This entire opiod backlash is really upsetting me right now.

[AimeeM]

I do (I really, really do) understand the ideal behind pushing back against the amount of narcotics / opiods prescribed. The application, however, sucks. 

 

My mother has Lupus, advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Osteo-arthritis. She's also had several strokes. It's robbed her of what should have been her best years. My youngest sister is about to move out of her home, with her fiance and their children, and we're going to have to hire an in-home aid -- for my 51 year old mother. Twice now she's fallen trying to get out of the bathtub on her own, and had to wait hours for my sister to get home. Her legs swell to the point they more closely resemble solid, pale logs than they do legs. 

 

She's on a low dose chemo medication for the Lupus and a variety of other medications -- but only one "opiod." A very small maintenance dose of Tramadol. It's a "geriatric" dose as it is, because she's a fall risk and because she wants to be coherent during the day, as she has grandchildren in and out of the house. 

 

Well, right now she is sobbing and in a ton of pain due to a tooth infection. She went to have it looked at and it needs to be extracted. ASAP. However, one of her regular medications could cause her bones to be more frail (or something to that effect), so they have to do blood work first, which will take a week to get back. In the mean time, the dentist gave her an antibiotic. He tried to prescribe her a heavier painkiller (while they wait for the blood work and for after the procedure), but the pharmacy will not allow it because she has the GERIATRIC dose of Tramadol, meant for yucky, but manageable pain throughout her every day -- not at all meant for severe dental pain or dental post-op pain. 

 

In fact, her GP had given her scripts for both low doses Tramadol and Hydrocodone (the Tram for regular pain and the Hydrocodone for during flare ups), weeks ago when she went for a check up (her RA specialist, I believe), but the pharmacy told her she had to choose between the two. She willingly chose the Tram, because she functions better on it. At that time, she didn't think much of it. She has other methods for dealing with flare-ups, so it wasn't a huge deal.

 

It's obvious she doesn't abuse the meds. The last prescription she had filled for Hydrocodone, despite her doctor offering it, lasted her well over a year (I think it was a 20 count, maybe?). And her records at the pharmacy indicate as much.

 

 

It's still over my head how pharmacists can override medical doctors. Feel free to disagree, but please do so without "the greater good" argument. She's my mother. She's over 10 hours away from me. And she's hurting -- worse than I've ever seen her hurting. 

[Katy]

That would be a red flag to me, and I would possibly take all her prescriptions to a different pharmacy.  After I spoke to the pharmacy manager and threatened to turn them in to the medical board for practicing medicine without a license. 

 

When they've had enough of an opiate prescription problem that they are regulating routine dental prescriptions, I'd wonder if the pharmacy as a whole doesn't have too many issues to deal with.

 

 

ETA:  Can you call the dentist emergency number and ask them which pharmacy gives the least trouble in the area?

Edited February 23, 2018 by Katy

[happi duck]

(hugs)

[Spryte]

What a nightmare.

 

I’m so, so sorry. Pain is terrible. And to have your mom in that much pain, so far away. Oh, that hurts!

 

I hope this gets sorted and she finds relief. Very quickly.

[HSmomof2]

I do (I really, really do) understand the ideal behind pushing back against the amount of narcotics / opiods prescribed. The application, however, sucks.

 

My mother has Lupus, advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Osteo-arthritis. She's also had several strokes. It's robbed her of what should have been her best years. My youngest sister is about to move out of her home, with her fiance and their children, and we're going to have to hire an in-home aid -- for my 51 year old mother. Twice now she's fallen trying to get out of the bathtub on her own, and had to wait hours for my sister to get home. Her legs swell to the point they more closely resemble solid, pale logs than they do legs.

 

She's on a low dose chemo medication for the Lupus and a variety of other medications -- but only one "opiod." A very small maintenance dose of Tramadol. It's a "geriatric" dose as it is, because she's a fall risk and because she wants to be coherent during the day, as she has grandchildren in and out of the house.

 

Well, right now she is sobbing and in a ton of pain due to a tooth infection. She went to have it looked at and it needs to be extracted. ASAP. However, one of her regular medications could cause her bones to be more frail (or something to that effect), so they have to do blood work first, which will take a week to get back. In the mean time, the dentist gave her an antibiotic. He tried to prescribe her a heavier painkiller (while they wait for the blood work and for after the procedure), but the pharmacy will not allow it because she has the GERIATRIC dose of Tramadol, meant for yucky, but manageable pain throughout her every day -- not at all meant for severe dental pain or dental post-op pain.

