thomas11

Today I ran out of my pain meds, I did all the right things by calling in advance to make sure the prescription was written in time before I ran out etc...Went to pick it up at the pharmacy and they tell me they can't fill it for 2 more days. I must have taken a bit more than the prescribed amount, at the same time, I didn't count the number of pills in the bottle either. This had happened about a month ago, and was assured this wouldn't happen again. My initial reaction was "oh crap, I'm out". That lasted about 10 seconds and then I got angry. I understand the reasons for controlling narcotics and other prescription medicine. But to have every single person painted with the same broad brush irritates me to no end. So instead of panicking and scrambling to get a hold of my surgeon who would fill in immediately I just said eff-it, I'm done. I'm not going to feel like a criminal, or an addict. The feeling of being pigeon-holed gets me worked up. My attitude is that if you are going to prescribe me something you feel I need, then give it to me, don't play some childish game which ends with "sorry sir, we can't". Then don't do it in the first place! What has soured me about this is that it happened to me with ambien and my old doctor. Someone was picking up my prescriptions. On 2 different occasions my doctor called it in, and I went to pick it up and they told me someone had already picked it up. Done. I asked them how could this happen, and got some convoluted answer, essentially denying this could happen. Called my Dr., he was understandably frustrated but made another call. 3 months later happened again, same pharmacy. This time I made an appointment with my Dr. to see him in person, he came to the waiting room with security and had me escorted out and insisted I was doctor shopping and our relationship was over. This made me furious. So mad in fact, I have never taken another prescription sleep aid since. I also have 90 Valium sitting here that I don't take but they gave them to me at the hospital. So after today's incident, I feel the same way. I don't need their crap. My wife doesn't feel the same as myself so she has made some calls to bridge the gap for the 2 days I am short. If they do something great, if they don't, I could care less.

Dee74

I've never had this problem Jeff.

I'm curious tho - how could you not know if you've taken more than prescribed?

Not accusing - genuinely curious.
I can tell you to the tablet how much of my meds I have left.

D

zjw

i've had the reverse. fractured my tail bone was in agony they called in viox at the time. those did nothing. they called in aleve those did nothing. doctor said sorry nothing i can do. I told her a pack of M&M's made me feel better then those pills! i dealt with that horrible pain for months. Same when i sprained my ankle I was in pain for years after just an ankle sprain.

I went ot my doctor explained i had anxiety issues he told me to find another doctor.

Given my tack record i'm less inclined to even bother with physicians its sad i shouldnt feel this way. Oh well.

Stinks being treated like a child and a criminal or something.

letitgo

You should be able to cross reference the fill dates on the bottles. Do they ask for your id when you pick them up?
They are cracking down on presciptions. My doctor drug tested me to make sure I was using them. I felt like my rights were violated but I had nothing to hide. The notion is people just get refills and sell them. Can't do anything about it so why worry. More imortart things to focus on.

zjw

wow what an invasion of privacy crazy! sure you got nothing to hide but seems like it crosses some kinda line.

bigsombrero

I am sure you don't want to hear this, but please tread lightly, Thomas. You've been escorted from a doctor's office for doctor shopping already in the past, and now you're out of pills again before the due date. So this isn't the first time this has happened. You're an alcoholic, man. The writing is on the wall. Having your wife call in to "do a favor" and get some extra pills for you seems like a shortsighted fix typical of those with addiction issues. You're blaming everyone but yourself for putting you in this situation. Sounds like you're upset. This whole scenario doesn't seem like a good combination here.

You are smarter than this. Maybe you can watch a funny movie with some popcorn tonight, and take your mind of the pills. Check out a ballgame. Read, play checkers, trivial pursuit, etc. You CAN make it tonight without your pills, man. Give it a shot before you tear down the walls trying to get a new 'script.

thomas11

Because I don't pay attention. When I don't have much pain, I take one or none, when I have more pain I take two. Its a very scientific approach.

thomas11

Hi letitgo, I do have to present my id, or my wife can pick up the prescription. My father takes oxycodone, and they do drug test him. He's 72 btw. crazy in my opinion.

Dee74

Thanks for explaining Jeff - and while I empathise about pain, I'm going to have to side with the other team on this one.

I think we have a responsibility as med takers, just as we have all sorts of other kinds of responsibilities now as non addict adults, including healthy self care.

If you go through your meds too fast (and I know you gave some to your dad) I think that's a you problem, not a controlled substances act problem, bud.

I don't remember you having problems with Dr shopping before...but if you have, that makes it even more imperative to be responsible with your meds.

The solution to this problem is not to take the meds out of pique - that's not being a responsible adult either Jeff.

C'mon - you know this stuff man

D

Nowsthetime

Hi Thomas:

I remember you mentioning that you were giving some pills to your dad.

Be straight with your pills. Take them as prescribed and you won't run out.

