Fill Oxycodone Prescription (Page 43)
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Cannot fill them anywhere in Bradenton or Sarasota. Please help I have a real doctor and the pharmacy I have been going to the past year in my city says they will no longer fill out of county. Does anyone know of a pharmacy in Bradenton or Sarasota that can help a patient fill qty 180 oxycodone 30mg? Please help. On the verge of getting deathly ill w/out meds! Thank you.

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Anon,
I have, in past tense, been critical of you. This is the most infornmative thing you have posted. You are not seen as heavy handied or a bully but more informative. In this way you are able to convey to people the scrutiny you are under.
There are only 3 points of contention. First, if you use e force and notice I have gone to different phamarcies you would not fill my prescription. I have no other options when I am turned down at the same pharmacy I filled in last month.
Secondly, many people are mistaken when they say that you are innocent until proven guilty. That only applies to criminal law. In other cases prepoderance of evidence of evidence etc are used. You speak about doctors who have been investigation or accused of nefarious activity. However, anyone can be accused of wrong doing. An accusation should not tarnish a person for life similuarly a doctor, having no disciplinary history should not be "blacklisted," based on accusations. Many are high oxycodone prescribers. That may be true, but who can tell what type of ailments their patients have.
Finally, both you and I have one extreme fault. We both quote the law but have no education or training in this field. Has any patient ever asked the opinion of a law firm who has people qualified to render an opinion. Since I am under a prepaid legal system through work i might just avail myself of that ability to find out what rights I have and what authority you have over me. I will not, in the future, come into a pharamcy telling you how to fill prescriptions if you will stop quoting the law to us.

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Donna,
I have tried to get to the FB address but no luck.
I had the same pharmacy for 2 years and now they pulled their ability to dispense Controllled Substance, I found another Pharm, it cost $1400 to fill, My whole savings acct. this month I get a different more ACCEPTABLE Script and have been denied everywhere I go...UNREAL...Florida needs help! The goverment needs to come clean and tell the truth

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ANON i would like to say that you are very smart and i can tell you put a lot of time in your study and you have masterd your degree wow i wish i could write like you and word things like you i have spent over 700 hundred hours on the computer searching about the oxycodone problem in florida and the big mess there is and just from your post i have learned everything i need to know in 5 min .it is so sexy to know that your so smart lol . im just saying wow you worded that like you didnt have to think for a sec all love from ARAB MONEY

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I so very much want to reply but I was just told on the day of my appointment that my Board Certified Pain Management Specialist is no longer seeing his pain patients. Because of the stress of having to suddenly find another doctor and the fact that I only have a very limited supply of pain medication left I've found it all but impossible to be able to concentrate in order to respond in a cohesive way and to add to the conversation. But I am reading and thank everyone for writing. My heart goes out to Rain. I can't stop thinking about her aunt. I will write when I am able.

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Rain,

My heart is warmed to find someone that seems to understand the point I am trying to convey. If you have a pharmacist that will drive somewhere to get meds for you, you have found one of the few that will do that. I have done the same and gone as far as delivering them to my patients if needed. I’ve come back an hour after closing to get a person their meds as well (and that’s something to be said because I work for a larger chain type pharmacy). Most pharmacists care about you... a few go above and beyond like yours does. To answer your question about Florida pharmacists and if they have changed in the past year, I truly do not know. I’ve lived in this state for only 4 years and it is just in the past year or so that I’ve settled down to call it home. I’ve never changed the way I practice (maybe a little nicer as I have gotten older). What I can tell you is that pharmacists are under a huge amount of pressure with the oxycodone situation. We have a license just like a doctor does.

