fozzyb

Metric bread in an imperial toaster?

SultanOfSwing

Saved you from yourself, there, didn't I?

Nutek

So close.

Hotscot

So Mrs Hotscot had some surgery, opened up the back of her heel, pushed the tendons to the side, got out the DeWalt, and cut of a lump of bone that's been giving her trouble the past year. (Bone spur).

The surgeon prescribed a specific narcotic painkiller, a controlled substance in the pharmacies here. There's a special process on how they deal with such prescriptions.

I call.
"I have a prescription for Hydrocodone."
'Sorry we can't discuss that over the phone."
"What?"
"It's a controlled substance..we can't discuss it on the phone."
"What do I do then?"
"You'll have to come in"
10 mile drive but, "Oh, ok, no problem."
10 miles later. Face to face. "Hello we spoke on the phone..I have this prescription."
"Oh yes, we don't have that in stock."
"Wuh? You couldn't have told me?"
"No, sorry, we're not allowed."
"How can I get it then?"
"You can drive to another pharmacy but they may not have it."
"Can I call them to check?"
"No. Sorry, they're not allowed to discuss it over the phone."
"Can you call for me?"
"Sorry. Not allowed."
"Well how can I get it?"
"You just have to keep checking back...sorry."

Pulaski

WTF!

Had you considered an "independent source" for narcotic medication? .... It's easier to get hold of, and probably cheaper too.

Hotscot

Easier maybe...but remember, good teacher benefits.

Mrs Danvers

So is that the pharmacy in questions policy or a state policy?

Hotscot

State I believe, unless it's Federal? I don't know..

Pulaski

Likely federal as that is where the US government usually gets its knickers in a twist over drugs. Ironically it could also be driven by the laws governing telecommunications, the laws that give us the delights of "wire fraud" when any telegraphic communication regarding a fraud is communicated over a "wire".

moneypenny20

Sounds like a 'WTF America' rather than a peeve that's really dumb. Hope your wife heals (!)fast.

Mrs Danvers

That seems ridiculous. It seems each year the DEA come out with new improved rules regarding the dispense of narcotics. All they do is make it far more difficult for people legitimately trying to obtain them and it makes people in pain suffer unnecessarily. Real abusers do get their drugs "dispensed" on the street. I hope it's not a new DEA rule.

And best wishes to Mrs H.

scrubbedexpat097

You need to call the Dr's office and explain what has happened and get them to find you a pharmacy that has some.

Are you trying the big chain pharmacies or the smaller independent ones?

Jerseygirl

I don't know if this applies only in NJ...when you buy OTC meds you have to produce photo ID and sign electronically for them. The info is then kept on a NJ data base to prevent people from going to another pharmacy down the road to buy more.

Pulaski

Near the end of last year the DEA moved opiate painkillers from Schedule 3 to Schedule 2 of the Controlled Substances Act, greatly restricting the supply of such drugs.

Agreed, but the DEA is concerned about the transfer of drugs from the legitimate prescription holders to "the street". It is not uncommon for people to sell their prescription drugs, so reducing the supply to a few pills on a short prescription is intended to reduce the number of pills available for sale. Inevitably that is going be more inconvenient for all prescription holders, including those who don't abuse their drugs or sell them.

I used to know someone who had several severe medical issues and had been severely short-changed by the Social Security system (she was disabled, and when her husband had a stroke they halved her money to give her husband half - so their joint income was just over $500/mth! ) So you can imagine what she did when approached by someone (presumably a dealer) to sell some of her "spare" medications.

I see on-line that Costco is a major retailer of such drugs in CA, so much so that the DEA is investigating their dispensing activities.

Hotscot

Yes, I'll probably have to do that.
Large and small. Even Costco didn't have them. And they're usually well supplied.

(Thanks for all the kind words.)