Hostile Pharmacist.

I moved and had to change pharmacies.
I took my prescription in and the pharmacist
looked at my record and said "Wow!"
He was young - just out of pharm school, I'd guess.
He started bad mouthing my pain doctor for the script as he wrote it.
Pharmacist said, "You take four now - next thing it will be 6 - and then 8.
It's never ending."
I agreed that my pain would not have an end. EVER.
He said, "There was an article in the paper about five months ago
about the dangers of Methadone. Do you know it used to be given
to Heroin Addicts??!"
(He should do more in-depth reading then the newspaper.)
He gave me the Opiod 1A lecture.
(I've taken Opiods for 7 years now)
I know he's gonna flag my chart.
He said, "You should try the pain pump."
(I don't want to try the pain pump.)

ok ... I understand that he's a jerk.
I know he's showing off.
But the thing is ...
Can he get my doctor in trouble with the DEA?
Can he get me in trouble with my doctor?
Can I change pharmacies next time I have a prescription filled? (or will it look like
I'm running or something.)

Tomorrow I go to my pain doctor.
He prescribes 4 Methadone a day and 2 Morphine IR a day.
I also take Xanax but none of them are close together.

At least it's not snowing where I am.

Pamela Neckpain

Rod,
Thank you.
You're up late. In pain? I am.
I think that dam pharmacist tightened all the muscles of my neck
and back.
You are right. It's sensless to worry about what might happen.
I'll look around for a new pharmacist. I'll never like this
jerk. In the past my pharmacists have been great. Honestly, they
have been my best friends. (I'm short of friends. Don't get out much)
I'm glad you answered. I will now get my special pillow, my heated
blanket and .... some bed socks and go to my sleep. I hope.
Take care,
Pamela Neckpain has left the building. And is still taking additional comments
on my evil pharmacist.

 

 

Pamela,

How do u think I feel?  I take 12 methadone a day and up to 4 Oxycodone 15mg. a day!!! My old pharmacist at a major chain (rhymes with allbreens) used to pull me into the conference part of the pharmacy every time I went in there....Just to ask me if I knew the side effects of taking this medication....Duh?  I've been taking methadone for a long time and he knows that..

 

Your young guy would probobaly have a stroke if I came in to his store....Ha Ha

 

Don't worry about him, he can't do anything unless you are doing something wrong...and you aren't.....

 

Me.

Pam,
I would tell my Doc what happened. What he said was directed more at your Doc than at you. If your Doc has any pride in his job, he will call the pharmacy and talk to this punk! Don't let it get to you, you did NOTHING wrong!
Pete

I would be so upset, I commend you for not raising yourself to his lower level. But, I would definitely, at the minimum, report him to his superior, if thats possible. Your a much calmer person than I would have been. I would be so upset, I probably would have broke down in tears. I know when I left I would have started calling ranks. He has no business judging you. He's probably a just pharm tech. I'd let your normal pharmacist know what happened. If you have been going there that long, they should know you. My pharmacists know me, and he is very sensitive..... fills my rxs right away so I am not waiting in pain. I have only been going to mine for 3 years & they know me. I know yours has to know you by now. Don't let him take a minute away from your thoughts, you are a GREAT person, I just know that you are. You are always one of the first to chime in with help or advice.... don't let him make you feel bad because you are wonderful. Who cares if you take methadone? We all have some sort of medical cabinet. What if you had cancer? Who gives him that right to judge you? I think you are wonderful, and someday he will have back pain & understand how it is to really hurt. I'm sure you are not the only one he has made a negative comment to- make his boss know what he said, he has no right to judge a DOCTORS subscription who had much more schooling than he did! Don't you worry about him for one minute...... we all love you! (((extra hugs))) Good luck!

Pamela,

I'm so happy to hear that your doctor won't put up with this nonsense with your new pharmacy either! You don't deserve all the problems they gave you, and you should NOT have to tolerate them. You have a legit pain condition (actually more than one! ), a legit pain management doctor, and a legit prescription, and you are in no way abusing your medication or the system, so you should not be treated like a criminal. It is wonderful that your doc is willing to "put them in their place" for you!

And I really commend you for getting across everything you needed to to your doc. I'm awful at conveying everything I want to. Even with lists and notes, and having thought about what I wanted & needed to say to my doctor beforehand, I still usually leave the office & then realize I forgot to mention one thing or another, or didn't stress something enough. I just tend to smile the entire time, no matter how upset, etc I am, I just kind of freeze. It's like I am afraid to show them the real me, problems & all. This has been going on for years and years, ever since I was very little. I think I must have had a bad experience or something one time when I was young. It is something I have to constantly be conscious of & work on. I've definitely gotten much better at conveying my real feelings & thoughts, and talking to my doctors since developing this CP and associated problems several years ago, but I sometimes I still leave my doctor's appointments kicking myself. That's partly why I left my PM and switched back to my pcp; my PM, while he was nice & generally understanding, he just always had his hand on the door to leave as soon as he got in the room, and so I found that he was very hard to talk to & I never said everything I needed to, and always left upset. My pcp is just wonderful. He is so easy to talk to. He'll literally sit there for an hour talking with me, and never act rushed in the least bit. Plus he always gives me a big hug at the end & tells me to keep fighting, and that one of these days we are going find something that works for me. I wish all doctors were that easy to talk to!

Skeye

Post Edited (skeye) : 1/13/2009 9:36:59 PM (GMT-7)

I'm laughin' PaLady. Yes, my rockin' doctor is the one who sings and NEVER talks.
I believe he gets his information through extrasensory means. Sometimes musical
people have that power, I think. My husband said, "Maybe he's a genius." Well ...
Hmmmm.....

