Cannot Get My Methadone Script Filled In Jacksonville Florida (Page 3)
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Because the DEA is Treating pharmacies like drug Dealers and blocking their supply chain, I cannot find any Pharmacy in Jacksonville FL. That has it in stock. My Doctor has Be practicing medicine for over 30 years & I've been under his care for 8 years. And never used to have any problem getting my medication, but now the DEA is Treating big pharmacies like CVS just like Drug Dealers. So the sick disabled People living in Chronic pain are suffering. This will never Change. Made if Enough People call their Senators and Congress People and complain every day it might work. I've been doing it I Wish more People would do the same. Something has got to Change. If you are not having a problem. Get ready the DEA is more powerful now than Ever before. PLEASE help

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My brother was on methadone and norco, doc cut him off methadone cold turkey and cut his norco in half,doc told him the dea stopped letting drs prescribe methadone and no more than 60 pain pills per month

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So now after many months of research and lots of detective work at mom and pop pharmacies, im convinced thats its not a shortage. Just like the DEA says. There is more than enough medication , to go around. But contrary to what your pharmacy is telling you they can get the products they just prefer not to. And here is why in a nutshell.
Prior to the DEA closing down all the PILL MILLS the pharmacies were filling stacks and stacks of controlled substance and or narcotic prescriptions and a majority of the patients were paying CASH to get those prescriptions filled. At a pretty penny I might add. If my memory serves me correctly, approximately 120 tabs of 80 mg Oxycontin would be about $700 OR MORE easy.
So multiply that one prescription numerous times daily and the pharmacies were really making a good little profit. That kind of money made it worth the trouble of dealing with the problems of filling those medications. And we all know all too well the certain sketchy patients AND their families AND their friends AND aquaintances that often come along to the dr.visit and subsequent pharmacy fill.
Well, now that there arnt so many drs writing so many.prescriptions, all thats left are the critically ill, and bonifide injured and or ill, pain management patients and most of them carry prescription insurance by the way, not cash. So theres another down side, its a case of economics. Its just not worth the trouble to carry and fill these medications. For example. A bottle of 300 tablets of 10 mg methadone costs about $50. Considering all the other medications out there, and the hazards involved in dispensing them its really obvious why the pharmacies are doing what their doing. I mean why keep them in stock when all were going to make is maybe $400 but the possibility of getting robbed and or killed is very real?
I dont agree with it, and I think its wrong, but I honestly cant think of anything to do about it especially when you add dea quotas to the mix. Each pharmacies is only allowed so many tablets of each controlled substance medication each month. And its not a huge amount. Its about a bottle of 500 I think. And it changes frequently. If one customer gets 300 pills, he can run out after 2 customers!!!!! Now you CAN BLAME THE DEA FOR THAT CRAP!!!
All I can suggest is try to form a relationship with a pharmacist prior to the day you get your prescription. Go in and explain your situation 2 wks in advance. So they can get to know you. Unfortunately this medication has created a scary environment for many pharmacies. Many have lost their lives over these pills. And....fill more than just your pain meds there also to make it worth their while. Good luck BTW Yes I live in Jax. Arlington area.

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IT'S A SHORTAGE CAUSED BY THE D.E.A. AND IT'S ONLY GETTING WORSE. WE ALL SHOULD CALL YOUR SENATORS &CONGRESS PERSON & STATE REPRESENTATIVE & THE GOVERNOR.(COMPLAIN EVERYDAY)!!!! THEY NEED YOUR VOTE TO KEEP THERE JOB. LET THEM KNOW IT

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how is it i have been with my current dr for five years i never had a problem getting my script filled i always get them filled at the same pharmacy but they say there a shortage of narcartics

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I used to live I'm Jax FLA & was able to get my methadone & vicadin at Premier on the corner of 8th & market (its actually on 8th st. Between Market street & Hubbard street In Jax) look up this pharmacy & get directions etc. i know this post is a few months old but i hope it will help someone!!

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Oh, sorry, yes they changed the formula of those because AGAIN the abusers of these types of medicine screwed it up for all the rest of us legitimately hurt people that actually needed it....I'm not worried about that specific kind of medicine, but all the others that actually work that they might change that are helping and Don't have crappy side effects...

