I Have Caught Cvs And Other Pharmacies Lying About Not Having Oxycodone In Stock, Shortage 2012 (Page 2) (Top voted first)

Well today I officially caught a cvs here in Ga lying to me. A friend of mine filled his Meds yesterday. I go in, having a history with cvs, a recent one, and am immediately lied to. The pharmacist comes over and tells me they haven't had them in stock for months, without looking at his book or computer. At this point I stated an employee I know the name of told me shipment came in Thursday. He lied again. I then told him friend had filled yesterday morning. He said it was impossible. I then said I saw the bottle with my own eyes, it had their address on it, and even told him what brand they had since my friend just filled his there. Pharmacist lied to me yet again. I then asked him why he wad lying to me and that I am tired of being treated like a criminal because I am 30 with a handicapped tag and a four page long mri report for my neck, mid, and lower back. I just found out I have central and foramina stenosis in my lower back, yea!! He then asked me if I had been having trouble filling. I said yes, it seems a lot of pharmacies are lying about not having it in stock. I said it is easy to tell on how they look at you, treat you, and if they check their logbook which is required for all schedule two Meds. I then gave him a chance to not lie and said "so you mean you filled the last of your stock yesterday." Since he lied to me again I decided it was time to call his district manger. The info I told him was correct but he decided to lie so its not my fault if he gets fired. U am going to let his district manager know the whole story, and let them know that if something is not done I will contact the news about discrimination against a legit pain patient for them not to get their Meds and have a normal life. They won't want bad press that is for sure, esp since I have a handicapped tag. I am in their system for filling the exact Meds I brought in, they have my discount card on file also, and my whole family uses their pharmacy so these ate the thongs I will tell district. Any other pharmacies who lie I will do the same thing to. So it seems the shortage going on here in Georgia and Florida are manipulated by the pharmacies and the distributors. Mckesson isn't shipping them out to rite aid, wal mart, sams, and Target. They are afraid of getting fined like a few years ago or getting in trouble like cardinal, cvs, walgreens, publix, and krogers distributor. Cardinal is still shipping from Mississippi and north Carolina, but not from Florida atm. The rest of the country is not having any problems, just Florida and Georgia. Since I have a lawsuit going against Allstate from my car accident(not my fault) and we are going after a doc who read someone else's mri to make his conclusion and type a bogus report to my insurance so they will not reimburse me anymore, we ate going after him for slander or defimation of character since he wrote I sell my Meds, maybe I can add cvs for pain and suffering and descrimination. This is absolutely rediculous these days. Sorry for the rant but people selling them ate making a killing these days and legit patients are going broke from price gouging or gas prices just so we can live a somewhat normal life. Makes no sense how out system works.

REPLY

REPORT

I was told yesterday for the second time in three months that Publix is no longer filling prescriptions for oxycodone. I know this to be a lie. The last time the pharmacist told me this he said that I needed to be on something long acting. I was taking methadone & oxycodone for breakthrough. I told him that methadone has a 12 hr. half life, he then said but it's dangerous. I had been taking this combination for eight years. I finally agreed to take ms contin instead of methadone so I could still fill the oxycodone. I didn't care for ms contin but didn't say a word because I was afraid they would take away the only thing that really worked for me at this point. After going through all that. I got a call two weeks before I am to fill my scripts again, saying Publix is not filling oxycodone. I am now in a state of panic not knowing where I will fill my meds. I've seriously considered suicide because I will certainly lose my job because I cannot go to work in full blown withdrawal. Sorry for the rant but I'm scared and don't know where to turn. I'm not a criminal, I don't sell my meds, I just want to be treated like a human being in chronic pain.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

