Posted by Emme on October 16, 2001, at 8:13:25
In reply to Big Brother At The Pharmacy, posted by Gracie2 on October 16, 2001, at 1:39:38
Eew, it's the pits having to go through such a rigid system. I've been luckier with my plan - I seem to have a few days leeway at the end of the prescription so I'm not down to the last pill when I refill. And when I've had upcoming trips and needed to be able to pack a couple of extra weeks' worth, they have *always* been able to get the insurance company to authorize what they called a "vacation override" or something like that so I wouldn't have to worry about refilling in some weird place. I know it's the insurance companies that set the policies, but I've also gotten lots of help from pharmacists who went to bat for me, got on the phone to the insurance company, and explained the need for an override.
Emme
> Well I went in to get a refill of my blood pressure medicine and my generic Xanax and the pharmacist told me it was too soon to refill the Xanax and to come back in 10 days. !@#$%&! I told her "Look I went on vacation this summer and ran out of medicine and I had a hell of a time getting a refill. What if I was going out of town, I can never have my prescription filled ahead of time?"
> She says, "No, you would have to have your prescription filled wherever it is that you're going."
> I said, "What if I'm going to Siberia? You think they have a Walgreen's on every street corner in Siberia? I would be totally screwed."
> She says I'm sorry but that's their policy.
> Damnation,first we have the HMOs and their primary physicians who have to give you a referral to see a specialist because you're not smart enough to know what kind of doctor you need. Now we have the pharmacies who won't refill a legit prescription one day ahead of time because you might have needed an extra pill every now and then for pain or anxiety. I'm
> not talking about blatant abuse, like trying to refill a month's worth of Vicodan every week. I'm referring to
> adults who are capable of judging when they need a little extra pain medication, i.e. after aggravating an injury, or another pill or two for anxiety, such as when your in-laws from Hell are in town or you catch your husband in bed with another woman or something like that. I'd say that deserves an extra pill or four and you don't need a doctor to tell you that. Also the last thing you need is to be caught up short on your medication at the end of the month when you're going to divorce court or prison, if you get my meaning.
>
> In some people's minds, adjusting their prescribed drug dosage is self-medication and they condemn this practice. I would like to address this issue too but I'll do it in a separate thread to spare the uninterested.
> -Gracie
poster:Emme
thread:81378
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011015/msgs/81389.html