Patients profiled at pharmacy counters
By Kean Bauman. CREATED Feb 23, 2015
Patients with legitimate prescriptions are being turned away at the pharmacy window. It’s something Contact 13 has been investigating for more than a year.
For the first time, a former insider speaks out exclusively to Darcy Spears to expose how some pharmacists are profiling people in need of pain pills.
“It would be left to the pharmacists’ discretion to see which prescriptions we filled and which prescriptions we didn’t,” says Rose Velazquez a former Pharmacy Technician.
Rosie Velazquez cared for patients from behind CVS. pharmacy windows for nearly 30 years. She was let go last year, but not before she saw a disturbing change.
“It was difficult for everyone. Customers were going from store to store and we can hear their frustration.” And so has Contact 13.
Since late 2013 we’ve heard complaints about many drugstores. “I went to 5 different pharmacies,” said Sean Ladner, a quadriplegic who lives with chronic pain after serious car accident.
“All Christmas Eve and all Christmas Cay, she was in pain, screaming in pain,” says Carl Chamberlan, who lost his wife to cancer.
We have heard from people suffering, in desperate need of medication. “And they refused me. I went back 2 or 3 times,” says Carl. But pharmacy after pharmacy denied their prescriptions for relief.
“I went from Walmart to Walmart, to a Walgreens to an Albertsons and back to my Walmart,” says Mary Borowski.
Contact 13 discovered major pharmacy chains were reacting to a DEA crackdown on prescription drug abuse. CVS. and Walgreens were slapped with massive fines. Some retail stores lost their license to sell controlled drugs so they put in strict procedures to fill prescriptions and started turning many patients away.
“We’ve had patients, had to go to anywhere from 5 to 10…we had one patient go to 30 pharmacies,” says Dr. Marx a pain management specialist.
“It was hard to get the medication because we would order 30 bottles from the manufacturer and they would only send us 10,” says Rosie.
Rosie says she was ordered to turn away patients who came from other stores. “We would tell them that we do not have the medication in stock and we had to lie to our customers. I really felt bad doing that.” She says a supervisor began profiling customers “She would take a look at them and if they looked rugged, she would say, ‘tell them we don’t have it.’”
What else would cause the pharmacist concern? “Tattoos definitely,” says Rosie. Rosie says a pharmacy manager was suspicious of young adults in their 20s and 30s even if they’d come directly from a hospital after surgery or being injured in an accident. She was even told to turn away husbands whose wives just had C-sections.
“’Tell them we don’t have it,’ when I knew well we did have the drug in stock.” And here’s a kicker: people who looked sick and in pain were suspect too. “Someone who actually didn’t look like they were taking very good care of themselves,” says Rosie.
Sometimes pharmacies Rosie worked at were out of certain meds. “But the majority of the time, it was just refusing the customer because of what they looked like,” she explains. She says the pain pills they did have were to be held for regular customers.
So if that’s the case, why not tell patients the truth? “Oh we’re not allowed to say anything like that! We’re just allowed to say we didn’t have the medication,” says Rosie. Many of the patients we spoke to in the last year say they were treated like addicts or, “like I was a drug dealing criminal,” says patient James Kruger.
Rosie says there is a system in place to weed out abusers, which could be done with a few clicks on the pharmacy computer. “So we were able to tell that they were either coming from a pill mill or they were trying to get the same medication twice in a week.”
CVS has never agreed to any of our requests for on-camera interviews and this time is no different. They sent us this statement: “Ensuring that patients with a legitimate medical need have access to pain relief medication is part of CVS/pharmacy’s purpose of helping people on their path to better health. Ms. Velazquez’s allegations are not consistent with our Company’s policies, procedures or values. At the same time, the abuse of controlled substance pain medication is a nationwide epidemic that is exacting a devastating toll upon individuals, families and communities. Pharmacists have a legal obligation under state and federal law to determine whether a controlled substance was issued for a legitimate purpose and to decline to fill prescriptions they have reason to believe were issued for a non-legitimate purpose. Pharmacists must evaluate each controlled substance prescription and consider a variety of factors when exercising their professional judgment as to whether or not to fill a controlled substance prescription.”
Rosie understands the dangers of abuse, but she couldn’t stand by and watch legitimate patients get caught in the middle and turned away. “That hurt me, Rosie says, “because I truly care about the customers and getting their medications and that was my job — helping them feel better.”
For more than a year we’ve been demanding answers from the major pharmacy chains, lawmakers and the Nevada Board of Pharmacy. We’ve been getting the same broad response over and over again with no meaningful solution: Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic that needs to be addressed and there needs to be a balance to make sure legitimate patients get their medication. But hundreds of patients who contacted us are still in pain and have no answers.
If you’re being denied or delayed when trying to get a prescription filled let us know about. Send us an email to 13investigates@ktnv.com
Filed under: General Problems
I have severe back pain due to facet degeneration in my spine coupled with bad teeth that are consistently abscessing and I just got medicaid and am trying to get into the low income clinic for a referral for an MRI for my spine and I have had to go to 2 urgent care clinics due to the pain and an injury to my back well no problem with the first to scripts but when I went to fill one from the dental clinic I was question as to my need and as to what was my problem why is this dental clinic prescribing this made to feel as if I was an addict or a drug seeker in front of other customers and mind you I explained what my issues were and I was obviously numb still from the dentist and showed him where the extraction site that was being treated for dry socket and infection I was so embarrassed and humiliated that I told him I’d rather be in pain than to be treated this way and ripped up my perfectly valid prescription because I’d rather suffer in silence than to ever be made to feel like that again. O and my children also witnessed this treatment of me.
Just turned away by CVS for a doctor’s refill script that I have taken for years with hydrocodone. Said he would not do it. Albertson’s pharmacy said they do that combination all the time. And still do.
Now they are going after doctors! I was doing fine finally found a sams club pharmacy that would take me and a few months later my doctor got a note from sams corporate that they will no longer fill prescriptions from her. She’s a good doctor! She’s told me no on requests to up my meds and she’s diligent in drug screening why would they single her out?
I go to a semi chain pharmacy(frys) and thankfully all the techs and most of the pharmacists know me by name. I have been very fortunate to not have any issues in the many yrs I’ve been there. I refuse to go to Walgreens, CVS , or Wal-Mart. More so after all the things I continue to read about them. As for filling early, I go in every month to my Dr for my meds and my day always falls on a weekend so I go on the previous Friday. This happens every month. I never have any trouble filling my scripts. And I also agree with alot of other commenters, they should be much more concerned about the illegal pills that are laced with fentanyl. That’s what is killing people, besides heroin. But c’mon! How long have they been fighting the war on drugs? It’s much easier for them to come after us. The law abiding chronic pain patients. U don’t see us committing crimes in order to get our meds. What’s wrong with this picture?
Cvs is the worst. My insurance chafed 2018 & I had to go cvs, they said .Problem EVERY time .Treat u like carp drug addict .Guess I am not beautiful enough .My scripts weren’t even narcotic .Trammadol, zolpidam, alprazolam, sucralfate, Creon to digest food, I have birth defects in pancreas .They are so rude .I go to private pharmacy and when she called cvs to transfer the lady said “is she trying to get pain pills” no sucralfate. Speakerphone I heard her. CVS text me 3 times to refill sucralfate & when I fill it somewhere else, they ask if I try to get pain pills! They need to reevaluate their pharmacy protocol and profiling patients. I should sue for the stress , gas, and time they have wasted. My time. They are the rudest people ever
Tramadol is a narcotic. It is a Sechedule IV drug. Not that I’m saying it’s right to deny you medication because I’m not at all but the concern is likely that 2 of your medications are sedating and in combination w a narcotic that can be deadly in *some* people. I too have had issues w CVS and I hope you are able to continue to get what you need.
Tramadol is not even an asprin on steroids. Tramadol is a narcotic that’s funny. I know it is but it shouldn’t be
Pain patients need to consider a class action lawsuit against the DEA and pharmacies for targeting them instead of the illegal street dealers. Most prescriptions are legit and there are a lot of people in pain and suffering. The DEA and pharmacies are targeting the wrong people because it’s easier for them.
Yes! Exactly….Attorneys General from states and fed are suing pharma corps, when it id HEROIN and illicit fentanyl killing almost 24000 ppl in ’17. The 64000 ODs is totally wrong. That reflects ALL ods on any med, like motrin, blood thinners, insulin, allergic reactions. All opiate ods are about 32,000, with heroin/fent/coke/benzo combos killing 27000. That leaves 5-6000 deaths of legit pain pts! More deaths from bike accidents than pain meds. Do we have a “Bike Crisis”?
Class action agst CDC, FDA, PROP, Kolodny and DEA (who allow afghani heroin in to US to kill 24000 ppl a year)
Name an attorney ,,and I will call him,,,just 1,,For don’t u think we have already called attorneys??called aclu??WE HAVE,, and thee only honest non corrupt,,non paid off agencies willing to help us are the International community,,because America has become sooo corrupted for the almighty $$$$,,,they even got the ACLU paid off,,maryw
I have contacted the ACLU repeatedly. They are more interested in making sure prisoners receive Subuxone and Bupe so THEY DON’T HAVE TO SUFFER WITHDRAWAL!! But to ACLU, IT’S PERFECTLY FINE for law abiding citizens/pain patients to go through withdrawal with NO help! But for a PRISONER, it’s “cruel and unusual punishment”. Can you believe the hypocrisy?
You got that right! The DEA punishes pain patients for the sins of others, all in the spirit of our times: “political correctness.” Liberal “thinkers” today and for years have been pushing the ridiculous idea that there is always someone else to blame when we make bad choices in life and bad things happen to us. The latest climate against opioids is one of the rewards of that retarded thinking.
Primary care doctors like me have been taking care of people with pain since the beginning of the profession. Back when I was going through medical school, we doctors were berated by the media, politicians, our fellow physicians in seats of authority and pharmaceutical backed pain advocacy groups that we were doing a poor job of helping people with pain get access to the pain medications they needed. We were too stingy, we were told. We should have more compassion. We should be more liberal with opiates.
So, we liberalized the prescribing for chronic pain patients. The pendulum had swung in favor of pain relief.
Then people started dying from overdoses of prescription pain pills. “By 2002 prescription opioids were killing 5,000 people a year in America and that number tripled over the following decade,” says one writer recently trying to explain what happened. Amazingly, pain medications were jumping out of their bottles and down the throats of innocent victims and killing them and doctors were obviously concocting ways of killing people… carefully writing out doses of narcotics to people in pain and expecting them to take the whole Rx at once! Evil was afoot! It had to be stamped out.
We were the white-coated scapegoats for responding to the demands that we do a better job treating pain with the tools available. America wasn’t ready to blame poor drug abusers for overdosing. Politicians and other government entities were getting the overdose stats and the letters from grieving families about their kids having access to pain drugs and overdosing. We doctors were demonized for “killing America’s youth.” The US National Institutes of Health website begins with this sentence: “Every day, more than 90 Americans die after overdosing on opioids.” The CDC and DEA, feeling the heat, made a bunch of stupid new rules, some of which don’t make logical sense and put many of you patients into serious pain. The pendulum has swung back the other way in favor of people getting psychiatric help to deal with pain or just letting them commit suicide… but hey, at least your government reacted to the people’s outcry, right?
Now, your local doctor is gonna think long an hard about ever writing an opiate again. Sorry folks, but you’ll just have to suffer. I hate it as much as any doctor who truly loves his patients, but my hands are tied. I have no voice. The voice and power belongs to the government and the doctors they employ…er…I mean, control, and who write the rules, not us guys on the front lines having to look into the eyes of a patient in pain with three back surgery failures to their name and in tears because their “pain doctor” just got canned by the feds. There’s no input from us that makes any difference what-so-ever.
They make it very hard, if not impossible, for us primary care doctor to give you chronic pain control meds. We’re told to farm all chronic pain patients to “pain management” doctors, thereby increasing costs and difficulties to patients and pain management doctors alike. I have a license to treat pain from my state and from the DEA, but they want me to pay for a 3rd special license to prescribe long term pain meds!