Read that post you wrote about it... I think it will help.

thomas11

bigsombrero, my mind is not on pills, I did not ask my wife to make a single phone call and I was escorted out for the very reason I mentioned in my post. In fact, I documented it all because I knew it was a serious accusation he was making and did not want suffer any repercussions from our insurance or otherwise. I considered pursuing legal action against HIM because he made a false accusation that I could prove. I just didn't go into the details because it would put everyone to sleep.
My issue (and it is my issue) is when I follow the proper channels to do the things I'm supposed to do, and then the pharmacist (who is simply doing her job) says "can't do it". I perceive it as someone saying tisk tisk Jeff, you've taken more than you should and now you can't have any.
This is not the forum for the type of discussion it would require, but suffice it to say that I am growing tired of the control grid we all live in. Laws, rules, policies, procedures, ordinances, bylaws....and it just keeps getting worse, never better. This is a negative thread, may be best to close it.

least

I don't understand this thread. Are you saying that you don't want to take pain meds now cause of all this hassle but your wife is making calls to get some for you anyway??

So tell your wife 'thanks but no thanks' and don't accept any pills she gets you.

Elodie

Getting upset seems like an exercise in futility here. These pills generally come with dosage instructions on the label, right? Like a month's supply might have 60 pills and say "take one pill twice a day." I don't know. If you chose to take more than the prescribed dosage and/or give some away, that's really not the law's fault. It's important to take accountability for our choices.

Imagine the same scenario, but replace the prescription with a paycheck. I get paid twice a month, the same amount of money each paycheck. If I splurge with my paycheck on the first of the month, and I end up flat broke before I get paid on the 15th, what am I going to do? Blame my boss? Go to the bank and yell at them or ask them for more money? No, I'll just learn my lesson and budget my money better next time.

I hope you're not in a lot of pain. There's a lot of effective non-narcotic OTC pain relievers out there.

Grungehead

As someone who has worked in a pharmacy (inpatient & outpatient) for 20 years I can tell you that it's not the pharmacy's fault. It is against the law for them to refill a prescription for a narcotic before it is due to be filled. Period. It doesn't matter if the doctor calls in more refills, by law they are not allowed to fill it until it is due. The only recourse is for your doctor to write you a new prescription in person. This takes the responsibility (and liability) off of the pharmacy and puts it where it belongs...on the doctor.

Verte

And I will add, on the patient. If the patient needs another script or emergency script, then s/he is likely held accountable to explain why. No matter the reason, patient accountability makes sense. It is a relationship, right? All you have to do is explain yourself. If you cannot, will not or lie then at the very least you become a liability - primarily to your own well being.

Marcher13

Jeff, if one of your workers scrambled up onto a roof without a safety harness while in your employment, would you condone that? I'm guessing no, it would breach all the rules of health and safety. The pharmacist, as Grunge advised, is working to the guidelines of his/her job. It has nothing to do with you, with what you consumed or with what happened to you before. It's either abide by the law or the pharmacist putting their job on the line.

PurpleKnight

I do have some sympathy from experience that at times the medical profession can seem disjointed from the pharmacy profession, organising and overseeing my dad's meds some time ago sometimes used to be a headache, and my frustration levels with what seemed like endless bureaucracy used to be at my limit.

However I guess there has to be checks and controls in the system, medicine has consequences if misused and society has a responsibility to protect against such misuse, hence were the rules evolve from.

The pharmacist involved then is only the messenger of those controls, as we all can be in our own professions at times.

thomas11

I chose my words poorly. The pharmacy bears no responsibility.

thomas11

Just an FYI, in case anyone hasn't noticed, I'm not a fan of "rules".

Aellyce

Hmm... if you don't need the pills and don't care, I wonder why you post about this (you also posted about it before). And especially why are you getting worked up about the bumps in the system to obtain pills? Why do you get angry when you are perceived being as someone who has issues around pills?

I don't know... I tend to have the opposite problem, that doctors and other professionals don't take my addictive tendencies seriously enough and I feel I need to remind them to not give me a supply of meds or forms of treatment that I could possibly lose control of. I have always been super careful with prescription meds and never had problem with any, but you know what, there were times I found the most sophisticated ways to juggle and use OTC and other legally obtainable drugs (including supplements) far beyond what their purpose is. Herbal medicine also. I used my knowledge in biology, chemistry, and pharmacology for this and did "experiments" that would likely never occur to most people unless they were driven the same way as myself. And never broke any law or involved any doctor or pharmacist! I liked to call all this curiosity. Some friends called me a witch in the past for this, which was meant to be funny but in the context of what I know about myself now, there is nothing lighthearted about it. I also recall many instances when I wanted to use certain substances and could not get hold of them, how that made me angry at times. And many of the drugs I experimented with were not even conventionally addictive like alcohol or opiates are. But I like to play around and alter my mental states and the way I feel. This also reminds me of your other thread a couple days ago, about your feeling dissatisfied with life... Maybe think about how pieces of a puzzle potentially fit together in a larger picture?