When your Rx refill is late

Murrmurr

Murrmurr

SF VIP
Location
Sacramento, California
I requested a refill of my Norco 3 days ago. I didn't request too early; I had 1 day's worth left.

I get emails when I request too early, and that goes on my record, which I assume the Overlords can see.

But anyway, 2 days ago, I got an email from the Dr's office confirming the Rx order was sent to my pharmacy, but when I went to My RiteAid pharmacy yesterday, they said they didn't get an order.

I called RiteAid this morning and they still don't have it. So I emailed the Drs office.

Meanwhile, 2 days ago, my sister procured a Rx bottle of Gabapentin, 600mg. I took 2 of those last night and it knocked me out for 4 hours. I woke up in my recliner at 2am, and staggered into the kitchen to make food for Pixel (my cat). He has to have his food put through a blender, and it's canned food, but he chokes on it, so I have to make it into soup.

I managed that ok, but man, I was woozy. after that, I stumbled off to bed.

I took only 1 Gabapentin 600mg this morning, and it hits the pain just fine, but I feel like I've had 3 or 4 shots of whiskey. I don't like that because I'm alone. Meesh and Bonny are at work and won't be home til this evening.

I've had to correct about 15 typos and 4 spelling errors because I type like I type when I'm drunk.
 

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Murrmurr said:
I took only 1 Gabapentin 600mg this morning, and it hits the pain just fine, but I feel like I've had 3 or 4 shots of whiskey. I don't like that because I'm alone. Meesh and
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@Murrmurr , sorry to hear you're prescription refill is in some kind of limbo, I'm still waiting for my Ventolin refill I put in for, a couple weeks ago.

Back when I thought there was an actual remedy for the numbness in my feet due to Peripheral Neuropathy, my doctor said "oh yea, we can fix that" and prescribed 300mg Gabapentin. I felt groggy and brain dead, but I was still working at the time and had to function and have my wits about me. I took the Gabapentin for 3 weeks and couldn't stand it anymore, so I quit it, particularly since the Gabapentin did not help my Peripheral Neuropathy numbness at all.

It's good that the Gabapentin helped your pain and sleep, running out of Norco abruptly could put the hurt on you.
 
Gabapentin never did a thing for me. Neither did Tramadol or Meloxicam. I stay away from narcotics after the episode I had in the hospital after my back surgery. I couldn’t even remember my name. They tried a lot of different narcotics on me, but none worked well.

Best thing I take now for pain is the little green capsules of Advil. I take 2 of them and go to bed.
 
Frank, call your doctor and tell him that you had to use a different medicine and are having a bad reaction. I’m sure your proper prescription will be filled in a flash.

Whatever you do, don’t drive to the pharmacy. You’re in no condition to do that.
 
It's awful that the problem with the refill, happened in the first place, and has put you through all of that, @Murrmurr

I know what you mean; if we order with only a day or 2 or 3 left, we might not get the actual refill till long past when we're completely out. :(
For one of various reasons, including that the pharmacy or dr office, might mess up, like yours do; or if there's a major storm, or if we have trouble retrieving it.....even if it's a totally sensible and predictable reason, such as days that the pharmacy is closed, and days when our own transport is not available, a major holiday or a terrible storm prediction, etc, etc.....
No, they still do not give it one day sooner. I get 7 days. I don't get 2 or 3.

Then, like you said, if we try to order one day too soon, they refuse it totally.
Ugh.

I hope you get the script filled that works better for you, very soon, Frank!

And on the other topic in this thread, Gabapentin has been recommended to me, by a few different doctors, and my leeriness to try it, did not improve, after reading these experiences that you and the other posters have had with it.:confused:
 
Nathan said:
@Murrmurr , sorry to hear you're prescription refill is in some kind of limbo, I'm still waiting for my Ventolin refill I put in for, a couple weeks ago.

