I live in Central Florida, and my pharmacy--along with many, many others in the area--has had some terrible difficulties lately because one of the main pharmaceutical distributors was shut down by the DEA. My pharmacist explained this to me. This company is located in Lakeland, FL. I do not know their name or anything, but I am already having severe difficulty in obtaining my two main medications that help my pain. Getting the Sandoz patches and the generic Actiq has caused my head pharmacist severe pain and consternation. In fact, my Mom and Pop pharmacy has started ordering from another wholesaler who is located in Mississippi--usually taking over a week. And since many other pharmacies are having to resort to this, the orders are taking longer and/or not being filled correctly. For instance, I SPECIFICALLY need Sandoz patches, but the company in Mississippi sent the Mylan generic as a "substitute"--the ones that place me into what I consider "withdrawal".
Hopefully and fortunately...this DEA thing should be over in a few weeks since the alleged problems have to do with incorrect paperwork filing.
I don't want to disparage this wholesaler, and I certainly don't want to get on the DEA's bad side for any reason. But, this whole saga must be causing tremendous problems in our area for Chronic Pain patients.
OK...I'm just thankful, selfishly, that I have medication for the next month. But, it would take another novel-length post for me to detail what I had to endure to get my medication! I'll spare you this!
I use Sandoz patches, generic Actiq by Barr, and generic Dilaudid by Roxane.
My pharmacy--a Mom and Pop kind of place--had 3 locations. Recently, they condensed to two locations because they built a HUGE place to take care of their growing business situation. Well, my pharmacist (the one I love wholeheartedly and treats me so well) was moved to the location that is a great deal farther away than the "new" one. However, he was supposed to move to this new one within a few months. He never did. And, the service has been absolutely hideous.
Burney, the pharmacist that I think so highly of, would order my three narcotic medications within a few days of my picking them up for the month. This way, the medicine would always be there for me specifically. And...it always was. However, since we started using the new place--the pharmacist will not order my C-II's until 3 days before they are due because he said, "We have restrictions on those medications". Funny...I never had that problem before. LET ME TELL YOU THAT THE MEDICINE SHIPMENT DOESN'T ALWAYS MAKE IT! For the past few months, I have had to go on and off the patches I'm always promised. They order the Sandoz just for me. Apparently, everyone else in the world that uses that pharmacy is happy with the Mylan. For me, I would prefer a high dose of Narcan. That's how hideous this roller coaster makes me feel, and the pharmacist just looks at me like I must really be "hooked" on this stuff. I don't even think he understands that I have a legitimate pain issue. I have used the patches since 1996. Month after month, I get the same stuff. When Actiq came out in 1998, I've used that month after month. I would never leave them high and dry--ever. Today, December 27th, is when the generic Actiq came in. They were due on December 17th. My patches didn't come in ever, but I finally found them at a Wal-Mart in another county.
The wholesaler I'm referring to is a company in Lakeland, FL. I believe their name is Cardinal, but I'm not completely sure. The pharmacist I trust said that the DEA "sealed their vault" due to "paperwork inconsistencies". So, my pharmacy has begun utilizing a distributor in Mississippi. He said that was the closest one they could find who could handle their load. Our pharmacy supplies almost all of the rest homes in the area, which is a huge undertaking!
When I relayed all of this to Burney, he eyed me in a funny manner--because his pharmacy and the one we used when our location closed are owned by the same Mom and Pop. Well, Burney got on the phone and spoke to one of the pharmacists at the other place. I didn't hear much of the conversation, but my whole family is now using the place where Burney is the pharmacist. This is a LARGE amount of money per month--that's over 35 Rx's, most of them are not run-of-the-mill. Translated? It's a lot of money for some pharmacy to make and a lot for another to lose. Granted, they are the same company, but they couldn't possibly be different in their treatment of people.
We are now driving the extra few miles because Burney will do the job right. In fact, he has already ordered my next stuff, which is due on the 17th of January. I can understand if there is some sort of difficulty. But, why on earth would that stupid pharmacist purposely wait until the last minute? And, every time the mysterious order didn't show up on time. So, Burney is as human as we all are and can make mistakes. That I can handle. But, running C-II opiates orders that are necessary for living too close to the due date is NOT my idea of good pain management. So, Burney has three weeks or so of mistakes, lack of shipments, etc. Certainly, a correct order or two should come in from somewhere--even if it someone has to hitchhike the order all the way from Mississippi.
