just had a pharmacy 'decline' to fill my prescription

Forgot to add just for info, most Pain Management Clinics and insurances work with one local bulk Pharmacy who can and will fill a 90 day script, they deliver to your home and the patient signs for the delivery. It's a bigger co-pay up front, but more convenient for the caregiver or patient.

Here they use unmarked vehicles so the entire neighborhood remains clueless and risk of break-in's are diminished. You may also need to show ID to sign for your meds with the delivery person IIRC.

This saves hassle with your insurance company, it's cheaper, it's convenient for the patient who probably has mobility issues anyways. Plus no gaps in medication.

a reply to: Caver78

Really, your an ass, you know nothing about the situation. I took her to her doc yesterday to figure this out, and I had her meds switched to another pharmacy. You have to have permission from the Doctor to switch pharmacies where I live.

Just because you were a care taker doesnt give you any right to question what I have done to fix this situation. Your an idiot if you think her being out of medication is my fault. Just because I wrote about my frustration, doesnt mean that I havent gone through hell and back to get this resolved. Who do you think you are anyway?

I have in no way accused the pharmacy or the doctor for mishandling the situation. If the DEA is withholding shipments they should be sued. Get over yourself already.

a reply to: misskat1

LOL!

I DO KNOW because I've been in your shoes several times over now. It's a PITA because moving heaven and earth to get a loved one their medications is a nightmare.

I also said my rant was GENERAL and OT.

Before this you failed to mention any follow up actions you took and while this is a conspiracy site, I didn't notice where being psychic was a prerequisite to being a member?

Only you know what you know unless you clue us in.

a reply to: Caver78

I hate the long rambling explanations people post, so I didnt feel it was necessary wasting everyones time reading non important information.

a reply to: misskat1

To be fair this is one case where it does seem like the pharmacy's fault. If the DEA is actually withholding the drug then that pharmacy did something to warrant a DEA audit that they failed. Thus losing their ability to dispense controlled substances.

The more likely case is that they're waiting on their next order. In order to order a C2 a pharmacist with power of attorney has to fill out a Form 222 detailing their order. This is then given to the delivery driver the next time they deliver drugs. The C2s are then delivered at the next delivery. Most pharmacies only get two to three deliveries a week. So depending on when they run out it may be a week until it's back in stock.

I would say this probably just a case of them under ordering. That said you never know when you're going to get a script for a large quantity that wipes out your normally adequate supply.

It's important in that learning medical terminology, or at least trigger words will ensure you a much more proactive medical provider. Learning a few common medical codes keeps your medical costs down since billing is fraught with mistakes.

Learning the system your pharmacist is stuck with helps you navigate it.

However...point taken!

I agree that pharmacists should do the job they were hired to do without judgment, but I must say, it is refreshing to know that at least SOMEBODY in the medical profession seems to be concerned with the over-prescribing of painkillers. I also have found that pharmacists often know far more about the safety of medicines than the doctors who prescribe them, and I have changed my mind about taking certain prescriptions after speaking with them. I trust pharmacists and nurses above doctors any day.

a reply to: Xcalibur254

Im moving the meds to a different pharmacy one where her grandson is a pharmacist, so Im pretty sure he will make sure his grandma has her meds from now on. And he will deliver them personally. Hopefully, who ever bears responsibility for causing the problem will have to deal with it, and not at my moms expense. Loosing our business and probably others will hopeful punish who ever bears the burden of guilt, and the situation will be fixed.

For those who think they need to know why her grandson hasnt been her provider before this, it is because she has been with a sister in another town.

Pharmacists are Doctors of Pharmacology. They are Doctors. They exist to wade through the nightmare that is prescription medication. They will almost always have better advice about medication than your general practitioner.

Pharmacists don't exist solely to take a prescription and put a name on it.

a reply to: TinySickTears

As a physician myself, I would just add that this is becoming the 'new normal' as doctors and pharmacists can be (and are/have been!) prosecuted as part of the so-called "War on Drugs" (which is really just a war on people who need and/or use some drugs...).

Further, insurance companies have become so powerful, they have written the rules to their complete advantage.

I have had my own prescriptions refused, and prescriptions for my family also. It is especially humiliating because I am a M.D., and I have worked with my same local pharmacy for years now. The pharmacist just shrugged, and said he had to refuse my prescription, because my family memebers should not need it yet (aside: their doctor upped their sliding scale dosage for insulin, and didn't adjust the paperwork properly; so, the insurance refused the prescription!). I stood there for a few seconds feeling like a criminal in my local pharmacy in front of my neighbors, and had to just walk away. I feel your same bewilderment.

