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Chronic Pain
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Posted 9/28/2008 9:01 AM (GMT -7)
I have two questions.  If i am going out of town and either am going to be gone for longer than a month or my prescription runs out before i get back from vacation what do i do?  Example:  I get my oxycontin filled on 9/05 and leave for vacation on 9/20 for 3 weeks.  That means i will only have 15 days worth on my trip and will be lacking 7-8 days worth.  What do i.  I cannot plan my trip around my medicine or do i have to?  Also last time i filled my oxycontin the pharmacy did not have it and had to order.  I was out for a day.  Is it ok to take a prescription in early if you have it early (because your appointment was before your refill which most of ours are) just to make sure they have it and if they dont they can order it and have it before your prior month runs out.  I dont want to get in trouble for dropping a prescription off early.  I dont need the meds early i just want to make sure they have them for next time and they will have my prescrition with them to know when i need my next one.  I hope i did not confuse anyone.  Thanks
Posted 9/28/2008 10:58 AM (GMT -7)
I know that if I am going away I DO call the pharmacy and tell /ask them to plz have the RX's ready for the day I am leaving

I also take the RX's right to pharmacy ( even if not due) as soon as I get them so I dont lose them as sometimes they are 2 weeks early
NOT because I have taken other or all but because my doc is an hour away and he does 3 mths at a time to be dispensed every 30 days and its Morphine 100 mg's and percocets

I have never had a problem with it they just put them on "HOLD" till due date

Now I live in Ontario so it might be different where you are not sure ..........

I cant see why they would not hold them for you till due date is ready .........

LYN
Posted 9/28/2008 12:50 PM (GMT -7)
Shaw,
This is the stuff that makes me want to pull my hair out. There are some provisions for vacation issues, but it depends on a lot of factors such as what medication (and the oxycontin will probably be a tough one), your insurance company, the pharmacy regulations, etc., etc., etc.

I woud talk now with the head pharmacist and ask what you would need to do. The easiest thing might be if you use a chain pharmacy that has a branch near where you'll be traveling, and it could just be transferred from one branch to another. I had to do that when I had surgery (I couldn't even get my seizure meds refilled early and these aren't narcotics!). The other thing is what your insurance will allow. Your pharmacist may still be able to transfer it to a pharmacy near where you'll be even if there's no branch there. But this does get tricky and do you sometimes have to plan a vacation around meds? I hate to answer that maybe, yes. Pathetic, isn't it?

PaLady
Posted 9/28/2008 3:22 PM (GMT -7)

Thanks all!

I quess what I will do in the case of dropping the script off early is to let the pharmacist know that I have the rest of my 30 day supply left but I am just dropping off early to make sure if they dont have my next months available then they can order it.  Last month as I said in the first part of this thread they did not have my oxycontin so they had to order.  I was without for I think 1 or two days.  When your body is used to these meds, stopping for two days is a no no.  What I was forced to do was only take my b/t medicine for 2 days until the order for the oxycontin was in at the pharmacy.  I am prescribed oxycontin 15 mg for b/t 3x day so for those two days i could only take 3  of the 15mg pills as opposed to taking 3 40mg oxycontin and 3 15 mg oxycodone per day.  That is a 120mg drop per day for 2 days.  I am sure that is not safe. Anyway my pharmacist was very sorry because he knew that when you are on any medicine for an extended period of time (especially long acting opiods) you have to take them regularly.  I could definitely feel when i did not have my oxycontin.  My pain levels were through the roof and my body just felt like crap but I had no craving for the medicine.  I am sure my body was going through some physical withdrawal symptoms and of course I did not want to call my doctor and tell him the pharmacy was out and had to order because immediatley it would have been a red flag even if it was not my fault.  I quess in general what really sucks is that no matter how good of a patient you are (one who takes meds as directed, never asks for refills, never refills early, never asks for more or different kinds, always brings meds to every appointment) there will always be big brother watching over you hoping you screw up.  I just feel that all of us legitimate pain management patients are under a microscope.  I know that I do everything right but I just hate the fact that everything we (PM patients) do and go through is rigerously watched because of people who abuse the whole system.   I am sure I am speaking for a whole lot of you here.  I hope GOD is with you all and that all of you feel as good as you can.  I am always in pain.  Every second of every minute of every hour of every day and its not fun but I have to live with it.   God bless you all!            p.s.  sorry for the spelling

shawn

Posted 9/28/2008 4:17 PM (GMT -7)
Shawn,
I know others have run into the problem of a pharmacy running out, too. I think I remember some people saying they discussed this with the head pharmacist, and let him/her know (nicely) that you'd be on this med for the long term, and could they please keep a supply for you. Some places only keep small amounts in inventory, and I think this is often due to the risk of robberies, etc. If it happens a lot, you might need to try another pharmacy.

Hope it works out for you!
PaLady
Posted 9/28/2008 10:23 PM (GMT -7)
I had to tell my pharmacy what my fill schedule was so that they could ensure to keep them on hand for my fill dates. It was exactly that reason that I told them. That way there's no even having to think about it. I would have been doing the same thing too...sitting it out till they were ready. I think you nailed it on the head in that we put ourself through misery sometimes just to make sure that we're not viewed poorly or like some potential abuser.

Palady was right on the mark though, I would say talk to the pharmacy to see what they suggest about how to handle it. Usually mine has been pretty cooperative in helping me out with information like that.
Posted 9/29/2008 5:23 PM (GMT -7)

This is just some of the fun we get to go through being on these meds.  As I've said before, try doing this with any other drug, ie diabetes or blood pressure and tell those people they have to work their vacations and travel plans around their refills and see what happens.  The stuff we have to put up with is ridiculous.  From my experience, my pharmacist special orders my meds every month since they are so expensive.  Over the last 5 years there have only been a few mix-ups when the medication didn't get ordered on time.  When that happens, I go to a family owned pharmacy that is a compounding and specialty pharmacy near the hospital.  They keep a huge stock of all meds including the ones I'm on, so I know the will almost always have it if I need it on short notice.

As far as vacations go, I try my hardest to plan mine around my refills because it is such a hassel to figure out a way around it.  When I first started pain management, my insurance allowed 2 early refills a year to cover vacations.  When I went to do that a few years ago, apparantly they had stopped doing that for narcotics. So between the doc, the pharmacy and the insurance, I just work around it.

Melissa

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