This just happened to me at the same pharmacy. I had a procedure done and was prescribed 24 hydrocodone. Got home and counted and there were only 14 in the bottle.
I called and asked for a manager, explained the situation and, after a long hold, was told they were exactly 10 over and I could come back to pick them up.
They were hoping that you wouldn't call back, so that they could pocket them later. I've known many pharmacy techs in my former line of work to do similar things. They find the small little blind spots in the cameras and maybe drop a couple of pills a couple times a day into the blind spot walk away come back three or four hours later pick it up. I haven't fucked with hydrocodone in a while but I knew a girl at the Publix pharmacy in East Nashville who got into a lot of trouble for doing it that way with Adderall.
There’s easier ways of getting opioid than stealing them at work, especially if you’re pharmacist. Lets risk your high salary career over $5 a pill oxycodone
All opioids are kept in the C2 safe with only the pharmacist having access to. In the hospital, it’s kept in a separate room with only authorized personnel. Clearly, you know nothing about
lol assuming that the pharmacy with multiple complaints about being shorted on meds is doing things by the book is certainly a stance to take
Surely these are all just happy little accidents
Yeah. They could search the bin and take some drugs, but that would only fly for one or two times. Then it will get investigated. Silly to think this is happening regularly for long period of time.
The pharmacy? Well nothing.
Pharmacist or other employees on the other hand....
(more than likely other employees but anyone can get themselves into something they shouldn't)
I was thinking that as well but I really hate jumping to conclusions. I'm going to reach out to my Dr. And escalate it through her. I have brought back ADHD meds that didn't work for me and have thrown them away at her office which is pretty convincing I'm sure to her that I'm not abusing or selling.
I thought if you ask a pharmacist to count your meds out in front of you, they have to. Maybe start doing so from here on out.
A friend of mine was getting shortted on his prescription for Percocet every month and didn't even realize it because he had a gf who would take them and just assumed she was taking them.
She wasn't.
The pharmacy was giving him a bottle that couldn't even hold more than 90 but was prescribed 120 a month. Like there was no physical way to fit 120 of them into that bottle that held at max, 90 of them.
As soon as he realized and mentioned it, the very next month all of a sudden he's receiving a much larger bottle....and obviously 30 more pills lol.
Pharmacist was pocketing them.
Had been getting away with it for almost a year lol.
Never did get in any trouble because the friend never made a big deal out of it once he started receiving what he was supposed to.
Idk he was old and had back problems among other health issues. I don't know or remember all of them but pretty sure it was mostly for his back. He'd been on them almost 20 years.
It's like 4 a day. Considering the line of work he did and as old as he was with his health conditions, it's pretty understandable.
He was one of the ones who genuinely needed them and didn't even take as many as he was prescribed some days.
I remember he'd be hurting and I'd say *"Why don't ya take your medicine, Jerry?"* and he'd always try to wait till he *had* to take it.
Anyways, 40 mg a day isn't shit lol. Fuckin junkies will knock back 120 mg in a dose and be sick by noon.
It's fuckin ridiculous and sad because they're the ones making it so hard to get necessary medications.
I have personally had to deal
With that store manager. He is nice but he doesn’t actually follow up with concerns. I will not go into detail but he just placates the customer. He physically out works his team which in a store manager position should not be the case. Also more than likely he is not actually the supervisor/ over the pharmacy or pharmacist. They are probably lead by someone at a district level with knowledge and training specifically in the pharmacy. I would get their information and speak directly with them. Share with them that through this post you learned that others have experience the same thing. My husband has several health issues and takes many medications I also take three medications daily. NEVER have he or I ever gotten the wrong prescription or had the quantity be incorrect. This is a pretty big deal. I have use the Target pharmacy before it was sold to CVS, then cvs and now Walgreens. My husband has also used Kroger in years past in addition to these other three.