Let me give you an example. The DEA has stated in documents outlining how a pharmacist is to act that a pharmacist does not have to fill any “questionable†prescription.†The state of Florida also in the regulation of pharmacists dictates that a pharmacist MUST call into question any prescription that falls into specific categories. Of these, cash only patients asking or brand name drugs, patients getting only narcotics, or patients coming in as groups with the same meds are just some of the categories we are to watch for. So when a customer brings in Oxycodone 30mg, Alprazolam 2mg, and Soma 325mg and that’s it... I’m required by the state of Florida to call that prescription into question. If I do not, I risk my license and with the laws in Florida the way they are, I risk criminal charges for filling any prescription that is not a legitimate prescription. That said, a pill mill doc writes the above three prescriptions and eventually he is arrested because his prescribing habits were not legitimate. The state can come after me because I filled those same prescriptions. When they shut down some of the pill mills, some pharmacies near by those clinics were closed as well. So to answer your question, we are under pressure to not break the law. Some pharmacists choose to avoid filling the high risk drug altogether because it reduces the chance to get in trouble. You can’t blame a person for not risking their profession and livelihood.

That sad, we have E-Force now. E-Force is the state system that logs every narcotic you receive (cash or insurance). When you come into my pharmacy, I check E-Force every single month, even for regulars. It tells me what you got, how much you got, when you got it, where you got it, what pharmacy filled it, and what doctor prescribed it. Hope around to multiple pharmacies and multiple doctors and you have no chance of convincing me to fill any narcotic for you. This tool helps me comply with the law and I feel 100% NO RISK to my license anymore. Many pharmacists may not use this tool yet though, so they are still hesitant. I hope I answered your questions.... If I missed anything, let me know.

To Jeremy: My price for oxycodone 30mg ranges between $250-280 (guessing off the top of my head because I really don’t set the prices in a chain environment). I have had customers come in and tell me that they were charged up to $1000 by some independent pharmacies. I think this is crazy. It is taking advantage of people. Don’t worry though. Those pharmacies charging those prices tend to prefer the cash customers and the way they dispense, many are under investigation currently or will be. I know of one that had to dump almost half his customers because his supplier told him if he fills for a specific doctor any longer (a doctor with a past history or crimes) the supplier would cut him off totally.

This is a good time to point out a misconception that was mentioned in another post. Cash vs insurance. I make more money on a cash prescription period. All pharmacies do, no matter if it is a narcotic, a blood pressure medicine or an antibiotic. I’d love for them to all be cash. From a pharmacist’s point of view, we are more comfortable with dispensing to people with insurance because for the longest time, that was the only way we could check on the customers that shop around. Insurance companies tell us your last dispensing dates of a prescription. Now, E-Force does this for me so I don’t really care how you pay anymore. I would worry if any pharmacy tells you cash only though because they are in it for the money at that point.

And Jeremy, you are correct. A pharmacist can refuse to fill a prescription for any patient for any reason. Think of it this way. You want to force a pharmacist to dispense a medication, but would you think you have the right to force a doctor to see you and prescribe a medication for you? Both doctors and pharmacists have a license to protect. You have the right to go to a different doctor if one will not see you just like you can go to a different pharmacy if one will not give you what you want. The only time this becomes an issue is in rural areas where you may have to drive an hour to the nearest pharmacy and another hour to the next one. With Walgreens and CVS on every corner, even in the middle of nowhere, I don’t foresee this being an issue these days. Now not being obligated to accept insurance.... thats a different story. If I want to bill Medicare for Aunt Gertrude’s blood pressure medication, I cannot deny service to a Medicaid customer just because they have medicaid. I don’t have to ill their prescription, but I can’t say I’ll fill it for cash only and not accept their Medicaid. If you participate in one government program, you participate in them all. Failure to do so risks you not being able to bill for any of them. That’s not a risk many pharmacists are willing to take.

