New scheduling of common pain med

Hi everyone!
Urgent WARNING if u take RX pain meds
Still a newby on this site and like most have multiple medical diagnosis'

I'm very proud of the individual who persisted with her calls to her rep in DC!!! Way to go! Me? I was oblivious to the DEA changes until yesterday. Due to multiple abdominal problems including some exasperated by my use of NSAIDS (non steroidal anti inflammatories) I can no longer use aspirin, Motrin, alieve, etc. so my dr prescribes a codeine based med.

Today I had to pick up his written script at his office - now required by law -(vs electronic transfer) and I took it to my pharmacist who stated she had only 5 tabs left in stock of my particular dose. Because the med is now schedule II legally there is No splitting the script, no owing meds, no substituting ie: two 5mg to equal ten mg... She wished me luck in finding a pharmacy, offering suggestions and alternatives to discuss with my dr. I would be out this weekend so I was very concerned.

I went on a stress filled quest to find a drugstore that had my RX in stock. I use only one pharmacy so this was daunting and initially unsuccessful. I was told that BC of the changes from schedule III to II that the manufacturers had to stop production of bottles 2 weeks ago and repackage the meds in new containers labeled as schedule II and to expect another 2 week wait. I was not helped by big chain stores - they wouldn't call their other stores for me, or help me out in any way. 😞. I also know with these type of meds - most, if not all stores - are reluctant to give any such info over the phone, understandably...

This left me driving place to place to place. And Driving is a particularly painful activity for me.

After 5 stores and an hour later, I finally found an Independent pharmacy that had my medication in stock. (my dad's a retired independent pharmacist/corner drugstore, and I prefer them. My regular pharmacist was the only helpful professional, educating me, giving me names of pharmacies she had called for other customers, and suggestions to discuss with my dr, including what she DID have in stock that with a new RX would meet my needs.) Thank goodness bc I would have run out - or my dr would need to rewrite the script to accommodate what my usual pharmacist said she still had in stock. More time, more driving, would she run out before I could get a rewritten script and get to her store?! 😖😖😖

I write this so all of you who need Vicodin or lortab or norco can be proactive to ensure u don't run out. Driving is painful for me to begin with and today was not only scary but painful.
I hope this helps!
Jfer

Thank you. I got a letter from my Target pharmacy last week regarding the new scheduling of Hydocodone, which I thought was nice. It was just letting me know they could no longer do refills and a new script was to be needed each time. So sorry you had such a hard time getting it!!

Drs can use electronic means for Schedule II rxs. But, the software the dr uses and the software the pharmacy uses must be approved. For some drs, this is an expense they just can't afford.

Jfer, I forgot to specify that Federal Law is the one that says electronic transmissons for Schedule II are ok as long as it in on approved software. State regulations may vary.

Jfer, yes that link is below. Federal Laws can be found on the DEA website and in the Code Of Federal Regulations.

Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances Clarification-
www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/fed_regs/notices/2011/fr1019.htm