Going thru the song & dance to get meds refilled

Its a monthly struggle to get my meds Robaxin and Oxycodone, is there any better tips yall have to deal with and prepare for issues at the pharmacy and with doctors>

I am being a brat right now but i am in pain, i have had the worst year of flare after flare of my multiple conditions, last summer it was my neck and my anemia and thyroid at the same time from june -sep to get that under some control with meds and therapy. Then my fibro flared up and my hips shoulders and chest was hurting soo very badly. After a few months of yoga stretches and epsom salt baths with exercises ect that was ok and i had a month that was kinda ok and outta nowhere my neck locked up my left arm was on fire and i knew it was going to be bad, massage therapy, physio, meds change, testing shots, acupuncture ect and 5 months later its under control but i have a bulging disk at C-5 that is causing the nerve pain and numbness! which is bad bc i do data entry. I have been in survival mode for over 12 months and i cannot take it!!!!!!! I have only posted angry, sad or grumpy or ranting on this forum for the past year and i am sorry but thats where i am at. I am surviving.

Today the pharmacy and nurses were making me cry at my desk, i was balling and i couldnt take the bull from them. Why does it have to be so hard to get the meds that help me do basic functions. I go to pain mngt next month to discuss other options like pain patches that last 3 days or something. I cannot keep going from flare to flare of my conditions and i fear the next neck arm flare.

I know what you're going through BunnyGirl, I recently got a pain pump and so far I think I'm going to be happy just because I won't have to go through the hassle of getting my morphine refilled every month. I live in Florida and unless you get scripts through a pain management, surgeon or a cancer doctor a regular GP can't write them, also from the pain mgmt they have to be type written and only filled for 30 days and so if there's 31 days in a month you have to figure out which days you can skip to make it through. I hope the pain clinic you are going to is as compassionate and helpful as mine has been. when my dr recommended me to go I was afraid but she said she couldn't continue my pain pills. I had moved here from Illinois where I was on oxy and went to several pain management places there but most were just giving me physical therapy and I was getting epidurals but they caused me migraines. Finally my dr convinced me that they would be able to help me and after four years with them, I have to tell you they have really been wonderful. Not only because of pain pills but also procedures for my back that were not epidurals. Anyway, I hope you find a place that can help you through your misery.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted on your progress.

If I'm not mistaken you live pretty close to Florida and in the pill running zone that pretty much sealed CPers fate from ever having a good experience with Drs and pharmacies. Not sure what kind of problems you were having and whether it was from the Dr or the pharmacy but either way it's the reason so many people are turning to the pain pumps. Oxy,dilaudid,are the worse two to fill down here in the south and hopefully your PM is considering fent but be prepared for huge costs associated with it and insurance companies giving you the headaches and Medicaid flat refusing to cover it at all.

I'm finally at a place in this journey I roll with whatever comes my way,have a awesome team and have mastered many ways to deal with the pain but recall the sheer hopeless moments early in the game.As I look back now I'm just not sure how I survived it. My mom use to say I was just too dang mean to let anything get the best of me!! I'm thinking she was probably right because the more garbage that got thrown at me the madder I got an the madder I got the harder I threw back. Sounds like your about there.

When you get there and you push back for your right to be as comfortable as possible,have as good a quality of life you can get within the boundaries of your issues things turn around. You have a right to expect results from treatment and if the plans not working for your Dr to offer advice as to what might and as long as your following the rules to be able to get the meds you need and have prescribed without being treated as a criminal.

Here's how my pharmacy weeded out the diverters and dealers and yes some legitimate patients went as well due to their failure to cooperate. Its a small pharmacy not chain affiliated in any way and employee two pharmacists one being the owner and two techs both being nephews of the RPH. They require all patients who are treated with narcotics to have a copy of your MRI report in your file,if your pain is not related to something a mri reports needed such as cancer or MS etc a report of diagnostic tests are kept. At first I thought what? And is that not a violation of my rights? Yet again it's nothing short of the paperwork chain pharmacies require from your Dr and why not? Certainly have nothing to hide. I have been with them since Walgreens started giving me headaches after 15 years and CVS couldn't be counted on for having the meds in stock when I needed them so about a year now and not once has there been even the smallest of problems. Always in stock,fill a few days early since they are not open but half a day Saturday and not on Sunday,they request refills on my behalf prior to needing them on my non-narcotics,not once have I been made to feel less than anything other than a CPer. It has made my life a lot less stressful worrying every single month if I was going to have to go through pain and withdrawal before getting the med filled. I would gladly have given them my entire medical history!

I view them as a member of my healthcare team and they've proven their role. Chain pharmacies look out only for themselves and are taught to view everyone as a potential risk. The sad thing is most of the drugs on the street come from the chain drugstores so whatever foolishness they have going isn't working. I use to sit in the parking lot of Walgreens and could pick out the ppl filling narcotics whom likely had never known a day of pain. Car full of ppl with them all waiting outside,younger street wise looking,everyone on their phones,out of state or county tags,watching the time getting inpatient and one running in to keep checking with the one inside filling,it was always entertaining. Yet the real patients likely walked away empty handed.

Well as long winded as all that was it comes down to getting the right team again in your corner and sometimes that takes changing Drs,pharmacies,therapists,whatever until everyone is working for you in your best interest not against you at every turn.

WB is right about the cervical issues and maybe it's time to investigate just what is going on and why and your options.