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Yeah you're right almost all pharmacies will not tell you what they have in stock mostly because they're worried about being robbed secondly by the time you get there a lot of times someone has beat you there and they don't want to yank your chain. Oh off topic if you're in FLORIDA be careful claiming Social Security Disability and Unemployment. When I was filing for disability ( I was approved) my lawyer told me not to file for unemployment while going through Disability procedures because one of the questions for Disability ask if you able to work (which obviously no) one of the questions every 2 weeks when you claim your weeks for unemployment state "are you ready willing and able to work if offered employment". As you can see if you answer you aren't able to work to be eligible for disability but you answer yes to unemployment that you are able ready willing to work then you have just contradicted yourself. My lawyer told me that would come back to bite me in the ass, advised me to skip the unemployment so I did. It was extremely hard to make it till I was approved for Disability w/o unemployment, but I did it and would of really been screwed if I had been denied both. Just food for thought, you might want to check with your attorney.

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It doesn't seem legal but I was told Pharmacies have the right to refuse anyone for any reason. They aren't even obligated to accept insurance. Things are getting crazy.

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My heart goes out to you and yours Rain. Just another example how those that are truly in need are being left to suffer. Unfortunately in this case, pardon my wording, evidently death can be preferable to the constant suffering. I have unfortunately had those thoughts cross my mind also . When you're in chronic pain, on disability and your once successful life is circling the toilet it's hard not to have those thoughts. In my opinion this is a massive failure on the entire health system, especially when they could of made her comfortable. This is a sad state of affairs when a person just trying to feel half way ok and not in agony, such as your loved one has died due to such a lack of quality of life that could of been simply rectified. Obviously not cured, but perhaps some days spent with some relief from pain meds and time spent with relatives remembering the good times, which would of been priceless. They're was utmost relief available given her condition that should of been a no brainer to administer. She had a medical need for pain relief PERIOD. I'm no DR but cancer runs in my family my 24 year old cousin has a rare sarcoma. His mother works for DUKE hospital and so does he so doesn't have these problems thank god. The thing that pushes me over the edge in your Aunt's position is beyond the need to fatten their wallets and or getting high these dealers of pain medications have NO need for them. Plus they are getting people that don't need to be involved in them addicted. These sellers have the most resources and connections to get what they need to continue their illegal/immoral endeavours while the rest of us play by the rules using our insurance (several Pharmacists on this forum have confirmed the stores they work in sell to cash payers first as there is more money to be made/less paperwork reimbursement time. These pill dealers have us to an advantage in every way. They go to Dr's at the end of their careers who are milking the last of their degree by working for pill mills and will write basically anything with just an MRI that basically says they are healthy. I have seen this on the news. They don't mind paying $300+ as it all turns to profit for the dealer. Then go to mom&pop's where they can afford to pay upwards of $6+ per pill. I know because I've seen them do it and then offer me the same deal if I paid cash but refused to take my medicare as they can't charge outrageous fees to medicare. I certainly can't afford to pay $700 a month to be out of pain. OF course the sellers can because even @ $300 for their crooked DR + $700 for their overpriced script that comes to $1000. These pills cost $15 a piece most have many people running the same scam with them. They supply the money and in return give a small amount of the pills to the person running for them. $15pill x 180quantity (most various other scripts easily that are in high demand and turned into cash. Even the ones that do it once a month for a investment of $1000 ($15x180=$2700-$1000 overhead nets $1700 a month for a single operator. A lot of this operations are run by an outfit who are doing this multiple times a month and raking in thousands and thousands a month. Short story long, and I'm sorry to upset you with the reality of what more then likely contributed to your Aunt's situatuion. Let me add that I truly empathized with your situations Rain and advise that you start a law suit to the Pharmacy (company) that stated she was a drug addict and needed to go to rehab. The poor woman had stage III cancer. There is a MASSIVE difference between being a drug addict and being opiate tolerant. Not only did he deny her, her medication that was essential to her life but he absolutely had to of made her feel completely worthless at the worst time in her life. He left her with absolutely no hope and as far as I'm concerned he has no business whatsoever in the medical field. Once again I am so sorry for your loss and while I know nothing will bring her back, once you can write your Senator without it being to painful; I would do exactly that. This is without a doubt the most shameful, disgraceful thing I have read on this forum. My perception is drug addicts are still being drug addicts. They haven't slowed down a bit. The only thing these policies and actions pertaining to Pain Meds are affecting are people in legitimate chronic pain patients. The addicts that never needed the pain meds except to get high are still getting high they have just moved on to easier scores ie illegal drugs.

