Young anxious student out of Lexapro on first trip abroad to London

July 18, 2015 8:45 PM

My young cousin is on her first international trip and also one of her first trips away from home in London on a short study abroad trip. She is supposed to travel home Monday but unexpectedly ran out of Lexapro this week, which she takes for anxiety. She's now incredibly anxious. She was able to alleviate the anxiety by going to see Wicked last night, but now the rest of her weekend is looming ahead of her and she's alone. No earlier flights available. Study abroad program can't/won't help. Can anyone provide advice on emergency NHS assistance for a non EU citizen on a weekend? We're just trying to get her through to her flight home Monday.
posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

I would go ahead and directly call one of the few pharmacies open on the weekend: http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Health/Late-night_pharmacies/ef0d/ It will be easier to deal with them than with the NHS and they will certainly be happy to be paid up front for a legit prescription. Her doctor may need to fax the prescription for them to fill. Be aware that not all US brand name meds are sold in the UK or may be sold under a different name.
posted by mollymillions at 9:01 PM on July 18, 2015

This might be tricky, and knowing the generosity and loveliness of the London MeFi community (which is mostly currently sleeping) if anon OP can create a throwaway GMail account and pass it on to the mods, there might be more options made available out-of-band.

It will probably be difficult to get medication through the NHS hospital system if it's not an obvious obvious messy emergency. There's a sliver of a chance through a council crisis team but that depends on where she's staying. If there's any kind of affiliation with a UK university, there might be a route through their mental health services. Does she have health insurance that provides a contact number from overseas? Is there a way to contact her doctor out of hours?

The Samaritans always answer the phone, and you don't have to be suicidal to talk to them. If talking's a problem, they always answer emails to [e-mail] as well.
posted by holgate at 9:04 PM on July 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

It is unlikely that a pharmacy will honor a prescription written by a US doctor (and I think it would be illegal for them to do so).

The NHS has this page on Out-of-Hours Medicine. Please be aware that suddenly discontinuing an SSRI like Lexapro may trigger suicidal thoughts or feelings; you may consider whether you can help her with any payment she may need to make to get a refill.
posted by jaguar at 9:07 PM on July 18, 2015 [2 favorites]

Please be aware that suddenly discontinuing an SSRI like Lexapro may trigger suicidal thoughts or feelings; you may consider whether you can help her with any payment she may need to make to get a refill.

Which is to say, please consider this an emergency, and please work to convince her this is an emergency (preferably without causing her more anxiety, which I know is a tall order).
posted by jaguar at 9:11 PM on July 18, 2015 [2 favorites]

Jaguar's page on out of hours medicine looks like the one. Also looks like an urgent care clinic could be an option, see here. That page says that anyone can use those clinics (normally you have to use a GP who is in your specific area). Note that there will likely be a charge. (I'd suggest getting there early, and expecting queues).

She could also try phoning 111, the NHS advice line, to confirm this.

I would go ahead and directly call one of the few pharmacies open on the weekend:

Where are you getting this idea from? It's quite standard for chemists to be open in London on Sunday.
posted by Pink Frost at 9:31 PM on July 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

The Urgent Care Centre at Guy's.
posted by Segundus at 10:15 PM on July 18, 2015

Nthing walk-in urgent cares. They will (most likely) need to wait a while but won't need an appointment. Also, there are some private mini clinics in some of the large london train stations.
posted by pairofshades at 11:59 PM on July 18, 2015

She needs to go to an urgent care centre - these are usually in hospitals or large health centres. Many of them are 24 hour. They are a cross between an emergency room and a doctor's surgery and can give her a prescription. No appointment needed, you just turn up and wait. If you tell me which part of London she is in I can tell you which one is nearest for her.
posted by intensitymultiply at 12:01 AM on July 19, 2015

Seconding the suggestion that she go to an urgent care centre. Where in London is she?

I've had a good experience with the Soho NHS Walk-in Centre, 1 Frith St, London W1D 3HZ. Phone: [phone]
posted by frantumaglia at 2:03 AM on July 19, 2015

To state the obvious - does she have travel insurance with medical assistance? If so there should be a medical helpline she can call.
posted by Erberus at 2:37 AM on July 19, 2015

Anxiety is a side effect of anti-depressant withdrawal, so that’s entirely unsurprising, but it might reassure her a bit to know that? See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antidepressant_discontinuation_syndrome.
posted by pharm at 3:39 AM on July 19, 2015

If she's on an organized study abroad program she should have medical, accident and emergency insurance. Their info number should help guide you to getting an appointment with a British doctor to get the script replicated and filled.
posted by Liesl at 4:26 AM on July 19, 2015 [2 favorites]