Two people with cystic fibrosis reported they were eating less because of a lack of a diet-support drug.

Charlotte Bones, 31, and Steve Horwood, 35, both take Creon to help them digest food, as the condition causes sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and digestive system.

but long term Medicine shortages across Europe This is impacting how many capsules they can get their hands on, meaning they are having to ration their pills as well.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it was “working closely with industry, the NHS and others in the supply chain” to make alternative products available.

Ms Bones, from Kilburn, said she had to change the dosage of the medication because of a shortage.

He said that because of the shortage he is getting less food and to avoid shortage of medicine he has also reduced the number of Creon tablets he takes in a day.

“From eight Creons (for a meal) I’m now probably taking four to five,” she said.

“I think I have two boxes left, which is probably only for a week.

“Keeping in mind that I know there is a shortage, I have made cuts, I can try and extend it to four days, five days (more).”

He said that despite contacting six or seven different pharmacies, none had Creon in stock, and his hospital pharmacy was also unable to point him to a location to go for supplies.

Meanwhile, Ms Bones said reducing her Creon intake caused unpleasant side effects, including stomach pain and diarrhoea, which were “hard” to manage alongside her job.

“If you’re not carrying Creon with you, things can get inside you, which can be quite scary, and so it’s quite disruptive,” he explained.

Ms Bones said she was worried eating less would make her condition worse. cystic fibrosis If he lost weight.

“The fear is that I will start losing weight and I will be more susceptible to infections,” he said.

“It’s just a matter of having the flexibility to bounce back; if you don’t have that weight you don’t have the ability to bounce back.”

Ms Bones also has diabetes and says she worries that if she reduces her food intake too much she will have difficulty balancing her blood sugar levels, which she currently controls to a certain extent. body worn monitor,

“There have been times when unfortunately I’ve had to eat six meals a day because my blood sugar levels just haven’t been high enough,” he said.

“I need to eat something to absorb something. I’m just hoping it absorbs the sugar, because if it doesn’t absorb the sugar I’m really in trouble.”

He added: “It’s a whole spin-off that nobody thinks about. They just think ‘well, you know it’s another drug’ and that’s it.

“It will cost the country a lot of money if a lot more CF (cystic fibrosis) patients come into hospital with infections because they won’t be able to fight it off because there’s a shortage of Creon.”

The DHSC said supply issues had been caused by limited availability of raw materials and a lack of manufacturing capacity, impacting how much could be produced to meet demand.

There were also supply issues with alternative brands of pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy drugs due to the unexpected increase in demand.

A DHSC spokesperson said: “We have inherited global supply issues which are affecting the availability of medicines, including Creon.

“We know how distressing this can be for patients and we are working closely with industry, the NHS and others in the supply chain to minimise the risk to patients and ensure alternative products are available until their usual treatments are back in stock.”

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