So, as we guys on the front line get fed up and give up on writing prescriptions for chronic pain patients, those folks are funnelled into the pain doctor’s offices in record numbers. The doctors in that field are over run and many become little more than pain pill mills. They’ve no time to shake your hand, look into your eyes and talk with you about your pain. If you’re lucky, you might get to talk to a nurse practitioner. There just is no time to do a careful assessment of each individual patient. Then, when the doctor is overwhelmed and the guidelines start slipping the DEA swoops in and arrests the doctor.
The pain doctors are highly pressured these days to get the pain med counts down. They are putting chronic pain patients through all sorts of expensive tests and surgeries that have little chance of succeeding, if any. They are firing patients for missing appointments when their car broke down or a false positive urine drug screen. They don’t go to church with you or remember the horrific car crash you had that put you in chronic pain Those fired patients then end up in a methadone clinic or on the street buying heroin and dying of overdoses. The doctor’s to blame of course. Always the doctor.
We live in an age in which no one blames the person who overdosed on 28 pain pills and a shot of heroin and a fifth of whiskey. “No, it’s not their own fault” the liberals shout, “It’s the evil doctor or pharmacist or drug company’s fault!” Many have the false belief that doctors get money from the pharmaceutical companies. In reality, we can’t even receive so much as a plastic ink pen from them anymore. They can still buy us lunch so that they can share new information about the drugs their company is launching.
The truth is that unless you people demand the government get out of healthcare and stop the nonsense of passing the buck anytime things go south, you’ll continue to suffer tremendously and needlessly.
When was the last time you heard of the government losing a class action lawsuit? The DEA and CDC will laugh in your faces. In United States law, the federal government as well as state and tribal governments generally enjoy sovereign immunity, also known as governmental immunity, from lawsuits. No, your ownly hope is to bug your government leaders till they’re sick of hearing from you. You should be clobbering your politicians’ offices with mail, not emails. Don’t rant online. Use that time to tell those who are really in charge what’s going on and how these current rules are harming you or a loved one. They’re the only ones with the power to bring sanity back to our healthcare…by getting the heck out of it. Tell them you want the sacred doctor-patient relationship back. Vote out those who want more power over your healthcare.
TRUTH IS THAT WE BROUGHT IT ON OURSELVES.
We put them in power and we gave them the keys to our healthcare and we did it in unprecedented levels under Obama. We already what a huge success Obamacare was as company after healthcare company drops out. Name me one program that the government runs efficiently than the free market does and I’ll take back my words. Our costs have hit the stratosphere and our benefits fall almost yearly. Are you going to wait till you and your doctor have no control at all?
Wake up, America or get used to the pain and a lot more coming your way.
Now I know Doctors are terrified of the dea,,but,,let me ask u question,,I know for myself,as a medically ill person,,have lost my ability to work,,yet,,I find ways to make money,,ginseng ,,,mushroom hunting,,etc,,For no employer will hire anyone who takes medicines,,But why haven’t doctors fought back harder for their patients..I was just as my primary,,for I am putting off 2 surgeries in fear of no medicine after surgery,thus forced to suffer,,won’t do it,,They have been told at her hospital,,use Tylenol 1st,,Do doctors not know,,that denial of effective medicine to lessen severe physical pain is the legal definition of torturer,,thus,,they are violating that law??maryw
Doctors are no more in control than you are. We effectively handed over control to the government under Obama. We are working late to meet the new rules, much of which is a ridiculous waist of time. We once controlled our profession, but no longer.
Actually, Medicare has a reputation for being extremely organized and functions efficiently AND, this is not Obama’s fault or tge ACA but otherwise, I am with you, except the blame on liberals. I’m a liberal and I don’t think it has anything to do with it. I also agree that addicts and the families of addicts are blaming everyone but the addict.
Mary==I also was planning on cancelling a surgery. MY PM doctor has told me to let HIM know when it will be done. He will make sure I have what I need for post operative pain management. While mine is just foot surgery–I now walk on my TOES-on my right foot–rather painful twisted mess–I CAN live with this until I die. I am 65 after all. But I can NOT get the break in my neck fusion repaired–too dangerous!
Dr Harper;
I’m mostly with you, but your insistence on blaming it all on the liberals doesn’t exactly ring true. I’m not seeing the Republicans falling all over themselves to correct things now that they’ve been in power a while…in fact, they are rushing to compound the situation just as fast & hard as they can, at least in part to hand millions to anti-addiction businesses.
Dr. Harper, thank you for your honesty. Here we are 6 months later, and things have gotten dramatically worse. I didn’t think it was possible. The only problem with your advice is this: we HAVE been speaking out to our government representatives. However, we are IMMEDIATELY dismissed as drug addicts as soon as they hear “Chronic Pain”. Pain Management Specialists are leaving practice in hoarded. Patients are being FORCIBLY tapered to 50 MME in Arkansas, with absolutely NO regard to their diagnosis , level of documented injuries, compliance, NOTHING. One size fits all medicine at its worst. Most of us are now bedriddrn, unable to sleep, eat or even shower. I agree that Doctor’s bear the brunt of regulatory harrassment and unethical civil asset forfeiture. We need someone to help us! If Doctors don’t help us by speaking up alongside us, the DEA’s draconian drag net will continue to ensure us ALL. Once they prosecute the highest prescribed, number 2 then becomes the highest prescribed, and so on. Make no mistake, it’s opiods and benzos today, and tomorrow it will probably be Ritallin. There is no specialty to run to that will be free from Government over reach. My question is, what will Doctors do then? CP patients are committing suicide every day now. I beg you Doctor, please stand with us (lend us a little legitimacy) before we ALL go down in flames.
BRAVO!
Liberals say no such thing. I have been in pain management for nearly 41 years. I have NO discs left at all. Part of my spinal cord IS flattened and after 4 failed cervical spine surgeries/with the cage and bolt now broken–I can no longer work an care for MY patients. Over a decade ago –I decided to try using methadone FOR pain relief as the only thing that DID give me 45 minutes of help–was just too costly. I do take way to much naproxyn–BUT the help for my swollen hands–may be worth the stomach pain. I LOST my ability to do most things in life–as I fall so often–ended up with a concussion twice last year. Only good thing about this broken plate? My weight has not become an issue,as swallowing is difficult so I eat ONLY if my husband is at home. Chocking is a real and ever present risk I do hold all accountable for their own choice and behavior–myself included. I would JUMP at the opportunity to return to work–if walking/let alone JUMPING was one of my options. Those that commit unlawful acts–are NOT deserving of help at the risk or loss of others. Just like I did NOT take from others in order to obtain MY education,nor take care of my family. But worked 2 added jobs in order to do the very best we could. You presume much,lump all under one view point into a set label.
I had acdf surgery in DEC 2017 3 discs removed and it has just been getting worse. I’m allergic to most opiates they cause bad Hives but Morphine my system doesn’t react to, I went to GI e my 4th month prescription and the pharmacy at Fry’s lied saying they need the OK from the doctor when of was a written prescription then a week well my doctor did give the OK but the pharmacy said AHCCCS needed more information with a contract signed that I can’t get fpor another twpo weeks. I’m the mean time now my doctor and surgeon have abandoned me not returning calls, should I sue for malpractice? I have Dysphagia from the surgery I have trouble talking and I have Dysphonia from the surgery I won’t be seeing pain management for two more weeks and they’re an hour away.
My exact thought.Class action lawsuit!
I would love to start a class action lawsuit but it takes money to find someone to represent you and to get it started, which I’m guessing most of us don’t have at our disposal. The money we do have has to go on bills to keep a roof over our head and grocerys. I’m hoping eventually a class action suit will be available for alot of us suffering needlessly. I’m beginnig to think that’s our only hope against these idiots. Praying in Missouri…
Maybe we can start a Gofundme!
I agree! That’s all it will take. Sign me up for any class action suits or if there is a lawyer interested in taking my case, I’m ready.
Today I called Walmart Pharmacy to check if my usual monthly refill of Mallickrodt fentanyl patches was in stock. The pharmacist on duty told me that they do not carry the Mallinckrodt brand of fentanyl patches, and they can’t order the patches for me, as they aren’t available due to a recall – but they DO carry Alvogen patches, and they can fill my Rx with those. (I can’t use Alvogen patches; they give me terrible side-effects and leave my skin red and raw.)
I got off the phone with Walmart Pharmacy and immediately called Mallinckrodt’s toll-free number, and found out that I’d been blatantly lied to by the pharmacist. There is no recall. Period. Not on any of Mallinckrodt’s fentanyl patch dosages. After I called Mallinckrodt, I called 5 different area pharmacies, and found that 2 of them carry the Mallinckrodt fentanyl patches I need. So my immediate problem is solved, but I’m really annoyed.
I find myself wondering what kind of a financial deal Walmart has made with Alvogen to only carry their brand of fentanyl patches, and no others. I understand the business practice of changing suppliers to get the best price. But to flat-out lie to me about the availability of my preferred brand – to tell me they’ve been recalled! – is unethical. I’d say they should be ashamed of themselves, but it’s Walmart I’m talking about, and this is far from the first problem I’ve had with their pharmacy. *sigh*
Tomorrow should be interesting. I’m planning to physically go to Walmart’s pharmacy, talk to the pharmacist, and request that they order the Mallinckrodt patches for me. I’m really curious to hear the answer – which probably varies by which pharmacist is on duty. Depending on what response I get, I may be switching one or all of my prescriptions to a different pharmacy.
I’m too old, and in too much pain all the time, to tolerate crappy service – or being lied to.
Sue the pants off of them.
great idea. Too bad we ca’t find a lawyer to take a suit or the millions of dollars to fund it.
That’s bizarre considering that my Walmart knows to keep Mallinkropt patches on hand for me each month. I use them because they will ship me free Tegaderm patches to keep them on for days. Definitely not a national Walmart policy to not stock Mallinkropt.
Basically it sound like the pharmacist just did not want to take the time to order them.
Update: I went to the Walmart pharmacy & politely asked the pharmacist, a really nice guy, about ordering the Mallinckrodt fentanyl patches for me; I told him about the phone call I’d made the day before, where I spoke to a different pharmacist. He expressed surprise at what I’d been told; the pharmacy assistant, however, walked over to where I was quietly speaking with the pharmacist, and said that the Mallinckrodt patches had been recalled, in a sharp, dismissive tone. I calmly told her (the assistant) and the pharmacist that I’d called Mallinckrodt and there was no recall, but the assistant told me I was wrong (!!!) and insisted that the Mallinckrodt patches they’d had in the pharmacy had been recalled. (Their whole stock of patches, at all dose levels?!?) The pharmacist went to the computer and tried to pull up Mallinckrodt fentanyl patches on the pharmacy’s Drug Ordering page, but they weren’t even listed. He was as surprised as I was, and he apologized, saying he had no idea why the Mallinckrodt patches weren’t there, but if they weren’t listed on that page, he couldn’t order them. The best we could guess was that a manager-level decision was made to stop carrying that brand. At least he gave me the best answer I was likely to get.
I’d have been a lot less annoyed if I’d simply been told, the day before, “we don’t carry that brand anymore.” I switched my Schedule II prescriptions to a new pharmacy.
Don’t lie to customers, don’t misdirect, don’t treat us like idiots. Don’t assume that we’re going to be sheep and blindly accept whatever we’re told. Because the bottom line is that we can always go buy our prescriptions somewhere else.
As a CPhT working in a chain (not CVS), I can attest to the fact that most patients who come to my pharmacy have no problem filling their C-II medications. We fill all narcotics one day early unless otherwise noted by the prescriber. We also work with our patients should there arise a need for an early refill (i.e. vacation, family emergency, etc.). Georgia law states that a pharmacist cannot fill a narcotic prescription more than three days early without a doctor’s consent. The DEA has started cracking down on pharmacies nationwide. Insurance companies are now looking at the amount of opiates patients are prescribed. There truly is an epidemic on the number of death related to overdoses.
