quote:

Originally posted by Mona & Bill:
Meant to also say...

No excuse for rudeness. If they did call your PCP, then they should have let them know there was no problem?

I used to manage a medical call center for a large hosp. Answered after-hour calls for 400+ doctors. Big problem with people addicted to prescription meds.

These people would do anything to get more narcotics and did. So, it is somewhat expected that these pharmacies watch this closely.

Too bad this caused you a problem when you are a legitimate patient with a need. You are paying for other folks problems.

Which people are you referring to as addicted to prescription meds? Heart patients, high blood pressure, depressed folks; sorry you are only speaking about those in chronic pain. Let me explain some thing. You do become DEPENDENT on pain meds, but if you are not using them to get high you're not addicted. People like you who don't live in pain lead to much confusion on the subject. People in pain take the minimum dosage to control the pain. And when we run out we do get upset, first there is the withdrawal from the meds to deal with, then there is the PAIN. You should figure this out before you make blanket statements.

quote:

Originally posted by FireWalker:
To ibTALLWALT & Others..It's been a rough day. Sorry for being so rude to everyone. I'm not usually like this. No point in giving excuses. Again I apologize. Life goes on...

FireWalker, No apologies needed, your comments are valid, and my post wasn't pointed at any person, member or facsimile thereof... just a rant that was not in the best interest of the thread, so the apology should be from me, and I do just that if I offended.

Walt.

Very well said Hondo122.

Ya know everyone,

This thread started on Wednesday, and I thought that it might take more of a turn towards traveling and filling prescriptions. Well, it is not going in the direction that it should. Either stay on track with RVing and prescription medicines or I will have to close it.

Thank you!
Kellie

...having worked with people with chronic pain[hated the work] and myself suffering from some chronic pain b/c I need a four parts replaced- [and I'm scared to have the operations]-I know a lot about the subject.. I have a private practice dealing with addiction and the damage to the family for 39 years now-[can't quit working yet-too much to do]- your statements are just partially correct. Addiction/habitual users and those suffering are three different categories of individuals and treatment must be tailored to each category.....no one treatment option meets everyones needs or is a solution to the individuals issues.....Yes the DEA and the State do some gate keeping but as you well know the stuff is available on almost any street corner in any town or city...as 40% of the population deals with the addiction issue everyday of their lives.....please don't address those 3 problems in a negative way as it is all a disease and needs to be referred to in that lite. GOD help those who have to deal with any condition of discomfort on a daily basis....may we find the cure.....geofkaye

quote:

Originally posted by FireWalker:
OK...I have been traveling back and forth between NC and TN for over a year now and it just so happened that most of the time when it was time to refill my pain meds I would be in TN. Our residence is in NC so my PCP would call in the refill to a local Walmart then they would just transfer the prescription to a walmart in TN. This month WalMart flat refused to refill my medicine and was UGLY about it. They told me it's "against the law" for them to do it that many times and even told me that they had "warned" my doctor. I have never heard of such. Anyway, my PCP ended up calling it in to another drug store and didn't have any problems at all. has anyone experienced this? It makes me a bit concerned about getting so far away from home, etc.

Have a good day!
TJ

I haven't had time to check into this matter as I plan on waiting til we're in NC again (about 2 weeks). The TN Walmart seemed to be pointing in that direction so I will start there.

I also would like to point out that I was not asking for "favors" as in filling before time, etc. I do not doctor shop and except for medical emergencies (have only had one, Thank God), I only see my PCP in NC (and always make sure he gets a copy of that report for my file).

Please people...don't miss my point. From everyhting I've read here especially for fulltimers...this is something to be considered. I'm not asking for a show of hands - but I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had to take some form of pain meds at one time or another (maybe for a short/long period).

This was the time I have EVER encountered this problem during our travels so it freaked me out. Plus the guy DID make me feel like I had done something wrong when I questioned him. Obviously I had to wait til it WAS time to get it filled again...then it took me all day to get new prescriptions etc.

However...someone mentioned about refills and I think this might be the problem...we'll see. My PCP never gives refills. I just call him when it's time if I need one. So when we get back to NC I will find out if we should just have him to give me the maximum refills allowed on all my meds. This might be the problem. I'll let you know when I find out for sure.

have a good day!
TJ


KELLIE: Sorry, I missed your post somehow so I came back to edit. Please delete this if needed.

