Aren’t pharmacies so fun? (1 Viewer)

[Ahsoka]

And everything involved. I realized today that I’m running really low on pain meds despite taking them when prescribed and taking the dosage on the label, and theoretically having enough for 7 days (im on day 2)? The number of pills that should have been given is half of what would make sense if you count the number of doses per day and use that to figure out how many there should be per week. So yeah that’s issue number 1 I need to sort out (yippee). Issue number 2 is I need to get one of my meds filled and the answering service is such a pain. It sends you in circles and loop de loops and the whole rollercoaster. All to fill one of my meds. 90% of meds you can fill online but this one I’ve never seen an online option, which I would appreciate because I hate phone calls.
So yay meds but not yay when I have to make phone calls to get said meds

 

[ChiaraStar169]

You should go to a mom-and-pop one like I do. They treat their patients way better, in my experience.

 

[Ahsoka]

You should go to a mom-and-pop one like I do. They treat their patients way better, in my experience.

I don’t know if we have small ones like that near me tbh, maybe I should look into it

 

[Ahsoka]

You should go to a mom-and-pop one like I do. They treat their patients way better, in my experience.

Yeah there’s only one I found close to me and it has a 2 star rating so idk about it

 

[ChiaraStar169]

Yeah there’s only one I found close to me and it has a 2 star rating so idk about it

yup, you're fucked lol

 

[StirFriedPanda]

I used to pay out of pocket 3x more than than with my insurance just to go to a pharmacy that didn't treat me like a criminal because I took pain medication. The people their were really kind. Every place else I tried always treated you like you were a junky and were sure your prescription was a fake. Cost Co demanded to know why I needed pain killers and weren't nice about it either. I told them I stubbed my fucking toe crawling out of their mothers bed and left.

 

[Ahsoka]

I used to pay out of pocket 3x more than than with my insurance just to go to a pharmacy that didn't treat me like a criminal because I took pain medication. The people their were really kind. Every place else I tried always treated you like you were a junky and were sure your prescription was a fake. Cost Co demanded to know why I needed pain killers and weren't nice about it either. I told them I stubbed my fucking toe crawling out of their mothers bed and left.

It must be frustrating, and sad that some people make assumptions like that out of nowhere. Sure there exist people addicted to pain meds but pain meds also used for an actual reason, they’re not solely a drug addicts purchase.

 

[Sleepwalking]

I'm a pharmacist at Walgreens and it's stressful. Phones won't stop ringing. So many prescriptions to fill and fk me if I have a call out. I owe my life to pharmacy techs that keep the pharmacy from self-destructing. I'm more easy going in general on people on controlled substances including narcotics. But there are laws and P&P's we have to abide by and hopefully your pharmacists are simply doing their due diligence when they are reviewing prescriptions.

 

[Ahsoka]

I'm a pharmacist at Walgreens and it's stressful. Phones won't stop ringing. So many prescriptions to fill and fk me if I have a call out. I owe my life to pharmacy techs that keep the pharmacy from self-destructing. I'm more easy going in general on people on controlled substances including narcotics. But there are laws and P&P's we have to abide by and hopefully your pharmacists are simply doing their due diligence when they are reviewing prescriptions.

The medication I have to call for is controlled, but not a narcotic, my pain med is just acetaminophen. It definitely doesn’t sound like an easy job, and my current dislike about it is mostly about the phone part because I hate phone calls, not because of pharmacists in general (oh and because of the person that prescribed one of my meds, because they’re the ones who may or may not have mixed up the quantities I presume)

 

[Sleepwalking]

The medication I have to call for is controlled, but not a narcotic, my pain med is just acetaminophen. It definitely doesn’t sound like an easy job, and my current dislike about it is mostly about the phone part because I hate phone calls, not because of pharmacists in general (oh and because of the person that prescribed one of my meds, because they’re the ones who may or may not have mixed up the quantities I presume)

I assume it's tylenol #3 which has codeine which makes it a controlled substance. Normal acetaminophen is over the counter. In terms of quantities if a doctor prescribes something like "Take 1 tablet every 6 hours as needed for pain" with a quantity of 30 but puts somewhere on the prescription "x 30 days or 30 day supply" we as pharmacists are supposed to put it in as a 30 day supply because we are assuming the prescriber doesn't want the patient to keep taking it scheduled, because then it would theoretically only last 7-8 days (30/4).

Also some insurances only allow 7 days on any controlled medication on the first fill of the year. In addition, my state only allows 7 days on the initial fill regardless unless the prescription has a chronic pain diagnosis or if they have taken the same medication within the past 5 months.

If I could hire an employee to solely take the phone calls I would. I mean we have a call center that kinda helps but sometimes they can't help or straight up misinform the patient, which then confuses the patient when we tell them something different.

 

[Ahsoka]

I assume it's tylenol #3 which has codeine which makes it a controlled substance. Normal acetaminophen is over the counter. In terms of quantities if a doctor prescribes something like "Take 1 tablet every 6 hours as needed for pain" with a quantity of 30 but puts somewhere on the prescription "x 30 days or 30 day supply" we as pharmacists are supposed to put it in as a 30 day supply because we are assuming the prescriber doesn't want the patient to keep taking it scheduled, because then it would theoretically only last 7-8 days (30/4).

Also some insurances only allow 7 days on any controlled medication on the first fill of the year. In addition, my state only allows 7 days on the initial fill regardless unless the prescription has a chronic pain diagnosis or if they have taken the same medication within the past 5 months.