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Hi WendyLou, actually, it's been a heck of a month. Hurt my ankle Sept 1st, then on Sept 27th, I fell down rickety (unsafe) apt stairs since I live on the 2nd floor in Jax Mandarin area FL (rain today but I still think beautiful weather-it's not so hot!!!), well as I was saying, I fell down the rickety, never fixed stairs -from the top of them-, and landed on my freaking jaw/head...I (thank God I am not dead or paralyzed) but I do NOW have a matching neck brace, can still barely talk or move much...I have lots to say to you as well but I know I've already said to much already. I'm about to say more even though I am afraid too...Anyways, yes moving on, they censor all the things I write and have removed parts many times, not just names, email addresses, etc,..Ok, so back to the subject, yes that's exactly why they changed the formula, and that new generic med also had horrible side effects that they didn't tell the public about. I was on that medicine yrs ago and when it switched, it was horrible, they gave me intense stomach cramps, naseau, and migraines...And they didn't work not half as well..what did they think the docs were gonna switch people too, of course something that worked well but wo those side effects. I told my sister back then, that just wait and watch, next they will be changing the other meds as well, or doing away with them altogether....and unfortunately, I was correct and this is the result..
Anyways, I am slowly getting better. I must say my 1st ride ever in the ambulance sucked, being 33 almost 34 yrs old this month!!!! So making it that long wo an ambulance ride was good, and I am very extremely happy to not be dead or paralyzed since I landed on my head/neck but wow, I hurt bad still...Too, I honestly still feel like my peanuts rattled.. Lol. Anyways, like you I would say more but I am def. afraid too now...so try to find me... I'll look for you too. Oh, 1 thing I forgot, a family member w cancer was turned away again from her usual Walgreens this month again!!! The one she always goes too, this time they wrote on a piece of paper, "under new fl regulations we are unable to fill this prescription"....it was only for I believe like a lowly amt of 110 or less percocets...anyways, she called the corporate office, (unlike cvs when I called they do seem to care over there and they called that pharmacist and straightened them out!" and again, it had to be a 'call corporate' situation, it's pathetic; because basically the pharmacist flat out lied to her face...they pre-judge just depending on the medicine. I want to go and scream at them she has CANCER U IDIOTS!!! Is disabled too!!!! Ugh, I'm so tired of it all. Like you though, I'm not saying more, there are def. Indications my place reads this site. And they know me, but I am not trying to hide! I've done nothing wrong! I'm just worried that's it's a matter of time before I no longer get my medicine..I do believe I ONLY got it this month cuz of all the scrapes, bruises, contusions, and braces holding me together when I hobbled in...I heard her saying something like "Are you sure she fell...?" or something to that effect..I wanted to cry!!! They are all acting the same now. She was fine until these last few months so I don't know what the hecks changed, but she hates when I hobble my way in ea. month now. The only thing I can think is she's reading this site...Every chain pharmacy is like this now.. I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop...God help us then.

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One last thing I forgot. Recently I've picked random areas of the U.S. and researched other places that have had shortages. It seems like we aren't the only state experiencing this. The other states seemed to have the problem for like 6 months but it would eventually get back to normal. It almost seems like the "Powers that Be" are targeting certain regions, putting them under the microscope so to speak, and then move on to the next area. The only difference is our area has been seeing this since Spring 2012 from what I can tell and it's just lingering longer here. AGAIN, this is just from my research, not 100%, I could be totally wrong before someone reads this and has to prove me wrong without going back and reading all of our post and the info we collected so far. Also, it's not just Pain meds. There are many people out there trying to get meds to save their lives and aren't able to. Just another way for Pharmaceutical Co.'s to justify the outrageous prices. for example, my mother has Chron's disease and the meds the doc prescribe are $30,000 . She is having to wait til her Medicare kicks in to get them filled and in the meantime she just has to tough it out. Oh and do you think the manufacturer of Oxy's just figured out a way to make them rubber-like so people couldn't abuse them as easy. 10 years or so after they came out and it became "Hill-billy H" Then immediately following the rubberized Oxy, that same manufacturer introduced us to Roxy's!!!!! OK, Im done, I'll get off the soap box and Im not drinking another cup of coffee this morning!!! Peace.