TJ, I don't think that is the problem. I have one pain med. My doctor gives me a 30 day supply with one refill which lasts me 6-9 months because I only take it very sparingly. Unfortunately in December 06 I had a flare and needed it refilled. Couldn't get it in Texas. They said I would have to have a Texas doctor issue a prescription. This was at Walgreen's, which is the system that filled the original prescription (back in Indiana). The prescription was current and was for a 30-day supply. I had to wait 4 months to get back to Indiana. From what I read, however, it is a state thing and I might have had success in a state other than Texas.

Good luck.

Dale

Firewalker, I'm sorry this got off into some silliness about addiction when you need information about transferring scripts. I, too, have chronic pain and full-time. I, too, have doctors in NC and transfer scripts for controlled meds around the country. It can be done, but it seems no one here, including the person who says he works with chronic pain patients seems to know the critical information--that the rules changed last summer.

As of sometime last summer, we can transfer certain controlled pain meds (I know only that this includes Schedule 2 drugs but not fiorinal, whatever that is) only one time, in state or out. Before that, we could transfer a script for these things in state more than once but out of state only once. Now it doesn't matter whether the transfer is over state lines or not. Maybe this is what you're running into?

The DEA is making life ever more difficult for those of us in real pain and for our doctors who have our best interests at heart even as research supports the doctors who are up-to-date and know that our pain can and should be relieved. I'm sorry you're having this problem.

And no, no one should ever be rude to you over it. Have you tried KMart? They also have a "real-time" system, which makes transfers easy. They're a little harder to find everywhere, but we've been all over the country now, and we've literally never found a KMart pharmacist who wasn't pleasant and helpful. Good luck!

Jane

I am going to try to explain a few things about pharmacy regulations. I am a retired pharmacist, but have not practiced for ten years, so some tings have changed, but if they have they have gotten more strict, not less.
So here goes.

All drugs both prescripton (also called Legend drugs) and non-prescription drugs (also called over-the counter or OTCs) are regulated by the FDA. (I will not discuss vitamins and food supplements here that is also complicated). The dispensing act (what people call getting the precription filled) of the drugs is regulated by both federal and state laws. The pharmacist is always required to follow the more strict rule, therefore if the state rule is stricter, they must follow that.

Legend drugs
Two categories - Controlled Substances and non-controlled substance.
Controlled Substances are divided into 5 classes CI, CII, CIII, CIV AND CV. Each has its own regulations but generally speaking CIs are street drugs with no medical use. CII-CV have medical use and varying levels of abuse potential. CII drugs are not refillable and in most cases limited to hard copies of the prescription and 30 day supply or 104 dosages units. CIII-V can be phoned in to a pharmacy and are refillable up to 5 times or six months which ever comes first.

Non controlled drugs are refillable up to one year.

All of this may be further limited by what the doctor writes or what a particular insurance plan limits.

The transfering of each category of drug is also regulated by state, federal and company policy.

In addition to the above an individual store or pharmacist may refuse to fill certain prescriptions for controlled substances if they suspect something is not right. They are also expected to call the police if they suspect someone is trying to illegally obtain a drug.

If they violate any one of the rules they could be subject to fines or even losing their license to practice pharmacy. Most pharmacists only know the rules in their state.

The majority of physicians are not aware of the all the drug laws in their state and definitely would not know another state's law.

So how would you know all of this? You wouldn't. So what can you do. Here is one suggestion.

Find a pharmacy that provides customer service, not the cheapest pharmacy in town. Bring your prescription to the pharmacy when it is not busy and you are not in a hurry. Ask to speak to the pharmacist. Give him or her the prescriptions and tell him/her you want them filled and that you are traveling and you want to know what you need to do to make sure you can receive your medications. Take notes. You may have to go back to your MD to get additional prescriptions.

Mail order pharmacies can be a help but won't solve all your issues, because they are also restricted. Be patient. The drug laws were written to protect society and allow most people access to the medication they need. They were not written with full time travelers in mind.

And by all means, spend money with the pharmacy that helps you out.

Good luck I hope this helps.

...If you have a real need:.....and when you are tired of messing around with "Drug Stores"....[try the street as the drug boys have better deals than the "Drug Stores"][jk].....if that is not what you want to do -then stop by any public emergency room that takes Medicare or Medicaid[not a DOC in a BOX]......they will have someone figure out how to get you what is needed and will send you on the way with the script or fill at the hospital......might cost the insurance company/Medicare a bunch of money but they will get it straightened out real quick if it cost them money!......don't be afraid to go to the ER -that is what it is there for when you need a Doctor......"Drug Stores" are fined $10,000 per line of mistakes by the DEA so they are somewhat scared of making a mistake or not doing anything they are not really familiar with....most of the "drug pushers" in the retail stores are scared to death at loosing their job anyway.....geofkaye