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Bridgette, try taking in a non narcotic prescription to be filled first to establish a relationship. That is what I did to start up where I am now and he has my meds, in the brand that works best for me, ready before I even get my prescription from the doctor.. :) I also transferred my blood pressure meds over to him

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Thank you Anon for taking the time to explain how the ordering process works and the limits that the DEA has placed on pharmacists just as they have placed on pain management doctors and even patients. It is obvious, at least to me,that you do care about your customers and go out of your way to make sure your store has the medications available for your regulars. I know from my own positive experience that there are many like yourself- at least in TN. My pharmacist is at a mid-size chain and he has always gone above and beyond in the treatment of those in pain. For example, my aunt (the one who recently killed herself) stayed with me in TN for 3 weeks. She was unable to fill her meds before she left FL and therefore ran out while here. The stores close to me would not fill because it was out of state even though it was obvious she was ill (no hair and an IV bag attached to her wheelchair) so we drove the hour away to 'my' store. She was on the Fentanyl patch and lollipops at the time. My pharmacist said he normally would not fill due to not only being out of state but also the type of medications. He was able to see the amount of pain she was in so he simply called her Dr to confirm all was legit and asked that he fax some sort of document (I do not know what document). Then he discovered he did not have the strength she needed so on his lunch he drove to a sister pharmacy that did have it and filled them both for her! As for me, I take Roxicodone 30mg for my breakthrough pain and Oxy (OP) 60mg for extended relief. All but one brand of the Roxicodone generics upset my stomach. Because of this, he special orders for me and makes sure he always has it in stock every month.. and I am disabled on Medicare as primary and Medicaid as secondary- he is making nothing off my business...

So yes, I know that there are good, caring and compassionate pharmacists

However, based on my own experience and that of my aunt, Florida pharmacists have changed in the last year or so. I have seen first hand how the smile that greets you becomes a grimace and the welcoming eyes roll to a squint and finally, the body language changes from saying 'How can we help you...' to 'Here comes another one...' WHY?

Maybe you can answer, since you are a Florida pharmacist: what happened that has caused the vast majority of pharmacists in the Sunshine State to treat customers poorly if they are seeking to fill a prescription for anything stronger than a Percocet? Has a memo been distributed stating anyone carrying a pain pill prescription is a drug addict? Or are pharmacies/pharmacists being encouraged to be selective when filling pain medication? Is it due to all the negative publicity? Do they have 1st hand knowledge concerning a specific doctor that they know is operating a 'pill mill" Is it when a prescription is for a certain amount? In TN the max of Roxicodone is 120 a month (my prescribed amount is 90). Can a pharmacist be held responsible if they fill a prescription for 300 Oxy/Roxi, etc...from a known pill mill Dr or a customer known to be a dr shopper, etc...? Do pharmacists 'flag' customers and share with other pharmacies/pharmacists? Sorry to toss so many questions at you but unlike the other 'pharmacy worker' posting on this site, I will actually take the time to read your response.

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Just a quick response...

First, I thought I made this point clear however people seem to keep reading over it. I cannot take every single patient that walks up. When my pharmacy first opened, I had no narcotics for the first 2-3 weeks. My opening order had been delayed. On opening day I filled about 30-40 prescriptions for various people.... and turned away over 50 patients looking just for oxycodone. I don't know a single pharmacy that can service 50 customers a day for oxycodone. Even now, that many customers is twice what I can fill for in a month before my supplier cuts me off.