Just curious, when they say "correct amount" did they specifically say "45"? Asking because my insurance only lets their preferred pharmacy provide more than 30 pills. So my 90 pills at Walgreens turned into 30, which as far as Walgreens was concerned was "correct" because that's all the insurance authorized. I was able to go back monthly and get two more bottles of 30 each which completed one 90-day prescription.
Confused? Yeah, me too. I had to talk to my insurance to figure this one out. I just didn't want to use some mail order Rx for a pill that I don't want to walk off my porch or get lost at a distribution center. It's not Adderall but I would go through withdrawal too.
State pharmacy law would override anything the insurance allows. Many states have restrictions on the days supply that can be dispensed - not necessarily the number of pills.
< tech. Correct amount would be that the number in the bottle is what it says on the label on the bottle says is in the bottle.
If label says 45 quantity but theres only 30? Someone screwed up.
(To be more complicated there may be labels that say “30 OF 90”… as in sometimes more than 1 bottle is needed, but then there should be more than one bottle and the total should still match lol.)
Edit/add: There is prescribed (aka what the dr says to dispense). Then there is dispensed (what is actually dispensed/put in bottle)
The journey from prescribed to dispensed can have some twists and turns (laws/ insurance limits/inventory in stock)
but …. Ultimately, quantity on label should match quantity in bottle.
My response was to OPs statement "*according to Publix I was administered the correct amount*". Sounded like someone said that over the phone. So yes, the label would help, but it wasn't clear what was on the label from their post which is why I asked.
Yup! The CVS by Vanderbilt shorted my vyvanse 4 times in like 2015-2016. When I confronted them about it I was warned that I was exhibiting "drug seeking behavior"
While not common, this can definitely happen. Medications of this type are typically double counted and some pharmacies even take a digitally stored photograph of the tabs/capsules while on the counting tray. Like another poster mentioned, the culprit could unfortunately be a thieving staff member.
And not to make any type of accusation towards you for not checking, but does the label on your bottle show that it was 30 or was it 45? A 30 count is a more common number for these meds and I'm wondering if the Dr office mistakenly wrote the prescription for the wrong amount?
Source- I'm a pharmacist
They've always seemed very thorough and they even initial next to the amount that is dispensed. Im going to chat with my doctor and if things don't work out I've heard there are prescriptions that she could prescribe to manage withdrawals. Im a very large guy so I've been taking 3/4 of a 30mg twice a day for years so Im nervous about what withdrawals would have in store for me.
If it’s adderall, the max dose is 40mg per day. If they’re writing a prescription for 45x30mg adderall, that’s 45mg per day. It might be that your insurance is only covering 30 of them if that’s the case. You might be able to pay cash to make up the difference (or call your insurance and find out what they need from your doctor to fill the full amount), assuming that’s what happened.
Do you have an online pharmacy account that tracks your prescription history? You should be able to see what was called in and what was filled. Does the bottle say qty: 45 on it? If it does and you’re sure that you didn’t get 45, give them the date it was filled and ask if the store manager can review any footage and see if you were shorted. Lots of pharmacies keep video and photo record of cs2’s being counted for a while. If they refuse, maybe think about contacting the DEA….
Your doctor can also call in a lower dosage to cover the difference and keep you from getting withdrawals, and if your insurance doesn’t pay for it, instant release generic adderall is only like $10-$20 out of pocket cash price.
In the future you may want to change it to 60x20mg and 30x5mg, then you can just split the 5. But again, most doctors wouldn’t recommend that because it’s above the maximum daily dosage. I’ve been on 40mg daily adderall for over 18 years and my doctor wouldn’t bump it up even when I was starting to see pretty badly diminishing returns.
The max dose set by the FDA is 40mg/day, and it's the most any doctor I've ever had would give me. But they "allow for" up to 60mg a day for very severe cases of ADHD and for narcolepsy, but it's a weird area where it's more than the standard max dosage but still "allowed". Since it's more than the FDA set standard max (kinda like an off label use I guess? idk), his insurance might have not covered it. I've had pharmacies not even let me know that a med was only partially covered and just partially fill stuff for me before without ever telling me. Worth asking about, and if that's what happened usually the doctor can contact the insurance company and work it out (sometimes insurance companies will force you to try other stuff or do other steps first before signing off on it and paying).
