Creon shortages: ‘I’m eating less and rationing pills’

Mr Horwood, from Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire, said he has had to go to the Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea, west London, in order to secure his Creon because he could not find any near him.

He used to take eight capsules with a meal and five with a snack, but now only has about two weeks’ supply.

“I haven’t had a proper supply for about eight months now,” he said.

“It’s stressing me out a bit. They’ve said it’s going on for a very long time and… I still haven’t had any for about two months now, so I’m thinking what’s going to happen?”

Although he has been told he may be able to take alternative medications, he is worried it will “upset my stomach again”, but if he runs out of Creon altogether he worries he “wouldn’t be able to eat without stomach ache”.

He said eating would make him poorly: “It’ll mean being on the toilet, like 20 times in a day.”

Like Ms Bones, Mr Horwood also said his cystic fibrosis could get worse.

“If I was to eat without the tablets I’d lose a lot of weight very quickly,” he said.

“If I’m not eating properly then my chest will go downhill.”