As far as when I can let a new customer come in, it really is random. The last customer that got removed from my list for doctor shopping was replaced 30 minutes later. We keep no waiting lists because it would be useless. I have had people ask, but it may be months before the next opening. If you assumed 50 people per day times a few months, you wouldn't get a call or years. I have people that come in wearing suits and people coming in wearing tattered clothing. I have both types on my list and I reject both types when I cannot add any customers.

As for the hope that someone close to me is stricken with pain so I can feel what it is like. First, you are ignorant to say such a thing. You are the type of person that pharmacists turn away. The type that feels they must guilt you into dispensing a drug or insulting the pharmacist when you don't get what you want. Second, my father had cancer and mother has had to deal with multiple pain conditions. I do not live close enough to be their pharmacist. They opted for alternate methods of pain relief... the types I offer to my patients. They NEVER had problems treating their pain. This is what I want for all of my patients.... not having to have a problem treating their pain.

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You are not absolved of blame for your statements. If you have a slot to put in a new patient to get a prescription filled you still get to decide who gets it. You are the ultimate authority as you decide simply by looking at the person. it doesn't matter what the doctors examination says you have the ability to tell who is in need by your eyes. Don't lie to us. I have a professional job and am well dressed when I go to pharmacies. I am greeted politely. When the person the desk reads the word oxycodone their face drops and I am an outcast. Inside I believe you feel the same way about most oxycodone patients. For now you have been given some power you obviously crave. You are more important than the doctors. You will live a long life. Somewhere someone close to you will be in pain and you too can watch them suffer.

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All I can say is wow, I am a certifiable cancer patient and even get my Lupron from Walgreens and just started to get back on CII medications. I tried at first to get 15 or 30 Oxy but Walgreens never had them so I then got Dilaudid and so far for almost three weeks now nothing. I feel like I am dying inside I am constantly in hospital for my Iv feed and chemo and they have to give me shots. I am on share of cost medicaid and cannot even get that met until today so I could not get my CII med until now since I am living on Disability and unemployment. I could of only been able to afford the med at Walgreens with my Florida discount card but the only had 10 of them in stock to fill my script by the time I got up there. I refuse to drive all over Gods creation nor can I afford to just to try and get my meds filled. I honestly sit in bed almost 24/7 because I am in so much pain unless I am in my bathroom falling asleep against my toilet in fear of not being able to get up out of bed in time or falling asleep and gagging on my own vomit. I am raising three boys that are not even mine for almost seven years on top of all this and going to college again come Summer B session. Even so I am just not good enough to be able to not be in pain so far. Is this fair Anon you say you are a pharmacist with a heart well how is it that a pharmacy can get a drug in but cant be nice enough to call you to tell you at least? I understand I am new and am not a regular customer but what do the people like me do when we are diagnosed with cancer we have to become a new patient somewhere to get our CII meds filled and I have been going to the same pharmacy for five years. This whole situation sickens me to the core. I thank GOD I am trying to learn to cope without the meds at all and not trying as hard as I could to find them and then have to get sick like the other pore souls on here GOD bless all of you and I pray you all become pain free very soon.
As for D Ratliff I have not heard from her yet even though I added her on my fb nor has she responded to me on here. If she is or isnt who she says she is makes no difference to me I honestly just wish they could just make a website like Angieslist that you could go to and it would just tell you where to go to get what you need but we all know that it would be a number one cause for robberies.

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Hello again, I am the pharmacist that posted under Anon at the start of this month. As work is often hectic... I have not had the chance to check back to this board. I reviewed comments to my post and would like to comment and answer questions.

