Rx held by pharmacist for 3 days!

I just picked up my monthly presciption of Norco/6day. I went to the dr on thurs last week because last month he switched me to oxy 10/norco 3/day for bt. Anyway, that combo didn't work so well and I had to take 4/day of Norco (making me 4 days early) I also explained that we were going camping this weekend (since cancelled due to pain/kidney infection-r/s for next weekend)...anyway, my dr said /wrote rx for thurs 31st (not really due until monday) and he even wrote on rx that it was an "early refill"...to make a long story short, i dropped it off at the pharmacy (same one I've been at for 3 years) and they said "it'll be ready in 30min" so I take my daughter to get lunch and my cell rings...it's the pharmacist asking about a "patient who just dropped off her rx...blah, blah" I said "I'm the patient..I think youre trying to reach my dr?" He said yes, that he "called the wrong #" so I hang up and wonder...I called the pharmacy back in about 10 mins and he says"I spoke with your dr and he says to hold this rx until sat" I said that's weird because I just left his office after he said it would be okay to pick up today" the pharmacist said" well, you can't pick up until sat" (that blew all our plans out of the water...besides being in pain) I go to get today and had no problem...but have been out of Norco's for last 3 days (extreme pain-didn't sleep...) has anyone had this happen to them? I've been taking the same rx/strength for many years in 2 different states and always got 3 refills and never had a problem picking them up early for whatever reason....so, what's up with that? I now fear that some kind of "red flag" is now associated with my name at both the pharmacy and my dr's....for no reason. I've always been very honest and don't cause any drama ever, this just made me so angry. I feel very discriminated against for being a chronic pain patient...I almost feel like making some kind of "complaint" for being discriminated against. I work in the medical field and have seen much larger doses/amounts than me!By the way, I don't take any other meds....weird.

Porteyoz:

I'm sorry to hear you were without meds for 3 days. That just stinks. This definitely sounds strange. Did you call your doctor's office and ask them what the problem was? You said you took more than was prescribed for several days before you got in to see him, right? Had you called the doctor and gotten clearance for that first? I have had situations where my doc has prescribed a new med and it didn't work so when I called the office they instructed me to increase the amount I was taking, which meant I needed a new script earlier than anticipated. But then the new script was written for the increased dose, so it didn't seem to be an issue.

If your doctor gave you clearance to take the extra amount and then wrote you a script for the increased dose, it seems unlikely he would instruct the pharmacy to withhold the meds. I would call your doctor's office and get their side of this story before you file a complaint. It's possible that the pharmacy called them and said something to the effect of "her insurance will not allow us to do an early refill, we have to hold it okay?" and then the doc said "okay" which the pharmacy then communicated to you as "the doctor told us to hold it."

If you took the extra doses without the doctor's prior approval, it is possible that the doctor did approve the hold. When you spoke to him, did he say anything about not taking more than the prescribed amount? Was the new script for an increased dose?

Again, I'm so sorry you had this happen. I hope you have a dose that is working for you now so you won't have to go through this again.

Ry

You should be able to pick the script back up any time before it's filled.

I've done that before & taken it to another pharmacy to get it filled. Who knows what the pharmacy actually said to your doc. Maybe try another pharmacy to see if the same thing happens or it is was just that particular pharmacist.

Porteyoz:

Oh I feel for you friend! The more I hear about this, the more the pharmacy sounds WAY out of line here. If that script was filled, dated, and billed to your insurance on the 31st, it should have been in your hands on the 31st. That is just ridiculous. And it sounds like your doctor was in the loop the whole time, so it doesn't make sense that he would tell them to hold it. That makes me think even more that he got played (by the pharmacy) in the whole situation too. I totally understand what you are saying about not wanting to rock the boat, though. We are, unfortunately, in a precarious position as patients dependent upon these types of medications.

I am also right there with you on the Oxy issue. Like you, I've been through docs trying to switch me over to Kadian or Oxy and off the Percocet that I usually took for pain control. Each time, I found that the meds did NOT work, but only after spending outrageous amounts on co-pays for 2-week "trial" period prescriptions. Absurd. Eventually, I found that the only thing that really works for me is to take Oxy AND Percocet for BT. But of course, although my PCP would like to see me on that regimen, my PM believes that combination to be too much medication for me since I do not have cancer. It is really frustrating, isn't it?

One thing I would warn you about before you try the Oxy again... My pharmacist was going to give me one of those coupons last time I tried the Oxy, but we read the fine print and it said that only patients who did not have any insurance coverage at all could use the coupon. Hopefully yours is different than the one my pharmacist had, but I would be sure to read the fine print before you get stuck with another high co-pay.

I'm so glad you are feeling better today. Hope your hike was delightful fun!
Ry