If I could hire an employee to solely take the phone calls I would. I mean we have a call center that kinda helps but sometimes they can't help or straight up misinform the patient, which then confuses the patient when we tell them something different.

I had a feeling that it might be different than normal acetaminophen but some people kept insisting to me that it’s the same thing
The one thing though is that everything you’re saying points to the pharmacy being the ones who messed up. The insurance or state part only allowing 7 days is fine if that applies to my insurance and state, my prescription only lasts that long in theory anyways, and the label says to take 2 tablets every 6 hours as needed for up to 7 days, which would be 2x more than the tablets they gave me if I’m understanding you right. So should I be calling the pharmacy about it rather than the doctor? That would save me a phone call if so

 

[Ahsoka]

I assume it's tylenol #3 which has codeine which makes it a controlled substance. Normal acetaminophen is over the counter. In terms of quantities if a doctor prescribes something like "Take 1 tablet every 6 hours as needed for pain" with a quantity of 30 but puts somewhere on the prescription "x 30 days or 30 day supply" we as pharmacists are supposed to put it in as a 30 day supply because we are assuming the prescriber doesn't want the patient to keep taking it scheduled, because then it would theoretically only last 7-8 days (30/4).

Also some insurances only allow 7 days on any controlled medication on the first fill of the year. In addition, my state only allows 7 days on the initial fill regardless unless the prescription has a chronic pain diagnosis or if they have taken the same medication within the past 5 months.

If I could hire an employee to solely take the phone calls I would. I mean we have a call center that kinda helps but sometimes they can't help or straight up misinform the patient, which then confuses the patient when we tell them something different.

Also I don’t know much about medications, but normal Tylenol and Tylenol 3 would have different appearances and engravings correct? The engraving of my tablets match what google said to be normal Tylenol. That would mean it’s okay to buy just normal Tylenol at the store instead of dealing with them having a prescription done?

 

[StirFriedPanda]

Also I don’t know much about medications, but normal Tylenol and Tylenol 3 would have different appearances and engravings correct? The engraving of my tablets match what google said to be normal Tylenol. That would mean it’s okay to buy just normal Tylenol at the store instead of dealing with them having a prescription done?

If you were prescribed T-3's and the engravings match normal tylenol then you need to report that because something EXTREMELY illegal is going on. I would call your doctor and ask exactly what you were prescribed.

 

[Ahsoka]

If you were prescribed T-3's and the engravings match normal tylenol then you need to report that because something EXTREMELY illegal is going on. I would call your doctor and ask exactly what you were prescribed.

They never said anything about Tylenol 3 specifically to me or anyone else, just about amphetamine. The label also just says amphetamine, there’s no reason think they wanted or made any effort to prescribing Tylenol 3 to me. I might call them tomorrow to ask, we’ll see.

 

[StirFriedPanda]

Color me exceedingly baffled about what your doctor is doing.

Amphetamine Uses, Dosage, Side Effects & Warnings - Drugs.com

Amphetamine is a stimulant and is used to trat narcolepsy and attention deficit disorder. Includes amphetamine side effects, interactions and indications.

www.drugs.com

Maybe you were talkative during surgery and he thinks you have ADD and wanted to treat you?

 

[StirFriedPanda]

Color me exceedingly baffled about what your doctor is doing.

Amphetamine Uses, Dosage, Side Effects & Warnings - Drugs.com

Amphetamine is a stimulant and is used to trat narcolepsy and attention deficit disorder. Includes amphetamine side effects, interactions and indications.

www.drugs.com

Maybe you were talkative during surgery and he thinks you have ADD and wanted to treat you?

Wait, you haven't had surgery yet... I'm even more confused now. I'm a narcotic pain killer super fan so it's rare someone can confuse me in the realm of prescription pain killers...

 

[Ahsoka]

Color me exceedingly baffled about what your doctor is doing.

Amphetamine Uses, Dosage, Side Effects & Warnings - Drugs.com

Amphetamine is a stimulant and is used to trat narcolepsy and attention deficit disorder. Includes amphetamine side effects, interactions and indications.

www.drugs.com

Maybe you were talkative during surgery and he thinks you have ADD and wanted to treat you?

I always get them mixed up
Acetaminophen. I take a different medication that sounds like amphetamine sort of if you squint so that comes to mind instead of acetaminophen.

 

[StirFriedPanda]

I always get them mixed up
Acetaminophen. I take a different medication that sounds like amphetamine sort of if you squint so that comes to mind instead of acetaminophen.

Ok, I have moments like that, and they never seem to end. I'd still find out about the T-3 issue. That tired me out. I'm going to bed!

 

[dark_tranquility]

I have lots of meds. Used to be 12 total

now its 5 to 6?

been taking meds since 2007.

 

[Sleepwalking]

I had a feeling that it might be different than normal acetaminophen but some people kept insisting to me that it’s the same thing
The one thing though is that everything you’re saying points to the pharmacy being the ones who messed up. The insurance or state part only allowing 7 days is fine if that applies to my insurance and state, my prescription only lasts that long in theory anyways, and the label says to take 2 tablets every 6 hours as needed for up to 7 days, which would be 2x more than the tablets they gave me if I’m understanding you right. So should I be calling the pharmacy about it rather than the doctor? That would save me a phone call if so

If the quantity in the bottle does not match what is on the label then yes it's a pharmacy fk up.