There are a number of factors that go into filling prescriptions, and I know my own personal pharmacy personnel do not wish people to suffer in pain. There is a drug monitoring program in place that pharmacists and doctors can utilize to figure if someone is “shopping around” at different pharmacies.
Major red flags include having a prescription written from a doctor that is from City A, patient lives in City B, and then the pharmacy in City C; chatty Kathies (customers who are overly friendly – I hate using that term, but I just cannot think of a more suitable adjective to describe it), or cash prescriptions. There are more to look out for, but these are the major ones that stand out.
I think the biggest piece of advice I can give is that just because a doctor writes a prescription, it doesn’t make it valid. There is a reason that doctors are not dispensers of medicine. It is a system of checks and balances to make sure each medical professional is doing their due diligence for patient health and safety while still satisfying the laws set in place.
With the advancement of technology, forgeries are becoming harder to discern. When we are unfamiliar with the prescribing practice of a doctor that is not near us, we have to be extra vigilant when filling that prescription. Sometimes that involves some sleuthing; I have experienced this myself only to find that the Rx was in fact a forgery. Don’t be offended if a pharmacist tells you they must call to confirm the prescription. It also helps to get acquainted with one pharmacy, and that will also help your pharmacist keep a check on possible interactions between your medications, especially if you see multiple specialists. You have to take into consideration that pharmacies fill hundreds of prescriptions each day, so it works out well we the patient is proactive in their own care as well. Sans emergencies, plan in advance for vacations and travel. You’ll save yourself a lot of grief and effort, especially since you’ll find that it’s less likely to get a narcotic filled out of state. Some laws can also prohibit us from filling scripts from out of state. I had an older fellow from up north who wanted to drop off a Tussionex Rx that was written by a nurse practitioner in his state, but Georgia law prohibited us from filling that because nurse practitioners do not have the capability to do so here. He accused us of profiling when all we were doing was following the law.
I appreciate your post. I completely respect the system and policies in place to help with the growing opiate epidemic. I live in Florida, but have been spending the majority of my time in New Jersey with my grand babies; one just born this last September. I am helping with my two year old granddaughter that has medical issues. I work online and this allows me to stay longer and be there for her and my sons family. I was so disappointed with my last visit to Walgreens. I was embarrassed, made late to sign into my job, and felt I needed to tell my reasons for my travels, bring back a file of my health history and so forth. In my situation, so you have any suggestions or advice with how to help? I do everything I can to keep it as simple as possible, but I don’t know how to fix this. I have to be there for my granddaughter, but permanently moving is not an option.
This “anonymous” tech has some valid points, however – by what he/she wrote.. apparently still believes that the “opiate crisis” and OD is still tied to legal prescriptions. Recent reports suggests that the majority – and growing – number of OD are from illegal substances. As well calls to attention of determining what is/is not a valid prescription because of the available technology. This tech doesn’t seem to address the issue of checking the state’s PMP and the risk of the pt providing fake/forged/stolen driver’s license… which will make the dedicated diverter/abuser not “stand out” on a PMP report.
I find it interesting that the state law prohibits the refilling of a control earlier than 3 days – without doc approval – but their store has elected to make that ONE DAY… Which suggests that all the “stars have to align” to make sure that the pt does not go without their medication and being thrown into cold turkey withdrawal. While the world turns on its axis pretty dependably every day.. .the rest of our “worlds” are not that predictable. Keeping in mind that everything in the doc’s practice, pharmacy and pt’s life can be highly variable to being predictable and more than one day can be disrupted.. maybe that is why Georgia’s bureaucrats established a 3 days early refill limit.
It sounds like you are following the govt stance that doctors are overprescribing and that is the problem- not the real cause of illicit drugs. You don’t know the frustration of being on vacation and injuring yourself, or you wouldn’t be so suspicious. What does it matter if a “chatty Cathy” comes in? You say that you don’t wish to see anyone to suffer, but cash is a problem? Haven’t you filled it by then? Or do you drill people with questions before you say that you will fill them.
Duh what? Are you a PhD? A mind reader? Judge much?!??
no-one HAS EVER O.D.,, or ended up in any e.r. ever,,,,for taking their MEDICINES as their doctor as written,,on their bottle,,ever,,,find me 1 case where someone has died,o.d. or e.r. from taking their medicine as prescribed by their doctor,,,just 1,,,mryw
One pharmacy told me they didn’t fill scripts from doctors that were “that far away”. My PM is 35 miles from my home, one town away. I knew I was being lied to or, at least, that it had to be unethical but what could I do? I knew it was only going to get worse for pain patients.
The DEA states that it is a RED FLAG if pts travel a far distance from their home to go to a pharmacy or a doctor… they don’t define what a “far distant ” is. I have heard of Pharmacists that have refused to fill prescription for a pt that lived in a different ZIP CODE than the pharmacy and the pt lived 0.5 miles from the store and the ZIP CODE boundary was between the pt’s home and the store. My money is on the fact that you go to a chain drug store… probably a Walgreens… find yourself a local independent pharmacy where they don’t “play games” with pt’s health needs… here is a website to help you find one by zip code http://www.ncpanet.org/home/find-your-local-pharmacy
To anonymous; just a fyi,,I got accused of filling my script 1 day early by a bitch nurse at my doctors pain clinic,I WAS NOT,, turned out the pharmacy to save time would fill and ENTER into the computer 1 day early,,,soo again this BITCH nurse who hates Chronic pain patients,,but works at a pain clinic,,,claimed,,i was fillen scripts 1 day early..I had to FIGHT to expose the truth,becaus of all this opiate phobia,,Now my law must of changed too,,cause I remember it use to be 3 days early was fine,,Now again a big problem here was/is this BITCH OF A NURSE my doctor has under his command,,or maybe supplied by the hospital staffing,,,but by the pharmacy filling it on day 29,,i got yelled at for filling it 1 day early,,We had to get all our credit card receipts’ to show I picked up day 30,,or 31,,is was aweful,,soo just a fyi,,If u have any opiate phobia medical professionals who are dealing w/chronic pain people,,,watch out,,,next time they ,”claim,” ”patient is fillen scripts early,” it truly might be a lie,or a mis-understand,,or a bitch as a nurse,,maryw
I can relate to this..i was told by my doc to call in for a refill request one week before i am supposed to run out of my medication, just so he can be sure i get the refill before my supply runs out..the first time i did this the clerk i spoke to on the phone at the pharmacy said i was calling in too early and that the pharmacist would never ever refill the opiate this early even if my doc would approve the request…i told her im not looking to get it FILLED today, just send in the request so he can see it before i run out, which is what my dr told me to do..here in tx you have to have a paper prescription to get a narcotic, the docs cant just call them in anymore..not sure if thats how it is all over the country tho…i wasnt trying to get my pills too soon, just letting my doc know that i would need a refill in a week, and i get treated like a pill head who just wants to find a good cheap buzz, i always feel judged and anxious when dealing with the pharmacy,
I had Emergency surgery and was told by a nurse that I had to let the pain doctor know a week before I have surgery. I called my pain doctor, never out of all the 15 years on pain meds have I ran out until this.. What happened was the PA took me off Morphine with out a pre- approval for a New med called Embeda. It was taken off the market. I went that month so sick I thought about ending my pain. The next month they gave me a low dose of Morphine. Was still sick, couldn’t eat, sleep all I did was puke and crap. So the next month, I took back a half a bottle of Morphine and gave it to my doctor. I went from January to July thinking I was having withdrawals. My Son and My Pain doctor thought I had cancer. I lost so much weight, around 60- 70lbs. I weighted less than 90 pounds. My Pancreas was ready to burst. I was born with a defect and have only 1 vale to my Pancreas. I have a stint and a balloon in my Pancreas. That same nurse had the nerve to tell me I best have proof that I am having more surgeries. The PA that made me so sick, had the nerve to say the Doctor that owned the clinic was being looked at from the DEA. Not true, she was fired for not making sure when you take somebody off their meds instead of lowering the dose and helping get off the high doses she let you go without. I could have turned her in as by Law she has to get a pre-approval for any new meds. When I called to let the PA know that I was sick and they needed to get a pre-approval for that new med she gave me. I let them know it had been taken off the market. She said I was a liar. I live in pain every day. When I went to the ER in July I almost died due to my Pancreas. I have lived with my Pancreas for over 50 years, I really think the cause of it not working was from pukeing and craping for months. I had to really think if I wanted to turn the PA in. I couldn’t do it as I did not want anybody to be left without their pain meds. and go through withdrawals like I did. I have tried everything before I was put on Pain Meds. Sad as I thought Doctors took an Oath? The Federal government has no right to tell Doctor’s how to treat a Patient. Next, we will be told how to Vote, what we Believe in. Sad that Doctor’s have to worry about the DEA. Wait till just one of the Lawmakers lives in pain, they won’t go without! Laws need to change, I am Disabled and live in pain everyday! Without my meds, I cannot get out of bed. I paid my taxes and this is what I get? My levels of pain are a 10! I will never get better, sadly to say. My records show that I have IP and laws use to protect me. Now what?
I can’t think of a local independent pharmacy around here!
might try this website http://www.ncpanet.org/home/find-your-local-pharmacy
I was also given a hard at CVS Pharmacy from late 2014 to about late 2015, early 2016. I finally decided to never do business with them for anything. I will not even go there to buy a pack of gum. I had a legitimate prescription from a legitimate doctor. I was told almost every time they didn’t have my norco. I was told to come back next week, or they didn’t know when they would get it back in. I was also told and accused one time it was too early to fill my script when it was days past the 30 day mark. I have multiple chronic pain issues and spent days in pain and also they made me feel like a druggie instead of someone with Legit issues. I even went to another local CVS and the pharmacist told me they always run low in that area because everyone that lives around there is on disability and pain meds. How unprofessional of him to label me right in front of my face! I don’t like their little games they play. If I need a prescription for pain, that’s between me and my doctor, not for them to put judgement on me! I also went a few months without prescription coverage and had to go through Good RX for a price, they didn’t always honor that price saying it fluctuates. There were months where there was a drastic change in price and it seems that they charged me (gouged) on whatever they felt like that day. This place will never get my business for anything ever! I drive right by there to elsewhere! Just fir the record this location is on Highland Rd. in Waterford, MI
Its funny that you bring up goodrx. In 2017 after my 2nd back surgery, I filled all 4 of my post op pain medication scripts there based solely on convenience. (They are a 5 minute drive from me) The last one they wouldn’t fill a day early even though the day it was due fell on a holiday that they weren’t open. Called my insurance company for an override and they said it should have been filled 2 days prior and that they had no record of the previous 3 scripts being filled at that CVS. Well turns out they were using my goodrx card to fill the medicine. That’s fine but my insurance price for the medications was $12 and the goodrx price was $26. They overcharged me $42. I had to send in paperwork to get my money back, like a refund basically. I’d like to say it surprised me but it doesn’t I’ve been with Medicaid for a while and the ONLY pharmacy they don’t honor is CVS. I wonder why??
I went to CVS and they lied about not having the medication they told me they no longer carry it. But when I went to a different location the CVS said that location has some in stock. So they lied to me. Gues Ill be filing a investigation with my state board of pharmacy they will pay. I encourage you folks to do the same with any unethical behaviors you see. Theres serious consequences for that
Thank you for posting. I did not realize I could file a report. I do travel between Florida and NJ. Florida is my home and where my doctors are. I go and stay in New Jersey quit often for 2-3 weeks to help with my grand babies. I have back issues from compressed vertebrates from a boating accident, kidney disease with significant scars that causes continuous pain, and other issues. I feel I shouldn’t have to tell my life story when filling a prescription. Managing my daily pain allows me to live a somewhat normal life (my normal) when denied filling our prescriptions, pharmacist do not realize the set backs we suffer. Missing time to play with my grand babies because I can not walk or open a jar of peanut is not right when I follow every guideline and policy per my Pain Management Doctor or he would not write the prescriptions. This last time I brought my prescriptions with me and Walgreens refused to fill one of them and gauge me $200 for generic Percocet. I am cash pay until my insurance starts again with a new company. Even sitting 10 hours a day for my online job is impossible without my prescriptions. It is a vicious circle we are put in as individuals that abide by the laws and policies in place.