First off, to “hatesusernamesâ€. While I expected many to just tear me a new one, I was happy to see posts like yours. Respectful and well written. Your first point was in response to me stating that I reject 75% of patients (the quantity limits I'll address in a bit). I was not intending to mean that 75% of patients need to change their meds. What I am saying is that I can’t supply the amount of patients asking for the medications. I was merely stating that if there were 75% less oxy prescriptions, there would not be this problem to start with. You mentioned that Florida has many residents and that may be why we have so many pain docs here. While Florida is home to many residents, they do not represent 90% of pain patients in the nation. This percentage of doctors has changed drastically in the past 2 years, but my point in the 90% statistic was to point out that there was a problem in Florida only. As far as your comment about no one coming between you and your doctor, I would like you to look at it from my point of view. Everyone from your nurse to doctor to pharmacist are part of your healthcare team. We all want to help you, not make life hard for you. Let me ask you this...if you were looking for a new doctor and your pharmacist recommended you avoid a specific doctor, would you make an appoint with him or her just to prove me wrong? More than likely you would trust my judgement. If you ask me if a medication is safe to take, are you asking me for the fun of it or do you actually value my opinion? I wonder why on oxycodone, people suddenly don’t want to value my professional judgement? As for my opinion about oxycodone dispensing if I had no limits? It’s a great drug.... when used appropriately. When it comes to medications, I check my personal beliefs at the door. When the whole “I’m not dispensing birth control because its against my religion†issue came out, I rolled my eyes. Religious beliefs have no place in the treatment of an individual unless you choose you pray to get better. So when I tell you that I have no problems with it I mean it. Would I take the time to respond to this post if I had such a problem with it? I currently spend up to 5 minutes with the people that I cannot dispense to. Five minutes discussing pain management therapies and alternatives and how I can help. Does your pharmacist spend 5 minutes with you when you actually are filling a prescription? How about the ones that tell you no, they can’t fill it. How long do they talk to you then? When I turn away a customer, 9 times out of 10 they thank me for my time as they walk away with some going so far as to submitting positive comments to my corporate department for going out of my way to help (all from a customer denied oxycodone). And it bears repeating, I never discriminate. Anyone receiving oxycodone in my pharmacy only had to be there at the right time when I had the ability to accept new customers. When they asked, I added them. As I said, your post was well written and I wish more people took the time to understand like you rather that just get angry.

Ok, on the the limits issue. I know Donna has asked me to respond to this issue and provided information contrary to my statements. When I say the DEA has limits on ordering, it is an indirect action. When I order a bottle of oxycodone, I send in an order form. The supplier (who sends me the drug) gets a copy and the DEA gets a copy. The quantity of medication ordered is tracked by both entities. I am not allowed to order without restraint. On a monthly basis, around the 20th or 25, my invoices begin to state “approaching monthly quantity limits.†If I order another order after that, I either get a partial order or an invoice that says I have reached my limit and cannot order any more medication for that month. At that point I get no more until the first of the next month. (as an aside, this occurs with all controlled ingredients. My company was out of generic sudafed for 3 months one year because they had produced the maximum limit of product allowed by the DEA. The last three months we had no store brand because we could not manufacture any additional units due to DEA restrictions). Plain and simple. Is it a law? No, it isn’t and if you ask anyone if there is a law, you will be told no. Suppliers however are required to restrict quantities and monitor pharmacy use. If you search Google news and type “CVS oxycodoneâ€, the 2nd and 3rd stories down show what happens when they don’t monitor. Two CVS pharmacies in Sanford, FL ordered enough oxycodone to supply a population 8 times the size of the city. As a result of that supplier not monitoring ordering habits of their pharmacies, the DEA revoked their license to distribute ALL controlled substances at one of their major distribution centers. (and yes, this causes shortages in those companies that get supplied by that warehouse, which would be most of central Florida) I successfully petitioned a 25% increase in my maximum order limits for oxycodone in my pharmacy. That increase is huge, but still allowed me to dispense to only about 8 extra patients. Are all pharmacies telling you the truth that they can’t get it in? I will tell you straight out, no, they are probably lying. I have never lied to my customers though. I am upfront and honest that I can’t take on any new customers.