 

In fact, her GP had given her scripts for both low doses Tramadol and Hydrocodone (the Tram for regular pain and the Hydrocodone for during flare ups), weeks ago when she went for a check up (her RA specialist, I believe), but the pharmacy told her she had to choose between the two. She willingly chose the Tram, because she functions better on it. At that time, she didn't think much of it. She has other methods for dealing with flare-ups, so it wasn't a huge deal.

 

It's obvious she doesn't abuse the meds. The last prescription she had filled for Hydrocodone, despite her doctor offering it, lasted her well over a year (I think it was a 20 count, maybe?). And her records at the pharmacy indicate as much.

 

 

It's still over my head how pharmacists can override medical doctors. Feel free to disagree, but please do so without "the greater good" argument. She's my mother. She's over 10 hours away from me. And she's hurting -- worse than I've ever seen her hurting.

Yeah, why is the pharmacy deciding what medications she is prescribed?? Their job is to fill prescriptions from doctors. I find that infuriating. I’m so sorry for your mom.....my mom has the same conditions, and it’s horrible to see what these diseases do. They are not the cause of the opioid problem in this country. I hope she can talk to her doctor and figure out a plan to get some relief.

[fraidycat]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

 

I hope she is able to get some relief soon.

[AimeeM]

That would be a red flag to me, and I would possibly take all her prescriptions to a different pharmacy.  After I spoke to the pharmacy manager and threatened to turn them in to the medical board for practicing medicine without a license. 

 

When they've had enough of an opiate prescription problem that they are regulating routine dental prescriptions, I'd wonder if the pharmacy as a whole doesn't have too many issues to deal with.

 

 

ETA:  Can you call the dentist emergency number and ask them which pharmacy gives the least trouble in the area?

I suggested she find a small, local mom and pop pharmacy. 

 

We use one here. A tiny little one-man pharmacy (well, he has a tech, too). They are awesome. They have this really ingenious policy that if they question a patient's prescriptions they... get this... call the prescribing doctor to clarify. 

 

 

[Junie]

I'm sorry.  I have RA, so I have some idea of what your mom is going through.

 

The pharmacists are over-riding prescriptions because some people are trying to get more pain meds than they should be visiting different doctors and getting multiple prescriptions.  I would call the dentist and see if he can just give her a sample of whatever pain meds he has in stock to help her.

 

Or perhaps you can take the prescription to another pharmacy.  Truthfully though, I would be cautious.  It is possible that whatever combination of meds she is taking would not be a good fit for what the dentist prescribed and the pharmacist picked up on it.  

 

I am sorry that your mom is in so much pain.  Sending hugs and prayers.

 

 

[Katy]

I second finding a small pharmacy...

[AimeeM]

I'm sorry.  I have RA, so I have some idea of what your mom is going through.

 

The pharmacists are over-riding prescriptions because some people are trying to get more pain meds than they should be visiting different doctors and getting multiple prescriptions.  I would call the dentist and see if he can just give her a sample of whatever pain meds he has in stock to help her.

 

Or perhaps you can take the prescription to another pharmacy.  Truthfully though, I would be cautious.  It is possible that whatever combination of meds she is taking would not be a good fit for what the dentist prescribed and the pharmacist picked up on it.  

 

I am sorry that your mom is in so much pain.  Sending hugs and prayers.

This medication (from the dentist) is the same as the one her RA specialist wrote for her (which the pharmacist said she could only fill one or the other of -- not because of interactions, but because of "managed pain"). There are no interactions, as she wouldn't be taking the different pain medications at the same time. She wouldn't need her low-dose Tramadol while she took the dental post-op hydrocodone. 

[gardenmom5]

I'm sorry.

 

I had surgery when I was 20 - the pharmacy tech didn't want to fill my pain pill rx because he thought I was abusing drugs.  - I just had surgery dufus and was still in recovery.

[Carol in Cal.]

That is just horrible.  I'm so sorry.

