Refill of norco

Will Walgreens refill a norco prescription three to five days early?

[Dkelli56]

They might but they aren't supposed to and most likely your insurance won't cover it. Did your doctor give you another perscription or do you have a refill on your prescription. I know I have to go to my doctor every month to refill.

[Weathergirl21]

Hey there...

I remember your posts from back in early Sept. about this same issue.

I truly am not trying to be mean or snarky...I just want to keep you out of getting into trouble with your Drs. and  having them not provide care to you anymore.

You have mentioned that you have had issues with trying to fill your meds early for quite a few months. I guess my main question is why does this keep happening?

A prescription is meant to last for 30 days and only when there are months with 31 days does a prescription need to be filled a day or so early.

In 42 states there is the Prescription Monitoring Program. This tracks you by name, anywhere in the state when you fill a controlled substance. So, even if you don't use insurance and attempt to pay cash...it is on file every single time you fill your prescription.

So, unless there is a holiday weekend or you are specifically traveling, there shouldn't be any reason you are running out meds early to need them filled so many days ahead of schedule.

In the cases that I mentioned, you can easily get an ok from your Dr. to fill early but they usually only do this a few times a year.

Again, I promise I am not trying to lecture here...I am just concerned about you in needing to do this often and wonder if you are taking the meds more than prescribed.

So, even if you go to Walgreens or any Pharmacy and "try" to get it filled, they can legally call your Dr. and let them know that you are attempting to do this, even if they turn you down for filling it.

I just hope that if you are having issues with these meds, that you are honest with your Dr. about it. Either you are having pain that is not managed properly and this needs to be addressed. Or you are starting down a path of taking more than prescribed that you can help stop now by looking at the reasons why.

I really do hope you will stay on the boards and let us help support you either way...

[hondablk]

Hi, yes it's me again and I have been behaving well by putting aside the amount I need to take every day and not going over it. Problem this time is that we were away and in a cols damp rainy place. The pain was unbearable and I took extra telling my self I would make up for it. I have enough that I can easily make it up to three days before. I know my pharmacist that I usually go to would have done it as the law here s 5 days and then up to the pharmacist . I got the script on the first and thought I would go to Walgreens and to be honest stop taking advantage of this guy.  Another question I have is I discovered Walgreens charges $50 more than anyone else around and I have two more refills with them. I think it is too late to transfer this month as I may not get them even on time. Iif I do it for next month DEC then it will show an early refill attempt. By January I will be out of the donut hole so no matter.

[trixieplayer]

Hey there. Just wanted to  let you know that I have found myself in your same situation with the very same drug and pharmacy. I was "Enlightened",by the pharmacy manager that it is Walgreen's policy to refill a controlled substance script no earlier than 3 days, and all other scripts no earlier than 4 days.

[hondablk]

Thank you Trixieplayer. You have made me feel much better. It is a shame that we have to live this way. This time I will try again to do better. As I said before the guy I have been going to always gives it it me in 5 days. I am sick of the looks I get from his co workers every time I go in there. He is a local pharmacy. Another prob is I have to plan everything about how many pills I have. If. I go to a national pharmacy I would not have to worry about trips.

[Motowngirl67]

can I ask what your pain issues in? Maybe the vicadin isn't enough?  You might want to speak to your doctor about a long acting medication that you can take 2 or 3 * a day and then just have the vicadin for breakthrough pain that might solve a lot of your problems and not make you live your life around your days of the month.

[Motowngirl67]

I know that I would run out afew days before my refill day, due to lost meds, 31 days in the month, taking an extra one to get through a tough situation, pain wise I was at almost no relieve my pain levels were around a 6 or7 constantly no matter what I did. And I hated having to make sure I had pills before I left the house make sure I plan my vacation around my medical and

[Motowngirl67]

appointment.  I switch to a pain management facility and asked for a long acting medication. this is my first month and it has helped a lot I don't feel as if I am changing the pain and taking a pill every few hours, my body tells saying when it is time to take another and other than that I don't have to take my BT unless I am traveling are doing something that my body doesn't like. I hope this helps!  sorry if I got your post office cast I just hate to see anyone suffer and to take a lot of pills.  the tylenol alone is very hard on your body.

[Motowngirl67]

wow I am sorry for some serious tyos on that last post. Hope you can decipher....lol I am worki.g from my tablet since I am unable to sit at my computer and type. It has talk to type which is great but is off sometimes. And unfortunatly with my android for some reason it doesn't allow me to go back and edit. So, sorry and hope you get the idea of what I was trying to tell you...  Good luck:)

[hondablk]