Skeye: I've learned that nobody (no doctor anyway) wants to hear the full extent
of my associated psychological and even physical problems. I keep my discussion
to ONE subject and try to stay concise. I always leave with unanswered questions.
I guess I've learned that doctors just don't know. If they do know, they may not
say. And if they do know or do not know, I might not want to hear.
Pamela
Keep fighting, Skeye

PNP,

I had a new pharmacist like that once. I was a long time, many script a month customer for at least 10 years, until they hired a brandy new just graduated pharmacy school pharmacist, who decided that she would NOT fill my oxycontin at that time. In fact, surprisingly, every single time she was on duty, the pharmacy would mysteriously be out of oxycontin and they "had to order it"....despite my calling the night before I knew that I would need to get a new script from my doctor, and they had it in , just waiting for me to come in the next day.....seems that this particular pharmacist didn't like oxycontin, and I had been on it for over a year by that point.

I pointed out to her, that I had never gotten or requested an early fill, never claimed to have lost any of the script, never did anything that I was not supposed to do, and that she could very well see that I filled on the same date ( nearly give or take a day) each month...

I went to her supervisor who told me that she had the "right" to refuse to fill a script.....for any reason, in fact didn't have to have a reason....I promptly informed the pharmacy manager that I would take mine, my husband's and four childrens scripts elsewhere from that point on.

I contacted the main office of the company and got a similar reply....in fact, my doctor's office now tells it's patients NOT to go to this pharmacy, which has  AID as it's last name......

straydog susie,
I'm staying at the same pharmacy because my strong advocate of an MD actually
told me to stay put. But ...

Big but here:

He said if there was any problem in the future he would visit the pharmacist in
person and get things straightened out. He had fire in his eyes when he said it.
: ))
Now with a doctor like that I surely want to follow his suggestions. He is prescribing
and keeping me from the endless sleep. That's important. : )
My doctor said that the pharmacist had the right to know what is wrong with me.
He gave me the papers from my last office visit -- 8 pages, I think! They
didn't say much of anything interesting but they were there and all filled out.
I think he's watching his steps. He needs to be careful in this anti-pain med world.
I will do my own advocacy after the inauguration as PaLady suggested. I hope
I'm not just talkin. I better put my fingers where my mouth is.
Pamela
The contract says "don't change pharmacies" I believe that could set up a flag
on the chart - don't want that! I want little halos & wings doodled on the edge of my
pages.

Mrsm's post reminded me we should all have a heads up about what I think was a last minute executive order (or maybe a piece of Congressional legislation...can't remember) allowing pharmacists and others to refuse to prescribe things they're uncomfortable with. I don't know the wording of this. I know it was mainly targeted toward pregnancy kinds of things that are off topic for here (and I don't want to get that debate started!) but I wonder if it's also going to apply to pain meds???? Anyone follow this more closely?

If it's an executive order (which means signed by the President) it may be quickly rescinded by the new President. I never thought it may also be interpreted to apply to pain meds, but again I'm not sure of this.

And straydog you're so right we should be able to go to any pharmacy, but my insruance plan no longer allows that as it's a "host hospital" policy that requires now we use the hospital's pharmacy. I think increasing hospitals are mandating this for their employees because it gives them more money. And since it's the employer that contracts with the insurance company, they can make whatever contract they want. So I'm stuck with this lousy hospital pharmcy which is already causing me problems. I so miss my CVS crew. And yes, it's a chain, but I think it may relate to the fact I live in a small town and there's only two pharmacies. Both are chains. They've driven the mom & pop's out of business, but they have to compete for our business and in a small town it doesn't take much to drive a person to the pharmacy across the street (literally). I really loved my pharmacists at CVS, and one is leaving to go to medical school and I made her promise to take my name and number and when she comes back to practice (in several years, unfortunately!) I want to go to her!

PaLady

I live in a small southern town where drug addiction is more the norm than not. They keep an eye on everything here. Currently there is only one doctor that will prescribe narcotic or benzo type drug. Luckily he is my doc, lol The pharmacies here will ID everyone that gets a script filled and will not give the meds to anyone but the person they are prescribed to. I go to a small mom and pop pharmacy that works with us. After coming out to our Explorer the first time I got something filled there they realized that I was unable to walk in anywhere and they let my husband or my kids pick my stuff up. They close at 6pm and since I go to one doctor that is 180 miles from me, they will come and fill mine after hours if needed. It is really sad that the ones that don't follow the rules and laws have done nothing but make it difficult for us that do.

If you go to one pharmacy after another then it will be seen as drug seeking behavior but with what you had happen, as long as you let your doc know where you are going I think he will understand. He sounds like a great doc!

This crap that was pulled on Pam still grates on my nerves,lol. My Contract with my pain dr says one pharmacy-this I totally agree with & understand. But, not for one moment would I go to one such as what Pam does. End of story. There are far too many pharmacies out here wanting business. Mine is a big chain too. In fact, at the end of the counter where you pick up script is a standng stop sign that says to stand behind it until the person at the counter has finished their business, due to privacy laws. Then you are called to the counter. None of this yelling out crap either. For Pam's sake I do sincerely hope she has no more confrontations with the idiot, I do hope her dr would pay a visit but I find that doubtfull when it come down to the brass tacks of things. And I still would be making a call to the higher ups at that pharmacy about the jerks attitude. I also know we all handle confrontations and things of that nature differently. I guess I worked around professionals for so long that I am no longer intimidated by them as many people are. I have no problem telling anyone, a dr or whoever in a very diplomatic way that they are out. lol. Have done this a few times and would do it again.... hey they put their pants on just like us-one leg at a time......Susie