 

My mom had a bad fall in Dec and while she was in the hospital they would not give her her pain meds unless she asked for them.  They would not make them routine or even offer them.  She was in too much pain to ask, so we had to sit there and ask FOR her.  All the time.  For over 10 days.  Stupid stupid stupid inhuman carp.

[SeaConquest]

That's nuts. I get oxycodone and hydromorphone from Kaiser (and before that Rite Aid) and have never had any issues. I agree that I would find a different pharmacy. Tramadol is not even in the same category as other opiates. It's morphine equivalent dosing is tiny (which is why it never did anything for me).

[Sk8ermaiden]

That is so awful, I'm sorry. :( They really are taking things much too far. 

[Tap]

Double check the details.  Is the pharmacist refusing to fill it......OR is the insurance company refusing to pay for it?????  Sometimes, pharmacy personnel aren't very clear about where the problem is originating, they just say "it can't be filled".  You need to know where the problem lies so you can get a resolution. 

 

Insurance companies are making more hoops for doctors to go through to fill prescriptions.  The medication is likely available for her to purchase without using her insurance company benefit.. The one exception to this rule in our area, is if the person has Washington state medicaid (where I live), then the pharmacy can't let the patient fill the rx for cash.  Most likely though, it isn't the pharmacist, it is the insurance company and you can go around that by paying cash. 

 

Call and talk to the pharmacy manager (or the pharmacist currently in charge) and ask if she can pay cash for the script and ask what the price is.  It is likely a reasonable price, but if not go to the Goodrx app and get that pricing and bring the information with you when you pick it up.  Tell them you would like to pick it up in 1 hour and ask if they can have it ready for you.  They may say a longer time, but it gets the ball rolling and you aren't sitting around all day waiting for a phone call from them.

 

If it is the pharmacist refusing on personal grounds (absolutely within his her rights) then take the rx to another pharmacy and tell them you want to pay cash for it.  They may look at you like your an addict (just ignore them, you know the truth, they don't) and may want to verify it with the doctor (let them).  

 

 

If they give you push back, then call the pharmacy insurance company (phone number on the back of the card) and ask what the process is to get it filled ASAP.  Then, and this is key, see if the insurance company will call the pharmacy with you on the same line, to get a resolution.   Most insurance companies have an emergency supply limit.  It is often 7 or 14 days.  So the pharmacy may not be able to fill the entire script, but maybe able to fill part of it to get her out of pain.  The remaining script will be void, so ask the pharmacy to notify the doctors office that wrote it to say that she only got x amount of pills.  This is all very standard and shouldn't be a problem. 

 

((((hugs))))))

 

 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2018 by Tap

[Pen]

I totally agree with you.

 

And I have had some similar issues, as does another relative.

 

 

Other than to sympathize and hope you can get some help for her with her opiate Rx, the only thing I can offer to you is that I found that Goody's powdered pain relief formulas have been able to give me some pain relief over-the-counter.  They seem to work better for me than over-the-counter tablet forms of analgesics (I tend to prefer the "Cool Orange" for daytime and the Night Formula for night--the day formula has caffeine, while the night one has something to help sleep and no caffeine...there is also one with no caffeine.  If they are not contraindicated for her various conditions, you could maybe get that overnighted to her from Amazon as a start toward taking the edge off of the sobbing pain, while fighting with pharmacies.  I've not used this for tooth infection pain, but I know someone who did and found it less wonderful than hydrocodone, but a significant help.  I did use a similar thing for a post oral surgery and it worked fairly well.

[Carol in Cal.]

Also, my husband has had root canal infections twice, and it does take a couple of days for the antibiotics to clear up the pain.  But they do work eventually.  Just not as fast as, say, for strep throat or a UTI.

[AimeeM]

She can't take any ibuprofen or aspiring products for this week leading up to her dental surgery, as per her PCP's nurse. 

 

To the best of my knowledge, the wording from the pharmacist was that he would not fill the hydrocodone because she is on "pain management" (the tramadol). I advised my mother to have her PCP or RA specialist call the pharmacy directly, if she decides not to find another -- smaller -- pharmacy

I totally agree with you.

 

And I have had some similar issues, as does another relative.