Before anyone yells at me for stating I have a list, hear me out. My promise to each of my customers is that I will have your medication every month. No driving around... no worries. But to do that, I have to dispense within my limits. If I take in new patients or fill one time fills for other patients, those that have been promised meds that get their meds at the end of the month will come and I’ll have to turn them away. How would you like it if I promised to have your meds every month, and did so for months on end and then one month when you’re out of meds and come to my I tell you, someone was hear right before you and bought up the last of my supply so you’ll have to go somewhere else this month. You’d be pissed and I’m sure I’d hear about it for the next 30 minutes. I choose to give my customers 100% service every time. or this reason, I have to restrict what I can dispense. I personally feel I do more good by promising a handfull of patients a reliable source for their pain relief rather that randomly giving out meds to the first person that walks up.

To Donna Ratliff: I want to respond to you specifically. I am going to preface this with the following statement. I am sure you will be pissed at me after reading this and may even post such on this board afterwards. If you want me to be honest with you and help you understand this situation (which I am willing to do), you need to understand how a professional feels about what he has read from your posts.

I will admit I found this board looking for information on you. To tell the truth, I had been told that you created a document in circulation that is factually inaccurate and when I showed it to a state inspector, he called it a joke. The state inspector has reviewed this document and the local and state police have a copy of it on file for some ongoing investigations. While I am not sure if you did or did not write it, I can say I hope you didn’t because it has served as a beacon to pharmacists to not serve the customers that bring it in. If you are not familiar with what I speak of, no worries. (I will not be posting this document as it is innacurate in information and personel from the state have dismissed it.)

Next, I want to address what I see as a problem with what I see written on this board and in some of your posts. You are calling yourself a State Leader for the American Pain Foundation. You profess vast knowledge of the problems that patients are facing and seem to possess the same amount of knowledge regarding the doctors that prescribe the medications. This is where your knowledge seems to stop. I find in many posts that statements about pharmacies and pharmacists are inaccurate, false or misleading. I would expect that as a leader, you should have a working knowledge of all parts of this machine. If you did, you would see that pharmacies are not the “bad guys.†We are merely at the end of a chain and the last person between a patient and their medication. We work with your doctors to get you your medications. I do not simply take the prescription and give you a drug. If I did, I would care about any of this. I deeply care for each and every one of my patients and they rely on my judgement. You also brought up, as did others, the general statement that the prescribing doctors are “board certified†or specialists in pain management. I agree that many of these doctors are indeed trained as such. Some posts have also professed that pharmacists have no right to get between a doctor and his or her prescription. To this I ask you to think about this. Those same doctors who you say are 100% right and that have your best interests at heart are some of the same doctors that lost their licenses. Some of them are the ones that have been arrested. How many patients that have posted on this board have stuck with only one pain doctor? Hoe many of you have had your doctor close their doors? I am guessing many of you have. These are not the professionals you are talking about, but in these posts, they are the ones that are supposedly smarter than the pharmacists.

Finally you have implied that pharmacists suck at their jobs. You said “maybe pharmacists don’t know that the new reformulated meds aren’t as effective.†This statement is insulting. Would you dare go into your doctor and tell him or her that maybe they aren’t up to date on pain management as they should be? You may not have intended for this to be an insult, but it is taken as one and proves to me that you do not have knowledge or respect for the profession of pharmacy. Pharmacy is and always will be part of the pain management process and insinuating that a pharmacist doesn’t know what they are trained to do is not something a leader in pain management should be stating or even implying.

Now that I know you are angry at me, take a deep breath for a second and listen. If you haven’t figured out by now, I want to HELP YOU. Help may not be in the form of telling you where to get oxycodone and anyone working or a pain organization should shutter at websites that tell patients where to get their prescriptions filled or which pharmacies have some in stock. Instead I want to help by letting you know that not all pharmacists are evil. We are all people. Mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. I know pharmacists whose compassion for patients exceed even my greatest hopes. So if you want the help of a pharmacist, one that is willing to help, we are out there. All you have to do is make the effort to understand all of the facts of the situation and the pressures that we are all under.

