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1027211 tn?1252007431

Pharmacy refused & destroyed Tylenol 3 script

Hi all, this is my first post at MedHelp so bear with me if I've mistakenly posted this in the wrong area.
I was just with an older friend of mine who has recently had terrible mouth pain, stemming from an exposed and infected root (no pun intended).  He is regularly prescribed darvocet for some reason (I've never asked, not my business) and is a regular at a Rite Aid at the corner of his street.
Anyway, the darvocet rarely suffices when he's in pain, but he's never asked for anything stronger -- he's usually content after taking some aspirin.  However, this tooth pain seems indescribably painful for him and he scheduled an appointment with his dentist who assesed the problem and produced the aforementioned diagnoses.  The dentsist is aware that my friend takes darvocet, but my friend requested something a little stronger because the neither the darvocet nor aspirin were providing relief so he gave him a prescription for Tylenol 3s.
My friend dropped the script off at his usual Rite Aid (where he also fills his darvocet)  and roughly an hour or two later returned, only to be denied the Tylenol 3s.  From what he's told me, the pharmacist told him that he should still have darvocet and that that should be sufficient.  My friend does NOT have any more darvocet because he had lent several to his mother and taken a few more than usual as of late because of the pain.  When he told them this, they said it did not matter; they couldn't fill his script.  Upon asking for it back, he was told that in accordance with policy they had destroyed the script and he could not get it back.
This just doesn't sit well with me.  Aside from the fact that I naturally feel opiophobia is becoming far too rampant in the medical world, my friend wasted a trip and money to his dentist (as he is to see an oral surgeon at the end of the month and had the appointment prior anyway) hsi appeal for relief was denied to him!  He was stunned to learn that he couldn't get relief from his pain; he had been waiting several days for some better pills.
I guess my questions are: is this (the pharmacy's actions) legal?  If so, by state (NY) or federal law?  Any suggestions as to what my friend can do now (I'd hate to see him suffer till the surgery at the month's end)?  And any further information would be much appreciated.  Thank you all in advance.
-Sneem
16 Responses
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Avatar universal
Actually Pharmacists do have a right to shred the presctiptions. When narcotics in the same group are written by different doctors and the say supply overlaps, they have two options, shred the scripts or get the Dea enforcement involved.

You don't understand what pharamcies put up with on a daily basis. In order to stay good he sould have the original doctor write out for diffeent scripts and document that they were aware of the previous medications.

Pharmacists are the ones held liable when patients od on medications. Not the doctors who are writing the scripts or the patiens who are abusing the medications, its the pharmacists who dispense that stand all the liability when the patient is doctorshopping and using various narcotics.  

peace!
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
Thank you for the update. I hope our friend will soon have his tooth "fixed."

I am also glad that your friend received an apology from Rite Aid. It sounds like this pharmacist has reacted similarly in similar situations. Unfortunately it sounds like it will happen again and no action will be taken. Pharmacists are in such short supply that too often they call the shots based on their personal opinions, right or wrong.

Darvocet and Tylenol #3 are at the bottom of the narcotic list. Many will argue that they provide about as much pain releif as prescription strength Ibuprofen. In my opinion you made an error in transferring your narcotics, remember it is illegal.

However I disagree with the previous poster that called your friend a Doctor Shopper and a junkie. We do not advocate rudeness or name calling on MedHelp.

Again thank you for the update. It was very much appreciated.

Good luck to you and your friend,
Tuck
Helpful - 0
1027211 tn?1252007431
TerryFL,
I forgot to say: If you read my original post, he has an appointment with an oral surgeon at the beginning of the month.  He can't get it moved up because his surgeon's on vacation at the moment.  And his insurance doesn't allow for him to see a wide array of expensive dentists/surgeons.  He's been vehemently calling other oral surgeons to no avail.  He wants to be pain free till his surgery, nothing suspicious there to me.

To All: ***UPDATE** lol
He sent letter and called the district managers of Rite Aid and just got a call back today (9/9).  The regional pharmacy supervisor called and completely agreed that the pharmacist was in error.  He said that the woman who ripped it up is a good pharmacist, but he occasionally disagrees with her on certain issues and actions she takes.  He said in this instance, he himself would've filled the script, or at least have returned the script.  We're not going to push anything any further, though.  An apology was satisfying.  I don't see any reason in beating a dead horse, hopefully she'll get a talking to.  Thanks for your interest (and help & support) everyone!
-Sneem
Helpful - 0
1027211 tn?1252007431
Hahahaha, no no no no, not at ALL.
He really hates pain meds, he's just in THAT much pain.
He used his darvocet as little as possible when he had it.
And I offered him the dilaudid (a single dilaudid) when he was in a lot of pain and had nothing at all.
I know my friend very well, and he's not like that.  You're accusing someone who is very close to me of being an addict; I know him and he certainly is not.  He had no darvocet, he requested codeine.  He was refused.  He got lortabs.  He's not stockpiling opiates in his house.  He wanted one friggin' script of ANYTHING (but darvocet) and he seems like he's doctor shopping???
Helpful - 0
622940 tn?1252515107
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to observe from your posts that your "friend" is doctor shopping and got snagged.  Your "friend" visits a dentist and a regular doctor for a tooth pain that he seems to want medicated rather than treated.  Then there's the mother factor and your dilaudid "contributions".  The dude, er...your "friend" is a doctor shopping junkie.  First the pharmacist, then the cops.
Helpful - 0
1020474 tn?1251486959
Good grief!  I cannot believe a pharmacy would do that, and I agree with the other repliers that it was not the pharmacy's right to destroy the script.  