 

 

Other than to sympathize and hope you can get some help for her with her opiate Rx, the only thing I can offer to you is that I found that Goody's powdered pain relief formulas have been able to give me some pain relief over-the-counter.  They seem to work better for me than over-the-counter tablet forms of analgesics (I tend to prefer the "Cool Orange" for daytime and the Night Formula for night--the day formula has caffeine, while the night one has something to help sleep and no caffeine...there is also one with no caffeine.  If they are not contraindicated for her various conditions, you could maybe get that overnighted to her from Amazon as a start toward taking the edge off of the sobbing pain, while fighting with pharmacies.  I've not used this for tooth infection pain, but I know someone who did and found it less wonderful than hydrocodone, but a significant help.  I did use a similar thing for a post oral surgery and it worked fairly well.

 

[Amber in SJ]

I am so sorry this is happening to you.

 

While my mom was dying from cancer her doctor prescribed her Oxycodone. she had been taking Norco, but it wasn't managing her pain.  The pharmacy told us they don't keep the Oxy in stock due to the possibility of getting robbed, so the pharmacist made a photocopy of the scrip & ordered it.  5 days later, after giving my mom her second to last dose of the Norco, we went to pick up the Oxy.  Turns out they didn't order it (oops) but they could order it now and we could come back in 5 days.  We contacted the Dr to explain the problem and he called in a refill on the Norco, which the pharmacy refused to fill, because of the pending Oxy.  So my mom was supposed to just suck it up & be in excruciating pain for 5 days.  What was worse is my parents have lived in the same little town for 45 years.  Everyone at the pharmacy knows me, my family and everything about us.  They know my mom is not a drug addict looking to score.

 

Another thing that was in the same vein was when we ended up in the ER because my mom had suddenly lost the use of her legs and fallen on her way back from the bathroom.  Yes, her legs literally stopped working & she never walked again.  Anyway, while we were there in the ER it was time for the next dose of her pain meds.  I let the ER doctor know that she was in a lot of pain and he said he didn't want to give her anything because she needed to "toughen up,"  and he didn't want her to become addicted.  She was dying of cancer, she didn't need to be toughened up.   

 

It was incredibly frustrating.  I feel your frustration.

 

Amber in SJ

[hopskipjump]

I have nothing constructive to add, except to say that these stories are breaking my heart. What a horrible situation. I'm so sorry. :(

[Sandwalker]

I do (I really, really do) understand the ideal behind pushing back against the amount of narcotics / opiods prescribed. The application, however, sucks.

 

My mother has Lupus, advanced Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Osteo-arthritis. She's also had several strokes. It's robbed her of what should have been her best years. My youngest sister is about to move out of her home, with her fiance and their children, and we're going to have to hire an in-home aid -- for my 51 year old mother. Twice now she's fallen trying to get out of the bathtub on her own, and had to wait hours for my sister to get home. Her legs swell to the point they more closely resemble solid, pale logs than they do legs.

 

She's on a low dose chemo medication for the Lupus and a variety of other medications -- but only one "opiod." A very small maintenance dose of Tramadol. It's a "geriatric" dose as it is, because she's a fall risk and because she wants to be coherent during the day, as she has grandchildren in and out of the house.

 

Well, right now she is sobbing and in a ton of pain due to a tooth infection. She went to have it looked at and it needs to be extracted. ASAP. However, one of her regular medications could cause her bones to be more frail (or something to that effect), so they have to do blood work first, which will take a week to get back. In the mean time, the dentist gave her an antibiotic. He tried to prescribe her a heavier painkiller (while they wait for the blood work and for after the procedure), but the pharmacy will not allow it because she has the GERIATRIC dose of Tramadol, meant for yucky, but manageable pain throughout her every day -- not at all meant for severe dental pain or dental post-op pain.

 

In fact, her GP had given her scripts for both low doses Tramadol and Hydrocodone (the Tram for regular pain and the Hydrocodone for during flare ups), weeks ago when she went for a check up (her RA specialist, I believe), but the pharmacy told her she had to choose between the two. She willingly chose the Tram, because she functions better on it. At that time, she didn't think much of it. She has other methods for dealing with flare-ups, so it wasn't a huge deal.

 

It's obvious she doesn't abuse the meds. The last prescription she had filled for Hydrocodone, despite her doctor offering it, lasted her well over a year (I think it was a 20 count, maybe?). And her records at the pharmacy indicate as much.

 

 

It's still over my head how pharmacists can override medical doctors. Feel free to disagree, but please do so without "the greater good" argument. She's my mother. She's over 10 hours away from me. And she's hurting -- worse than I've ever seen her hurting.