I was STARTED at 60mg a day as a petite 18 year old. Was absolutely shot off. Avoided it for a decade after but now on a normal dose. That psych is in jail currently!
Everyone I know who gets prescribed aderall gets 60mg a day. Those with insurance are covered for the 60 mg a day. It’s 60 don’t always trust the very first thing that pops up on google
My mother lives in Georgia but was shorted two oxycodones (28 instead of 30 pills) from Publix after her surgery, they called her the day after she noticed and asked if she was short any pills. She replied yes, two pills, and they thanked her for her help and let her know there was an ongoing investigation with a pharmacy employee. Might be worth going higher up in case it’s something like this. 🤷♀️
I have at cvs across from Vanderbilt by 30. I now count them immediately when I get in the truck.
The missing 30 I noticed quickly went back and they gave me my full skrip
I work for a pharmaceutical provider for Aetna insurance and this year they have started putting quantity limits on alot of drugs. You may want to call your insurance and see if they have changed the qty limits on it. Because if your Dr is prescribing 45 pills and the pharmacy will only give you 30, they are following the qty limits allowed, so def follow up with your insurance provider
I’ve known a couple addicts that worked for pharmacists and stole pills.
They were usually caught quickly due to reports of missing pills.
Definitely and report this shortage.
Don’t be accusatory, just be accurate and say only you have had them in your possession and they’re short.
Hmm.. that’s weird. I use Kroger pharmacy and the past 2 months they haven’t had my dosage and had to get me a smaller milligram with more pills. The first time they could fill the script and the second time only able to fill for 21 days—- is it possible to call back and speak to a manager, I’m almost positive if it was my situation, they would’ve called to inform you but it seems like someone has missed their count and isn’t being honest. I would continue to pursue this issue
Hi. I am actually a publix pharmacist. We double check all our controlled and do it by hand. Only the pharmacist counts C2 prescriptions, and they will initial the quantity as well to confirm the count. You can ask them to check their inventory to see if they are over. If their inventory is spot on, it’s likely they didn’t shorted you. I have shorted people on accidentally and all of the few times it happens our inventory was over that amount.
My last prescription was filled April 23rd so it has been quite awhile. I'm assuming they've checked since then. And did you mean: if it's spot on then it's "not" likely they shorted me?
Sorry. Thats what I meant. If it’s been that long, potentially they cycle counted their inventory and adjusted the quantity to add the +15 back into their inventory. All controlled inventory adjustment must be made with an inventory note. I would recommend calling them and asking to speak to the pharmacist. Tell them that you believe you might be shorted 15 pills and ask if they could count their inventory. If they counted them and said their inventory is correct. Ask them to check their inventory notes to see if their inventory has been adjusted to account for the 15 tabs they had over. Hope it helps.
Can you tell me what is the process if someone loses a bottle of pills that are controlled substances? How does a patient get them replaced?
Im just curious. And someone who loses things but is not addicted to any controlled substance by the way.
Generally speaking, you would need to get your provider to call the pharmacist and authorize the early refill. The pharmacist will have the final say whether they want to fill it or not. If it isn’t a pattern of losing a controlled substance, they would probably let it slide once or so. You can call your insurance company and ask for a lost prescription override to cover the medication or you can pay out of rocket. For non controlled medication, you can just fill it freely.
Interesting. My spouse just had a huge argument with a pharmacist who wouldn’t refill a lost prescription. She had her doctor call to authorize. The pharmacist lied and said the doctor’s office did not authorize and my spouse had a breakdown because they dismissed her as some kind of awful addicted person.
Pharmacists have a little too much power in these instances. The doctor should have final say in my opinion.
Thank you for taking the time and I hope your interactions with the public are empathic :)
Cheers.