January 7,2018,
I brought my regular Rx to Rite aide, pharmacist. Didnt have quantity so sent me to
Rite Aide up the street. We waited 30 mints to be told it could not be filled till next day at noon.
I was due, I have a positive character with Rite Aide, and I was denied medicine I am on for 6 years. I have nerve damage, edema and Sciatic spasms. I have no medication for today, I am in pain so bad..
What can I do?
Rebecca Morgan Estock.
rebeccam44303agmail.com
I’m in the same boat,,starting Feb.1,2018,,,we went to cvs-caremark,,,,my doc is gonna freak,,maryw
I have had this problem with cvs, they treated me like a addict saying that they don’t have my medicine in stock and it would take a couple weeks to get. That was the story until i went somewhere else… Now my meds are only covered by caremark and only by CVS starting this month; ( I am so sickened by the jerks who made it hard for us that actually need our meds;(
Why do people keep going to CVS
they are a really bad pharmacy chain? If my mother, had one bad judgement against her ,in her pharmacy she would be shut down. In my town CVS had 48 bad judgements’against them (two people I knew personally almost died and one went into a coma!)Wake up and go to a privately-owned pharmacy.
To anonymous,,,its NOT,, actually the store CVS,, it is our prescription insurance coverage group,,it is CVS-CAREMARK,, so it is not actually the physical pharmacy cvs,,,My hometown pharmacy is literally in the middle of no-where..It has 2 pharmacys,,one here in Adams,and 1 in Mauston,,,its actual called a different name the cvs,,Its named after a creek here in my home town,,Soo its not the physical store,,CVS,, is the insurance carry group cvs-caremark,,, a division of bluecross blue shield,,,,just fyi,,maryw
We are all in on agreeing that CVS is no good, but dear god, why so many commas after each sentence???
LMBO, thank you for making me laugh! I was getting so angry reading how many of us are getting the shaft, smoke was tootin’ out of my ears!
We must use every resource to advocate: media, complaints to licensing or compliance boards, document the BS and lies. Record interactions if 1 party tapes are allowed in your state. FB groups, petitions, calls to action….my meds were cut over 50% within 15 mos, and now my Klonopin (been on both for over a decade)….
it’s her signature style.
When your insurance is Caremark, you have no choice but CVS
Actually you do have a choice. I thought the same thing. I have Caremark insurance and thought I had no choice but CVS. Out of curiosity, I went to a privately owned pharmacy and handed them my Caremark insurance card. To my surprise they filled my script using my Caremark card. The lady told me that just because your insurance card says “CVS Caremark” on the front, it doesn’t mean that’s the pharmacy you have to go to. It’s just like any other prescription insurance card and can be used at almost any pharmacy.
I’ve now been told by my (Kroger) pharmacy of 17 years that i can’t pick up my prescription for my pain medications for 24 hours after the fill date. That’s 24 hours I’ll be without my medication. I am legally obligated to take my meds as prescribed… But my pharmacy is now forcing me to take my meds other than prescribed in order to have the pills to take during that 24 hour delay…or do without for 24 hours which isn’t medically advised-not to mention extremely painful. They will not allow me to drop it off the day before my fill date. If this is now a law-how is it not discrimination? They would Never withhold medication for blood pressure, heart or diabetic patients-just to name a few. Do we-as legitimate and law abiding citizens not have any rights in this?
http://www.ncpanet.org/home/find-your-local-pharmacy
They pulled thee exact same thing onto me,,a small town pharmacy,,Because of this bitch nurse of my doctors again,,lied,,to try and get me kicked out of P.M…The nurse can’t count for 1,,,but,,she was claiming,,,that I should be filling my script on day 31,,,not day 30,,,,ie,,,24 hours AFTER the 30 day fill mark,,,She won,,,for now,,, I have to wait till day 31,,,,no matter,,,if u puke em up,,no matter of anything..
I cannot wait till this computer cord comes is for my jvc camcorder,,cause its all going on line,,,
Donna point being,,your right,,,blood pressure meds don’t wait, only we dooooo,,,that’s called discrimnation,,,and it will be formally filed as such,,,,,Hopefully someday we will get this all BACK,, the way it should of been left,,
Donna THEY DON’T CARE,,, if u suffer for 24 hours,,,,unless u take then to a court of law,,,then they’ll care,,,,,For your right,,,,,they are torturing u ,,for no other reason,,,then their own prejudice,discrimnation,and the arrogance they have to think they have the right to force physical pain onto another living human being!!!!!!!!Hopefully some day,,,forcing physical pain onto another living humanbeing by denying them access to effective medicines to lessen physical pain,will be formally charged as the crime of torture IN THIS COUNTRY,,,
I had CVS tell me this once. They said it had to be 30 days to the hour and minute from my last fill. I almost cried it was so laughable. They suck as a pharmacy chain
I have chronic pain….i was born with one leg significantly longer than the other….im almost 70…i havr been an athlete most of my life…i was in a near fatal car wreck 42 years ago…
From the git, i have been treated like a drug addict, every time i refill my norcos…….this last time, i waited for almost an hour…to get my script filled….in the script….thry had a seperate bottle for 6 yellow norcos…i thawt you couldnt get them anymore….and the remainder of the script was a new generic…..this is a horror story for people that have a legit need for pain pills….and we didnt start this nonsense…Big Pharma did!….i dont know what the answer is…and i was in Walgreens…when this woman came in with a blank script pad trying illegally to procure some pills illegally….but damn!…dont treat the legit people like drug addicts
Rite Aid are no better. They short on pills all the time. The medication doesn’t even have to be a scheduled drug, they still short scripts. God forbid it is a scheduled medication, you are screwed ( even if it is a low scheduled med 4). Don’t try to get any scheduled meds filled at Rite Aids in Ohio..They will fill a few times then start harassing you. They embarrass and humiliate in front of other customers. People that are in severe chronic pain CANNOT help the situation they are in. NO ONE WANTS TO SUFFER DAY AFTER DAY, but according to these people, I guess everyone that is ill chose their path… If you have a refill on a low scheduled drug (4), they will not refill until the last possible day . They harass customers filling scheduled meds and make them feel and look like criminals..It is horrible what people who are ill have to go through. A majority of illnesses are ‘invisible’ , so people may look well, but feel like hell. If you look too nice, you CAN’T possibly be ill…If you look slightly disheveled( because you are just too ill to pull yourself together some days), MUST be a JUNKIE..I think some of these pharmacists and techs ‘dip’. I don’t care how many camera’s are set up. I am sure they know the loopholes.
I know the pharmacists “dip”…when i first got my norcos…because of the amount i get….i thawt, when i got home, i should count them…sure enough they werr short 5 pills……my pain doctor later informed that a pharmacy, in my area, had been busted for shorting people on their scripts…..just what do they do with the meds they skim…i think they use them or they sell them…i now count my pills….
Sure.. If 30 pain scripts are filled in a day and they skim 1 from each script, they have 30 pills they can use/sell. They have shorted my Xanax 7 pills before. That is BS. I told the pharmacist about it, and of course he acted like I was LYING. They short at rite aid constantly by me. I found a mom/pop store that is nearby I am going to switch over to. The only reason I kept using the. RA store is because it’s literally up the street, and the only other store is Walgreens, which I heard is no better. RA wouldn’t fill my mom’s tramadol early.. Tramadol as far as I know isn’t a scheduled 2 or 3 in Ohio unless it has changed. I thought it was a 4..??She was splitting her dose and will be out today, and has to wait until tomorrow to pick it up. We were going to go out of town until New Year’s to visit my niece. I tried explaining this to the pharmacist but he didn’t give a damn. He said he could transfer the script to a pharmacy where we were going?? I have never been to visit my niece before.. So I have no idea on what pharmacies are by her ( she has only been in this area a year).. So this would be an inconvenience to me.. After all the hassle from these shady people, we decided to cancel the trip, as it would have been too many days without her script. She doesn’t habitually fill early. Plus her scrip was SHORT several pills, which I informed the pharmacist on her last fill… He didn’t care.These people are up to no good and reek of BS. It’s horrid.
Turn on your camera on your phone.Ask them to please staple the bag to your script.When u get to the car,,count them ON CAMERA,,,UNDERSTAND?!!! GOTCH U,,, type deal for no-one can deny if it is on film,,,,jmo,,maryw
F*** that, I make them leave them in sealed stock bottles and everything else, I make them count in front of me.
Make them count in front of you. Stabled or not they will say you took pills out once you leave the counter. If they have short you beforede have thema count in front oof while you record it on video. If You do that and record them counting the pills and they are short then they will have a lot of explaining to do. Then send the video to pharamcy board in your state and post it on the net and send it to the press.
Walgreens “shorts” me all the time. Just a couple 2 or 3. But if that person filled 10 rx thats 20 or 30 doses they pocketed that day.
Us people with a Severe Chronic Pain sickness are the Blacklisted/disrespected by the Medical World, United States Government, and society. All the person at the Pharmacy has to do is say, “I didn’t take any of that chronic pain person’s Medicine, I think he or she is addicted and just trying to get more of his or her drugs, because he or she is an addict!’ And let us guess who they are going to side with, believe, and care about? Yeah NOT us people with a Severe Chronic Pain sickness! We will NOT have a smidgen of hope or anyone on our side with one bit of empathy for how we are once again being treated less than human by the U.S. Government, Medical World, and society- for we are the Blacklisted nobodies- who are being once again just being left to suffer, our bodies and mind breaking down from Pain, and how with such they are killing us slowly in an agonizing slow suffering daily Pain and therefor useless life and death.
And Medicines like the Morphine Medicine that saved my life, gave me a life I do NOT have without the Morphine Medicine, and have used with out one measly problem from it for 27 years, they just ignore it all and send me back to a Hell that makes waking up no longer worth doing. Our existence that is NOT even worth being alive for.
Are these people with me, seeing any of this, NO they ruin my life from a distance. Though they treat and care for the drunken drivers who kill and ruin other lives, they care about the drug addicts lives and ruin ours trying to save the drug addicts, and even the terrorists who want the U.S. People dead, gone, and killed/wiped off the map, yes they are treated better and cared for and even have laws protecting them from being made to suffer, unlike us people with a Severe Chronic Pain sickness who are treated less than human.
That is why you have the person count the pills in front of you before you leave the counter. They must do it. I have done it a few times where the pill count did not look right and the count was good. The pharmacy never held it against me because they want to make sure you are satified.
CVS, punishing pt’s b/c They had to pay millions of $$’s in fines in multiple states, and had to put in place programs for prevention of substance abuse/ as part of their “deal” with the DEA. Should NEVER had lead to DENYING CPP their pain medications specifically Opoids. The CVS I have been going to for 15yrs(btw per my insurance & my insurances ONLY selection for prescriptions for us) started to deny my pain medication refills as soon as a CVS in a neighboring county got investigated & Fined by the DEA ( big time, AGAIN NOT THE CPP’S FAULT). THEY (the staff @ CVS) started saying things like we don’t have it, don’t know when well get it?, I wouldn’t wait to see if we do get. It, we don’t have enough, etc etc etc. I ended up going to a grocery store pharmacy.They were nice but got over loaded with cpp’s & started limiting # of pills they’d fill regardless of what your Dr. Ordered & even required my Dr. To Put Me On A Long Acting Opiate if Iv was going to want to continue to to a short acting opiate!! Talk about over- reach!! At the time I had no where else to go! Then eventually I went to none other then mail order to CVS Caremark which is a nightmare to wait for meds thru unreliable mail & a far awsy pharmacy that if something goes wrong U only talk to a service agent not a pharmacist.And with CVS’S new rules(Jan/Feb 2017) that will be out soon as well.