Here is the underlying issue - people who have not studied medicine and been bright enough to the get a M.D. have been given authority to override the doctor's educated treatment decision. And oh god yes it is political, and no, it's not ObamaCare. Oh no, it's the fundies who are behind this. To them, it's not a medical issue it's a 'moral' one. They think people who need pain meds, ADHD meds, etc. to get by in life are morally flawed and deserve their suffering. They are so completely devoid of compassion, and yet they say they follow Jesus! Give them the chance and they'll go back to the eskimo method of dealing with the infirm, you put them on a sled and push them out of the igloo and into the night. Let God take care of them. Or they go to the other extreme and make some poor person suffer for years with no relief and refuse to let them die with dignity, on their own terms. Ask them what you're supposed to do when they are denying you your medically proven and authorized treatment and they'll say something like 'Are you heavily involved in your church? Maybe someone there can take care of you.' I fear for the future of this nation. Having a black man as our President has brought the meanest, cruelest, most hateful people out into the light, because they couldn't stand to see a black man in the White House. They cloak themselves in name of the Lord, but they couldn't be further from His teachings. We better as a nation push them back under the rock they crawled out from, or we're headed the way of Germany circa the 1940s. You know, Melissa, people are being denied cancer medications too, and saying those are out of stock when they're not as well. Google it. Should they go detox at the ER too?

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

Pete, you're right that many people don't need schedule two drugs for their back and neck problems, but many people have extremely painful back and neck conditions, and do need these drugs to be mobile in every day life. There are excruciating conditions and injuries that are just as painful as your condition. A bad neck or back is nothing to sneeze at.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 6

It's all a bunch of bulls***. Pharmacists, do us all a favor, and stay the f*** out of our personal relationships with our Doctors, whom prescribe us certain medications that basically gets us out of our beds in the morning to have a somewhat pain free day. I am sure it's quite rare in most of our cases. You Pharmafu&ks have no idea what Chronic pain does to our daily lives. Well, in a nutshell, we cannot function in a half ass manner, or at all, without them. We are not addicts..no no no ...we are dependent on these life "Giving" medications to have a somewhat pain free day which rarely happens in most of our injuries. I''m sick and tired of the majority of you pharmapricks out there treating the population of legitimate chronic pain sufferers like low life drug addicts. Stop throwing our prescriptions back at us like were animals and start by remembering what the word "compassion" means. Do your job: 1. Look at Prescription. 2. Verify the prescriptions from our doctors. 3. Fill the order...period end of story. You Pharmawhatevers have crossed the line and started playing god with our lives? The nerve of you all. You will never decide what is good for us, or what's not. How dare you pharmawhatevers thinkiing that you can step on our doctors LEGAL prescriptions and decide if you want to fill it, or not. You are suppose to be servants to the doctors and patients out there You are not going to play god with our lives.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 6

Dear Chris, I am going to repeat your words back to you and let you see how they sound. Do you always make it a habit to know what another person is taking for pain and where they got that perscription filled and when? Do you always know of all the distributors drop off routes and what pharmacies? Do you always make it a habit of going to the hospital and telling the DR. ONLY IV meds wiil do and curse him out because he ruined your high? Do you alwaws make it a habit of hanging out with addicts and tweekers? Do you always have to have valium, oxycodone& soma together? Do you realize 180mg of oxycodone alone is making you 50 times more likely to have Alzheimers 7 40 times likely to die from liver& kidney problems. You have a problem but, I can offer you help with the new technology of Science today, you would never have to take another pill. Neuro Surgeons of today can performe a spinal stenosis procedure with a minimal inavasive approach. This type involves using an endoscope or camera inseted into a small incision near the compressed neural structures. Tinytolls and a laser are also inserted and are used to cut away or vaporize the bonesor soft tissue causing the compression, since the neck and back musculature remain undisturbed. This minimally inavasive procedure allows for a full recovery and the patient can be back on his feet within 2 weeks. Talk to your Dr. it could mean a whole new life of freedom from pain and from meds.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 18

Thank god today I went to a pharmacy that trated me like a human being from the time I talked to the phamacist on the phone for the first time. I never been in thier store, I told him what I was taking and if he had it in stock, he said go ahead and give me your personal information so I can get you out quicker! When I went to the store today to get the scripts, I told him I couldn't find a pharmacy that carries the Watson brand of 10/325.He said he would do everthing in his power to get the Watsons for me and I thought I was going to have to the men in the little white suits. So, with all due respect to CVS and the other big chain stores like you, KISS MY F***ING A**!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