Indeed your friend is lucky to have you to advocate for him.  

Best of luck to you both.
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
Your friend is fortunate to have you by his side. I hope you will assist and encourage him to take some action in this instance.


I'll look forward to your update.
Tuck

Helpful - 0
1027211 tn?1252007431
Thanks Tuck,
As you can see in my previous update post we have yet to address the pharmacy {>_<;}.
It's very comforting and -- more importantly -- provides a great deal of confidence to me in dealing with the people in power to know that the pharmacist was in the wrong.  Your reaction (lividity) would be akin to mine, were it me.  Actually, my friend was pretty furious.  He called the pharmacy after we got to his house (immediately after we had come from trying to pick up the pills) and was rather irate -- to put it politely -- with them, eventually hanging up on the speaker.  It's better I handle this; words come more easily to me {lol} and he's more likely to swear and, as I said, hang up in rage.
And yes, he erred in giving his mother the darvocet but he did not give her many, and she's on the same exact prescription.  He's not the kind of person who goes around trading his pills and he'd never think twice about giving somebody a controlled substance without a great deal of warrant.  And no, he did not tell the pharmacy so this pharmacist took it upon herself and blindly made this mistaken call.
I'll definitely update; the more I think on it, the more I feel something needs to be corrected here.
-Sneem
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
Hi Sneem,

Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum of MedHelp. Sandee is 100% correct in my opinion. I can't help by add my 2 cents worth.

I hope by now the pharmacist has been reported to their manager, Corporate Rite Aid and the officials at the address that Sandee provided. I would have been livid. They are not physicians and have no right to do what they did. That prescription legally belonged to your friend. A pharmacist does have the right to refuse to fill a prescription for several reasons but unless they sincerely beleive it is an illegal one they must return it to you, or in this case your friend.

Your friend made an error by "lending" his mother a narcotic. It is illegal to transfer a narcotic to anyone, including your mother. If he told the pharmacist that it may played a part in the pharmacists actions.  

I hope you will let us know how things turn out.

Tuck
Helpful - 0
1027211 tn?1252007431
Thanks for the replies (and support), everyone.
Addressing the fact that he lent some to his mom: she is also prescribed darvocet but she'd lost her bottle after her daughter moved out of the house and her belongings were scattered all over (long story, really, and unimportant as he only gave her seven or so) and the pharmacy certainly didn't know this.  They didn't bother to inquire about his darvocet stock prior to tearing up the script.  And I'm sure he would've consumed them all by this point, anyway, after witnessing him in this kind of pain.
But back to the main topic, I have somewhat of a quasi-update.  Today (9/4) I accompanied him to see his general M.D. and he, too, was upset about the pharmacy's actions.  With no hesitation whatsoever the doctor wrote my friend a prescription for lortab 7.5s, so in any case he's better off than he'd have been with the codeine, ultimately.  The lortab should keep his pain at bay till the oral surgeon can fix the problem.
But as you'd most likely like to know, we (unfortunately) have not yet addressed the pharmacy (other than the fact that he's transferred all his meds from Rite Aid to CVS permanently, so they did lose a customer).  I think he's just happy to finally get something for the pain, though they're not working as well as he'd like.  I gave him one of my dilaudid last night (and probably spoiled him; in retrospect I shouldn't have but to watch someone in such agony when you can help isn't easy) and he felt all right for a couple hours.  To be honest, though, we literally just got the prescription filled and the hydrocodone hasn't had the time to work at full potential yet.
I personally will probably do most of the "problem addressing", if you will.  I thank you, sandee1818, for the information.  Troubleinohio: I hope you've been successful in treating your addiction and if not I wish you luck in that. And once again, thanks everyone (Mollyrae & Totie) for your input and understanding.  I'll continue to update if and when I take action.

P.S: A bizarre note; we went to the new CVS to fill the lortab script, I stayed in the car and when my friend came out we checked the bag to find that he'd been given somebody else's pills!  I believe it was an antibiotic, I can't really remember though.  But it really was seeming like some higher power didn't want him to have relief, hahaha...  I laugh at the irony, not the negligence.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I think what got him in trouble was "he lent some to his mother".
Helpful - 0
535089 tn?1400673519
Sandee is correct in that the Pharmacist had no right in doing that. In fact, he cannot do that. It is against the law. Follow Sandees advise and get an attorney. This was an entirely different prescription..an upgrade so to speak and the Pharmasict was wrong.