Back when I thought there was an actual remedy for the numbness in my feet due to Peripheral Neuropathy, my doctor said "oh yea, we can fix that" and prescribed 300mg Gabapentin. I felt groggy and brain dead, but I was still working at the time and had to function and have my wits about me. I took the Gabapentin for 3 weeks and couldn't stand it anymore, so I quit it, particularly since the Gabapentin did not help my Peripheral Neuropathy numbness at all.

It's good that the Gabapentin helped your pain and sleep, running out of Norco abruptly could put the hurt on you.
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Yeah, the Gabi numbs the pain just fine, but I've felt stupid drunk all day....when I've been awake that is.

It really sucks because I have a cat, some fish, and a house to take care of. Poor things.

Actually, the cat and fish got fed, but I'll wait to eat when Meesh gets home. I texted her so she'll probably pick up some take-out or whatevber.
 
Jules said:
Frank, call your doctor and tell him that you had to use a different medicine and are having a bad reaction. I’m sure your proper prescription will be filled in a flash.

Whatever you do, don’t drive to the pharmacy. You’re in no condition to do that.
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Still feeling really drunk, and that's after a 3hr nap!

I downed a 5-hour and called the doc's office. They sent the order to the wrong pharmacy and I messaged them about that already.

Anyway, just got off the phone w/them. They sent it Urgent to my RiteAid, and my daughter-in-law will pick it up for me when it's ready.

I am not touching that 600mg Ganipentin ever again. It has staying power, that's for sure - I still feel like I just got home from a long night at the bar.
 
Murmurr, you are being much too "nice" about this. You should not be sending polite emails to your doctor, and waiting for answers via email. You should have called the doctor's office and the pharmacy immediately and raised holy hell, especially when the doctor said the order had been sent and the pharmacy said they had not received it.

I've been in a similar situation and found that the more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are to get your prescription very quickly. If the pharmacy said they had not received the order, you should have said, "Here's my doctor's phone number. I'll wait while you call him and see what the holdup is." It's amazing how effective that is.

How they can treat a patient's need for his medications so cavalierly is beyond me. They really don't care, so you have to MAKE them care!
 
I call my pharmacy 6 days in advance. Most of my 'scripts are Brand only, so they require some time to order.
They don't always keep them in stock.

But, at times when things go haywire...look out. I'm on the phone w/the doctor/pharmacy or whomever.
I'll fax everybody if I have to. 🥳
 
Murrmurr said:
I requested a refill of my Norco 3 days ago. I didn't request too early; I had 1 day's worth left.

I get emails when I request too early
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I stumbled into a nice situation
Those in control accepted my request to order ahead, when we lived in the mountains and came to town once a month, and even less if we got snowed in

As it stands, I'm able to reorder when I have 90 days left of my meds

One time there was 270 count on my prescriptions
Told the pharmacist I wanted 'em all
She tried to talk me out of it
Told her I wasn't too sure they would have them when I needed 'em next
This was during the pandemic

Have yet to see that qty since
 
Murrmurr said:
I requested a refill of my Norco 3 days ago. I didn't request too early; I had 1 day's worth left.

I get emails when I request too early, and that goes on my record, which I assume the Overlords can see.

But anyway, 2 days ago, I got an email from the Dr's office confirming the Rx order was sent to my pharmacy, but when I went to My RiteAid pharmacy yesterday, they said they didn't get an order.

I called RiteAid this morning and they still don't have it. So I emailed the Drs office.

Meanwhile, 2 days ago, my sister procured a Rx bottle of Gabapentin, 600mg. I took 2 of those last night and it knocked me out for 4 hours. I woke up in my recliner at 2am, and staggered into the kitchen to make food for Pixel (my cat). He has to have his food put through a blender, and it's canned food, but he chokes on it, so I have to make it into soup.

I managed that ok, but man, I was woozy. after that, I stumbled off to bed.

I took only 1 Gabapentin 600mg this morning, and it hits the pain just fine, but I feel like I've had 3 or 4 shots of whiskey. I don't like that because I'm alone. Meesh and Bonny are at work and won't be home til this evening.

