Walgreens refused to fill medication.

This attitude is not limited to Walgreen's. I go to Walgreen's... know my pharmacist, pharm techs, etc well.... and they never give me an attitude - because they know I have a true need for my meds.

From my experience - it really has to do w/ a pharmacist attitude about pain medication. I learned a long while back that I'm not going to let someone else make me feel like something I'm not (ie drug addict because I take pain meds).... it took me a while to get there.

Re: your questions - yes, a pharmacist can "override" a doctor's wishes. It has to do w/ the laws regarding Class 2 meds and so forth. But it also has to do w/ their own "comfort level" when releasing a Class 2 med *early*. For instance, my pharmacist will release my 30-day supply meds on Day 27 if that happens to be when I come in for a refill after my appointment. I know not all pharmacists would do this... but he knows me well.... knows my doctor... etc.

I can't remember why you get your meds filled every 25 days. But - no matter - how are your BT meds written? Does it say something like "Not to exceed 4 a day" or something like that?

Re: his comment of "you should only be taking your BT meds as needed".... that's a weird comment. Once again - if you could post the exact instructions on your bottle, I could help you try to make more sense of the pharmacist's decision.

Is the old pharmacist you were going to gone? If not - I'd try to find out his schedule and only go when he is on. With pain meds - it's important to find a pharmacy/pharmacist that you have a good relationship with.... that isn't going to give you a rude attitude when you fill your meds and so forth.... and some of that is just trial/error.

Sorry you had to deal w/ this.

It seems as if it's because your prescription is actually written as a 30 day supply with the 3 a day (90 a month) for the Kadian. It would equal to 3.6 pills a month for a 25 day supply and Kadian is meant to only be taken whole.

So if you are picking up at day 29 every single month a Pharmacy will count up the total number of days this is technically "early" over 6 months to a year.

Most all schedule 2 meds are written for a 30 day supply and many states have actual laws on this now and with you being in FL this is even more regulated than many states.

So I guess your only choice in this situation is getting a note specifically from your Dr. that is sent to the Pharmacist stating yours is a 25 day supply instead of 30 and see what they say....Or change Pharmacies.

The Pharmacist should be a part of our health team and if you can't work things out with them to a good outcome then I would be looking elsewhere...

Oh, I missed the point SB made, if that's the case, at least in my state, they're required by law to fill the entire script at once, if they fill the vicuprofen early, and not the Kadian, the law in my state says you forfeit any unfilled CII med.

Ok snow bunny and 2y4t I think there must be some confusion here. I get 90 morphine 30mg pills a month and am directed to take 1every 8 hours. That would last me 30 days. I get 75 vicoprofen 7/200 pills a month and am directed to take 1 every 8 hrs as needed. If my math is correct that is a 25 day supple if I were to take them every 8 hours right? I go to my doc every 29th day. The pharmacist had no problem filling the long acting med but said to wait on the b/t med. 3 pills x 25 days is 75 pills for the vicoprofen right? So why will he not fill on the 29th day??? I hope this clears things up. Also, I have never ever had an issue in the past. In my state the morphine is c11 and the vicoprofen is c111. Thanks

Also my insurance had nothing to do with it ( I checked). It was the pharmacist.

Yeah, I agree with Suzie here, this is totally nuts!!! If they filled your Kadian, you might be able to have your doc call in your Vicuprofen to another pharmacy that will fill it. If they do that though, make sure they call the first pharmacy, afterwards, and cancel the prescription there.

Just a couple of points....

My Class II meds are written on the same prescription sheet (it's a full 8.5x11 size, printed sheet).... so this can't be a law for all states.

Forgot that Vicoprofen is a Class III - so, Shaw, I'm w/ the others... and it doesn't make sense, especially to be filled on Day 29. It should be available for refill - even a day or two before you technically run out.

That's a pain. Let us know what happens.....

--Tina

Thanks Susie...I think I put in "many" states as I was editing as I typed...lol....but I do know it's a llaw in FL as I looked up on the Medscape website which shows the laws for each state in regards to this. We have it here in VA as well...I think this is something I was primarily asking Matt in regards to his post and it isn't an issue with Shaw so I apologize for going off on that tangent in the first place! LOL

But appreciate you sharing as this is why it's always good for people to look at and learn about their own states laws about the medications we take:)

Shaw...as I mentioned, some Pharmacies will do a count for the last 6 months to a year and calculate if someone has come a day or two early every month, then they should have x amount of meds left after this time period.

But it sounds like something is messed up and hopefully gets cleared up quickly by your Dr. speaking to the Pharmacist

Walgreens has been so hateful to us also. I talked with the district manager and I was told that modern pharmacist coming out of pharmacy school now can be involved in the patients care. They can call your doctor and tell them they dont think a medicine is right for you. It took us three years to find a medicine that treated my wife's back and hemi plegic migraines and only one call from a pharmacist that had an attitude to get the medicine stopped. I also asked on the last presciption was information correct because the doctor had stated a different amount he would be writing for and it was different from what was discussed, this is a non scheduled med that requires a presciption. That same pharmacist told my wife's doctor that I was trying to get her to change the prescription. All I asked was for her to call for clarification. It makes you so upset but to restate. Walgreens is getting to big for their britches.

I just went thru this with CVS and my fentanyl prescription. It has to do with the pharmacist period.She thought the amount was to much and I would overdose.Even though they received a prior auth for this amount. So when this pharmacist went home I dealt with the new pharmacist and picked up my meds. I really think it's a power thing with some of these pharmacists..

Thanks for all of your responses. I will talk to just another's point. Ultimately there is nothing wrong with the script. It's written 1 every eight hrs and I get 75 a month. I should have no trouble filling it every 29 days. I spoke with my doc and he said its "not right". He said the way he wrote it does not need to change. He said it was either a mistake or the pharmacist is playing doctor. He also stated pharmacist have the right to fill or not fill anything they want. He used the morning after pill as an example. He said many pharmacists won't fill this med because of religious and ethical issues. I personally think this guy hates people getting pain pills and has not been educated properly on how many people ( such as on this forum). Need the medication for a better quality of life. We need to move on from this notion that all pain patients are addicts. It really really gets old!

MattBo said...
I go to CVS and the pharmacists look at me like I am a crack head every time I fill my pain med, I hate the way they look at me, like I am some kind of scum.

If you honestly have a problem to where you need to associate pain medicine with daily living, then (edited, by moderator). It doesn't matter what THEY think as long as your doctor KNOWS you're in dire pain. Humility is something that should be teetered on this fine line

Hey Backproblemsmagee - The forum rules are in the upper right hand corner... this is a *family friendly* site - so I had to edit your post re: language. Just FYI. Thanks --Tina

Post Edited By Moderator (Blessedx8) : 1/10/2013 10:05:54 AM (GMT-7)