The system is broken.

The so-called 'Affordable Care Act' has just made things even worse, because of all the additional information required to be in the electronic medical record. If one thing is missing, mis matched, or in error, it becomes a problem. A single typo can ruin your whole day. It sucks.

Sorry to vent ... but I don't know what to do about it. It sucks for many people ....

You are not alone.

It isn't just prescriptions for opiates and other potential drugs of abuse that are getting refused like this.

I just hope things improve. Thanks for the thread, and best wishes.

originally posted by: GoShredAK

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: TinySickTears

This sums it up pretty well

I had to face a cold turkey withdrawal from benzodiazapenes because of this. And that can kill you!

at the very least, cause brain damage.

I now take nothing for legitimate anxiety, nor do i for chronic pain because I have been cut off. Its just not worth fighting to me. I am personally sick of self righteous, clueless doctors.

Fortunately I am happier without Rx meds. If that wasn't the case id be screwed.

** Disclaimer: Post is long and may drift a little. I will not be offended if you decide to give it a pass.

One of the things I enjoy about the internet, is stumbling on that post, written by someone I have never met, that sounds like a page out of my own life.

I have worked in the medical field for over 40 years. I have watched and fought the slow, insidious, battle against the industry take over of the medical field. I watched as the physicians were courted, groomed, over powered, and enslaved. I watched as nurses were slowly conditioned to place paperwork in front of the needs of the patient, and now, are forced to focus on algorithms, rather than on the patient. Medicine has become a huge business, and a commodity in the US, and it becoming the same in other parts of the world.

I too became jaded when dealing with the repeat medication seeking patients, that took up so such of our little time for patient care. Time, I sometimes felt was being stolen, from the patient's I felt needed my attention more. I knew I was wrong, because I felt awful, and was embarrassed, when I realized I was being judgmental. I had no right to judge someone else's need for medical attention or the validity of their pain.

When I found myself in a situation were I had to seek medical treatment for an excruciating pain to my neck and shoulder. I woke up with this mind numbing pain that had no obvious medical cause. I was suddenly catapulted to the other side of the line. I could tell by the look on their faces, the questions I was asked, and the way I was treated, that they did not believe me, and had automatically placed me in the category of the Med Seeker. I knew what was going on, and I thought a many a time, that I was just being taught first hand, what is is like to be on the other side of the line.

The more I denied, and tried to prove that my pain was legitimate, the more they were convinced I was a liar, and a junkie. It took over 4 months for them to find out the pain I thought was in my shoulder was coming from a displaced cervical vertebrae and it has become sequestered. The MRI showed my cervical spine with curves that a young woman would die for.

I too refused to place myself in the continued role of liar, junkie, med seeker. It wasn't worth the fight, and I sure as hell wasn't going to go around kissing arse, to obtain a prescription, or to have one filled. After they realized how wrong they were, I get the big push for narcotics every time I see my doctor, the surgeon, or the specialist. They keep apologizing for the system, and trying to explain away how they dropped me through the cracks.

I get it. I was one of them. That is why I will walk through fire before I allow myself to be at their mercy ever again. I think it is horrible what some people are forced to endure, only because they are dependent on pain medication to function. There is a huge difference between addiction and dependence. Many measures of protection that the system has put in place, is what is causing an increase in the use and the sales of of illegal drugs.

No one should have to suffer in pain, and no one should have to be insulted, or negatively labeled, for having legitimate pain or for seeking relief. We just don't have the right to judge anyone for something that we have no way of validating. Pain at level 2 for one person, may be a level 8 for me or you. We have no right to say otherwise.

The focus should be on safely reducing whatever that level of pain is to each individual's level of tolerance. Why is no one asking the question of why the pharmaceutical companies are not producing a medication that reduces pain without the euphoria, or the addiction? Maybe the answer to all of it lies in the answers to that one question.

a reply to: NightSkyeB4Dawn

Awesome post, thanks for taking the time. No way I was gonna give that a pass.

There is tramadol for a non opiate/ opioid painkiller but of course it doesn't work. Also it causes a more severe dependence and withdrawal.

I don't get how a drug with an antidepressant that also lowers the seizure threshold can be considered safe
I was given this dangerous stuff even though I was in benzo withdrawal, could of killed me if I kept taking them....its insane, ill take the norco. Or roxy.

I have been labeled, and sure I like how painkillers feel, but I also have a pretty messed up ankle that hurts a lot sometimes and I used to have a really serious problem with anxiety and panic attacks.

I never doctor shopped or went against doctor orders but still got labeled as a drug seeker, and my actual issues totally downplayed. Now I remember a time of feeling guilty for something I didn't even do while suffering at the same time Good system .