As a last note, there was one person posting many inaccurate things. In the past 2 pages of posts, there were many things said that were just plain ignorant, so much so that I can’t even give them a response. All I want to say is that this person speaking for pharmacies does not represent the profession at all. If i had an employee that spoke as this person does, they would not work with me for long.

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Anon - that was proper pain therapy until the oc was no longer available in generic, making the cost go up and it's not available with my insurance and doctors started to treat out of fear rather than appropriate pain management. Long acting meds along with breakthrough isnt even offered to me. I get the breakthrough only and hang on by my bare knuckles - My pharmacist has taken very good care of me for a very long time - lucky. If they didnt - don't know what I would do.

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If rain could contact me at on facebook, Fight for pain care Action Network, I am Donna Ratliff the Florida state advocate for pain patients. It is important that I talk you because I have information on what is going on down here in Florida and the numbers of suicides are adding up. You could help my org fight this and possibly help stop the madness that is going on before this happens to some else. Just please leave me a post on that page and I will respond. God Bless everyone that having these horrible issues. Anyone that needs support and wants to help let me know on there.

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Dear Rain, I am so deeply saddened to hear of the loss of your aunt. My condolences to you and to your entire family at this difficult time. I wish she would have found the support and advocacy group on face book. When you feel able, Rain, I urge you to please contact this person from another post, "I am Donna Ratliff in Lithia FL. My Facebook pic has me with a cowboy hat, boots n jeans standing." You may just help someone who is considering giving up, as well.

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I have just learned that my aunt, only 42 years old, killed herself because she could no longer live with the pain she was suffering from (stage 3 cancer) and not being able to fill her prescriptions in Florida. I knew she had been having a hard time for the last few months since the pharmacist she had been using for years retired and in her place stepped in a 27 year old, 'know it all' that actually asked to see her medical records one month due to her looking like 'a drug addict' and he then told her she should speak with her doctor about rehab if she was unable to go a few days without her meds. My uncle was then arrested for 'terrorist threats' after he began yelling and screaming at the pharmacist! I am in TN and had thought of moving back to FL not too long ago so my aunt would not be alone, and even spent a month seeing specialists for my own condition. However, after hearing horror stories about the treatment of Florida's residents in pain, I decided against it. I wonder how many more are on the verge of killing themselves rather than live another day in pain or to be forced to have to suffer through once overs by pharmacists!!!

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Can a pharmacy refuse to fill a legitimate script if it is out of county or in this case the next county over? Please let me know. Doesn't seem fair! Should be against the law honestly! Pharmacy profiling disgusted me! These people are basically choosing who lives or dies. Seriously! Didn't these creeps go to Pharmacy School to learn about the dangers of detox?! Also, a patient detoxing on any major medication isn't going to look their best when they are attempting to fill! These people are demons! So angry at the profilers!

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What I took away from that long rambling allegory is you have first stated that everyone in here especially those that take the time to state their injuries are nothing but dope heads looking to get high. You then proceed to leave other posts that contradict many of your statements. The most noted being that you stated your injury with 300lbs of weight (which could seem sarcastic or at least exaggerated) proclaiming your legitimate need for pain management. Basically what I believe he/she was trying to convey is : Are you just in here posting a bunch of nonsense to stir the pot and get a rise out of people. Or are you sincere and truthful and your thoughts and opinions just all over the place. Thank you BTW for the reaffirming the info I have already received about the pharmacies looking out for a certain few regulars and other then that only taking care of those that can pay upwards of $6+per pill. For those of us that are not in those categories I guess there isn't much to do but change to another medication and hope to have better luck. Personally if I could still have any kind of quality of life I would just leave pain pills entirely behind as many times as I've gone through withdrawal already from lack of steady supply.

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