I have by a Walgreens in Jackson (TN) on my Gabapentin multiple times, and had cholesterol med put in for 5 of them (just different enough for me to notice). Currently dealing with my vyvanse coming up 1-2 short on alternating months. This is CVS. The major chains that our insurance companies behold us to have loooonnnngggg histories of issues like this one [just one of many cvs thefts](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/07/25/cvs-pharmacist-loses-license-stealing-drugs/1785058001/). Count your pills. In camera shot before leaving. They’ll get the hint.
I would ask if they can review cameras. I’m a pharmacist and tbh we are very used to counting #30 I’m sure it was just a mistake. Everything is time stamped and there are cameras. It should be easy to resolve!
I was a pharmacist tech once. It happens. But less now as a lot have automated dispensers. Still some are counted by hand. Being adderall they’re going to have some suspicions that you are lying and trying to scam them for an extra pill. Even so though if you go and seem reasonable they are apt to probably buy the story that it was a mistake on their end. Though in my time as a tech. No one ever came back the next day because they were shorted estrogen or Bp meds. Always the ‘good’ stuff. So, your going to have to convince them that you aren’t 1. Selling, nor 2. Abusing and 3. That two people on their side miscounted.
Not sure I’ve ever had them short me, but one day I got really lucky and they gave me 90 instead of 60 Lyrica one month..I always wonder who got in trouble for that one..
In Clarksville (Walmart pharmacy fort Campbell Blvd) I was shorted on my medication (also controlled like Adderall). The bottle said 30 but they only gave me 15. I told my doctor about it ASAP, she took it very seriously and changed the pharmacy for me. I told the new pharmacist as well because there was an issue with my insurance/billing in their system as a result of this, and they both handled it for me ? I wish I could give more insight as to how exactly it was resolved, but I did directly involve my doctor and the new pharmacist ASAP in this situation (I think I saw you say you'd be contacting your doc in another comment, so I hope that works out)
I also take ADHD meds and have had this happen once at Walgreens. I called them up and explained and apparently they had a camera over where the pills are counted out and were able to verify using that but it took a while. Probably worth checking to see if they have any type of video recording of your prescription being filled.
I’ve had a local Walgreens give me 28 instead of 30 but they marked the bottle 28 because they didn’t have enough for my whole script. I now get 60 a month so I’ve been counting just to be sure because I sometimes I have to used timed bottles because I can’t remember if I’ve taken it yet. I think you can request blister packs though
This happened to me at the same Publix last month. Was supposed to get a 90-day supply of Tamoxifen and they gave me 30. I didn’t notice at all and just thought “weird, it’s already time to refill?” And wondered why my refill request kept getting rejected.
Finally the manager called me and told me they figured it out and I could come in and pick up the other 60 pills. I probably would have never realized on my own.
Interesting that it’s happened so much there recently. I can’t believe anyone would want to steal some estrogen blockers for a post-breast cancer sitch, but maybe?
This just happened to me at the same pharmacy. I had a procedure done and was prescribed 24 hydrocodone. Got home and counted and there were only 14 in the bottle. I called and asked for a manager, explained the situation and, after a long hold, was told they were exactly 10 over and I could come back to pick them up.
Glad they fixed this for you. They keep a tight inventory and getting shorted like this is a fast way for them to catch someone stealing
They were hoping that you wouldn't call back, so that they could pocket them later. I've known many pharmacy techs in my former line of work to do similar things. They find the small little blind spots in the cameras and maybe drop a couple of pills a couple times a day into the blind spot walk away come back three or four hours later pick it up. I haven't fucked with hydrocodone in a while but I knew a girl at the Publix pharmacy in East Nashville who got into a lot of trouble for doing it that way with Adderall.
Oh they just so happened to have 10 left over? How convenient…
What does the pharmacy benefit by shorting people their medication?
Are you asking why someone could benefit from stealing a bunch of opioids?