Although pharmacists go to school to study pharmaceuticals, it doesn’t mean they can practice medicine. They have no right to tell you that if you want to continue filling your IR opioid, you have to be put on an extended release one as well. That is a decision left up to your doctor and last I knew, pharmacists aren’t doctors. Pharmacists as a whole, no matter what store they work at, make me sick to my stomach.
What’s going to happen is all these PAIN medications are going to become a STREET drug because the DEA is cracking down so hard on them. The CARTELS are going to start getting the drug from the pharmacuitical manufacturers and put them on the street as a street drug. The manufacturers has to make money some kinda way and they will sell the drugs to the Cartel. Since the doctors are not writing the prescription and the pharmacies are not dispensing them how else are the manufacturers going to make money. Think about it!
I think there should be a Class Action Lawsuit, regarding this matter, and it is unfair that one has to go through all these changes and they’re in pain. It’s unfair and unhealthy that they would let one suffer like that. Thanks for confirming what we a already know Rosie.
If you know of a clasd action suit going on…let me know…
Agreed!!!
Agreed. Still must make noise, call tv, write papers, document all yhe lies, attitude at pharmacies, complain to licensing board, corporations, insurance cos, make noise. They cut my meds 50% and cancelled my Klono….I am in Hell.
Most of all you/we need to write to Senators, congressman, DHS, CDC, FDA, State Medical board, pharmacy board, health indurance, Medicare, Medicaid etc and News and any one else you can think of daily by snail mail until they are over loaded with letters. If all chronic pain patients, physicians that are against this, dentist. When they were overloaded day after day they will look at and fix it. Also in every letter tell your story how you became in pain, how your meds have been taken or being tapered and always remind them that the majority of ODs are heroin, illegal fentanyl and/or mictures of -4-6 drugs plus alcohol.
The chronic pain groups I belong to have started this though some say u can emai I have heard how easy the screening person can delete the email so it never reaches the intended. You can make your story and just change the heading it mightn’t expensive with stamps but if each person did them weekly it would still overload there in box. Most reps will write you back some are BS carp letters but they are still getting overloaded and even people who are to sick to rally or get out and about an do letters laying or propped up. We have to figure out how to get the message out.
If you can’t afford stamps do email it’s better than nothing and they can only delete so many before they get the message they are not going to stop coming.
Prayers and good luck to us all
I have taken adderall since I was 14. I take adderall because it calms my mind down and allows me to actually focus and complete tasks. Read a full paragraph once instead of 4-5 times to understand what I just ready. I’m truly ADHD and I have been through very similar situations. Many pharmacies have changed which manufactures they use due to lower prices and when my prescription pills changed from peach to white, they came with very different side effects. Causing extreme tiredness or extreme nausea so I started asking the pharmacist when I dropped off my rx which pills they had and if they weren’t the ones I’ve always say nm. I’ll try somewhere else. And when I started doing that, I noticed pharmacies started telling they didn’t have any of my prescription in stock. So I’d say ok I’ll just get the ones you have and I was turned away with we don’t have any. So I stopped requesting the old kind and still got turned away. On one occasion I took my rx in and said I’d wait for it. The pharmacist called my name and in front of about 14 other people said she couldn’t fill the rx. I asked why and she accused me of changing the date. I asked her to call my doctor to verify that I hadn’t changed anything and she refused. She told me never to come back. I was mortified. So humiliated. I went across the street to Walgreens and was told they didn’t have it. I tried 3 other cvs pharmacies and was denied at every one. I was denied for 4 days. I lost my job that week because I was late everyday, I missed 3 deadlines. Unprepared for sales meetings and unable to do my job. Everyone treats you like an addict if you’re taking a class 2 drug prescription and it’s not ok. I’ve never abused my prescription in all the years I’ve taken it. Friends ask to buy some and I don’t sell it. I don’t give it away. I don’t abuse it. I take them becuse I need them.
exact same thing just happen’d to me..Every since they changed my oxy to this pink pill,,not the original mallincroft manufacturer,,I get headaches,,the medicine is less effective,,,nausea..I asked my old pharmacist to change it back to mallincroft,,she said give some time..Soo I did,,Called last week,,to ask if they could again change it back,,,THEY FLIPPED A TWIG ON THE PHONE,,,TELLING ME THEY CAN’T JUST CHANGE MANUFACTURERE AGAIN,,,i TOLD THEM I NEVER CHANGED IT IN THE 1ST PLACE,,THEN THE BITCH ON THE PHONE STARTS TELING ME MY LITTLE 60 PILLS WILL SCREW UP THE %%% OF WHAT DISCOUNTS THEY GET ETC,,ALL BULLSHIT,,,SAID I HAD TO TALK TO THE ,”NEW,” PHARMACIST,,MY 1 OF 30 YEARS RETIRED,SMARTLY,,,BUT I HAD TO GET A NOTE FROM MY DOCTORS,,,WHICH I WILL BUT GEEZ,,,TALK ABOUT MAKING A MOUNTIAN OUT OF A MOLE HILL,,,WHAT THE HELL IS IN THIS GENERIC CRAP,,,NOTHING???NO PAIN RELIEF MEDICINE AT ALL???MARYW
Probably less actual pain med in the generic. By law generic medications can have up to a 20 percent difference in the active ingredient and still be sold as a generic of the name brand. So when someone thinks one brand works better or less than another brand of the same medication it isn’t just their imagination. Not to mention different brands use different inactive or filler ingredients. There is a generic Percocet that gives me hives. My doctor said it was impossible because it was exactly the same medication. I researched and researched this stuff. There is also a generic sleeping pill I am prescribed and when I get a certain generic it does absolutely nothing. My aunt also has a script for this medication and we just talked about it a few weeks ago and she said the same thing. So this isn’t something patients are just imagining.
Nice work,Michelle,,really,,jmo.,maryw
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10153125474851208&id=415494541850521
They do it in south Alabama too.
Thos has happened to me at Wallmart. I am in pain management for bone disease, and had been a regular customer for many months.They suddenly played the we dont have it game with me..I ended up in the local emergency room.People in intractable pain without their meds can stroke out and die..This is an issue that needs to be exposed..We should not be under such restrictions and lies..We are being assaulted for the overdose craze of heroin and illegal fentanyl users..complete insanity..smh.
Our emergency room doesn’t give pain meds. They occasionally give shots but rarely.
My local ER doesn’t give chronic pain patients scripts for pain without the authorization of the doctor who treats their pain. I had to go to the ER at the beginning of January because I was having severe chest pain, heartburn so bad acid kept going up my nose if I leaned foward or I laid back and nausea and vomiting. Absolutely nothing what so ever to do with my chronic pain. Turns out I was have a pretty severe gallbladder attack so they admitted me and scheduled me for surgery first thing in the morning. I was in the actual ER for over 8 hours. I wasn’t given ANYTHING for pain until I had been there over 6 hours. I was only given pain medication after they figured out my gallbladder needed to be removed and was causing the pain. By that time I was pretty much crying and while not begging for pain medication but was asking every 30 minutes or so. Absolutely ridiculous to keep someone in that kind of pain for over 6 hours just because they are a chronic pain patient. And then after surgery when they released me, they released me with a script for 10 pain pills. I am in the process of having a pain pump put in using a non narcotic medication so I had been weaned off my regular pain medication until after that is put in and then if I need something else for pain the doctor will prescribe me break through medication. That was the plan until I had gallbladder surgery anyway. So knowing, and if there was any doubt they could of checked the state’s prescription database or called my doctor who Has privileges there. So after major surgery yep 10 pain pills. I called my doctor the next day and fortunately he wrote me a script for a month’s worth. Otherwise I don’t know what I would have done. I was in horrific pain for a week after surgery and then started feeling better over the second week. I legitimately needed pain medication for two weeks. Not just ten with directions of take 1-2 every 4-6 hours as needed. So basically a one day supply. I was sent home the evening of my surgery so those 10 didn’t last past the next afternoon. I can’t imagine what it would have Bern like if my regular doctor hadn’t written me a script. I honestly believe my pain was treated much, much differently than someone whose medical records doesn’t include chronic pain. It was suggested that I file a complaint with my state’s medical board.
Sucks, would they deny your arrhythmmia meds if you came to ER in afib? Of course not!
This is insane!
don’t be too sure; they’ll deny ANY damn thing…they denied me SALINE when I was severely dehydrated. I didn’t ask for anything but IV fluids, but they asked why I was so dehydrated (& why I was wearing 2 pairs of sunglasses). I said I’d had a very savage migraine for 5 days with almost continuous vomiting. They heard the word “migraine,” thought “drug seeker,” & just turned off all faculties except the “abuse the drug seeker” ones. So they berated me for being a drug seeker & refused fluids, when any brain dead fool could clearly see I was dangerously dehydrated. Clearly I survived, but it wasn’t a sure thing at the time.
Amen…prayer to you
People with legitimate problems have to pay for a few bad apples.
The DEA made a terrible call by punishing everyone for a problem they can’t handle..
Drug enforcement agency…
.do your job and quit expecting patients to suffer because you can’t enforce drug laws effectively
It is 2017 and I had my first experience with CVS and it was not pleasant! First / I had a coupon for my extended release medication (which I’ve titrated down from 50mg to 15mg in the last 10 months) and the pharmacist at an Arizona store would not accept my coupon stating (the medication “only” costs $40 – my coupon for a $15 co-pay was denied). Next I was ready to pick up my IR breakthrough pain medication, which was submitted through electronic by my “pain specialist” 4 days before I could pick it up. When I stopped in on the afternoon (after working 7 hrs), I was told it was not available. I contacted my doctor and CVS supposedly told him they needed 30 pills from my RX to fill someone else’s and they would not give me a partial fill until more medication came in. The next day I was told the pharmacist “did not like my attitude” (gee wiz I was frustrated and concerned), therefore, I may or may not receive my RX the next day (when I would take my last dose) due to pharmacist discretion. In other words – probably not – which caused me intense anxiety knowing I could lose my job, lose my livelihood, etc
I’ve successfully & slowly reduced my medication utilizing intense hypnotherapy but no one cared to ask. I have never been turned away for an attitude issue???
The pharmacist clearly had the attitude problem and could have cared less about the ramifications of not receiving my meds. CVS had already ran my RX through Insurance – which precludes me from going to another pharmacy to obtain my much needed medication. Playing “God” is not a pharmacists job!
Talk to the patients and really hear what they are saying!
I’m a 59 yr old well kept chronic pain patient and do not deserve the kind of disrespect or self indulging treatment from someone who is supposed to “care” for their patients. Especially not knowing the intensely difficult journey I’ve endured while working, and being a productive member of society (even volunteering at our local Veteran chapter), while titrating to lower & lower doses of medication with a goal of complete reduction.
Shame on CVS! If this company is so intent on “helping” with the opioid crisis – that help should reach patients like myself who really want to reduce the medication and need support doing so!
I’m pretty sure I would have gone and gotten it myself and told them to go ahead and call the police since I had proof my insurance already paid for it. I think threatening them like that would have gotten them to get it for me.
I am so glad I have an intrathecal morphine pump and don’t deal with pharmacies anymore.
It amazes me that pain patients don’t resort to the second ammendment to get their Rx.
I agree with you, but they DON’T listen or care to even look too see what ppl’s history of their med’s have been. If your taking anything for chronic pain CVS / Caremark will treat you badly almost every time & if Not then you are 1 of the lucky ones.