I think I out drifted you Lol.

I have had problems getting scrips from doctors for Vicodin filled. but strangely i never had any problems getting scrips for the same pain med filled when they come from a dentist.

a reply to: ANNED
My last trip to the dentist will be a year ago next month. I had to have a wisdom tooth pulled, and the only thing my dentist would write for was Tylenol #3.

I never even got the prescription filled. It would have been a waste of time and money. When you have the kind of pain I have, and live off of Motrin and Aspirin. A pulled wisdom tooth was a welcomed distraction.

originally posted by: Atsbhct
Pharmacists are Doctors of Pharmacology. They are Doctors. They exist to wade through the nightmare that is prescription medication. They will almost always have better advice about medication than your general practitioner.

Pharmacists don't exist solely to take a prescription and put a name on it.

as far as i am concerned that is exactly why they exist.
i trust my doctor more than almost anyone else in my life. i have had a great relationship with her since before this injury. i had a back surgery and was treated by her for that to.
they may know a lot about meds and their interactions but they clearly do not know # all about my condition and why i take this medication even though it was explained to them.
if i were getting this from my current doc, plus some blood pressure meds and a couple other daily must haves from the old family doc, then i popped in with a script or 2 from the ER due to my newest ailment then i might appreciate the knowledge base of this pharmacological wonder or a human.
but, i dont.

i see 1 doctor for 1 problem and i am prescribed 2 things. they come up due at different times and was planning to switch them both out but apparently this will not happen.

.
my injury is well documented. i see the same doctor every month for it. i get the same scripts at the same time and i have proof of all of it.


the only reason i buy into for her not wanting to fill it is her stereotype of me. the way i look.
of that is the case then it sucks. it is the only thing close to a reason i can come up with.
from what i gather a pharmacist can use their discretion and i will try to be fair and understand that they did not know me. that is why i tried to do it in person with as much info as possible. i didnt call them asking over the phone and mentioning what i take.
i went up there with the script. i had my photo id. i had my insurance card.
i had all my docs info.

what i dont get is when i was there they said it would not be a problem. then all of a sudden it was when i got the call.
my docs assistant also does not understand what this ladies problem was. she told her that i have crps. she told her the kind of pain i am in. she told her it affects my entire left extremity. she gave her the diagnosis codes.

if the pharmacist was that worried about some fugazi # she could have done some checking. my docs history for example. she is impeccable.
she is not in some pain clinic next door to a pad thai restaurant and a check cashing place.
she is part of university health partners. her office is in university health partners.
i would have signed a hippa for her to get a print out of how long i have been on the medicine and on what dates they are written.
she could have called the other pharmacy for information and she would have been told exactly what i am saying.
i get the same thing filled from the same doc every month. like clockwork for years.
everything about this is on the level and the more i think about it the more it pisses me off.

there is no legit reason for her to refuse this. whatever reason she had is not on the level and neither is the reason she told me.
she said "i am not comfortable filling the prescription because i do not know enough about the condition"
yeah well no #. she is not a doctor.

in the end i got my medicine and i will continue to do so. i am just tired of the games i have to go through. it really is a pain in the ass getting these kinds of medicines.
every january things change it it gets a little harder.

i get nervous every time i go to get it filled cause if there is a # up i am the one that is going to suffer.
this has not happened a lot but on more than 1 occasion i have went to get my medicine filled only to be told they do not have enough to fill it. of course if i were to call other branches of this pharmacy to ask if they had it they will not even give me any info over the phone. so i have to wait around while someone on the staff calls other branches to see if they have it. then they have to tell them who i am and when i am coming and i have to drive who knows how far to go get my medicine.
i should not have to be put through that.
a few years back you could get partial fills for when things like that happened. not anymore.
it was so much easier.
that is just one of many examples of something i feel i should not have to deal with.


i understand that these rules are put in place to try and cut down on prescription medicine abuse and fraud and things like that. i do not agree that these 'rules' should be cut and dry across the board with no exceptions.

i could see of john q public walked into the pharmacy with a script for a medicine like mine and has never been there or maybe only been there once or twice. they dont give him a partial fill. i get that.
maybe the address on his license does not match the address on the script. i could see them refusing a partial.

then take someone like me.
same med for 3 years. same insurance for 3 years. same doctor for 3 years. all my information matches my license and my script. they have photocopies of my license. my phone number matches their computer and my script. i would think in that case they could give me a partial fill.

i am very sick of the treatment i get because of the way i look and because of the medication i take.