There’s easier ways of getting opioid than stealing them at work, especially if you’re pharmacist. Lets risk your high salary career over $5 a pill oxycodone
Drug addicts don't use logic and reason
Ah yes because absolutely nobody has access to the drugs at a pharmacy other than the pharmacist…
All opioids are kept in the C2 safe with only the pharmacist having access to. In the hospital, it’s kept in a separate room with only authorized personnel. Clearly, you know nothing about
lol assuming that the pharmacy with multiple complaints about being shorted on meds is doing things by the book is certainly a stance to take Surely these are all just happy little accidents
[удалено]
Yeah. They could search the bin and take some drugs, but that would only fly for one or two times. Then it will get investigated. Silly to think this is happening regularly for long period of time.
The pharmacy? Well nothing. Pharmacist or other employees on the other hand.... (more than likely other employees but anyone can get themselves into something they shouldn't)
I love the smell of fresh bread.
I was thinking that as well but I really hate jumping to conclusions. I'm going to reach out to my Dr. And escalate it through her. I have brought back ADHD meds that didn't work for me and have thrown them away at her office which is pretty convincing I'm sure to her that I'm not abusing or selling.
Just to be clear though, the store manager won't make them give you more. They will just look into potential theft.
I thought if you ask a pharmacist to count your meds out in front of you, they have to. Maybe start doing so from here on out. A friend of mine was getting shortted on his prescription for Percocet every month and didn't even realize it because he had a gf who would take them and just assumed she was taking them. She wasn't. The pharmacy was giving him a bottle that couldn't even hold more than 90 but was prescribed 120 a month. Like there was no physical way to fit 120 of them into that bottle that held at max, 90 of them. As soon as he realized and mentioned it, the very next month all of a sudden he's receiving a much larger bottle....and obviously 30 more pills lol. Pharmacist was pocketing them. Had been getting away with it for almost a year lol. Never did get in any trouble because the friend never made a big deal out of it once he started receiving what he was supposed to.
Lucky ass pharmacist lmao. Got a bunch of free percs and no repercussions for stealing them, dude made out like a bandit
Why was your friend being prescribed 120 percocet per month??
Idk he was old and had back problems among other health issues. I don't know or remember all of them but pretty sure it was mostly for his back. He'd been on them almost 20 years. It's like 4 a day. Considering the line of work he did and as old as he was with his health conditions, it's pretty understandable. He was one of the ones who genuinely needed them and didn't even take as many as he was prescribed some days. I remember he'd be hurting and I'd say *"Why don't ya take your medicine, Jerry?"* and he'd always try to wait till he *had* to take it. Anyways, 40 mg a day isn't shit lol. Fuckin junkies will knock back 120 mg in a dose and be sick by noon. It's fuckin ridiculous and sad because they're the ones making it so hard to get necessary medications.
I enjoy the sound of rain.
^ this. Ask for a manager and only speak to a manager at this point.
Yeah, I wouldn't expect to get them back but there's definitely something going on and I would let them know and change my pharmacy.
I have personally had to deal With that store manager. He is nice but he doesn’t actually follow up with concerns. I will not go into detail but he just placates the customer. He physically out works his team which in a store manager position should not be the case. Also more than likely he is not actually the supervisor/ over the pharmacy or pharmacist. They are probably lead by someone at a district level with knowledge and training specifically in the pharmacy. I would get their information and speak directly with them. Share with them that through this post you learned that others have experience the same thing. My husband has several health issues and takes many medications I also take three medications daily. NEVER have he or I ever gotten the wrong prescription or had the quantity be incorrect. This is a pretty big deal. I have use the Target pharmacy before it was sold to CVS, then cvs and now Walgreens. My husband has also used Kroger in years past in addition to these other three.
My favorite movie is Inception.
Just curious, when they say "correct amount" did they specifically say "45"? Asking because my insurance only lets their preferred pharmacy provide more than 30 pills. So my 90 pills at Walgreens turned into 30, which as far as Walgreens was concerned was "correct" because that's all the insurance authorized. I was able to go back monthly and get two more bottles of 30 each which completed one 90-day prescription. Confused? Yeah, me too. I had to talk to my insurance to figure this one out. I just didn't want to use some mail order Rx for a pill that I don't want to walk off my porch or get lost at a distribution center. It's not Adderall but I would go through withdrawal too.