I've had to correct about 15 typos and 4 spelling errors because I type like I type when I'm drunk.
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That's a high dose of Gabapentin if you haven't started out on a lower dose. I take 400 mg twice a day and 500 or 600 near bedtime. It will knock you for a loop if you're not used to it.

It takes a few weeks to get used to it and the Dr. starts you out on a lower dose like 300 mg.
 
This might be a example of why some people get into trouble .... if in pain or having issues etc they may try other solutions due to the RX not filled. taking someone else's medication playing with natural or holistic solutions .

My spouse has several heart medications the doctor office twice sent to wrong pharmacy but somehow they could not UNDO that he had to drive 15 miles to get medicine .... the next time he had set up to correct pharmacy and only could get one month ... his insurance then said maintenance drugs had to be mail order took 2 weeks to get to him he was short of breath and had issues but they seemed less concerned with that then their paperwork....... the next time to be filled they sent an IOU for 2 important medications like he could just wait..... gets worse all the time thank good i am not on meds or i would be scorched earth on this BS.
 
Ruthanne said:
That's a high dose of Gabapentin if you haven't started out on a lower dose. I take 400 mg twice a day and 500 or 600 near bedtime. It will knock you for a loop if you're not used to it.

It takes a few weeks to get used to it and the Dr. starts you out on a lower dose like 300 mg.
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Yes, I tried 300mg before. The wooziness never went away and it didn't help the leg syndromes, so doc put me back on Norco. I think I gave it about 3 weeks, as advised.

I shouldn't have taken the 600mg, but at least it hit the pain, which can get intolerable.

Jeni said:
This might be a example of why some people get into trouble .... if in pain or having issues etc they may try other solutions due to the RX not filled. taking someone else's medication playing with natural or holistic solutions .

thank good i am not on meds or i would be scorched earth on this BS.
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I sure feel bad for your husband. It sucks big time to be reliant on opioids these days because of the strict Overlords. But I've tried several alternatives through my doctor, who now must answer to the Overlords.

Norco is the only med that reduces the pain so it's tolerable for a few hours and doesn't make me foggy and/or unsteady on my feet. Plus, it relieves Restless Leg Syndrome and at least minimizes the leg-foot cramps I get every day.

I take a total of 50mg/day, which isn't the maximum, but I'm trying really hard to keep the dosage as low as possible.

Yeah, it's total BS
 
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Sunny said:
Murmurr, you are being much too "nice" about this. You should not be sending polite emails to your doctor, and waiting for answers via email. You should have called the doctor's office and the pharmacy immediately and raised holy hell, especially when the doctor said the order had been sent and the pharmacy said they had not received it.

I've been in a similar situation and found that the more aggressive you are about it, the more likely you are to get your prescription very quickly. If the pharmacy said they had not received the order, you should have said, "Here's my doctor's phone number. I'll wait while you call him and see what the holdup is." It's amazing how effective that is.

How they can treat a patient's need for his medications so cavalierly is beyond me. They really don't care, so you have to MAKE them care!
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Yeah, well I wasn't very polite 2 hours ago, when I called both the Dr's office and the pharmacy.

Still nothing, tho. Maybe because I wasn't very polite :p . Like, really not. Now the office is closed.

It's not the doctor's fault, someone on her staff effed up, so I'm going to call the doc tomorrow (I have her private number) and tell her what happened and to straighten her staff out.
 
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It's been 12 hours since I took that 600mg Gabapentin, and I downed a 5-hr about an hour ago. I'm feeling a bit better. Still foggy and I'm starting to hurt, and my Rx still isn't at the pharmacy, so I have to get by with just Ibuprophen til morning. Meesh has work in the morning, but Bonnie doesn't go in til the afternoon. She'll help me out.
 
Sunny said:
Murmurr, you are being much too "nice" about this.
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By the way, I don't know why you think I was too "nice." True, I was polite when I emailed my request for reorder (it's not refillable, has to be re-ordered), as usual: "Please reorder my Norco Rx....Thanks."

I've always requested it via email at their website. For years.

