Friends and phentermine

[Digginit]

Dilemma. I have a friend (actually the boyfriend of a friend) who is also a pharmacist. He asked me for a phentermine prescription to lose weight. Phentermine's only gonna work for as long as you're taking it, but sometimes I'll write it for one month while a person also starts a good diet and exercise program. Well he, being a pharmacist, has refilled it for himself 5 times without my authorization.

I confronted him about it today when I found out (his gf, my friend, told me). He made up some cockamamey line about my friend telling him it was okay to refill....blah, blah, blah. I told him that he knew better, being a pharmacist, than to take a verbal order for a controlled substance from his girlfriend. Told him not to do it again and left it at that. Pisses me off to no end. I halfway think that I'm as pissed that if he was gonna get amphetamines without a prescription off of me, he could at least offer to share....j/k..<grin> Heh.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna leave it at that. He knows I know and don't approve. Ugh.

~dig

[CarolD]

I have no knowledge of this situation
never heard of the drug
so perhaps I am incorrect
but...
if he gets caught won't it reflect back on you?
You wrote the script and did not circle the 0 refill place?
Is that your concern?

I am befuddled but hope you can work this out...

[Digginit]

Phentermine is controlled enough that you can't refill it without a new prescription....but 'you CAN give a verbal prescription to a pharmacist. I didn't give him any refills (couldn't if I wanted to), and I DEFINITELY gave him no new prescription. As a pharmacist it's easy to fill a pill bottle. And for himself, he used me as the prescribing physician, even though I wasn't.

[Done-With-It]

My first thought was maybe he should be going to his 'doctor' to get his prescriptions, (ESP. PHEN....) not you, 'his friend'.....
Drugs and friends, dangerous mix...
Just my 2 cents..

[deezaldog]

Sounds confusing to me. I hope you have no reprecussions from this. As a PA I have had others ask for narcotics and refuse. I am unwilling to lose my privilages for such nonsense. If he is a pharmacist this unethical practice must be dealt with. If he did this to you, who else has he done this with? cya

[Digginit]

Originally Posted by Done-With-It

My first thought was maybe he should be going to his 'doctor' to get his prescriptions, (ESP. PHEN....) not you, 'his friend'.....
Drugs and friends, dangerous mix...
Just my 2 cents..

I am his doctor.

[Latte]

Ya, I wouldn't write anymore controlled substances for him. I wouldn't contribute to someone else's abuse of the system.

I don't think I could be a medical provider for a friend. I wish you luck.

[DSodaNow]

I am not in the medical field, but in my area of work friends are constantly asking me to assist them with decisions that reflect on their finances. I found that I had to enforce the "I do not work for friends policy" because I was frequently being taken advantage of.

I do still work for/with very close friends and trustworthy family. But never "a friend of a friend/girlfriend". I refer them out. That way I don't have to worry about being taken advantage of and ethical boundaries being crossed.

I hope that he doesn't continue to take advantage of this situation. Don't compromise your own career.

[Done-With-It]

Originally Posted by Digginit

I am his doctor.

Oh, I get it now. Sorry, I thought you were a pharmacist,
I was a bit confused.

[Digginit]

It would be better to not treat friends. But when you live in Timbuktu you know everybody. Nobody'd be taken care of if you didn't take care of your friends. This one just happens to be the boyfriend of a very good friend. And the very good friend decided to snitch on him when they split up. Ugh. The drama.

I was really hot when I found this out. I expect SOME people to alter prescriptions, abuse the system in some way, but it just feels bad when it's someone you kinda trust to not do that sort of thing. Oh well. He'll hang himself if he keeps it up, I'd imagine. And no, I'll never write a controlled substance for him again....

linz

[51anna]

To me, that seems really dangerous that it will reflect on you.

If it was me, I'd report him to authorities. If he's doing that now, he's likely done it before and will do it again. He's a pharmacist abusing his powers and in my opinion, he needs to be called on it.

[Rowan]

I agree that he needs to be reported.

[Digginit]

Once, a few years ago, I reported a physician friend. Actually I told on her and me at the same time. But I had already gotten back into the program, and she was just spiralling. I SO completely regret having reported her, even though it may have been the right thing to do.

Meanwhile, I completely appreciate my one good physician friend who I've been able to be honest with about my own substance abuse issues who has NEVER reported me to anybody....lets me deal with it in my own way. I feel responsible for me and my own sobriety. And I just can't bring myself to report someone else...at least at this point in my thinking, even if it could be the right thing to do.

[TTOSBT]

I thought phentermine had been taken off the market? Shows how much I know. I also thought this was the more dangerous half of phen-phen? Does he understand the cardiac risks with this drug?
My mother took it years ago and had a heart attack. She then received a settlement from a class action lawsuit re the phen-phen. She has never been the same since (health wise). I hope your friend understands the dangers and that quick weight loss is just not worth what this drug does to your body.

[Done-With-It]

Originally Posted by TTOSBT

I thought phentermine had been taken off the market? Shows how much I know. I also thought this was the more dangerous half of phen-phen? Does he understand the cardiac risks with this drug?
My mother took it years ago and had a heart attack. She then received a settlement from a class action lawsuit re the phen-phen. She has never been the same since (health wise). I hope your friend understands the dangers and that quick weight loss is just not worth what this drug does to your body.

You must be thinking of something else. Phen was never taken off the market.
but phentermine has never had those problems, it's easy to get....
There are more fakes out there than not if you don't get it through your doctor, that is part of the problem with phen.. a lot of fake stuff comes from other countries...
as you said phen phen was the dangerous one and the one taken off..

[Ann]

It occurs to me that your "very good friend" isn't so good if she only told you after she broke up with the person. What kind of friend would hold back when something was happening that could make you lose your license?

Sorry, but that part just jumped out at me when I read this.

[kj3880]

I don't think you could get in trouble on this. After all, you didn't tell him it was ok to alter your prescription or refill it. He's the pharmacist. Do we even know for sure that it happened, because one of the men I've dated made up some really spiteful lies about me to try to get back at me when we broke up. Were I you, I wouldn't tell either, unless I knew about it for sure, like if the carbons of the scripts came back altered. Even then, he's the one who did it, not you. He knows better. He's the one who will lose his license, I think.
KJ

[thinktoomuch]

Wow. That's pretty unethical. Makes me wonder what else he might be stealing.

[Lily]

I used to work in the Pharmacy industry. So you are saying you wrote him a script for one fill w/ no refills? That means somewhere in his file of hard copies he has some refills written that supposidly you called in and verified. That would make me mad.

I am glad you confronted him. I am sure he is either an addict and needed the scripts for his DEA count. I would so be tempted to turn him in or at least call someone to audit his pharmacy.

I hope he never falsey uses your name again. Just continue keep good records of what you subscribe and if it comes down to an audit and you are called in, just tell the truth on what you subscribed and he will have to take the fall.

Eventually if he is an addict working around his DOC all day, he is gonna get caught.

I knew a fellow tech who used to take the RTS controlled meds and buy them out when no one picked them up. Ugh! I am so glad I never had touched a pain pill my entire time of working in a pharmacy, much less the 6 months I worked in a mail order controlled station. My pill counts always came up acceptable. :-)

hang in there, thanks for sharing! sheila