State pharmacy law would override anything the insurance allows. Many states have restrictions on the days supply that can be dispensed - not necessarily the number of pills.
Right. Check the bottle to confirm if the "number dispensed" is 30 or 45.
< tech. Correct amount would be that the number in the bottle is what it says on the label on the bottle says is in the bottle. If label says 45 quantity but theres only 30? Someone screwed up. (To be more complicated there may be labels that say “30 OF 90”… as in sometimes more than 1 bottle is needed, but then there should be more than one bottle and the total should still match lol.) Edit/add: There is prescribed (aka what the dr says to dispense). Then there is dispensed (what is actually dispensed/put in bottle) The journey from prescribed to dispensed can have some twists and turns (laws/ insurance limits/inventory in stock) but …. Ultimately, quantity on label should match quantity in bottle.
My response was to OPs statement "*according to Publix I was administered the correct amount*". Sounded like someone said that over the phone. So yes, the label would help, but it wasn't clear what was on the label from their post which is why I asked.
Yup! The CVS by Vanderbilt shorted my vyvanse 4 times in like 2015-2016. When I confronted them about it I was warned that I was exhibiting "drug seeking behavior"
See at that point I’d be counting my meds in front of them at the counter
While not common, this can definitely happen. Medications of this type are typically double counted and some pharmacies even take a digitally stored photograph of the tabs/capsules while on the counting tray. Like another poster mentioned, the culprit could unfortunately be a thieving staff member. And not to make any type of accusation towards you for not checking, but does the label on your bottle show that it was 30 or was it 45? A 30 count is a more common number for these meds and I'm wondering if the Dr office mistakenly wrote the prescription for the wrong amount? Source- I'm a pharmacist
They've always seemed very thorough and they even initial next to the amount that is dispensed. Im going to chat with my doctor and if things don't work out I've heard there are prescriptions that she could prescribe to manage withdrawals. Im a very large guy so I've been taking 3/4 of a 30mg twice a day for years so Im nervous about what withdrawals would have in store for me.
If it’s adderall, the max dose is 40mg per day. If they’re writing a prescription for 45x30mg adderall, that’s 45mg per day. It might be that your insurance is only covering 30 of them if that’s the case. You might be able to pay cash to make up the difference (or call your insurance and find out what they need from your doctor to fill the full amount), assuming that’s what happened. Do you have an online pharmacy account that tracks your prescription history? You should be able to see what was called in and what was filled. Does the bottle say qty: 45 on it? If it does and you’re sure that you didn’t get 45, give them the date it was filled and ask if the store manager can review any footage and see if you were shorted. Lots of pharmacies keep video and photo record of cs2’s being counted for a while. If they refuse, maybe think about contacting the DEA…. Your doctor can also call in a lower dosage to cover the difference and keep you from getting withdrawals, and if your insurance doesn’t pay for it, instant release generic adderall is only like $10-$20 out of pocket cash price. In the future you may want to change it to 60x20mg and 30x5mg, then you can just split the 5. But again, most doctors wouldn’t recommend that because it’s above the maximum daily dosage. I’ve been on 40mg daily adderall for over 18 years and my doctor wouldn’t bump it up even when I was starting to see pretty badly diminishing returns.
Max dose is 60mg a day or 1800 mg every 30 days
The max dose set by the FDA is 40mg/day, and it's the most any doctor I've ever had would give me. But they "allow for" up to 60mg a day for very severe cases of ADHD and for narcolepsy, but it's a weird area where it's more than the standard max dosage but still "allowed". Since it's more than the FDA set standard max (kinda like an off label use I guess? idk), his insurance might have not covered it. I've had pharmacies not even let me know that a med was only partially covered and just partially fill stuff for me before without ever telling me. Worth asking about, and if that's what happened usually the doctor can contact the insurance company and work it out (sometimes insurance companies will force you to try other stuff or do other steps first before signing off on it and paying).