The is obviously a great deal of ignorance out there. My pain is not as well controlled as it was with Oxycodone but with Ms Contin er & Ir, I'm doing well enough to continue to be able to be a productive member of society. The reason Oxycodone has become so difficult to get is because the abuse has become out of control. These drugs like Opana, Oxcontin & Oxycodone just get cycled around after they become popular. Google Opana and you will find that it was popular in the 50's then taken off the market. Now it's making a come back. We all suffer while the pharmaceutical companies make billions.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

The same exact thing is happening to me here in Houston and Galveston Texas. I have been on the medications for almost 5 years due to cancer, degenerative disc disease in my back, extreme Liver issues (Preventing me from taking acetaminophen derivative pain meds such as vicodin aka norco). Starting and stopping these meds nearly every month because of availability supposedly causes severe medical difficulties. I am NOT a junkie but I still go through withdrawal, my blood pressure is triple digit over triple digit, which would explain the severe headaches, not to mention having the initial pain that the medications are being taken for in the first place. I too am from the younger generation at just 40 years young. I have been disabled since I was 12 years old. I had 4 inches off my intestines removed, reconstructive surgery in my colon, as well as re opening a collapsed urethra (I can tell you as a man it hurt, I'll spare you the gruesome details but it goes along the lines of cutting a tip off of a hot dog and then having the opening forced stretched 4-6 weeks after surgery, in which I broke my mother's nose and fractured a neighbors arm in the struggle that happened daily. I was only 12 when this started and obviously I didn't mean to injure my mother or the neighbor, but you can now imagine the pain.)
I have been told also that it is the distributors that are failing to deliver the medications to these pharmacies. I've tried everywhere from Kroger, Target, CVS, WALGREENS, Life Check, and many many others! And because it is a seriously controlled medication they cannot tell you if its available over the phone or not. This means that I had to drive to each and every individual store. I am on a very limited income and last month due to all the travels had to decide whether to eat or put fuel in my car.
After explaining my situation to a Sams wholesale pharmacist, he told me over the phone that if my doctor was a reputable doctor, and I had a legitimate prescription as well as a reason for the prescription that he had the medication available and would fill it so long as my information checked out. Obviously my information did check out and I received my medications without incident and when I asked would it bs simple next month to sell them and could I come there every month and that the medications were always on hand I was told YES on all the accounts. So apparently they weren't having the issues that every other pharmacy was. They wonder why people resort to illegal drugs or even worse suicide well just take a look at this scenario. We've become a nation of JUDGES! I'm struggling with depression as well and can't tell you the other crap that I have to deal with on a daily basis because it would take all day and it would blow your mind. I really need to write a book about what's going on with me but in all honesty I hate to write and I'm not that great at it. So if anyone out there would be interested in writing my story I would definitely split everything 50/50. And to prove that I have a interesting story, look up on Google, "14 YEAR OLD AIDS EXPOSED BOY OF PENSACOLA" back in the late 80's. Keep in mind that the media severely slandered me to make it look like I was a demon. They wanted me locked up because of my disease. I was really close to Santa Rosa County Florida who at one time was in the Guinness Book of World Record for having the most Baptist churches per square mile. Need I say anything more? I had people on the street mailing in letters to me, ADULTS, telling me I should commit suicide because I had a disease from God. What the news media didn't tell you was that I either received tainted blood by a rape or buy a blood transfusion due to the rape. Blood was not mandatory tested until March 1986, I receive the blood November of 85, but they didn't tell you all that. Instead they hoped that I would die soon. I am 40 years old now and I wish I had!!! Anyway if anyone wants to help me write there so much more ...

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

You go after those evil evil $#%#s! They deserve to live in hell and I mean hell on earth. Rotten shame when someone has somewhat of a little control on peoples lives their evilness glows from them. But karma is a (u know what). My brother lives in Las Vegas and recently had the same story as the one you just told. He has files 2 feet high from surgeries, and other ailments yet he went through utter hell to get his prescription filled. And the pain management Dr. told him it was the last script he is writing for him. No reason other than he said he has too many patients. Cut off just like that. It took the 6th pharmacy before getting it filled. They all lied and some sent him to sister stores saying he would have no problem there but when he went he received a song and dance. It's inhumane to let legit people suffer with pain yet it would be easier to move a mountain than to get input from the government or any agency for help. These evil people better pray God is forgiving. And thank their lucky stars "I am not God, not even for a day" I hope life will get better for you.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