I haven't read the thread here yet, but I have to answer how appalled I am. I know it's the weekend, but call the dentist, call the doctor who prescribed the tramadol. They can override the pharmacist.

 

I don't know what is going on with pharmacists these days, but our doctors' offices get calls from pharmacists "checking on prescriptions" written BY OBSTETRICIANS for pregnant women. They even call about prenatal vitamins. "She is pregnant, so we are checking to see if the MD knew this when he prescribed." YES, HE IS AN OB, and these are prenatal vitamins, give the woman her vitamins, (or Macrobid or whatever idiocy you are calling about)!

[Sandwalker]

Double check the details. Is the pharmacist refusing to fill it......OR is the insurance company refusing to pay for it????? Sometimes, pharmacy personnel aren't very clear about where the problem is originating, they just say "it can't be filled". You need to know where the problem lies so you can get a resolution.

 

Insurance companies are making more hoops for doctors to go through to fill prescriptions. The medication is likely available for her to purchase without using her insurance company benefit.. The one exception to this rule in our area, is if the person has Washington state medicaid (where I live), then the pharmacy can't let the patient fill the rx for cash. Most likely though, it isn't the pharmacist, it is the insurance company and you can go around that by paying cash.

 

Call and talk to the pharmacy manager (or the pharmacist currently in charge) and ask if she can pay cash for the script and ask what the price is. It is likely a reasonable price, but if not go to the Goodrx app and get that pricing and bring the information with you when you pick it up. Tell them you would like to pick it up in 1 hour and ask if they can have it ready for you. They may say a longer time, but it gets the ball rolling and you aren't sitting around all day waiting for a phone call from them.

 

If it is the pharmacist refusing on personal grounds (absolutely within his her rights) then take the rx to another pharmacy and tell them you want to pay cash for it. They may look at you like your an addict (just ignore them, you know the truth, they don't) and may want to verify it with the doctor (let them).

 

 

If they give you push back, then call the pharmacy insurance company (phone number on the back of the card) and ask what the process is to get it filled ASAP. Then, and this is key, see if the insurance company will call the pharmacy with you on the same line, to get a resolution. Most insurance companies have an emergency supply limit. It is often 7 or 14 days. So the pharmacy may not be able to fill the entire script, but maybe able to fill part of it to get her out of pain. The remaining script will be void, so ask the pharmacy to notify the doctors office that wrote it to say that she only got x amount of pills. This is all very standard and shouldn't be a problem.

 

((((hugs))))))

It's not about the insurance, it's about the push back on narcotics.

[MotherGoose]

Could it have anything to do with the dentist doing the prescribing and not an MD? I'm sorry.

[Selkie]

:grouphug: That's terrible! I hope she gets some relief from the pain soon.

[MooCow]

This reminds me of when my mom was dying of renal failure and her newish doctor refused to write her an rX for pain meds because it would "ruin" her kidneys....inserteyerollhere

[rjand6more]

Could it have anything to do with the dentist doing the prescribing and not an MD? I'm sorry.

 

Yes.  This is possible.

 

What the pharmacy sees is that she attempted to fill an RX for hydrocodone.  It was refused to  and she went to a dentist for the RX.  Dentistry is hit hard with drug seekers.  I have seen legitimate tooth infections that patients were using to get multiple RXs.  One day, a person hit up several local dentists in a town on a Friday. Our office was one.

 

Now, you know that is not what is happening here.  Pharmacists have heard every story in the book.  And much of the heat from this epidemic is on their shoulders.  

 

I'm so sorry your mom is hurting.  It breaks my heart that rules to save some end up hurting others. :(

[SparklyUnicorn]

This stinks.  I've noticed it myself.  They don't give people pain stuff for nothing.  They wouldn't give someone I know pain stuff (hence why they are now using medical marijuana).  The person truly needed the pain stuff too. 

 

 

[AmericanMom]

It stinks that the abusers are affecting people who are truly in need.