I was not forthcoming with the pleases and thank yous when I had to call the office, especially after I was told the reorder went to the wrong pharmacy. I wasn't mean or obscene, because that's never helpful, but I was quite stern. I was angry. This happened because someone was too lazy to check what pharmacy I use. They have to go to page 2 for that on their computers. I pointed this out.

I honestly doubt this oversight will be repeated.
 
Norco is a narcotic because it contains an opiate of Hydrocodone or Vicodin. I took Vicodin and Percocet for a short term due to a severe injury. I couldn't stand the way it made me feel, so I asked for something milder and was given Tramadol, which didn't do any good at all. I finally decided to put up with the pain until the pain finally stopped. It took about 3 months.

I have found that you have to keep checking on pharmacies when you get low on your medication and make sure they have received a new prescription. Don't wait until you run out. I had really bad pain one night and went to the emergency room and almost had to beg to get a shot of something to ease the pain. The doctor finally gave me a shot of Dilauded, which brought the pain level down to a level of 3.
 
I had my doc phone in prescription to a mom 'n pop; they filled it; now CVS begging for my business. Too late, they've been effing with the wrong person. Rite Aid in same situation as CVS; both undergoing gov't scrutiny and passing their paranoia on to the "client."
 
The drug addicts added to the problems of the drugstores. There was never a problem with getting scripts filled until the addicts started writing their own prescriptions and going from drugstore to drugstore until one would fill it. They do the same with doctors and hospitals.

Most states now keep a database on patients and doctors and keep an eye on who is handing out more pills and writing more prescriptions. They used to call doctors that wrote a lot of scripts for narcotic pills “pill mills.” A patient would give a doctor maybe $200 and receive a script for 100 pills of Oxycodine or another narcotic.

It’s the people that really need the pain medication that has been hurt by all the doctor and hospital shopping that the addicts have done the most harm to.
 
Murrmurr, the second you said, "RiteAid" (RA), that's where the problem was. I have a RA app on my phone. If you use the script info on the bottles for refills, it rarely matches what is on the app. Back in the olden days when RXs were written out, supposedly they never got them, but I handed it in. RA is a lot better, now; but I still have an emergency stash of 3-4 days meds, just in case.
BTW, I used to take gab. 1200 mg. X4. It never bothered me. Now I'm down to 600mg. x3. Gab. adds weight. For every 400mg, weight gain is ten pounds. I lost 20 lbs., when my gab. was decreased.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
Murrmurr, the second you said, "RiteAid" (RA), that's where the problem was. I have a RA app on my phone. If you use the script info on the bottles for refills, it rarely matches what is on the app. Back in the olden days when RXs were written out, supposedly they never got them, but I handed it in. RA is a lot better, now; but I still have an emergency stash of 3-4 days meds, just in case.
BTW, I used to take gab. 1200 mg. X4. It never bothered me. Now I'm down to 600mg. x3. Gab. adds weight. For every 400mg, weight gain is ten pounds. I lost 20 lbs., when my gab. was decreased.
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Interesting that you can handle Gabapentin. My sister can, too. She takes it for Rheumatoid Arthritis. I wonder why some people can't handle it. I know it acts on the receptors of the brain so I have to guess not all brain receptors are alike....which is what I find interesting.

My RiteAid has always been very very good to me. There was one incident with a trainee several months ago when my doc changed the directions on the label to 3 or 4 per day, and this trainee swore I had 2 weekss to go when I didn't. It was stupid and she really pissed me off when she refused to call the doc to get clarification.

I called my doc and the doc called her, I filed a formal complaint w/RA headquarters, and the trainee was moved to another location or retraining or whatever. I got my refill and haven't had a problem since.
 
Pepper said:
I had my doc phone in prescription to a mom 'n pop; they filled it; now CVS begging for my business. Too late, they've been effing with the wrong person. Rite Aid in same situation as CVS; both undergoing gov't scrutiny and passing their paranoia on to the "client."
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We don't have any of those anymore. I doubt there's one in the entire mommy/daddy state.
 

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