk (not much).

Adrenaline auto injectors were first used in the 1960s when they were developed for soldiers to use during nerve gas attacks allowing them to self administer the antidote. But is a device designed to be used by fit, trained soldiers just as suitable for use in children and adults of widely varying size and weight? These concerns were raised by a coroner conducting the inquest into the death of a 19 year old student who died of anaphylactic shock caused by a nut allergy, despite her using her auto injector. The Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority and also the European Medicines Agency have been looking into issue and Dr Robert Boyle, allergy specialist at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington and Director of the Paediatric Research Unit at Imperial College, London provided expert advice. He talks to Mark about the limitations of auto injector design and urges everybody who might use the devices to ensure they are confident about exactly how to use them.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Inside HealthBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

73 ratings


More shows like Inside Health

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,724 Listeners

More or Less by BBC Radio 4

More or Less

879 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,037 Listeners

Woman's Hour by BBC Radio 4

Woman's Hour

398 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,541 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,814 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,832 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,060 Listeners

F1: Chequered Flag by BBC Radio 5 Live

F1: Chequered Flag

771 Listeners

Health Check by BBC World Service

Health Check

93 Listeners

The Food Programme by BBC Radio 4

The Food Programme

267 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

430 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

247 Listeners

All in the Mind by BBC Radio 4

All in the Mind

84 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

474 Listeners

The Liz Earle Wellbeing Show by Liz Earle

The Liz Earle Wellbeing Show

273 Listeners

The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast by Dr Rupy Aujla

The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast

641 Listeners

Food For Thought by Rhiannon Lambert

Food For Thought

206 Listeners

Sliced Bread by BBC Radio 4

Sliced Bread

150 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,162 Listeners

Americast by BBC News

Americast

763 Listeners

Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley by BBC Radio 4

Just One Thing - with Michael Mosley

202 Listeners

Cyber Hack by BBC World Service

Cyber Hack

1,639 Listeners

ZOE Science & Nutrition by ZOE

ZOE Science & Nutrition

2,092 Listeners

What's Up Docs? by BBC Radio 4

What's Up Docs?

112 Listeners