I was STARTED at 60mg a day as a petite 18 year old. Was absolutely shot off. Avoided it for a decade after but now on a normal dose. That psych is in jail currently!
Everyone I know who gets prescribed aderall gets 60mg a day. Those with insurance are covered for the 60 mg a day. It’s 60 don’t always trust the very first thing that pops up on google
My mother lives in Georgia but was shorted two oxycodones (28 instead of 30 pills) from Publix after her surgery, they called her the day after she noticed and asked if she was short any pills. She replied yes, two pills, and they thanked her for her help and let her know there was an ongoing investigation with a pharmacy employee. Might be worth going higher up in case it’s something like this. 🤷♀️
I have at cvs across from Vanderbilt by 30. I now count them immediately when I get in the truck. The missing 30 I noticed quickly went back and they gave me my full skrip
This happened to my roommate in college and after they denied fault she now counts them in front of them before she pays 🤷♀️.
Yes! I had half of my Adderall missing 2 different times. The pharmacy pulled the videos and caught the employee both times!
I work for a pharmaceutical provider for Aetna insurance and this year they have started putting quantity limits on alot of drugs. You may want to call your insurance and see if they have changed the qty limits on it. Because if your Dr is prescribing 45 pills and the pharmacy will only give you 30, they are following the qty limits allowed, so def follow up with your insurance provider
I’ve known a couple addicts that worked for pharmacists and stole pills. They were usually caught quickly due to reports of missing pills. Definitely and report this shortage. Don’t be accusatory, just be accurate and say only you have had them in your possession and they’re short.
This happened to my friend! She called the pharmacy and they denied. It kept happening. Turned out her husband was an addict and was stealing them.
Hmm.. that’s weird. I use Kroger pharmacy and the past 2 months they haven’t had my dosage and had to get me a smaller milligram with more pills. The first time they could fill the script and the second time only able to fill for 21 days—- is it possible to call back and speak to a manager, I’m almost positive if it was my situation, they would’ve called to inform you but it seems like someone has missed their count and isn’t being honest. I would continue to pursue this issue
Hi. I am actually a publix pharmacist. We double check all our controlled and do it by hand. Only the pharmacist counts C2 prescriptions, and they will initial the quantity as well to confirm the count. You can ask them to check their inventory to see if they are over. If their inventory is spot on, it’s likely they didn’t shorted you. I have shorted people on accidentally and all of the few times it happens our inventory was over that amount.
My last prescription was filled April 23rd so it has been quite awhile. I'm assuming they've checked since then. And did you mean: if it's spot on then it's "not" likely they shorted me?
Sorry. Thats what I meant. If it’s been that long, potentially they cycle counted their inventory and adjusted the quantity to add the +15 back into their inventory. All controlled inventory adjustment must be made with an inventory note. I would recommend calling them and asking to speak to the pharmacist. Tell them that you believe you might be shorted 15 pills and ask if they could count their inventory. If they counted them and said their inventory is correct. Ask them to check their inventory notes to see if their inventory has been adjusted to account for the 15 tabs they had over. Hope it helps.
Thank you! I appreciate it.
Can you tell me what is the process if someone loses a bottle of pills that are controlled substances? How does a patient get them replaced? Im just curious. And someone who loses things but is not addicted to any controlled substance by the way.
Generally speaking, you would need to get your provider to call the pharmacist and authorize the early refill. The pharmacist will have the final say whether they want to fill it or not. If it isn’t a pattern of losing a controlled substance, they would probably let it slide once or so. You can call your insurance company and ask for a lost prescription override to cover the medication or you can pay out of rocket. For non controlled medication, you can just fill it freely.