Making a person filling a narcotic wait sometimes for hours is what infuriates me. CVS and Walgreens are both very good at this. I finally after 10 years of getting narcotics filled switched to The Medicine Shoppe. I highly recommend this pharmacy to anyone who has one nearby. About a year ago, I took a friend there so she could drop off a narcotic script and went through the drive thru. The pharmacy tech asked if we wanted to wait for it. Like wait in the drive thru while they filled it. I was flabbergasted. My friend was like that is why I come here. She had so many great things to say about them that I switched to them right away. The longest I have waited for a script to be filled has been around 15 to 20 minutes MAXIMUM. 20 minutes is a long time for them. They usually have it filled in about 10. They are all extremely nice and very professional. If they don’t have the entire quantity of your script, they fill what they have and then get the remainder filled by the next afternoon. For 10 years I have been led to believe by CVS and Walgreens that it’s illegal to do a partial fill on a scheduled narcotic. It’s not, just against their company policy. But they don’t tell you that. Instead they say they can’t or they can give you what they have in stock but they can’t fill the rest later that you just lose them. More lies told by them. Plus the Medicine Shoppe delivers and they deliver non prescription medications to. So that would be great if you need like Theraflu or anti diarrhea medication or something. They just need a card on file to pay for the stuff. Fantastic place. Can’t recommend it empugh. I am always treated like a valued customer. Never like a drug seeking addict like I’ve felt like many times at both CVS and Walgreens. And of course not made to wait sometimes hours in pain for a script. Nor do you have to go to several pharmacies trying to find one that has it in stock. I’ve had to do both so many times. Once the day after I had a surgery on my back and could barely walk.
It really depend on the pharmacy because I go to Walgreens and get mine filled usually in 20 minutes or so. No my doctor can electronically send it in so all I have to do is go to there web site and ask for a refill of my morphine and usually by the end of the Wallgreens sends a text saying it is ready.
Independent pharmacies are in a position to be familiar with their regular customers/patients and are the best source to address this problem so I wouldn’t waste time at any chain pharmacy pike@
This was never a problem for me when I lived in our state’s largest city, but after moving back to my rural hometown after I had to go on disability at age 33 for inflammatory autoimmune arthritis (diagnosed at age 23), I began experiencing problems. I had an allergic reaction which made me need to use one specific brand of medication which was only available at one local pharmacy. I am young and have tattoos and piercings, but I ran a business for 9 years and keep a nice appearance and I’m always polite. Regardless, staff immediately started hassling me about being “out of stock” of my medication and making excuses. One day, I went in when I’d been told my refill would be ready and the women there had obviously been discussing it already and exchanged looks and told me they didn’t have it. One said this wouldn’t be an issue if I would take my meds right. They made derogatory comments about me in front of and to other customers in the store. My fiancé came in when it had taken an unusually long time and ended up in a screaming argument with these people I am not even sure are trained pharmacy technicians. I was so humiliated. All my rheumatologist had to say was that it’s becoming more common and to go to a different pharmacy, even if it means a 1.5 hour drive. How is this legal?
If you have a Medicine Shoppe nearby I highly recommend using them.
I saw on another site,,I think pnn,,,basically,,,cvs got brought into court by our government,,dea,,,brought up on a bunch of BULLSHIT charges of selling ,”drugs,” by the dea,,,The so-called judge/dea OBVIOULSY IN COLLUSION TOGETHER,,, just like the MOB yse to do, it was called racketeereing,,which illegal,, but our government/dea are ABOVE THE LAW now a days,,,Soo cvs was told by the dea if they did not do this,,,they would be fined even more..brought up on more charges,,,threatened by our government,,which is also commiting thee act of tyranny..THIS GOVERNMENT IS SOOOOO CORRUPT,,,not even the innocent are protected anymore,,,The government amount to the MOB,, with the dea the top MOBSTER,,,,but cvs,,,should of fought back,,instead of torturteing us,,just like our government has done,,WILLFULLY,,,maryw.
You are absolutely right with all those comments and facts. But you are killing me with all those commas you use. It’s insane.
Anon; you can always tell when she’s writing,,,,,there they are.
I agree. Tried to transition back to Walgreens because it is closer to my home. I was lied to twice by the same Walgreens. Same with CVS a couple of years ago, plus that place was just incompetent on so many of my prescriptions. I’ll shop in their stores for gift cards, but I’ll stay with an independent pharmacy for all of my prescriptions, even if it is a farther drive and means a long walk. I expect some pharmacists are pressured by the corporate office to act they way they do, and others are just lazy (like all walks of life).
Do not even shop in their stores for gift cards, hit em where it hurts in their profits. I will not go into a Walgreens of CVS for a bottle of water if I was dying of thirst.
all true
It is pretty sad, that this is STILL going on……I, also, agree with Steve, on using an Independent Pharmacy! Plus, the pharmacists at the Independent Pharmacies, really do look out for your best interests, with regards to medications, interactions, finding and applying coupons for copay help….I continue to urge people to find and independent pharmacy!
I have experienced this also. The drill of pain management appointment then calling pharmacy after pharmacy with many telling me they couldn’t tell me over the phone to tell me they didn’t have the medication once I arrived at the pharmacy.
SOLUTION: Go to an independent pharmacy!!!!! I believe it was Steve that suggested this on another post and I followed his advice and WOW what a night and day difference. To be treated as a human being is a beautiful thing! Thank you, thank you, thank you Steve for the suggestion!
It just happened to me today at cvs. I called and they said they were out of my “seizure medication” until monday. Id have to send it to another pharmacy. I said ok ill think about it and give a call back. I just called that same cvs store and now it is magically filled and ready to be picked up. Im now thinking about going to pick it up with an attorney present. Im in my thirtys and have tattoos. Also a mother of a small infant. This is really disturbing to me.
Heres what you have to do, START STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF. A Pharmacist is NOT A DOCTOR. They have NO RIGHT to make a medical diagnosis or refuse to fill a prescription, IT IS NOT THEIR RIGHT TO MAKE THAT DECISION, IT IS THE PHYSICIANS RIGHT TO DIAGNOSE AND TO TREAT… Heres what I did and it worked. I have a prescription medication that I take, as you know under heavy control, and the pharmacists started treating me like a drug addict. I told them immediatly that behavior won’t be tolerated, and they shaped up real fast at the thought of being reported to their superiors. Then the next time I came in an attempt to spite me at another pharmacy, they decided that they’d tell me they backordered the medication and that after waiting 1 week… It still hadn’t arrived. I told the pharmacist that if that were the case, I am calling the Drug Enforcement Agency and reporting her to the detectives for potential drug trafficking and theft of controlled substances, because what ELSE would you be doing with a drug that should have arrived already and you claim hasn’t arrived… I’m sure an investigation would also lead to her removal of a license… The point is, they filled those pills FAST when I told them that… These people LIE and CHEAT to save their own butts and jobs, so don’t give them ANY PITY… if they want to LIE to your face, make sure that you remind them that YOU pay their salaries and their degrees and licenses can easily be taken away with a SNAP of the fingers… YOU ARE THE BOSS, NOT THEM… THEY ARE LICENSED TO FILL PILL BOTTLES AND GIVE ADVICE ONLY IF YOU ASK, ANYTHING MORE THAN THAT RAISES A RED FLAG FOR A DEA INVESTIGATION OR REVOCATION OF THEIR LICENSE. STAND UP FOR YOURSELVES, GOD BLESS ALL!
Interesting. If possible, I’d like to see if Pharmacist Steve agrees or comment with his approach. Thanks for this website.
what Steve Morosa fails to understand is that most of the BOP’s are stacked with non-practicing corporate pharmacists. They are not going to take any action against another chain employee. I was at a FL BOP meeting in June 2015 and a chronic pain doc asked the BOP’s attorney if it was against the practice act for a Pharmacist to lie to a pt and the attorney stated that there was nothing in the practice act that addresses that… From what I have seen, most BOP’s works under the premise that the bar to cross for unprofessional conduct is either VERY HIGH or doesn’t exist. Here is one incident that I could find in my blog … abt a pt… being escorted from the store BY THE POLICE because the pharmacist didn’t want to fill his Rx.. https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=8751 I have heard stories about Pharmacists calling the police on pts – over little of nothing – and the police are going to believe the pharmacist… disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, trespassing https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=5554 https://www.pharmaciststeve.com/?p=21151
Thank you..
Not sure what the laws are down there or how this would play out but I’m right there with Steve Morosa on this one. I’m a cp sufferer due to multiple disabilities–none visible–some since birth. I’ve dealt with this nonsense here in Ontario my whole life. Not just in pharmacies but even in hospitals.
Given the proclivity of psychopathy in the medical industry it stands to reason that over a lifetime I would encounter a number of these nutjobs straight out of a Steven King novel. Oh the horror stories I could tell….. but that’s a whole other nightmare.
I long ago decided in my early thirties that I would develop a ZERO-TOLERANCE policy as regards tinpot dictator pharmacists and sycophantic underlings.
Step 1) Don’t leave home without a recording device. Every cellphone is now a full surveillance suite so app-up. Learn and practice clandestine activation of said apps and habits like putting your phone lens-up in your shirt pocket.
Step 2) Let them hang themselves. Ask for their name and title. Let them lie and drown themselves in BS. Take the abuse. Suffer the indignity. Phone the suppliers or other pharmacies and catch all those juicy lies. Record it all. Play the long game (while not fair, it’s our only option). Never enter into an important interaction without being in full-record-mode. EVER.
Step 3) Make and edit a BRUTALLY scathing video presentation that definitively points out that delaying or withholding or denying someone their medication is not only irresponsible and unethical. It also happens to be CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE RESULTING IN BODILY HARM.
An offence under the law. Copy the video to another device so that you can still put your phone in surveillance mode when you return to the beancounting Hitlerite.
Step 4) Do not post the video online; YET. Go back to the offending pharmacy all smiles. Show the video to the offending Mengelan and ask if they want to FOLLOW THE ORDERS OF THE CERTIFIED MEDICAL PRACTITIONER THAT IS YOUR DOCTOR OR would they rather try to resurrect the career you are about to destroy if they would prefer to continue exacerbating your condition so irresponsibly?
I’ve done this twice now and guess what? Turns out no one wants their 15 minutes! Might be cuz they know it will last more like a lifetime. It’s amazing. You can literally see the rage. Then the internal conflict followed by guilt and the horrified realization that their reign of tyranny is over and that you’re probably recording even now.
Step 5) Most important! This has to be timed just right because you’ve forced the satanic ass to change and it may be for the worst if you don’t get this last part in real quick.
Before they can speak you lean in quick and say “look, I understand your position and I don’t envy your situation. I know you deal with bad people looking for easy solutions all the time but MY DOCTOR AND I need you to understand that I’m not one of those people? Do you think maybe we could start over so I don’t have to send this out to every employee of your company and the whole online community and RUIN ANY MORE CAREERS?”
Thereafter it was yes sir no sir absolutely sir no problem sir was there anything else you wanted help with?
This worked in 07 in Ontario and that pharmacist left that pharmacy to be replaced by a far more professional Human being. It worked again in 2012 at the pharmacy I still use today. Our laws allow this kind of self-protection. I’m wondering if this would work in the States. Thoughts?
This just happened to me. I took in an Rx for Percocet and flexeril. The pharmacist would not fill the prescriptions. He said ” there was no medical reason as to why the Dr should have given me those pills. I told him I have spinal stenosis and almost always in pain. He said “sorry I just don’t feel right about giving you these medications . I usually go to Walmart but I no longer have ins and it was cheaper at cvs with the Goodrx app.
This is the type of shit I’m talking about!!! Yes, you go to school to study medicine but it’s not going to school to practice medicine. You study pharmaceuticals and drug interactions but you don’t have the ability to prescribe or diagnose. It’s not your place to have any ideas or feelings as to why a person is on a certain medication. This is why I said pharmacists make me sick. They are the last line of defense between a person and the medicine they NEED! Pharmacists out there trying to play doctor make me sick. If you wanted to write prescriptions, maybe you should have went to medical school. But, you didnt. Take the prescription, fill the fucking thing and go about your day.
I am all the way in Florida with a serious health issue. Perfectly healthy, physically fit, upper middle class working professional and I have been treated as if I was trafficking a kilo of cocaine by CVS. They have also told me they are out of stock which is a blatan lie. Horribly treated by employees. Again, work for a Fortune 500 company and no where near junkie looking. This issue is horrendous and needs to stop.