 

Around here, pharmacists are overwhelmed with abusers and doctors are prescribing it frequently. In my own family, we have had to refuse narcotic prescriptions four times. Doctors are afraid of people being in pain and blaming them I guess? Once for a gum graft and once for neck pain for myself, I had to finally say I will not accept that prescription because I won't fill it and the street value is very high - I didn't even want the prescription in my home. My husband had back pain and they kept trying to give it to him and he refused. He had to insist on an epidural, which he had before and it worked great. My son had his wisdom teeth out and they would not take no for an answer - they insisted he take it in case he changed his mind so "the doctor wouldn't have to get a weekend call to prescribe it". So we accepted it then tore it up. They didn't like it. But they push it on people around here. We have a family member who got addicted to a narcotic after neck pain and ruined her life and her husband's and children's lives too. It has a valid purpose, but it is so unbelievably over-prescribed here, it is crazy. Why try to push it on us when we are saying our pain is manageable? The doctor with my neck injury argued with me about my own pain! I just wanted a prescription for physical therapy.

If it were my mother, I would try a different pharmacy - they all have different rules. I hope she gets the relief she needs. It's a crazy world...

[Serenade]

 

 

 

It's still over my head how pharmacists can override medical doctors. Feel free to disagree, but please do so without "the greater good" argument. She's my mother. She's over 10 hours away from me. And she's hurting -- worse than I've ever seen her hurting. 

 

I agree.

 

As someone else with RA, sometimes there is pain so bad that almost nothing helps.  For me it is rare, but it happens.  I worry that sometime in the future I won't be able to get medication.  I rarely take strong pain killers, but I want them available if I need them.

 

There should be a way for the doctor to override the pharmacist in a situation such as your mother has.  Would a call from the doctor help, or is there just no way that the pharmacist will provide the needed med?  It seems like there should be an override in the system, for cases like your mother's, even if one has to jump through hoops.

Edited February 23, 2018 by Serenade

[Word Nerd]

My dad had similar problems when he was in incredible pain before he was able to have back surgery.

 

I know our Walgreens has signs posted that say they may be unable to fill prescriptions for certain types of medication regardless of what the prescription says (I don't remember the exact wording), but other pharmacies in town don't have signage like that. It would be worth checking with a different pharmacy.

[kbutton]

Does your mom's state have a database that tells doctors and pharmacists how many Rx's she's had, etc.? I am sure that it can still be a pain to get drugs here under some circumstances, but both the providers and the pharmacists here can use that database vs. having to go on their own "judgment" to decide which Rx to give or fill.

[Tap]

It's not about the insurance, it's about the push back on narcotics.

Yes.....but I am talking about how the idea of "push back on narcotics" plays out in the real world.  Years ago when they first talked about the problems that opioid addiction were causing, the powers that be, asked doctors, insurance companies and pharmacists to make an effort to curtail it.  The problem continued to rise.  Some did make efforts to change, but many did not. This past year, that has changed.  They are trying to regulate it in several ways.  ONE way, is to control access by using insurance companies to limit the amount of meds.  If the insurance company is the one who is limiting the medication, there are ways to help go around that at the current pharmacy.  If the pharmacist is limiting it personally, then you need to find a different pharmacist or pharmacy. 

 

 

Tap....pharmacy tech for 18 years

[Pen]

The night time one is Acetaminophen 500mg plus Diphenhydramine Citrate 38mg. No aspirin or ibuprofen.

[AimeeM]

Yes.  This is possible.

 

What the pharmacy sees is that she attempted to fill an RX for hydrocodone.  It was refused to  and she went to a dentist for the RX.  Dentistry is hit hard with drug seekers.  I have seen legitimate tooth infections that patients were using to get multiple RXs.  One day, a person hit up several local dentists in a town on a Friday. Our office was one.

 

Now, you know that is not what is happening here.  Pharmacists have heard every story in the book.  And much of the heat from this epidemic is on their shoulders.  

 

I'm so sorry your mom is hurting.  It breaks my heart that rules to save some end up hurting others. :(

The first hydrocodone prescription refused was written by her MD -- it was meant for occasional use during flare ups when the tramadol didn't "cut it" and had nothing to do with dental-anything. The last time she'd had the running script for hydrocodone filled, it lasted her over a year. This was weeks prior to her seeing the dentist. The second time (just a couple days ago) was the dentist wanting to write her a script for pre and post-op dental pain for hydrocodone. 