People who have never experienced chronic pain are far too quick to throw stones. Fact is, docs will try everything under the sun before resorting to narcotics most of the time, and most patients would absolutely love to go one day without those meds and feel just a decrease in their pain. People who have no clue seem to think they know best- ironic and way too common. Fact is, you haven't been through it. You have no say here. Unless you are a trained pain management medical professional, if you aren't a CPP, you have zero credibility throwing your worthless two cents in. By the way, I am NOT a CPP, just a med student who doesn't see CPPs as junkies or people taking the "easy way out" when resorting to narcotics.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

Man do I have empathy for you. I broke my back in the military 10 years ago, when I was 18. Since then, I've also acquired several disc herniations, pinched nerves and facet overgrowth, degenerative disc disease and sciatica. It's awful to have this pain constantly, with my feet going numb after 5 minutes of sitting or walking. The military misdiagnosed me and said my issues were stemming from my knee...so that's what they treated. Never once looked at my back. It wasn't until I left the military that I found a doctor willing to investigate, and boom...problems uncovered. He put me on oxycodone 2 years ago, and unfortunately, I need it to get me thru my day. I'm extraordinarily busy, as many of us are, and until someone FIXES my back, I have to rely on these meds to numb the pain. However, I am getting quite tired of dealing with the pharmacy. Out of nowhere last month, my pharmacist literally chastised and yelled at me in the open, for simply handing him my script. He says I'm on too many...ok, I understand the DEA is cracking down and all, but last month was my first on a long-acting medication, and my doctor wanted me to maintain oxycodone for break through. This guy wouldn't let me say a word, calls up my doctor, and starts yelling at him! This really upset me mainly because this man has no idea what is physically wrong with me, for one. I feel bad enough and frustrated enough with my issues, and really hate getting blasted over the only thing that helps me get thru my day relatively painlessly. I do everything by the book, never fill early and am always on time, am always courteous to the pharmacist and have never lied to them. My point here is this...I understand that the paranoia and pressure that these pharmacists are facing from high above is only getting worse. However, being a highly abused substance put aside for the moment, oxycodone is still a medication that many of us use honestly, as it was intended. They need to treat each patient uniquely, and not lump us into one huge pot corroded with judgement. Did I write the prescription for myself? No. Do I tell my doctor what I NEED to be on? No...he decided this, based upon my issues. Yelling at me in a pharmacy full of people was not only demoralizing and embarassing, but made me feel severely judged and criticized. I'm sorry that my chronic pain, which has made for a long road these past 10 years, is an inconvenience. We need to bring the humanity and empathy back, to ALL professionals working in the medical field. Let's get rid of this assembly line and put individuality back in the treatment of patients, with immediate judgement a thing of the past.

I'm sorry this was so long, but I feel for all people living with chronic pain, but also trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy in their lives. It can be hard as hell to achieve. And I feel for all dealing with difficult pharmacies, as long as that individual has their integrity intact when dealing with them. Heard of the Angry Pharmacist website? Talk about unprofessionalism there.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

You don't sound like a "Pharmacy Tech"...Our Prescriptions come from REAL Doctors, who went to medical school...there is no reason on earth why you wouldn't fill it...if a doctor agrees his patient is in pain enough to give them narcotics then it's obvious it is a legit prescription. Not ALL Of us Get STONED on our narcotics, Thanks.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

Lots of experience, I'm very sorry about your son but pharmacists do NOT have more experience picking out drug seekers than doctors. I'm a med student and I know many pharmacists- doctors are taught at great length how to determine who's a drug seeker. A doctor who prescribes oxy for headaches?? Maybe if they're a criminal. No doctor I know would ever do that. Pharmacists are NOT taught how to determine who is a drug seeker because they are not trained to diagnose, period. To say they know better than doctors who is a legit patient is ludicrous and totally backwards. I do offer the utmost sympathy for your loss, but I'm afraid your view just isn't correct.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

If you are able to control your pain with suboxene it's unlikely you ever needed the medicines you were on. First, suboxene is not very effective for pain in the levels it's given for opiate replacement therapy and, second, it's rarely used for pain management. If you were on oxycodone and fentynal and then were prescribed suboxene it's because you had a problem taking your meds as precribed and developed a serious problem.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

Apparently you've never been an RN nor does it sound like you possess much, if any, medical knowledge, Patrick. If so, you would know that rheumatoid arthritis is not the run of the mill type of arthritis that affects most people when they get older.

