Please read, this is very scary

Hello Everyone!!!  I'm watching my local news right now and they just had this story about this man that has cancer, and he had two young men show up at his door and asked to use his bathroom, and then they started attacking him cause they wanted his pain killers. It scares me how low these drug seekers will go. This guy wasnt leaving the pharmacy or the doctor's office, they showed up at his door. He said he didnt know who they where, and they havent caught them as of yet, or even have an idea of who they are, so they're still on the loose, and more then likely going to strike again. I just thought I would share that we who take any pain killers need to be careful even answering our own doors to strangers. This poor man is very beaten up, one of his eyes is really messed up and the bone, or eye socket bone was broken, and he has bruises and horrible scrapes on his forehead, and he only weighs 90lbs. He's still in the hospital right now. I live in Washington, they didnt say exactly where it happened, but it said it was in the northwest area, so we who live here need to be more careful as long as these horrible people are still around. Anyways, since it's late, I hope all of you are getting some sleep, I'm sure not cause my lower back is having spasms, and it's too uncomofrtable, to sit, stand, or lay down, so I'm having a heck of a time. I ready took all my meds, but I'm thinking maybe a muscle relaxer will help, I havent tried one yet. Well good night everyone.

-hellokitty

That is so horrible. My Grandfather had cancer back in 94 and his house was broken into and his pain meds were stolen. They waited until they saw him leave for chemo and then broke out a window. We were pretty sure that it was a teenage neighbor that did it but we could never prove it. I thought that was one of the most horrible things to do to someone that was dying from cancer and in huge amounts of pain. I can see now that I should have just been grateful that he wasn't assaulted or killed for them. That is crazy...

Just another thought. They should enact something similar to hate-crimes for people preying on sick defenseless victims that they know cannot fight back or defend themselves. As I am sure it is apparent, but they probably didn't actually need to hurt this man in any way to overpower him and steal drugs from him. I remember when my Dad was dying from cancer and he got down to 90 lbs. There was no way he could have defended himself against anyone, period. This makes me sick.


Skrape

Hello Kitty,

That IS scary. Thank you, sincerely for
posting.

I gotta run now ... gotta lock my doors.

Pamela

I keep my meds in a lockbox,but there is no way anyone would be able to get into my house.I have 2 dogs. They sound/look very vicious.

My doc gave me some good advice. Do not tell others what you take. Do not say the name of the drug out loud at the pharmacy counter. And I pocket the filled prescription before I leave the store. I also keep all of my pain meds under lock and key. I have had to take pain meds since 1995 and have experienced all of the horror stories of being treated as an addict by the docs, pharmacist, family and friends. That is why I keep a med alert card with me, and only my doctors, pharmacist, and close loved one know exactly what I take.

I really wish that life could be different. That drug abuse was a thing of the past. That pharmaceutical drugs could not be abused. That there would be a sure fire way to tell between the abusers and the real patients. I know in the past 13 years that there have been many postive changes for the pain patient. I have experienced many of them. And I have to believe that in the next 13 years that the drug companies, docs, and pharmacist will become better educated on how to care for the pain patient.

Susie,
Your pharmacy is sure doing it right! And that's a rarity. You should see the HOSPITAL pharmacy my insurance (which is through the hospital - COBRA coverage) forces me to use. The lack of privacy is appalling. A tiny space. Of course, they make you sign all kinds of junk as a CYA policy. Your place is doing it right.

But Kitty, I guess i do lean with Susie about purse snatchings. And I could never, ever FIT all my meds in my purse. All the bottles. I can't carry a large purse because it hurts my arm and shoulder (what I learned years ago to help my neck). But it wouldn't matter what size purse, all my meds would never fit! I'd be afraid someone would see how closely I was holding my purse and that would clue them in that I must have something valuable in there. Maybe there are other options. I know some people have lock boxes.

There's certainly nothing that's 100% for any of us anymore, sadly.

PaLady

When at home I keep my pain medications in my safe. I was able to get it pretty cheap for as big and sturdy as it is. I would recommend getting one of these to anyone who has the money. My only problem with it is that is weighs quite a bit and I could not lift it so I left it on the floor in the closet. So now to get my meds out I have so squat or sit on the floor. Doing this is hard for me and I do have a cane for these types of movements. I don't use it to walk with but I carry it with me to aid in sitting or getting up. So.... having an actual safe has its ups and downs but as far as security, you cannot beat it.

People have mentioned lock boxes but those are not very secure and if someone really wanted to, all they have to do is pick it up and take it with them. Also, I used to practice lock picking as a hobby. I had found that a normal lock box was one of the easiest things I have ever picked open. Usually I was able to get one of those open with just a paper clip or a penknife. I am not trying to scare anyone but I just wanted to give everybody a heads up about the security of your average Wal-Mart (or other department store) lock box that only has a keyed lock. I would say that maybe one of those that has the keypad on it (my safe actually has a combination lock and is sometimes hard for me to open!) or something similar to that would be more secure but I have never tried to get one of those open before, so I am not entirely sure.