[AimeeM]

Does your mom's state have a database that tells doctors and pharmacists how many Rx's she's had, etc.? I am sure that it can still be a pain to get drugs here under some circumstances, but both the providers and the pharmacists here can use that database vs. having to go on their own "judgment" to decide which Rx to give or fill.

I'm not sure if there is a state database. 

Edited February 23, 2018 by AimeeM

[ThisIsTheDay]

We've also experienced an abusive pharmacist overstepping his bounds. My husband has MS and a lot of associated pain. He'd been on gabapentin and tramadol for several years, with the approval of both his neuro (former and current) and his GP. The pharmacist didn't like that and cut him off. He also lied to me about a situation with my husband, when unbeknownest to the pharmacist, my son was right there within earshot as a witness the conversation between my husband and pharmacist.

 

We switched to another pharmacy and have had no further issues.

 

I get the whole opiod epidemic, I really do. But for some people, the pain is so debilitating that it comes down to quality of life and the lesser of two evils. It should not be determined by a pharmacist who has no clue of the patient's history and thinks he somehow knows better than longtime treaters.

[Tsuga]

I'm so sorry your mom is hurting. I hope she can get the individualized care she needs. If you live in a state with legal marijuana, that is an off-the-shelf option that can seriously help with pain and is available in very low doses. Obviously if it's not legal where you live, that is not an option.

 

:grouphug:

[StephanieZ]

Because these laws are variable state to state, I can't know what the laws exactly are in your area . . .

 

That said, Doctors TRUMP Pharmacists. Your mom's doctor can likely find her a pharmacist who will fill her RX. Call (and call again and again) her doctor until you get it resolved. There may be a state law involved, in which case, the doctor will know how to get around it. 

 

I'm so sorry this is happening to your mom. It's tragic and ridiculous and awful. 

 

(This is why when I get narcotics RX filled, I hoard them forever . . . because you really can't rely on being able to get an RX when you need it. I do have a drug safe to secure them. This is all very ridiculous, but it is what it is.) 

 

 

[itsheresomewhere]

Because these laws are variable state to state, I can't know what the laws exactly are in your area . . .

 

That said, Doctors TRUMP Pharmacists. Your mom's doctor can likely find her a pharmacist who will fill her RX. Call (and call again and again) her doctor until you get it resolved. There may be a state law involved, in which case, the doctor will know how to get around it.

 

I'm so sorry this is happening to your mom. It's tragic and ridiculous and awful.

 

(This is why when I get narcotics RX filled, I hoard them forever . . . because you really can't rely on being able to get an RX when you need it. I do have a drug safe to secure them. This is all very ridiculous, but it is what it is.)

Same here.

[BlsdMama]

I am so sorry for your mom caught in this gap between folks trying to do something, the ones abusing,  and the ones who need opiods who are caught up in the middle of the battle.

 

A complete aside, but has your mom ever had anyone talk to her about Rituxin / Rituximab?  I have a dear friend who has very severe RA and it seems to be working for her after nothing else has.  They are giving me a trial run on it in the next couple weeks to see if this is SPS and if it works for me.  It suppresses the immune system, but since hers seems bent on trying to kill her, ya know.  

[AimeeM]

I am so sorry for your mom caught in this gap between folks trying to do something, the ones abusing,  and the ones who need opiods who are caught up in the middle of the battle.

 

A complete aside, but has your mom ever had anyone talk to her about Rituxin / Rituximab?  I have a dear friend who has very severe RA and it seems to be working for her after nothing else has.  They are giving me a trial run on it in the next couple weeks to see if this is SPS and if it works for me.  It suppresses the immune system, but since hers seems bent on trying to kill her, ya know.  

 

There was one medication she was on (not sure if it was this one) that works really, really well for her -- but it was very new to the market and very expensive (her insurance / medicare wasn't covering much of it; it may have been considered too new and untried at the time). 

 

The meds she's on actually seem to be doing a great job. A major part of her problems come from having the RA and the Lupus and the OA (and thyroid issues -- she's been having masses taken out over years, but they can't seem to get it "controlled"), and I'm sure some of the standard gold treatments for one condition may do the opposite for her other conditions. She recently moved to FL and her new home has a pool, which has done amazing things for her pain. 

[KingM]

I've never used marijuana, but I'm in favor of legalization in part to get around this pain/opioid crisis. An option that could probably help a lot of people for very little cost and little risk of overdose.