RA is an autoimmune disorder that can cause disfiguration and severe pain. I'll guarentee the Harvard study you referenced was not referring to people with RA. Telling someone with rheumatoid arthritis to simply push through the pain and it will eventually go away is like telling you that you don't need those catheter treatments any longer. Turns out you just haven't been pushing and straining hard enough when you're going to the bathroom. Yeah, if you strain long and hard enough, Patrick, I'm certain that very painful condition you have will simply go away.

I'm not about to get into a pissing match with you over who's in more pain. However, I will say that I have tried just about every narcotic alternative and none of them work very well for my condition. As for getting high, anyone with a chronic pain condition will tell you that there is no high when your medicine as prescribed. Not only but from the moment I was diagnosed with this horrible condition, getting high has been the last thing on my mind.

It's quite apparent that, in the history of modern medicine, no one has ever sufferered as much pain as you have, Patrick. While none of us have to endure what you maybe one day you'll stop acting so damn self righteous and concede that there are a multitude of very painful conditions that can be helped throug the responsible use of pain medicine - not just yours.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

CVS just plain sucks! Thankfully i'm not in pain but suffer panic attacks. Last time I went to CVS (I don't have insurance) the cost of my xanax tripled! I was told that CVS no longer accepts discount cards on controlled substances. This was two months ago! They treated me like a crackhead when I went to fill my xanax.. I can't imagine how they treat people on schedule II and III drugs.

The pharmacist at CVS also told me last time I refilled my xanax that I was taking a "large quantity" (150 .5mgs = 2.5 mgs a day). LMAO! I know people who are prescribed 3 times that! The CVS pharmacist also told me that she would have to contact my doctor for EVERY REFILL to make sure I still needed the medication.

Needless to say on my next refill I transferred the heck out of CVS!! CVS sucks!

I don't feel your pain, but I can relate to your frustration with these lab-coat cashiers and glorified pill counters!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

First of all, you're addressing "Chris" as if he'll read this when his original post is well over two years old. He has never posted a follow up comment so there's no reason to expect he ever will. That said, your assumptions infuriate me. Though most people make the same mistake, you assume that his experience with pain medicine will be exactly what yours was. Simply because this was your experience with opiates does not make it true for everyone else. People take a different approach toward medicine and it's incredibly naive (not to mention a little arrogant) to assume that the entire population will have the exact experience you did. Therefore, nudging him to try and force an admission that part of the motivation for obtaining this medicine is to feel high not only shows your ignorance (with regard to chronic pain), it’s completely off base. You need a little schooling so I'm going to give you some right now.

First of all, you probably know this but kidney stones cause what is known as acute pain. As much as kidney stones hurt (and I know they do) the pain eventually subsides with or without treatment. Chronic conditions that cause pain rarely subside completely but, rather, fluctuate in their intensity causing the need for long term medication. Acute ailments do not require round the clock treatment for any length of time. This creates two conditions. One, if you abstain from taking opiates outside of when you need them your tolerance remains low giving you the maximum effect the opiates can have on your reward centers. In other words, you get a serious buzz when you do take them. Second, it gives you the false impression that others (that may be taking them for chronic pain) also experience the same effects - hence your accusation that "Chris" was, in part, seeking to feel high.

Further, your assumption that everyone taking these medicines will eventually start dressing like they don't care about themselves and lose the respect of family and friends is also considerably off the mark. You see, your description is from that of an addict. There is an entire population of patients that take pain medicine for chronic pain that do none of the things you assume that everyone else does. In fact, those of us that take it for pain on a regular basis have long left the buzz effect behind. That's right. Not even the tiniest hint of euphoria or a buzz because, for one, our bodies and brain are used to it. And two, when you have severe pain, the medication goes to work relieving your symptoms instead of making you feel high.