I have commented on several articles like this one and have posted in my chronic pain group on Facebook trying to get this message out to pain patients. Don’t use chain pharmacies if you can help it. Use small, independently owned and operated pharmacies. You’ll get a better standard of care, you won’t get the corporate ‘policies’ used to profile patients and after using the same small pharmacy for awhile the staff will probably remember your name.
The pharmacy that I use is located in the local, small town clinic. The pharmacist is the mayor. Everybody that works there is kind and friendly, and they look out for their customers in every way. They try to save us as much money as possible, they will work out payment plans if a person can’t pay at the moment and they look out for drug interactions and so forth.
I’ve gone to chain pharmacies and have been treated badly. Never again. Not only have I never been treated badly but if they don’t have something in stock.they’ll order it and usually have it the next day. The idea of keeping business local is very appealing to me as well.
Much better chance the pharmacist knows you well. This helps when you have to get pain pills. You need someone who knows all about you a chain will not.
Only the chains carry opiates around me. The lil stores don’t.
Wow wow wow so glad I stubble across this Iv been on meds for quite sometimes cause of my bad back cvs kept denying me saying the same then I had to switch to Walgreens then all the sudden out of no where my prescription had been altered by three pills with a different colored ink went to police and pharmacy of coarse is pointing that I did it when I take a higher more potant than what ER prescribed so needless to say I’m now being investigated so everyone watch ur backs with these two pharmacys cause I would never in my life do that!!!!!!!!!
After breaking my back 10 yrs ago I was put on pain medication. It’s been many surgeries and issues since. The worst pharmacy I ever tried to get a script filled was CVS. Countless times I was turned away. When I asked how long it would take to come in I was told lie, after lie. Then they would reject my script for not having certain info on it. Next month it would have that info and it would need something else. It was frustrating. I hated to go there, but my usual pharmacy would get hit by groups of people with scripts, paying cash. They would go from one pharmacy to another cleaning them out. So while I try and see it from both sides it’s still frustrating to be without meds and in pain. Yesterday, the CDC released a statement that deaths from opioid overdoses has tripled since 1999. How much bigger has the population grown since 1999? Are these deaths from people with legitimate scripts and conditions or are they from illegally acquired drugs. Even though I have 10 yrs of medical history, numerous operational and procedures and a rare nerve condition even going to an ER people like me are treated like addicts.
THank you i Agree have the same As you and that’s the way I get treated not right at all!!!!
32 5 back surgeries over 10 years… I was treated and still treated like shit. I have tats and a piercing but I’m not an addict I organize my pills into boxes and realized my pharmacy shorted me one morphine and 2 Norco this month. They stole from me.
My old Walgreens has a sign up that says the pharmacy has the right to refuse filling a narcotic script. My husband has been turned away many times from that one pharmacy. We then tried our closest CVS and they do carry certain pain meds.i am thankful that we have now both found pharmacies that are helpful and accommodating.
If you heard the story, they are doing this because they received large fines. I also know that pain meds are not being stocked in locations because the government is not allowing them to be stocked. Think about it. Do you really think they want to turn away profits? If there is a question with an Rx, call the doctor. Perhaps I don’t have issues because my store gets my Rx’s electronically.
Too many people abuse pain meds. On November 11, 2014 I was prescribed (for pain from an infection in a leg wound that was not healing) 130 Vicodin. 1 tablet, every 6 hours – so I had a 30 day supply. Since I have a high pain threshold and my pain is specific to night time (which again doctors don’t understand why – it’s so intense that I get waken up) I have 103 left, so doctors prescribe for me without a problem, and CVS gladly fills the order.
I am up right now – 12:52 AM because of pain in my leg. I cleaned my would, and took an Alka Seltzer (had spaghetti for dinner). I had a blown knee and nothing worked. The doctor told me that all he could do was prescribe a narcotic. I told him not to – I did not want to trade one problem for another, so in my case, they know that I will not take a Vicodin unless I genuinely had to. I used to get migraines and would not turn to the narcotic until day 3 of an episode. Why? By day 3 I was in so much pain that I had little choice since on day 3 the pain would cause lost work time because literally I could not function.
Being honest, if you take them for a few days, at the slightest pain your body starts pushing you to take a pill. It takes willpower to beat that feeling back and many people do not have the willpower to say no. Vicodin with 750 mg acetaminophen is no longer manufactured, and the most you can get is 375 mg. For me that makes a difference. Everyone’s body is different.
Mario..imagine your pain level on day 3..being every day pain levels! Im thrilled you can handle whatever pain you have with an over the counter drug. I for one would love to have those level of pain again. I have 3or 4 bulging disc. Sciatic nerve damage..hip that screams in pain.tailbone that you can’t sit or stand on..can’t sleep for my pain. Im just saying…I hope you never get the level of pain that thousands of people deal with all day every day. It is a sadife to live and then with the DEA coming down on patients in real horriffic pain..its sad. Yes..there too many people out here getting pain meds and selling them for people wanting a high..or people who have a doctor that can’t get their pain levels adjusted..J/S..Don’t say what you wont do until you have walked in a chronic pain patients shoes. Trust me..its not a life thats even worth living some days..its a miserable struggle..God Bless all those that suffer needilessley every day.
Amen. You hit the nail on the head as far as how a chronic pain patient lives. It really isnt worth living most days. And with no light at the end kf the tunnel, its depressing. Most pain meds dont even work well enough to kill all of the pain. But I can’t imagine not having anything. I’d of commit suicide by now. I suffer from 3 types of neuralgia in my neck, for unknown reasons. Been suffering 7 long years now, with it only getting worse each day. And no end in site. I’m usually in bed most days. That is my life because of pain. Not an easy life to live. Did I mention I’m only 28? This started in 2011. I was 22 when pain started. I question every day of this will finally be the day that km in so.much pain that I just can’t take it anymore.
Amen!!! I suffer daily from multiple back injuries from blown or herniated disks and crushed vertebrae, along with osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and before my Daith piercings chronic migraines from around age eight to age 52(2 days ago when I the piercings done), which I highly recommend to chronic migraine sufferer’s who don’t mind the short pain of the piercing process. I had been in bed three days with a migraine when the nurse told me how these piercings (based on acupuncture treatment) completely stopped her disabling headaches. Well back to the pill police, I’ve been turned away by Walgreen’s and given the wrong pills at CVS, which after looking at pill identifier turned out to be a diabetes drug which could cause serious problems because I’m hypoglycemic. Walmart is just as bad now in the pill police department.
Oh gee, you’re SO above others..
Nice virtue signaling. Where are your citations for the “So many ppl abuse Rx drugs” ?? You have NO fu**ing idea that another Intractable Pain Patient’s level of pain can drive them to Suicide. Since this Gestapo – type action taken against CPP’s, the suicide rate has jumped dramatically. (You’ll find info online 4 that, because the Lame Stream Media wont report that) . Chronic Pain Pts. aren’t going to sell their pills b/c they need them too fuc*ing badly.
To add, so theres no misunderstanding — my post was in response to
Mario’s comment.
Also in response to his comment. If you look at the statistics on people who od on narcotic pain medication are not prescribed the medication. They have illegally gotten it and illegally took it. I’m not certain the exact percentage of ods by people without a script but it is extremely high. IT’S not the chronic pain patients who are abusing their scripts and dying of drug overdoses
Exactlly every ones body is different,,,THUS,, since it is literaly impossible or anyone to physically feel the physical pain of another,,,as a HUMANE society,,,we do what-ever it takes to lessen said physical pain from a painful medical condition…THATS NOT HAPPENING ANYMORE!!!We have people sayen,,”marijuana works for me,,soo all must do marijaun,,or kratom will stop people from opiates,,i know ,i use it,worked for me crap,,,,Again,,someone who thinks they have the right to decide for other free adults,,how much physical pain they are too forcible endure,,’
My point is,,we need to go w/fact and truth,,Fact,,everyone’s body is different,,.Truth,,it is literally impossibe for anyone to physically feel the physical pain of another,,thus,,NO-ONE has the right to decide,,,who forcible suffers in physical pain,,Agree,,the definition of torture to be true,,that denial of effective medical care that causes physical pain,,is torture,,and that law need to be brought and honored in a court of law..Also,,”informed consent,” we give our doctors need to honored in a court of law..STOP blaming doctors for your 35 year old babies od’en,,,,,,maryw,,
Basically you do not understand what ot is like to have pain 24 hours a day. I am on extended release morphine and give me the pain control I need without being a clock watcher or going from having 2 to 4 hours of pain relief to misery waiting for the pills to work. My pain now rarely is above a 3. Also the number of people who have chronic pain and become addicts is very low. You are licky to have something that just bothers you once in a while but I never understand the reason to suffer just to suffer when there medication that help when given in the right dose. In fact 90% of the people who abuse opiate never got a prescription for opiates from a doctor Also dependancy is not the same as addiction
“Too many people abuse pain meds.”
And too many people abuse alcohol, tobacco products, OTC cough syrup with dextromethorphan, Some also crush and snort their XR Wellbutrin (an antidepressant) while others abuse their Suboxone. Let’s also remember some people huff gasoline and paint while others abuse cans of air. We simply can’t punish society for what a minority of people do.
Second of all, acute pain is much different than chronic pain. Acute pain goes away. Chronic pain plagues a person every second of the day – usually for the rest of their life. Like another commenter said – imagine your pain on day 3 plaguing you for the rest of your life. Never going away until the day you die. Some people have this kind of pain and it doesn’t just interfere with their functioning but also makes their life a living hell on earth.
Those few clicks of a computer don’t show any out of state fills, so that can get hairy. And sometimes it’s not the patient that deters the pharmacist from filling, it’s the doctor. Today, I had even a very respectable local doctor commit what would be considered fraud if the right parties were to find out how she ACTUALLY instructed the patient to take it. This patient being someone who she admitted could sink her license and has played games with her and with us for months. Yet because of the way she actually wrote the prescription (faking a dose increase {double the dose, mind you}for 4 days only), and with a little documentation from me that I spoke to her about it, I could fill it….and I did, even though I felt pretty uneasy about it and a lot of people probably wouldn’t have done it (and rightfully so) Damned if you do and damned if you don’t sometimes.
So, sometimes there are more factors to it than just what the patient looks like. (Just a side note- this patient doesn’t look the least bit concerning, either.) But if people are turning those in obvious need of it away without at least assessing the situation or checking to see if they even have it in stock, that’s pretty wrong.
What gives u the right to ,”assess,”’ anyone??R U MY DOCTOR,,OR A DOCTOR,,,,????,,it is your job as a pharmacist,,to fill the legitamit script,,,THATS IT!!!!!maryw
Actually, most pharmacists are doctors now. And they also have licenses to protect. They don’t make money from your script. Your prescriber,however…
Tortureing a human being to death,literally is not ,”protecting,” anyone,,its murder,,but 1 big ??,,Since it is literally impossible for u to physically feel the physical pain of anyone,,Why do u think u have the right to torture another human being by denying them access to effective medicine for the medical condition??SERIOUSLY,,,,NO-ONE HAS ANSWERRED THAT QUESTION FOR ME,,,NO-ONE,,, and I truly would like to know thee answer??thank u for your time?maryw
“Actually, most pharmacists are doctors now.”
They have a professional doctorate degree in pharmacy and are a very important part of one’s medical team, however, they are not allowed to “practice medicine,” which includes diagnosing a patient and prescribing them medication. If they were allowed to do this, then we wouldn’t have doctors.
PharmD, which means they are DOCTORS of Pharmacy.
Yeah and in some areas DDS is DOCTOR of dental science but they can’t assess someone when it comes to chronic pain, just tooth pain. They might have doctor in the degree title but they are doctors of pharmacy (drug interactions, all things pharmaceutical) They don’t practice medicine and have NO RIGHT TO ASSESS ANY PATIENT, SHORT THEM PILLS, ALTER A LEGITIMATE PRESCRIPTION OR TELL THEM THEY SHOULDN’T BE ON THOSE MEDICINES!!!