i have had to go to the ER a few times over the years, before and after i got hurt and started taking this medication. on more than 1 occasion before the doctor on staff would even see me they made me take a urine test.

i dont get why with the schedule 2's you have to have a new, paper prescription every time. my wife sees a general practitioner for a few things. she has a thyroid condition. takes something for it. she goes to see him if she is sick. when he gives her a medication he sends it over electronically right from the patient room. he has something hooked up to the computer and he has some sort of ID badge that he wears on a lanyard around his neck and he has to swipe that over the little box on the computer to verify his credentials and get the medication sent.

why cant medicine like this roxicodone be sent that way? seems to me that is about the safest and most secure way there is.
if it is sent that way it can be tracked from what office it came from. what computer in that office. what time. the whole deal. seems very secure to me. much more than the paper script thing.

something sent over that way can not be lost.
the more i think about it the more i dont understand the rules and reasons behind them.

a person can walk out of the docs office and lose the script in 5 minutes. someone could find that script and just maybe they could get it filled if they knew the right information.

here is another that i dont get.
they are so worried about abuse and fake scripts and yadda yadda but look how easy it is to pick medications up.
if you really wanted to and had a little bit of critical thinking about you, you could pick up other peoples meds.
when you pick up a medication, even this roxicodone all you have to do is know the persons birthday.
does not seem very secure to me.
i would thing high on the list of rules(hoops) about these medications is only the person the medication is prescribed to or their spouse(or perhaps 1 designated proxy) should be able to pick the medication up and with a photo ID. i can understand that and i would be fine with that but that is not how it is.
anyone can pick up anyone elses medication and all they need is their birth date.

here is an example.
my step father has prescriptions for vicodin and soma. he gets them every month and he goes to the same pharmacy to fill them. it would be about the easiest thing in the world for me to go pick those medications up.
of course i never would but i am only trying to make a point.

im thinking what if my younger brothers had some of his punk ass friends over. 2 of my brothers are actually living back home with momsie and dadsie and they almost always have friends over.
suppose one of them hears my step father say he is going to drop of his prescription and pick it up tomorrow after work. thats all the info they need.
they could walk in and walk out with soma and vicodin just like that.

so why are we as patients made to jump through hoops in the interest of making things 'secure' the prescription world when it is oh so easy to walk out with someones medication?

being a chronic pain sufferer and legal narcotic consumer is a major drag and the pain is only one of the reasons.
just like with most other things these rules and regulations just make it harder for the people who need this stuff to get it.
it seems like there is always some wrinkle.

in the end i do not feel like pharmacists should have the right to their own 'discretion' about filling a medication for someone.
as long as the prescription is valid and legal they should have to fill it. that is my opinion and i dont see it changing.
sure they know a lot about drug interactions but they are not doctors.
if a doctor feels a patient needs a certain medication for a certain condition then the pharmacist should buck up and do their job and fill that medicine.

i mean lets assume i was not stereotyped the the reason why this lady didnt want to fill it is because she did not know enough about the condition.....how is that my fault and why should it be my problem?
it still blows my mind.
i wonder how many people she has turned away for that bull# reason.


sorry to ramble. im just agitated

a reply to: TinySickTears I'm sorry to hear your in pain and it makes my blood boil a bit about the pharmacy ordeal you had.
If the pharmacist went to as much school as your doctor did, to be able to fully understand a medical condition, then maybe she wouldn't look at people with judgment in her eye. I mean, is the pharmacist even trained and schooled enough to know what your doctor of three years does about your pain!? Don't doctors go to twice as much school as a pharmacist?

Maybe that pharmacist was new at her job and was just being paranoid.

Anyway, take care.

a reply to: peppycat

im thinking a specialist goes to through far more than double the amount of school.
i mean youre looking at 4 years under grad
4 years med school
4 years residency to be able to get a medical license.
if youre going into a specialty field then of course its more school. internships and fellowships and such

originally posted by: Xcalibur254
a reply to: NoCorruptionAllowed

So they don't get any slack from me if they act like that, and I have seen a pharmacist get the ax for acting like they are a licensed doctor, and questioning customers way over the top.

Pharmacists are licensed doctors. They also know more about the meds their dispensing than your doctor.

.

Wrong. Pharmacists are NOT licensed doctors. That is the craziest thing I have heard in a long while. I mean they are not Medical doctors. That is what people think of when hearing the word "doctor" an MD.

A doctor of pharmacology is a lot different than an MD

a reply to: NoCorruptionAllowed

A Doctor of Pharmacology is qualified to question the decisions of a Medical Doctor, since a Medical Doctor treats patients with pharmaceuticals.