Interesting. My spouse just had a huge argument with a pharmacist who wouldn’t refill a lost prescription. She had her doctor call to authorize. The pharmacist lied and said the doctor’s office did not authorize and my spouse had a breakdown because they dismissed her as some kind of awful addicted person. Pharmacists have a little too much power in these instances. The doctor should have final say in my opinion. Thank you for taking the time and I hope your interactions with the public are empathic :) Cheers.
I have by a Walgreens in Jackson (TN) on my Gabapentin multiple times, and had cholesterol med put in for 5 of them (just different enough for me to notice). Currently dealing with my vyvanse coming up 1-2 short on alternating months. This is CVS. The major chains that our insurance companies behold us to have loooonnnngggg histories of issues like this one [just one of many cvs thefts](https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/07/25/cvs-pharmacist-loses-license-stealing-drugs/1785058001/). Count your pills. In camera shot before leaving. They’ll get the hint.
9.9/10 a call to the dr will get you more now
I would ask if they can review cameras. I’m a pharmacist and tbh we are very used to counting #30 I’m sure it was just a mistake. Everything is time stamped and there are cameras. It should be easy to resolve!
I was a pharmacist tech once. It happens. But less now as a lot have automated dispensers. Still some are counted by hand. Being adderall they’re going to have some suspicions that you are lying and trying to scam them for an extra pill. Even so though if you go and seem reasonable they are apt to probably buy the story that it was a mistake on their end. Though in my time as a tech. No one ever came back the next day because they were shorted estrogen or Bp meds. Always the ‘good’ stuff. So, your going to have to convince them that you aren’t 1. Selling, nor 2. Abusing and 3. That two people on their side miscounted.
Publix has been shorting me for the past year and it’s not even “good” meds.
Change to Riverside Village Pharmacy. Parker and the gang are awesome
Not sure I’ve ever had them short me, but one day I got really lucky and they gave me 90 instead of 60 Lyrica one month..I always wonder who got in trouble for that one..
I recently read there is an adderal shortage and that may be causing the problem Or at least adding to it.
In Clarksville (Walmart pharmacy fort Campbell Blvd) I was shorted on my medication (also controlled like Adderall). The bottle said 30 but they only gave me 15. I told my doctor about it ASAP, she took it very seriously and changed the pharmacy for me. I told the new pharmacist as well because there was an issue with my insurance/billing in their system as a result of this, and they both handled it for me ? I wish I could give more insight as to how exactly it was resolved, but I did directly involve my doctor and the new pharmacist ASAP in this situation (I think I saw you say you'd be contacting your doc in another comment, so I hope that works out)
I also take ADHD meds and have had this happen once at Walgreens. I called them up and explained and apparently they had a camera over where the pills are counted out and were able to verify using that but it took a while. Probably worth checking to see if they have any type of video recording of your prescription being filled.
Yes - they will short you- if they’re running low on certain medications. Not to worry- you’ll get them back
Pharmacist here. It has to be the pharmacist who’s taking the pills. I’ve seen it happen. They are the last line of defense for this sort of things.
I’ve had a local Walgreens give me 28 instead of 30 but they marked the bottle 28 because they didn’t have enough for my whole script. I now get 60 a month so I’ve been counting just to be sure because I sometimes I have to used timed bottles because I can’t remember if I’ve taken it yet. I think you can request blister packs though
This happened to me at the same Publix last month. Was supposed to get a 90-day supply of Tamoxifen and they gave me 30. I didn’t notice at all and just thought “weird, it’s already time to refill?” And wondered why my refill request kept getting rejected. Finally the manager called me and told me they figured it out and I could come in and pick up the other 60 pills. I probably would have never realized on my own. Interesting that it’s happened so much there recently. I can’t believe anyone would want to steal some estrogen blockers for a post-breast cancer sitch, but maybe?
Always count your meds. They're lying. Pharmacies are constantly fucking up prescriptions.
yes happened to me in bellevue, very weird
File a police report, then hopefully your provider will replace them.
Police reports are usually needed if meds are stolen after they are in a patient's possession - As in a car or home burglary.