Pharmacy trying to dictate my meds

Hey, I’m kinda in panic mode. I’m on the fentynol patch for the issues I have with my neck. Today when I went to get them the pharmacist told me that they will not just keep refilling them for me. I see a pain specialist for this issue. If they take my patches away I will have NO quality of life. The only other option I have to fix the neck is a surgery that is risky & does not even have a good prognosis that it will even work. Plus because the way my neck is built the chances are it will happen again…
Have any of you had a pharmacy do this?

Do you have a prescription for the patch? If so, I wouldn't worry about what the pharmacist says. If they don't want to fill it get a copy of the prescription and take it to another Pharmacy. That may be easier said then done in some locations but where I live there is a Pharmacy on every other block it seems. His/Her comments were very rude and uncalled for and I would call his boss or if its a major Pharmacy I would contact their corporate office but they don't get to decide what they fill for you.

Of course I have a script. I go see my pain doc every month. I have to take in my used patches & the ones I have left so they can count them. I’m very closely monitored. Yeah we have pharmacy’s every where too. I live basically in Las Vegas. It was a Target pharmacy. I thought no way does a pharmacist have this right… He does not have a PhD last time I checked. I know they do a lot of schooling but they are NOT doctors. The pain I was in before these patches was so unbearable. I would loose function in my right arm all the way to my hand. Then I started having severe pain in my legs that was so annoying and constant it would make you crazy! These patches help me have any resemblance of a life at all. I understand they are a MAJOR drug but it’s the only thing that helps. It’s not like they make me high or something!

Thank you StaceyB!

I meant they are not MD’s I know they have PhD’s… Sorry was really upset.

So I read this on the NV pharmacy board.
A pharmacist may decline to fill a prescription if the pharmacist, in his or her professional judgment, believes that:

Filling the prescription would be unlawful;
Filling the prescription would be potentially harmful to the medical health of the patient;
The prescription is fraudulent; or
The prescription is not for a legitimate medical purpose.

I believe my pharmasist was saying it was for my health. Looks like I’ll be having to find a new pharmacy!

i dont think the pharmacy trumps doctor!!!! love and hugs to you

Shame shame on you pharmacist. You too will one day have script in hand in need of help and hopefully you will have a fair-minded pharmacist.

If you have a script no pharmacy can say they won’t fill it who are they to say what you can and can’t take they are not your doctor they just get paid to fill the scripts doctors write for us don’t let them walk all over you hang in there I would switch pharmacy hugs melissa

I feel for you. I really hope you were able to take care of this. I have neck issues and I know how painful it can be. I chose to fix mine when the orthopedic doctor said if not I would loose full function of my right arm and I also had the pain going down my legs. I had cervical fusion done (C 4,5 & 6) in 2007 and although it fixed the use of my arm I continue to have constant pain. The pain specialist I see wanted me off the hydrocodone I take daily (1 or 2 max, never more). She said the pain I feel is from taking the pain meds. I really doubted this, I started taking it due to the pain. Needless to say I couldn't do anything, I was in tears for days and my mom took me to doc and they gave them back to me. So, back to your issue, I have had to change pharmacy's when one had issues with me getting these every month. I understand they are just concerned but they do not know our medical history. And if its a choice between having to take pain meds everyday to function or stay in bed in pain, I choose the pain meds.

I really hope to got this all worked out.

Hi Jackie,

I am so sorry this is happening to you, to anyone! I think it all comes down to liability! I hope that your Doctor was able to resolve this for you and that you will no longer have this happen to you! What a slap in the face!

I take Morphine, and it has not happened to me personally, I have read a few posts on here where pharmacists have refused to continue to fill Oxycontin, never heard what happened when they went to their prescribing Physician!

Please let us know how this turned out!

Wishing you well,

SK

I will tell you that since I am allergic to codeine, my GP first prescrived 'Actiq', which is the Fentynol lolipop and when the Ortho surgeon referred me to a pain specialist/anestheologist there at Hopkins, he saw I was taking that and just raised hell, said it was only meant for 'end of life patients'. He screamed at me, called my GP and screamed at him. He said he could stop a heart beat with the dose I was taking!

This just keeps spinning around in my head. I have to wonder how many times our prescribing physicians have had to do battle with the pharmacies that we may be totally unaware of.