Now, as for this wholesaler in Lakeland. Burney said it has the pharmaceutical business in an uproar right now. He also said this was a [SIZE="5"]LARGE distributor and can't imagine the depth of Rx difficulties this is causing. However, the general idea is that this should be resolved in a few weeks. When it gets down to it, I have no idea what this wholesaler did. But, does it require the entire public to be punished?
Whew! That's about all I can do for now! BOTTOM LINE?Have your pharmacist order your medications weeks early--and do NOT stiff the pharmacy. As others have suggested on various threads, make the pharmacist understand that s/he's part of your healthcare team. Burney, the pharmacist I think so highly of, knows everything about me (and treats me well in spite of it). And...you know what? He has shared a great deal of his personal life with me! He and his wife are some of the nicest people you could meet. So, he's not just my pharmacist. I would call him my friend, as well as my pharmacist.
Sincerely,
Jon (Conductor)
P.S. Memere (K'Mac): Since the pharmacist (the one that has repeatedly IRKED me lately) wrote on my patch Rx, I had to use the after hours service to get another written Rx because the Wal-Mart IN THE OTHER COUNTY would not accept it. (The doctor's office closed that day at noon and won't re-open until January 2nd--my Dr. was as nice as could be, however.) So, we had to go to that Wal-Mart twice. The idiot pharmacist wrote "Sandoz, not Mylan" on the top, and the pharmacist at Wal-Mart would not accept it. "A C-II must be 'valid' on its face." I could have sworn I was sitting in a Law School Contracts class again--not a good feeling. Now...Memere (K'mac--I miss that screen name, by the way), do I pass your Great Auntie Elizabeth's test?
I can't think of anything else to say to you but how utterly SORRY I am concerning your medication loss. Again...I'm sorry that you had it out with your loved one.
Cpapp31...Yes, this wholesaler shutdown has made things very difficult for all of us. What's so sticky about these potent Schedule II medications is that the written Rx has to be perfect in every way. If Shoreline (Dave) reads this, maybe he could clue us in to our obstacles. He and several others on this board are aware of these especially technical rules concerning prescriptions of Schedule II opiates!
Yes, Cpapp31, this is frightening to me, too. Most people don't seem to understand the 'fright' part of this. Coming off of fentanyl is not very fun. During the Christmas holidays, a fill-in pharmacist made a tremendously ignorant statement. When referring to the Actiq, he said, "Well, that's just for breakthrough pain. You look just fine to me." He was just trying to be friendly, but his comment was just plain stupid to me. I deal with a great deal of pain due to Systemic Lupus and the Lupus Anticoagulant. Just because my pain stimuli are not visible to the naked eye, I am not well in the general sense.
OK...Thanks for letting me vent again--on the thread I started! However, this is a serious problem here in Central Florida!!
Sincerely,
Jon (Conductor)
P.S. Cpapp31, surely your regular pharmacist knows some other pharmacists really well. I mean that as a question, I guess. Maybe s/he can help you locate what you need. And, I would certainly bring this situation to your doctor's attention. My doctor was truly not aware of this problem, and she always seems to be several steps ahead of others when it comes to knowing what's going on.
My pharmacist (the main one at his location) told me that he thought this issue would resolve within a few weeks, but what do we do in the meantime? My pharmacy is a small Mom and Pop chain of 2 stores. What's so strange is that they are within sight of each other. They have been ordering from a wholesaler in Mississippi, and the entire Central Florida Pharmacy crowd has been attempting to use them. Frankly, Mississippi seems awfully inconvenient, but what do I know? Well, this place in Mississippi cannot handle this massive onslaught of orders so easily. I did locate the Sandoz patches that I wear--but ONLY because I called and called until I found them at a place in Orange County! Obviously, this place in Mississippi isn't the only other distributor, but I have the feeling this DEA shut-down is a HUGE mess. Don't you think the DEA should have some idea of how this would affect the public??!!
The cost of these medications without the assistance of our insurance coverage is prohibitive in every way. The fentanyl patches and the generic Actiq place the cost at nearly $1,500 or so per month--at least that was what it was the last time I asked. With my insurance, those two medications cost me a total of $20.00 per month! I don't know about you, but I do not own the bank.
Cpapp31, I don't know how they "fix" Rx's that have already been run through the system. Truly, I just don't know the "in's" and "out's" of this system!
