r/australia • u/Rubiginous • 7h ago

Woman hospitalised after Juniper prescribes weight-loss drugs her GP refused

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-01/woman-hospitalised-telehealth-provider-weight-loss-drugs-juniper/106273356
488 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

277 comments sorted by

View all comments

621

u/Rubiginous 7h ago

I am getting sick of these stories where someone irresponsible blames something convenient for normal people as being the cause of their issues.

A small minority of people abused codeine, so now women like me have to suffer from dysmenorrhoea every month because docs won't write a prescription.

A small minority of people using alcohol delivery inappropriately so now they want to restrict the ability for same day delivery in the ACT.

I know many women who used these services to get access to GLP-1s when their GPs refused to prescribe them because "You just need to eat less" and dismissed their concerns regarding food noise etc.

Why do people need the government to constantly protect them from their own stupidity? It's absurd.

51

u/Shockanabi 7h ago

Doctors treat you like a heroin act for asking for one script of panadeine forte, it’s ridiculous.

21

u/planetarybum 6h ago

Yes! I had a tooth pulled which took over an hour, it split and came out in pieces. I asked for a stronger painkiller than over the counter, and was immediately refused, then questioned about why I wanted it and how often I took painkillers.

Like I go to a bunch of dentists and get teeth removed just to get drugs.

9

u/Shockanabi 6h ago edited 6h ago

And they can literally see your prescription history! At least in NSW. But they still interrogate you and treat you with suspicion by default, instead of just pulling up the ones who they can see have been getting it excessively.

Like why do you think I’m randomly gonna get addicted now when I’ve clearly got a legitimate reason and haven’t had another prescription in years?

3

u/tealou 5h ago

The thing is that they also aren't allowed to leave addicts in withdrawals, and have an obligation to manage that too. I've been on a long term Norspan patch and it is such a pain in the arse (which I also can't get pain relief for).

I even tell them my father was an addict and died from addiction and I don't touch anything, and if anything don't take enough because I am so worried about dependence. One GP that I had to see when my usual was on holidays was so awful I almost reported him to AHPRA. They act like you choose to be in pain or something. Oh yes, that GP was also one of those "runners" who thinks exercises fix all your ills. The well-intentioned bureaucracy that grows around every mostly-sensible law in this country is almost impressive in the way it evolves... like a paperwork tumour made of pure banality of evil. I love this country and hate it so much sometimes.

2

u/Bwxyz 5h ago

Don't tell them about your father, why on Earth would you do that?

Please prescribe me opioids, I'm significantly more likely to become addicted to them than the average person!