I go to an excellent GP in a very small town and fill my pain Meds in this small town. He must be at least 6’6" tall, with a good bit of weight in him. He is a very reasonable, gentle man. I have only heard him scream at someone once, defending a patient. And it was unforgettable. There may come a time when this is simply not enough.

It always seems to take a huge, well advertised law suit to begin to change such things.

To my knowledge, pharmacies do not have access to medical x-rays, or records, so how are they qualified to make such a life altering, endangering decision?

Problem with calling the reporters in on this is opening the real likelihood of home invasion to get this drug!

I have never seen an explanation of a condition or injury on a script, and I do not know if the prescribing physician is even allowed to disclose this.

With all the papers we continually sign for the privacy act, more and more I hear receptionists ask private information that the entire waiting room hear the responses to. I assure you that the day will come when I jump them about this! It may even be in defense of a complete stranger!

Though I have learned some diplomacy over the years, in my younger days, I was your girl as far as " most likely to start a revolution"!

I hope this matter has been satisfactorily settled and you were able to have your pain specialist come to your rescue.

Surely the pharmacies all have access to this action of refusing to fill this prescription, so until the physician is able to overstep this decision, I seriously doubt if simply changing pharmacies will be the answer.

So, where do we go from here?

I’m going to change all of my prescriptions to a different pharmacy. I’m still on the fence about contacting Target. I even talked to my cousin who is a pharmasist in NY & he said the pharmasist is out of line in making this decision. He said it’s not up to him, but between my physician & I. Of course if he thought I was getting them filled at different places & such, or thought they were illegal then he would have the right but this is no where near the case. Would you call his supervisor?

Yes, he was out of line!

Hi Jackie.This is unbelievable.

YES I strongly suggest you call his supervisor. Things like this cannot be let go unreported.It's a matter of principle. The reason I say this is my family has a lot of experience with fighting tooth and nail to get proper medical care. My nephew has Deuschaene Muscular Distrophy and severe Scoliosis. He is 21 years old and we're blessed to have him with us still. He was diagnosed when he was 2 and the doctors didn't expect him to live past the age of 15. we live in New Brunswick Canada so things are different but my sister is the reason he is still alive. He is basically in home palliative care and she is his sole care provider. His care requires hours of lung therapy,the handling and administering of liquid medication compounds of heavy duty drugs including morphine,lyrica heart meds ect.

Seven months ago her car got rear-ended and her pain level has risen to an almost incapacitating level at times. I've watched her get screwed around needlessly over the last 2 months by 2 incompitant doctors and 1 pharmacy.Her GP got it in her mind that her pain was all in her head and she CANCELLED HER PERCOCET prescription! Yesterday my parents went to see here doctor to show how concerned they were/are about her health so that hopefully this doctor would see that she's not a drug addict! She's been through horrible spinal injections...is waiting to get a second opinion from another pain specialist and she's suppose to go with no pain meds for another 2 weeks????She finally got a perscription from her today,thank God but seriously?

My point is that when it comes to any sort of narcotic pain medication these so called "professionals" are making snap decisions that impact our lives tremendously. It's all just another day at the office for them! And we have to grovel for our medication because they can't tell the difference between us and the common drug addict! This infuriates me! I'm sick of it and I'm sorry they put you through that.I know what that feels like.The desperation and panic wondering how the hell you'll get through without your meds.

I hope I didn't overwhelm but I think you have brought to light a serious situation that many of us face all too often and these "professionals" need to be brought down a peg so it doesn't continue to happen.

I hope you got things worked out;

Carolynxxxx

I didn’t know that pharmacist could usurp that kind of authority. I just stared the Fentynol path and they do random urine checks, tell you not to use any other pain med. I was taking morphine before the patch and have a good relationship with my pharmacy. I was told my the pain clinic doctor that if you go to ER they will refuse to give you anything for pain or anything that will react with it. They see it as you seeking meds and they refer you to the pain clinic. For me, that would be a problem because I am using the patch for back pain after surgery, neck and shoulder pain after surgery and pain from fibro and lupus. It only takes the edge off, but there are times when my back pain becomes excruciating. I would really call their corporate office if it’s one of those chain pharmacy as one member stated. Those that abuse these drugs make it hard for us who truly needed.