So why am I picking on you? Clearly you said you were trying to be sincere but you are actually spreading the very same myths that so many people do when it comes to chronic pain patients. You are far from being along in your grossly inaccurate assumptions about patients that take pain medicine on a regular basis for chronic health conditions. There's the employers, neighbors, pharmacists, and physicians (yes, even physicians) that all make similar assumptions about them being high when that’s the last thing a chronic pain patient is thinking about. In addition, it's also people like you that have caused those of us that really need this medication to have to jump through hoops and go to great lengths in order to get it. It's being abused by so many people that it makes it incredibly hard for legitimate patients to obtain it.

Instead of making asinine assumptions that only apply to yourself (and other addicts), why don't you do everyone that needs this medicine a favor and get educated about it? Then you can start spreading some truth instead of a bunch of BS that amounts to nothing more than your own personal experience that may or may not apply to the population of pain patients as a whole. My fellow chronic pain patients and I would be greatly appreciative.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 5

Thought I would let you all know, I have been to see my Pain Specialists and Nurse Pratitioner, plus she works under a Rehab MD. After telling my NP all the problems everyone is having, including myself...she said after so much abuse by doctors and addicts seeking doctors who give pain killers, etc they are on a world wide Internet communication re: those who are abusing and those who are legitimate. It sure made me feel good to know that I am with doctors who are legitimate and who are working with the druggists and pharmacists so I can have the meds I need. I am almost off oxycodone, just need one for breakthrough pain occasionally. Am gradually tapering but was told I may never get past taking 3-4 a day, since I have taken them for 45 years. They do help my migraines but sometimes I need 2 at a time, that is okay too as far as the doctors are concerned and since I am 73 years old, they want me to have a good quality life for my remaining days...but I will continue to try to taper because I would like NOT to have to take any mind altering drugs. I will be having an Occipital Nerve Block in a couple of weeks, possibly that will help also. Swimming has helped, plus daily walks. As far as my back goes, I may have a couple of Epidurals for that issue!!! Wish me luck to get my life back and I won't have to fight the drug stores any longer and I will pray for you all to get your lives in order, get off the harsh pills if you don't really need them. And for those of you who do suffer with pain, find a good, legitimate doctor who is respected by the DEA and you shouldn't have any problems. It is the addicts who are spoiling it for the rest of us who are having genuine pain but now that they are connected to the Abuse Network, gradually things should change. Good luck to all!!!!

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

pharmacies don't prescribe. they dispense.

REPLY

Was this helpful? 3

FYI , pharmacists go to school for 7 years and they are doctors. They have a doctorate . Doctors of medicine. . And as another person replied, there is nothing you can do legally to make them fill the script for you. I am a tech at a big chain pharmacy and even by you telling the pharmacist that a friend of yours just got their rx filled , that is reason enough for them to refuse filling it because that is now considered "networking"

REPLY

Was this helpful? 4

I am a legit patient with many issues some including 2 surgerys on my spine.. 3 disc bulges, 5 herniated disc and more.....

92 REPLIES

Canada has had most of the oxymoron on back order for several months now. Our scripts get filled but they replaced them ...

2 REPLIES

I am a 50 year old woman in severe pain due to a degenerative disc disease, something I was born with and has progressed...

9 REPLIES

I'm wondering where i can fill my 30mg oxycodone script in vero beach, florida. Its a conn. prescription and my dr h...

2 REPLIES

We live in Pinellas County, Florida. My spouse, who is in severe, chronic pain, has been a customer of Walgreens for man...

13 REPLIES

Hi, my husband has chronic pain from multiple surgeries and has been on 30 mg oxycodone, 2-4 times a day. He found a Doc...

10 REPLIES

Come on guys anyone intrested in helping out by actually for once giving pharmacy names not just talking about the probl...

18 REPLIES

I have seen so many different opinions and information about companies offering generic oxycodone and the differences in...

62 REPLIES

Have been on 10mg Oxy for years but am having a terrible time finding them. They either don't have them, won't f...

6 REPLIES

I am just concerned because I have gotten my prescription filled from 2 different pharmacies and the 1st one had imprint...

1 REPLY