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0 pointsmikeatlas7y ago0 comments

Controlled substance and cannot be prescribed more than 1mo supply at a time.

0 comments

I get a prescription for a 3 month supply of Vyvanse (amphetamine), 90 pills.

The real pain is in the pharmacies who love to power trip. The CVS near me got a new pharmacist who decided she didn't want to fill my prescription because I wanted to pay in cash (no insurance at the time). Didn't even offer to call up my doctor's office to confirm. Just a hard no and goodbye. Made me feel awful, like I was trying to cheat the system or something by paying the ridiculous retail price of $850 for a drug that cost me $20 when I had insurance.

Had to go across the road to Walgreens who never let me down.

What a hilariously stupid system we have making everyone feel like a criminal. I get anxiety all day when it's time to refill. A drug I've been taking for 10 years.

supertrope7y ago

To get what you want, you must first understand the perspective of others. Understand their motivations and incentives and then take the path of least resistance. Apparently pharmacists can be held personally liable for narcotic law violations. When you pay in cash instead of with an insurance claim you are not in the system. Not all cash payers are trouble, but a noticeably higher proportion of cash payers are trouble. The same goes for being a new patient/customer, saying you lost your bottle, or needing an early refill. Assholes who re-sell their methylphenidate are why DEA, docs, pharmacies, etc. are putting up barriers.

As you noted this can be hostile to the people who need to take their meds. You can get stuck in a vicious cycle where being in urgent need is interpreted as suspicious which leads to denials and lack of meds makes you more harried. It's worst for people who are physically dependent on their meds and will who go into withdrawl, pain, or become very unproductive.

melq7y ago

I've had similar experiences to OP, and I can also attest to the fact that it is absolutely obnoxious to be treated like a criminal in the normal course of filling your daily prescription.

Sometimes you have to travel for work, and because methylphenidate is such a threat to society (it isn't) you can't fill prescriptions out of state. So you talk to your doctor to get a special prescription with written instructions to allow it to be filled 4 days early (gasp!) so you can fill it before your trip. The pharmacist then rejects filling it for you, for reasons they refuse to explain.

I see a doctor in my home state, about an hour's drive from where I currently live. I see this doctor once every three months. I've seen him for 10 years. I would like to continue to see him. Recently I was put on a light sleep aid for anxiety reasons, I went to fill this prescription (which I have to do in the state that I see the doctor in). I was told my insurance only allows me to get a 2 week supply, and I'll have to come back in 2 weeks later to fill the rest of the 30 day prescription the doctor wrote. When I asked how much it would cost to just pay out of pocket, it was negligable, 20 dollars or so. When I asked to just pay for it myself to avoid making a long trip again 2 weeks later, the pharmacist decided to deny giving me anything.

prepend7y ago

I thought controlled substances required eprescribing, but they aren’t per the DEA. They are allowed though. [0]

It must just be some health systems require it as policy.

[0] https://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/ecomm/e_rx/faq/faq.htm

nickthegreek7y ago

It is a huge pain. Even if your prescriber gives you 3 prescriptions (1 month each, which I think is the maximum amount of time for a controlled substance in a single prescription), the entity that is fulfilling that order is not allowed to hold onto the other 2 for future fulfillment.

racecar7897y ago

Yeah the doc can put a "do not fill before [date]" and schedule scripts out for three months.

Both CVS and Rite-Aid have an arcane system where controlled prescriptions are kept "offline". Their websites will not show the scripts as available to refill even if the doc has prescribed ahead of time. So one has to call to confirm the script was received, then call every month a refill is needed.

But even worse...Rite-Aid requires a mandatory 30 day wait (per 30 day script). So that means on the day of refill...one needs to rush over early in the morning to get the refill, otherwise will risk missing a dose.

CVS is a little better, allowing a 3-5 day early fill. But they also have their secret "offline" system for controlled substances. It's still a royal pain.

So for Amazon...very little effort is required to succeed...simply show scripts that the doctor has sent over on their website...and offer a 2-5 day early fill....CVS/Rite-Aid won't stand a chance....

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