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How's the Ankle M, did you ever find a new pharmacy?? I also tried to sneak my contact info in a post and it was never posted. Kinda scary. Im in agreement with you and Jessica but it seems damn near impossible to get each others contact info. At my last doctor appointment, one of the girls in the office suggested that I stear clear of any conversations about the RX situation while I was in the waiting area. Thank goodness I keep to myself and just kinda sit back and listen while Im in the office. Im not saying I've never discussed it. After my pharmacy (Pananma) got in trouble back in May, was the first time I experienced a problem getting my RX's filled so I did discuss the problem with others in the waiting area but that was back in June. I have a lot to say and some things i'd like to tell yawl so we are all on the same page but I'm a little nervous about posting too many details on this site anymore. Someone HAS to be reading these word for word to have any and all references to our personal info edited. On a lighter note, Im loving this weather!!! It's so windy over here in Fernandina that I have to wear a wind breaker. What's the weather like where u are? What side of town did you say you were on M? Anyway, hope everyone has a wonderful day!! (whatever day this gets posted)

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That is a GREAT idea Jessica. We could even bring it possibly into the meeting with the people WendyLou is trying to set us up with. I earlier tried to put in two different posts to put my full name as well as my email address (all in code) out there so we'd all have AT LEAST one place to which we could all go and organize something, like get a petition started at the very least, but it STILL was edited for privacy... There is a site that I mentioned previously I believe it's petition.org or petitionsite.org (I think) where you can go get the template for one for free. I was told a P.M. Doctor named Dr. Parghi wrote one up about this issue, and had all his patients who wanted to sign it, do so, when they came in-if they agreed there is a problem....And they ALL signed it...I don't go to him so I haven't seen it in person..I just found this one site on my own and it's just a template you fill out with the issues you want to have remedied, then have people sign it. It looked very professional and legitimate so I think it's a professional site that will help us get good results.. I don't remember the exact name of the site right now, but it should be somewhere further back in the posts I wrote a long while back... Or it can be googled...
Im sorry I digress, I'm too tired...Back to the point;
Anyways, I was trying to get us all to just ONE place/page so we could do something about this, more than just updating, complaining, or calling our reps (who could care less it seems)..., but it's like NO ONE (that has the power to help), wants this to change or is allowing us to even post things on here that could FREAKIN GENUINELY HELP!!!! It is BEYOND FRUSTRATING!!! I dont know what more to say.
Possibly, There is a central solution where we may be able to figure something out as far as co-ordinating together without the privacy policy on THIS forum blocking out all the information just like last time, who knows.....
Regardless, I am great on a computer, so Jessica, between your journalism type skills, WendyLou's paralegal type skills, and my (lotsa free time due to my ankle ;) as well as my data entry, writing, and communication skills, (I can write awesome speeches if necessary although u wouldn't be able to tell it from this writing, cuz I'm writing from a mini iPad on like 2 hrs of sleep in 4 days...) but we can really get something going I Truly believe this...If we can connect, we will at least have ONE CENTRAL place where we can go to write EVERYTHING wo it being edited, removed, and/or read by others that have no clue what we are dealing with..... I prayyyy this info/stuff goes through because we all need a central place to get things organized. We can still update the pertinent info to this forum for everyone else to know our progress though and to keep everyone else informed.. But I know you few at least, if not ALL, agree that we need more than this forum to get the ball rolling....
So fingers crossed they don't take out the most important info I've added to this page...xoxoxo and I'm praying for all my fellow P.M. sufferers....

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As a medical journal editor/co-author, I wonder if a small contribution, as in a short book with testimonies by patients like ourselves, or a freelance article submitted to a medical journal (even better-- a magazine further reaching like Time or local Healthcare publications), would open some eyes. Just a thought.

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Here in this area the pharmacy I was referred to charges $570 for a rx that costs $82 at the chain pharmacies. So I know exactly what you mean. I told them that no one could afford that, just as an obviously impaired, shoeless woman yelling curse words at her boyfriend (in an unrelated argument by mobile phone), was charged a higher fee and whipped the cash right out. You're damn right they price gauge. The same woman who can't afford shoes and is visibly impaired can afford them? Huh. The pharmacist tried to barter down to $440 and I told him to shove it.

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We don't have enough problems, in Jacksonville we have what I call 'Gouging Pharmacies!' I had a bit of luck getting my Doc to split my Rx into weekly scripts. I took my Rx for 42 little Methadone 10mgs.tablets into a new pharmacy and was told that the price was $87.00, but also need to submit 4 non-controlled scripts. He wasn't set up to take my Florida Medicaid, but unfortunately, I was sick and desperate. He didn't have the other meds in stock so I wasn't over-charged as much as I could have been. It seems that such practices should be illegal!