When I used to take oral pain medication and when I was out and about (I do travel a lot for my work) I kept my pain medications in a steel container with a carabiner attached to it. I would hang the container from my belt loop and it would hang down into my pocket so you could see nothing but the carabiner. If someone took it to mind to try and steal it from me, they would probably have to knock me out before being able to get it away from me. I bought this from an online store and it was designed to hold medication. Think of the normal pill containers you see in drugstores that go on your keyring, this one is just bigger and could hold 120 Norco at a time.

When I am staying in hotels, etc. I always worry that if I leave a medication in my room, some staff might find and/or steal it. I bought a diversion safe for this type of situation. You can get them that look like hairspray, deodorant, shaving cream or even other items like oil cans and detergents. It is just a hollowed out container that has a threaded bottom end so you can get inside and store things in it. The logic behind this is that if no one knows that there is stuff inside of there, they cannot even begin to try and steal it! They even sell some of these things that have working shaving cream or whatever is supposed to be in the container! It is very slick.

I hope this may help anyone who is in the market for a lock box or similar device to keep their medications safe. As I said above, I used to pick locks for fun and locks/safes of any kind have always fascinated me! You can find actual safes in any department store or you can find many different sites online. The steel pill containers I was talking about are described as a "Jumbo Steel Pill Vial". You can search online for various "Diversion Safes" of all types, shapes, brands and sizes. Please let me know if this information was useful for you.


Skrape

My pills wouldn't fit in a shampoo bottle. I think I'd have to drop them in
one at a time. What kind of Shampoo do you use?

How about an oatmeal box or a bread box or in the empty box of cat sand
Or laundry detergent.

I believe we could go on for a very long time thinking of places for hiding.
I've seen hollowed out books and rocks.

Be careful at the pharm. There's something to the saying of having
"trustful confidence" that nothing will happen. This is true only if you take
all precautions. (just a guess here - no proof)

Pamela doesn't even carry a purse

Pamela,

They do have diversion safes that are quite big. I remember seeing a Quaker Oatmeal container one and I thought it was funny that you brought it up! I am talking the round, tall, cardboard ones that the raw oatmeal comes in, you know?

I do remember seeing diversion safes that were disguised as one gallon paint buckets too. They have so many different kinds, I am sure you could find something that would hold what you need.

They do have shampoo bottles but the bottom unscrews and comes off so you have quite a big opening to put your stuff into.

The following is in regards to everyone, not just Pamela:

Also, one note about purses. Even if someone is not beating you up and stealing your medications or your purse, a lot of people might be surprised by the frequency with which people steal medications from purses. A lot of times it can be the last person they would ever expect to find taking their medications. My only point is that purses are probably one of the first things someone might look in to find medication and there is very little security to keep anyone out; only a zipper.


Skrape

I do need a good lockbox for my meds, but I always forget to buy one, and when I think about it, i'm broke. My dad gave me a lock box from his work a few years ago that I kept my meds and important papers in, but my son took the key off of my keychain and lost the key. I searched hours for that darn key, but couldn't find it, so I took a screw driver, and with hardly any effort at all, I broke the lock off. So if you have one of those cheap lock boxes, I would think twice about them. I remember about 6 years ago, my pain doctor I was seeing at that time had his house broken into by a patient that he dropped for abusing his narcotics, and he took my doctor's lock box out of the wall in his closet, and managed to get it open, and took all his wife's actiq (his wife had cancer) and nobody realized it til he got home from work later that day. So it seems that any kind of lock boxes dont help at all. I beleive this October, Suboxone is suppose to lose it's patent, and the makers of Suboxone is planning on having the meds come out in those weird strips like they have for listerine (and diffrent flavors too, YAY!! the taste of orange peels is really making me sick), now that would make it so easy to hide. Also I heard that they where doing trials on having them put Bupernorphine (the main ingredient in Suboxone) under the skin like they use to for those norplant birthcontrol things that works for up to 6 months (I beleive, I could be wrong about that one) but from what I'm reading, it doesnt look like those are coming ot anytime soon, so that would mean I wouldnt have to worry about any narcotics except for my son's medication, but I havent really heard much about people abusing ritalin type drugs, but I could be wrong, I dont hang out with drug users (except when I'm forced to go to family events). But you guys are right, I need to take my meds out of my purse, but I'm forsure not putting them up with my other meds in the medicine cabinet, they need to go somewhere safe, but I cant afford anything too fancy.

-hellokitty

ps, I live in Washington State, not DC

PAlady, sorry thats what I meant, the kitchen cabinet. I would never use the bathroom cabinet, their wouldnt be enough room with all my beautifing stuff. LOL.