But the DEA under part of the Controlled Substance Act “corresponding responsibility” are insisting that they give a “second opinion” which is clearly outside of the pharmacy practice act and they don’t have the proper training nor access to the pt’s medical records to do it… the 51 Board of Pharmacy are sitting on their hands.. instead of telling the DEA to stick it up their ass .. Most of these boards are stacked with non-practicing corporate pharmacists so the chains knows that the board is not going to come after them for agreeing to allow their employed pharmacists to exceed their legal authority to placate the DEA… after all the DEA… has been successful in building cases against chains out of “vapors” and fined the crap out of the chains.
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I believe she’s telling the truth…I’ve temped at an independent up north and I heard stories from patients who would ask us if there were shortages on certain drugs because that’s what CVS told them. We had everything and told them…No, there’s no shortages of such and such pain meds, we’ve been getting it not problems. As a mom who has has 3 C sections….if my then husband had been denied take home pain meds…believe me it would NOT have been pretty for me to have to have gotten out of the car to give them a piece of MY mind about NOT getting my Percocet. We didn’t get my post C section meds filled at CVS anyway as they weren’t even in our town when I had my kids. But he would have had to have bail money. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment…I believe that’s in the Constitution. I hope CVS gets the pants sued off of them
CVS and Walgreen’s already did get sued/fined by the Federal government via the DEA. These pharmacies can no longer afford to provide opiates to patients. Drs. need to put indication of treatment on the prescription so a cancer patient can get care…The large spread abuse and sale of opiates by “legitimate” patients have caused states to restrict the sale of these drugs. Same thing occurred with Sudafed once it became the starting ingredient for methamphetamine production.
The drug makers of these opiates enjoyed their profits for many years..but in reality it is patients that now suffer..and Drs. need to stop over prescribing.
Really,,,my medical condition is no-ones business but mine and my doctors!!!!what rite does any pharmacist have to have access to anyones medical conditions,,legally that are NOT doctors,,,wow,,,,nosy little bugger aren’t you,,,If I am a adult,,,my medical records are none of your business!!!u think over prescribing eh???look up” petition 2 congress do no harmdea targets physician,”,,and tell that to the 34,000 who are FORCED TO ENDURE PHYSICAL PAIN FROM PEOPLE LIKE U,, who think they have a rite to decide who suffers in physical pain and who does not!!!,,No-one has a rite to literally torture another living being as u suggest,,,maryw
I agree with you that it is not the business of nosy pharmacy technicians with questionable training and lax ethics to know my diagnosis. Drug manufacturers created this problem by making opiates so much less expensive and easier to get than other medications which potentially work better for chronic pain but cost a lot more. It’s not up to pharmacists to fix it or patients to pay the price.
I disagree on 1 point,,,THEE ONLY PEOPLE TO BLAME FOR THIS TORTURE AND GENOCIDE,,, is thee United States Government and Andrew Klondyn ,,ie Hitlers Youth,,,,,maryw
Yes! Andrew kolodny feels no one needs any pain medication for any reason. I hope, one day, he is in pain and there’s nothing in stock.
Amen,,I mean how arrogant he must be,,to think he has th right to deny anyone access to effective medical care/medicine to lessen severe physical pain,,or is he totally blinded to the truth of his damage because he is sooooo arrogant??either away,,he’s killing people,literally tortureing them to death,,maryw
You’re right.
Also, opioids are cheaper than newer meds because they don’t have patents. However, mos tof those non-opioids don’t work anyway.
Actually opiate pain meds work better and are safer than many of the newer drugs. The newer ones have many horrible side effects and only relieve pain in a tiny minority, if at all. Sooo their are people who abuse opiates. Oh well. Big whoops. There are all kinds of addictions in our world. I don’t believe this is about abuse at all. It’s about pushing expensive iffy drugs nobody wants instead of affordable know opiates.
Just look at all the people who are morbidly obese and die from complication from there obesity. About 5 times more then all drug deaths combined but nothing is done about that, same with smoking.
Well put mary . Not hard for us to know who posted that information,
Pharmacist are doctors now a days. They have a PharmD, doctor of Pharmacy. They went to school for 4 years to learn about medication where as most physicians only have 1 semester that covered medications. Sadly the people who are abusing these medications have ruined it for the rest of the population. Pharmacists can lose their license if it’s discovered that a physician is over prescribing opioids or is part of a “Pill Mill” and the pharmacists fills every script from that doctor.
It doesn’t make any difference at their educational degree.. I have worked with Pharmacists that had a 3-yr degree, 4-year degree and I have a 5-yr degree… they are still regulated by the state practice act as to what they can do. Much of what Pharmacists are doing today… they are doing because of fear/intimidation of the DEA and – IMO – clearly outside of our authority under the practice act… and the 51 boards of pharmacy have neither the balls nor the backbone to tell the DEA to stick their illegal mandates up their ass.. Attorneys have a doctor of jurisprudence degree… and many in the educational system have a PhD in education and are addressed as “Dr”. They still don’t have the legal authority to practice medicine
what degree is legit? you stupid fools worrying about what institution babysat who…so pathetic all of you. yes U TOO!
Currently the only entry level degree to become a licensed Pharmacists is a PharmD – 6 yrs… and there are still a few Pharmacists working with a 4 yr degree… last year it was granted was 1960. It doesn’t matter what degree a Pharmacist has.. what they are granted/limited to do is defined by their particular state’s pharmacy practice act… and they all had to take/pass the state licensing boards which – once passed – are entitled to put RPh. behind their name… The educational degree is basically worthless until you pass the boards…
So r u telling me,,,Some ,”kid,” w/ a 4 year degree is unlawfully viewing my private medical records??I say unlawful,,for it is unjust and wrong,,maryw
If they are providing care to you… they can legally have access to your medical records… here is an example of a pharmacist accessing PMP records for someone that they were not giving care to Pharmacist reprimanded for seeking Prince’s medical records and they were not a pt of the pharmacist – and that is ILLEGAL !!
I was just thinking on that..We had a nurse for our Ma once,come to the farm,Well,,I caught her in my Ma’s Meds,when I asked her ,what she was doing,,she said she was making sure it was right,,huh,,Anywho,,come to find out,,this ,”aid,” has a sister,who works at pharmacies,,and I was thinking exactly what u just said,,Could she illegally ask her sister to look me up,,to have other give me crap?Can a ,”pharmacist ,”
,”tech” look up our stuff too??”Sorry to bother,,but I see a lot of ,’techs” now a days,,,maryw
if 4 yr degrees weren’t granted since 1960 (not sure of this even) they are hardly “kids” by 2017-suspect the vast majority of them are retired now like myself (1976 6 yr grad)
Even when the doctor puts the indication of treatment on the prescription, I still had a pharmacist tell me that to fill the prescription they needed the last five years of all my medical records before prescription could be released. This was for a very low dose short-acting pain med. I refused, as I did not feel it was appropriate to bring several hundred pages of my medical records, scans, etc, for the pharmacist to peruse.
I would have told them if you want to see them talk to the doctor about it. Of course their reply is that they cannot get them unless you sign a release. Then I would have said well that is the law because you are not a train doctor who has examed me or schooled on what treatment would be best for my condition based on my past medical history. My doctor is suppose to do a exam to make sure the drug is needed but you have not exam me nor trained to do so so you are working outside of your license. You job is to determine if their could be any conflicts with other medication or allergies, know how the medications work for what and to count the pills and make sure the prescription is real. When you become a medical doctor and when you do a thorough exam then you can determine whether I need the pills or not.
Wrong. Pharmacy can request and receive patient medical records without consent
Not w/out my permission they can’t,,That is violation of hippa??Steve???MARYW
If you are a pt/customer of the pharmacy… they are entitled to have access to your medical records… just like any other healthcare provider that you are a pt of.
Since when,,like ,,for-ever??mary
Well then they can still talk to the doctor about it and they can get the 200 pages of my medical records. They are are not going to spend the time anyway. Basically asking for all those records is just another way to deny the patient.
You are talking about 2 pharmacys in FL and not all of CVS or all Walgreens. However it now appears that most diversion of medication is happening within the medical community and not patient selling their medications.
I hope they get sued also. They just lie to the public something is wrong with that.
I hope they get sued to. Rotten bunch.
Not a pharmacy problem but I had my gallbladder removed almost 3 months ago. Was sent home that evening w a script for 10 pain pills. 10. After a very painful surgery I was sent home with 10. I would rather go through labor and birth before having that surgery again. It was agonizing.
I hope she can file for wrongful termination. I know she’s speaking the truth when CVS in Smyrna Tennessee would not even order mine- and I will never believe that they were out until the unusual snow we had this week. What about the patients that could not get to the pharmacy on the 30 th day or the clinic that didn’t open for 3 days. So much unnecessary suffering.
Also the buck should stop and start with the prescribing Doctor. Pharmacies should not be put in the middle of determining whether or not a patient needs a particular pain medication. If a doctor is prescribing pain medication that is unnecessary then it is the Doctors license that should be on the line. Period. By going after the pharmacies and giving them the responsibility for determining whether or not a medication is medically necessary only adds to the confusion and causes unnecessary suffering of chronic pain patients.
You are 100% correct. The blame and the control both need to be taken from the pharmacists. The DEA created all of this.
It’s both the pharmacist and the Dr. both are held accountable, like joined at the hip. According the reading the whole DEA website.
In my professional opinion.. the DEA is expecting Pharmacists to do things that exceed their authority under their Pharmacy Practice Act and do not have the education/training to do. A Pharmacist’s basic functions is to determine that their is no drug interactions between the pt’s medications, no allergies with medications and the dose is within acceptable range. Requiring Pharmacists to determine if the prescription is “appropriate for the pt” when the pharmacist does not have access to the pt’s medical records… nor has the education/training/ability/authority to do a personal examine on the pt. It is illegal for a prescriber to prescribe any medication for a person that they have not done a in person exam on a pt…why is it allowed for Pharmacists to do this ? The starting, stopping, changing a pt’s medication is a basic function of the practice of medicine. No one – including the Boards of Pharmacies, Medial Licensing Boards, various professional association has taken action to stop the DEA from insisting that Pharmacists perform functions/tasks outside of their authority under their license. But.. it would seem that the DEA – in various areas – have little concern as to what is legal/illegal when it is something that they believe should be done.
Agreed. Well stated.
Perfect explanation. That’s the crux of it right there.
Thank you for your comment. You are always so knowledgable on these subjects. Good job.
Agree 100%.
Much applause, Sir. Very will said.
Exactly, they are Pharmacist, not Doctor’s. Ijs
Exactly. As a nurse, we call this
” out of the scope of practice” OR ” practicing MEDICINE WITHOUT A LICENSE!”
Why not. Why dont the state sue over this. Basically they are taking healthcare out of the doctors hands and making decisions that they are not qualified for. For example how is a DEA agent even qualify to tell if a doctor is prescribing opiates correctly for the condition. They’re not the doctor.
I agree, one had the nerves to tell me my prescription wasn’t worth a anything to him. I was like wow, this is what you think of your clients. Smh
There has to be plenty of Ex pharmacist and pharmacy technicians that used to work for Walgreens or CVS that would be willing to testify on behalf of pain patients That were turned away when indeed the pharmacy had the medication in stock. This would be the basis for a class-action lawsuit for medical malpractice.
Please com forward and help the people please.
Thank you Rosie!! I Call B. S. On CVS!
Pharmacies should all be Clicking their computers in order to Stop the Addicts! If they all used the system that’s in place these addicts, dealers, and pill mills wouldn’t be able to take the medications away from the patients that’s truly in pain..
Basically the problem is not within the doctors any more but instead what is happening on the street. When state started to put in prescription monitoring boards was when the uptick of deaths started to happen because addicts went to the street. Nowadays 90% of those who get addicted two opiates have never gotten a prescription for one from a doctor but instead stole medication from family or friends but it on the street or just went straight to heroin.