Report him at once. You might be standing up for not only your friend but others who might have gone through this as well.

I hate it when others not qualified try and tell you what you do or don't need.

Please take care and good luck,
Mollyrae
Helpful - 0
356518 tn?1322263642
I had forgotten to mention that you should never give your prescription medicine to anyone else.
I can not believe these pharmacist are tearing up your scripts as they are your property.
The only reason they should be doing this is if the doctor instructs them to.
I know that this was in the past when you were getting the davocet and then the vicodin from another doctor but that is seen as doctor shopping and illegal. I just wanted to let you know in case you were not aware of this:)
We have to deal with so much including finding a doctor who will treat pain and then the people who call us addicts because we require medical treatment we should not have to deal with pharmacist who think they are doctors who destroyed the prescriptions we get!
This really makes me so angry. I can imagine how you must have felt having your prescription that you so badly needed torn up by the person who is supposed to be taking care of your prescription needs. Terrible!
Helpful - 0
230262 tn?1316645934
i had the same thing happen to me.....about....3 years ago Id guess.. I had been getting darvocet as well from my 1st pain managment doctor, however he never had me sign a contract because their policy was only to do the contract if you were on a stronger narcotic like oxy, hydro etc.  Well, after i'd been going there for a long while and requesting my doctor change my medicine because the darvs werent helping my pain- that dr denied me the change. So when i went to my regular family doctor i told him about this and he wrote me an RX for vicodin (which i shouldnt have ever taken in my life because i got addicted).  Well i tried to fill it at the same pharmacy i'd always used...they too tore up my RX... i never did get a new one at that time, it wasnt for a month or two later that I got put on vikes for years (again, I regret that in hindsight because like I said, I got horrifically addicted)
Im not sure what your friend's legal stance is on this...also there might be more to the story than what you know. Also, he shouldnt have given his mother his darvs...so there are a few issues going on... but the bottom line is, I know how terrible tooth pain like that is and I feel bad for him. I hope he gets something straightened out quickly for that.. let us know how this turns out..
Helpful - 0
356518 tn?1322263642
I am going to call a friend of mine who is an attorney and see what he says about your friends situation. I know that the prescription was his by law being that the pharmacist did not cancel it. I sincerely hope your friend will not let this go and has this "pharmacist" prosecuted!

Here is the information for your friend to turn the pharmacist in. Maybe he will lose his license and rightfully so.

New York State Board of Pharmacy
89 Washington Ave Fl 2
W
Albany, NY 12234-1000
Phone: (518) 474-3817 x130
Fax: (518) 473-6995
Website: www.op.nysed.gov
Lawrence H. Mokhiber, Executive Secretary
Helpful - 0
356518 tn?1322263642
Hi,
Welcome to the community here at MedHelp. The pain your friend is experiencing is enormous. With the root and nerve exposed and infected I can not imagine the pain he is having.
The pharmacist had NO RIGHT destroying his prescription at ALL. This is blatant negligence and I hope your friend reports him! He needs to call his dentist and tell him what happened at once. I am sure the dentist will be as outraged as I am at the pharmacist actions. That prescription is your friends property unless the dentist told him to destroy it he broke the law and needs to be prosecuted. I can not believe he destroyed it! that's beyond belief and as I said wrong in every sense.
Please tell your friend NOT to let him get away with it. Tell him to call the manager and his dentist now.
These rogue pharmacist make my blood boil. They think they can do what ever they please with no consequence and this one needs a good lesson and be he can't get away with this.
As per policy? The policy is that they should have called the dentist and asked if it was okay to fill being he had the darvocet filled earlier. Then they should have filed it. If they had a problem with It they should have given it back to him and told him I just do not feel comfortable filing this. Also this pharmacist that told him the darvocet should suffice is NOT a doctor and has no idea what should suffice as he had no idea what your friends problem was. The pain he is experiencing is really quite painful and even the Tylenol three is on the low end of pain control for his infected exposed root and nerve,
Please have your Friend take care of this unprofessional pharmacist!
As I said the dentist will be outraged at his behavior. I would have called the law had this happened to me.
I had an experience where a pharmacist refused to give my prescription back and I did call the police and they told the that pharmacist that was MY property unless the doctor cancelled it and to return it t me at once!
This really makes me sooo angry. Have your friend take care of this, please.
His dentist will write him another prescription so he needs to call  right away.
Tell him do not let this pharmacist get away with this as it will happen to others as well.
I wish I could give this pharmacist a piece of my mind!
Let us know what happens.
Helpful - 0
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