What Is The Legal Early Number Of Days To Pick Up A Regular ,3 Year Hydrocodone Rx I Have Had In Nc , Now 2013

my doctor has prescribed hydrocodone and that is all I take for pain management in N. C. at Walreen's; I never was declined due to insurance nor store's policy for these tablets, and now my PA and MD in pain management have suddenly turned it into a "history" of me picking up my Rx's early on a regular basis ,which is not even true according to my records; I do not understand why one day it was fine with my physician, as I we had always agreed that I wanted lowest doseage of pain meds tolerable for my chronic pain due to herniations and bulging discs, and these are the 10/325's, I tried Tramadol as a break-through Rx, and dropped it, no break through meds. such as that had any help for me, and higher medications with opiates actually suggested by the PA were declined by me. Now I am being flagged by my pain management group within an Orthopedic group, appear to look like a drug-seeking patient, which is not at all true. What are the laws in our state, NC,for days allowed to pick these up early and do they not keep up with amount of pills given either at the store or by the MD?

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Hi Debnsync,

Sorry to hear about your troubles with that pain management group. My mom was actually just facing a similar situation with her Dr and PA a while back, and I can say from her experience that they don't always have the patient's best interests in mind. They can be very robotic in their decision making (of no emotion), and in my honest opinion that can really disrupt any sort of relationship you might have otherwise had with the doctor. That missing relationship is what dissolves barriers in how they treat you, unfortunately.

Regarding the laws for picking up a script early. I would recommend contacting the FDA or DEA through one of their .gov webpages to hear it straight from a reliable source.

I hope this helps!

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thank you, this is helping because of the legal element; not that I ever tried to nor broke a law, I do know that many Dr.s are being investigated , the nurse herself told me about a pain management center that had just been closed for breaking laws in Fl, and she assumed I knew this news. Also there always seems to be a drug that journalists pick up on as a story-line, which destroys the very life of many who live in constant pain, due to drug abuse now a more common thing in our country; and Walgreen's gave me this site to answer a legal question, when really, I needed was what you gave me! I now at least have a way to investigate what and who is responsible ultimately for this prescription for a person with real pain, obtains one pain med. from one Dr., and actually was encouraging me to maintain and try perhaps something like Oxycodone, which did not agree with me nor do I even like the word Oxy associated with me at all due to the bad press it receives; and I am one who knows the same pharmacy and has for years. The pharmacy manager couldn't even answer the question for me: the definition of what is considered "on time", "too early", and whose choice is the final decision maker? The pharmacy seems to waiver on this and not keep up with total amounts of a drug prescribed, which is odd and that is considered legally to be a controlled substance....(deaintain my daily activities as well as practice healthy habits for my body including yoga, organic/local/vegetarian foods, etc. ), and she always said I wish all my patients were like you! Why be negative, right? Even if that old pain chart is a 7 I try to balance my life and not over-do, but I do have an active life with two homes and kids, animals, travel(oh, and the M. D. as he said would not prescribe for me anymore BUT I could have injections(been there, done that), or surgery.....so is it really about the fact that I pick up Rx's when I can, or before they are expired while I am on an overseas trip??)
Thanks again for sharing; until our health system shifts, heals people, listens to people, and sends addicts elsewhere while those of us who truly work well under their care and without surgery even possible much less desired, I am afraid that people are going to suffer. It is a shame. I know how your mother feels and sorry also for that; we need support groups, I am going to be teaching yoga and am practicing meditation daily, which I think will make a difference with my fellow students who are wanting to be at peace!

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Have you checked with your insurance company ? They may have flagged it as early ? All patients medical records from the prescribing dr and pharmacy records as well as the state PMP state the number of tablets prescribed, how often they are to be taken, how many refills, how long a rx/refill should last. For example if the rx states 1 tablet 3x a day, that's 90 tablets for a 30 days supply. The closer you can get to the 30th day the better off you are. Some insurance companies won't even approve refills if they are more than 2-3 days early because it indicates the patient isn't taking them as prescribed.

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Good idea, but have never been in a position or contacted by them for being in such a situation. Also check out the first reply to my question: his advice about laws and asking the DEA lead me to a page where Walgreens is actually all over it, with legal allegations and charges against them causing them to have had to pay huge amount of money....did not read the details, but I will one day. It is a shame how some people ruin the relief of suffering for those who truly have tried it all and still must live in . constant pain. Medicine and health care has changed so much, and it most likely will evolve and be fair one day again and allow professionals to treat and heal their patients according to law and their own Hypocratic(sorry no time to find spelling!) Oath taken when they got their medical degree.Thanks!

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The REMS Advisory Committee at the FDA recommended at the end of January 2013 that all hydrocodone containing products be moved from a Schedule III to a Schedule II. In New York state this is now state law, but nothing has been done on a federal level. If it is, you won't be able to get refills on hydrocodone containing products and they won't be able to be called in.

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I am tired of the whole thing, and our health system is broken; and many of our care-givers and healers are effected, here is hoping and praying it will come full circle one day.
Hydrocodone can come under many names, and narcotics and opiates can't ever be refilled without a written Rx or a Dr. call already. Check out how the drugs are so interchangeable with content under the 2 names!

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"Hydrocodone can come under many names, and narcotics and opiates can't ever be refilled without a written Rx or a Dr. call already."

Except in New York state, hydrocodone containing products (Lortab, Vicodin, Hycodan, etc) can still be refilled and called in. Some pharmacist may call the dr if a refill is too early or if another rx shows on the PMP. When the Federal Law changes, you will only be able to get hydrocodone containing meds without refills and with a written rx, the dr will not be able to call it in or give a "ok" over the phone. Schedule III meds can be called in and have refills and Schedule II meds can't be called in or have refills. But, it isn't Federal Law yet.

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Is calling in a request for a refill that's on file on Monday too early if its due to be refilled Tuesday? I do that normally b/c I use Walgreens Pharmacy so i'm not waiting until late Tuesday evening to get em filled. Knock on wood, I haven't yet experiences an issue, but reading these posts concern me. I don't need any problems. My script is for 5/325mg of hydrocodone. I can take 4/daily so I get my script filled every 15 days. Like I said, I usually go online on Monday afternoon & request a refill in case there's a delay or they need to be ordered. I usually don't pick em up til Tuesday morning anyways, but I'm wondering now if they may look at that as an early refill.

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