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Gail you are 100% right and I am sooo sorry to hear about that? the elderly are the first to suffer and suffer the MOST because of this!!! They cannot drive forever looking or wait weeks since their bodies are more fragile, ESP if they do have to go through withdrawals. I believe it should be a crime to NOT DISPENSE A LEGALLY PRESCRIBED MEDICATION, NO MATTER WHAT it is..I also agree on the "everyone overhearing your business, that's happened to me countless times when I have a legit problem(s), I want to wip out my X-rays and go Does THIS NOT LOOK LIKE A PROBLEM TO YOU?!? As I hobble on on my crutches....Anyway, I am so sorry for y'all and I agree on the brother issue as well. Those type seem to thrive while the legit patients are soooo NOT!!! The DEA thinks they have fixed a major problem but they have no clue what is going to happen next....the repercussions of their actions are going to create a ripple effect..I mean what are all these ( Not us sane people) but the desperate addicts ones, going to do when they can't get their medicines??? they are going to start robbing, killing, or at the very least using worse heavier drugs...there is always a chain reaction effect. Cause and effect..
Anyway, I wish your family luck. I am so sorry to hear that. It hurts my heart to know the elderly are suffering so badly, at least my heart is strong and if I have to wait 2 wks for a med to be filled I will suffer (beyond all ability to comprehend) but hopefully not die, but the elderly are not so hardy...I will be prayin for y'all. And doing my best to try to figure something out to fix this too....

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Thank you so much Wendy Lou for offering to help me. I must admit I'm having an even harder time than normal with my jacked up foot and crutches and getting groceries up to the 2nd floor apt.. (Still waiting on that referral to the orthopedic surgeon, or podiatry surgeon....or whatever they call the people that fix ankles...).& it's almost been 2 months.....This is the most pain I've been in for many many years..all combined with the damn crutches killing my back...It's horrendous. I have one idea, but I don't want a lot of people that are NOT LEGIT sending me emails. {edited for privacy}.....If they don't delete all this this then hopefully well at least will be able to get something rolling...I know you, Stephen, Jessica, and the few other people that have already written on this board are legit, for real in pain people that want to do something about this catastrophe in the making so I'm willing to put myself forward with u and they can friend request me/email me as well because as soon as I can get a little better..enough to go digging up alll my records anyways..We, even if it's just us two, can go and do that meeting. I'm dead serious because I do believe peoples lives are at stake and the pharmaceutical company's and DEA couldn't give a rats ass but I care and have the time to help. Well that's all. Good Luck to EveryOne on this forum...Let's see if this info gets through to the site and you can translate it... One of my other posts they held on to for 4 days and then posted it with the wrong date so it'd look like they hadn't held it....so they are ALL monitored Real Well...I wonder by who, and why...ah well...You also see pharmacists coming even to look at these sites. They make up their minds who they believe should get the medicines or not also and after my last one was coincidentally when my normal pharmacist decided to stop just stop straight out even filling mine..Makes me wonder if it's a coincidence or if she's read all this stuff...I don't know honestly bit SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE MORE, the calls aren't working fast enough, So since I'm already screwed I don't mind giving my info out. {edited for privacy}...Good Luck this goes through!

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I keep reading post after post on here regarding this difficulty obtaining your pain medications .... You guys need one or more people who would and could speak for all of you ...............

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I would like to say as a professional nurse I deal with people in chronic pain all the time -- many of these are terminal patients...what are these people going to do for their medications?? I wonder all the time .. SOMEONE NEEDS TO HELP ALL OF THE LEGIT PEOPLE WHO NEED PAIN MANAGEMENT.............

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We were all aware of the Walgreens plight and its effects on the wellbeing of PM patients, so it is not necessary to further frighten the fragile people on this site. Methadone clinics do NOT cover PM, only addiction management and you are not allowed to take benzodiazapine meds. Many people dont live near a linic or have daily transportation from 6 - 10 am, typical clinic hours. Frustrating read, sorry if you meant well.

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Sorry folks, the pharmacy opening in Yulee is for COMPOUND MEDS ONLY! I found out last week.

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-PM patients-check out the link below-
This is WHY no one will be getting their medication (narcotics) from any chain drugstore...then ALL drug stores any time soon,. The risk is not worth it for them. It just isn't gonna happen. At least there is an option for chronic pain management patients- the methadone clinic-you can get relief from pain & withdraw immediately-& most important no begging for someone to fill RX-and you can count on it; you will never here "that is not in stock." again-that is priceless.
Yes-the cost is $412 a month and it takes time to phase up; however if you stick with it-within a year you will be going only twice a week, by two years-once a week, then bi-weekly, eventually once a month. No more feeling like a criminal for trying to fill your legal RX!!! I know it isn't glamorous; but it is not as bad as it sounds.

justice.gov/dea/divisions/mia/2013/mia061113.shtml

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