I wondered what you meant by "I'm sorry if I got your post office cast". LoL. More than 10 years ago I started having left hip pain when walking , wow in 1994, any at that time I could walk through it. Drs assumed arthritis and had me on NSAIDs of several types. Would help a while then not. In 2002 I was laid off so went to theVeterans Admin and saw docs there. The one I saw to X-rays and said arthritis and offered a shot of steroid or NSAID. I took the pills ,went to see an orthopedic guy who told me to throw out the pills I got at the va and gave me something a little more current . After a while as pain got worse I went to two different neurologists. Both said spinal stenosis. There were not too many neuro surgeons that took my insurance. But I waited and I new about one in another city . She took one look at my MRI s and said I see nothing here that should cause so much pain go see a vascular surgeon . I went back to the nerologist that I liked , I would marry her in a minute if she would take a good looking 68 year old that complains constantly about pain and running out of pills. Any I degress, she got me a vascular surgeon and found a bunch of stenosis that required stents however still pain. Mr is showed slippage and a band of fatty tissue around part of the spine so anyway went for the surgery and now am worse Than before, not blaming the surgeon however he avoided me afterward and I resented that., saw another surgeon and he was ready to operate but got a lot of nays when I went for second opinions. My pcp is a kind wonderful dr who takes my pain seriously and tries to help me. He did send me to a pain mangement dr , I found out later was hooked up with th first surgeon. Put me on morphine and  breakthrough pills but honestly morphine worked for about a week then felt like nothing. He then implied I was pill shopping and talked rudely to me insisting I see the old surgeon. The pain is like my whole body hurts , from bottom of feet to the tops of my hips. Without these pills I don't know what I would do. I would actually writhe in pain at night. So that's my story.

[hondablk]

Sorry see above.  Lol. Forgot to put your name

[hondablk]

Hi , it's me again and you guessed it same problem , refilling early. I see with every prescription I am running out early. I did try the mscontin 15 mg 3 times a day but honestly I only got relief for  about 5 days. I have had a few broken bones in my life and really developed a tolerance. I remember in 1988 I had fractured a knee and after the operation was in dire pain finally one nurse figured out my history and got me some relief. Well I digress , I made an appntmnt with my doc an plan on telling him that I have developed a tolerance for these narcos and my question is , is it my place to suggest long term meds or should I just let him tell me . I am so afraid that he will send me to a pain mngmnt clinic .  

[hondablk]

Hi did switching to a pain mngmnt clinic help you more so than your own doctor?

[omhome]

why avoid the pain clinic? Do you want to be proactive and do all that is possible for your pain? Opiates are a help for you i get that but you seem too focused on the pills. Get it clear exactly what it is that you want a doc to help you with-------and tell your doc. If it is pills and more opiate---tell the truth. Tell yourself the truth. And tell us the truth.  That is what will work----anything else just screws everything up.  OK?  Whadda ya want there hondablk? We can help if we know.   omhome

[Xrisgallant]

I had trouble when my pain was progressing rapidly, I've been to 4 different pain clinics and had multiple surgeries and then I found my current pain Doc who listens to me and has given me the best relief so far. If your insurance lets you, you can pick your own pain clinic. It's fine to change doctors and get opinions but make sure to never get opioids filled by 2 different doctors, that's a sticky path to go down. If you take extra meds then prescribed then you should inform your doc every time you take extra, they may get upset that u did it but it builds a strong truthful bond with your doc, and they can increase or modify ur RX so you don't keep having this problem. Hope this helps

[hondablk]

Thanks , now I can do what you say, get it straight in my head what it is I want he.p with and tell him. Ok I get it now.  I know i am dependent on these damn things but I knew that would happen going in. We are trying o avoid more surgery here do to other problems I have. I don't know if I could survive another back surgery and I am looking at a major vascular problem.

[hondablk]

No the pain manager doc did not help me more than my own doctor , he was terrible.

[jmerritt0903]

Who are these responders that just tell everyone to talk to the pdr.  It's ridiculous.  Everyone who has been in chronic pain knows what pdrs do.  they are nice in the beginning cuz they are happy to get a new patient from whom they can suck $$$.  When they have to keep changing meds cuz they don't work and because the side effects are worse or life threatening, they get mad and call you non-compliant.  It's ridiculous.  My pain dr. won't see me if I am 5 min late.  Try be on time when you are in agony and can't get more than 1 1/2 hours sleep and finally fall asleep at 6 am (cuz your liver is so damaged but it won't show damage until its 90% gone).  They punish you and withhold the pain meds that you desperately need.  I researched and found on that opiates cause incrased pain-huh-they denied this-but they have a nice innocent name for it called "rebound".  Its really hyperalgia.  Means increased in pain.  That's what it should be called.  So we need to find out the cure for our pain--and no one wants to research that.  Once you get a silly diagnosis like fibromyalgia (which just means pain in fibrous tissue) they could not care less why you have this pain. That would cure it, so all of you tht just keep saying talk to the pm dr--I think you are pain m dr.s!!!!! Patients who are in chronic pain know that pain mgmt drs don't help us.  They string us along on often inadequate pain pills--sometimes the good ones will give us more than enough--of course with the side effects.  

[hondablk]

Good morning all., went to the doc yesterday and we had a long long talk. He is a compassionate guy and actually listened, therefor I listened to him. He explained a lot to me and came up with a plan o f long acting meds plus breakthrough meds. He explained what was expected of me and made sure I understood what to expect from the meds and other things I could do concerning the pain. I had a bit of a hard time finding a drugstore that carried the mg amount prescribed but I was persistent and found it.. I was supposed to start today with nothing else this am. Since I could not I called and left him a message. I feel better now that the doc is working with me on a specific plan . Thanks to all here for your advice.