# Pharmacy banned me from getting Klonopin Refill!!!!



## seattleguy35 (Dec 14, 2005)

Hey everyone,

Flash news.. I went today to get a refill for Klonopin. I brought the empty Klonopin medicine little bottle because its says 3x refills okay.... the pharmacist said it's denied.. I was like:

WTF? What the H*ll? I told the pharmacist.. it's only 0.5 mg Klonopin for god's sake... She said that I have to talk to my doctor. well luckily I have an appt this Friday with my doctor so I'll discuss that with him....

I take 2mg Klonopin daily. Anyone think is it too much or average or too little? I know everyone's dosage level varies, but 2mg Klonopin is equivalent of what in comparsion with other benzos....

I know UltraShy is the KING of benzos so feel free to comment!!!! Korey, I finally know how you feel about pharmacists.....

I was like, hello, I have an anxiety disorder.... I'm not addicted at all.... you don't know what it is like to experience anxiety daily, don't you? Of course I didn't say that to the pharmacist....

I still have plenty of Effexor...so that's good... if my Effexor ran out too, you bet that my anxiety level will go back to unmanageable and would make me very hard to function in society... Like it or not, I have to depend on meds for anxiety.... Depression, on other hand, is good... Anxiety has to be MANAGED through meds....

Now stopping my rant....

SeattleGuy35


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Tonight when i went to pick up my meds i found out they had reduced my codiene dose by half. I was like WTF? i am certainly not in less pain, if anything im in more. I had the pharamcist call my doctor to get things sorted out.


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## Mork (Apr 11, 2005)

That's odd. Was it the pharmacist who made the decision not to refill your prescription or was he just the messenger?


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

seattleguy35 said:


> .... the pharmacist said it's denied..


What reason was given? Did they say it was too early to refill? Was this like the soup Nazi character from Seinfeld saying "No Klonopin for you!" just because he was in a bad mood? Unless it was too early, this makes no sense at all. :con



seattleguy35 said:


> I take 2mg Klonopin daily. Anyone think is it too much or average or too little? I know everyone's dosage level varies, but 2mg Klonopin is equivalent of what in comparsion with other benzos....


Obviously, somebody takes 2 mg Klonopin doses as Klonopin does come in a 2 mg pill -- I've seen them & used them.

The equivalency will depend on what chart you wish to trust. IMO most charts overstate the potency of Klonopin, saying it's twice as potent as Xanax per mg. Other charts say Klonopin & Xanax are 1 to 1 and I'd tend to agree based on personal experience.

Most charts would say:

2 mg Klonopin = 4 mg Xanax = 8 mg Ativan = 40 mg Valium (but I'd say that's wrong and K is only about half as potent as that)


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## Thunder (Nov 5, 2003)

You have to take what's prescribed and printed on the bottle. If it says once a day and you take two then you run out early and it won't be refilled until it's time to be refilled. If you try to get a refill way to early they might refuse to refill it altogether because they think you're abusing it.
I see people asking the same question over and over in this forum, "How much should I take?" The answer is printed right on the bottle.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of times my anxiety is so bad I have to take more just to get through the day, but I know the consequences, I'll run out early and have to do without a few days. But I *don't *try to get it refilled early.


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## korey (Apr 25, 2006)

seattleguy35 said:


> Korey, I finally know how you feel about pharmacists.....


They can be annoying, I know. But as others have said, if it's a matter of taking more than you're prescribed, then the pharmacist's hands are tied. If they were to give you a refill of Klonopin too early, then they could get in serious trouble.

And my dislike of pharmacists made me change my college major to pharmacy. Go figure :stu :b Maybe I'll turn out to be the nice pharmacist who actually explains stuff to his customers.

The most you could do is call the doctor who prescribed you the Klonopin and explain your situation. Maybe they could write you a small refill prescription to last you a while...

Good luck!


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## seattleguy35 (Dec 14, 2005)

it was the pharmacist who made the decision, not the doctor.

I was prescribed 0.5 mg Klonopin to be taken twice per day but my stress level right now is pretty hectic due to workload and school so I'm doubling it.....it's now 4 times a day...eqivalent of 2 mg Klonopin...

Oh well.. I'll talk to my doctor on Friday and see what he says..... 

SeattleGuy35


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## F-Bomb (May 17, 2005)

I used to be on 3mg klonopin per day before I had to get a different doctor who refused to give me any more prescriptions.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

seattleguy35 said:


> it was the pharmacist who made the decision, not the doctor.
> 
> I was prescribed 0.5 mg Klonopin to be taken twice per day but my stress level right now is pretty hectic due to workload and school so I'm doubling it.....it's now 4 times a day...eqivalent of 2 mg Klonopin...
> 
> Oh well.. I'll talk to my doctor on Friday and see what he says.....


Pharmacists don't have a choice. They are (over)regulated by both state pharmacy boards and the DEA on controlled substances. The government tells them that they can't give refills early and they either follow the law or they're in big trouble, so they follow the law whether they think it's a great law or a stupid law. They don't have a choice.

A lot of doctors underprescribe benzos and I've frequently ranted on this subject, pointing out the obvious fact that if folks don't get the anxiety relief they need from benzos they'll get it elsewhere from booze most likely. IMO benzo-phobic docs help to produce alcoholics, which hardly strikes me as good medical practice, but that's how things are in our Drug War Zone.


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

If i try to get my meds refilled too early they just say "its too early", they dont do anything like ban me or anything. If they did, id simply go to the next store down the street lol. Im probaly their #1 customer.


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

SeattleGuy35,

I would try again. If it doesn't work, go to your doctor and ask to have the prescription sent to another pharmacy. :stu


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## powerman (Nov 12, 2003)

Insurance can also often play a hand in how much you can get.


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## Pistachio (Aug 1, 2006)

They didn't ban you. Like everyone else says, you are simply trying to get the prescription refilled too early. Now, the pharmacist might be thinking you're an addict, but do remember that they are regulated by the government and insurance for when the can fill prescriptions. 

You were given a prescription for .5 mg a 2xday and you doubled the dose going through a 30 day supply in 15 days. If you are getting prescription insurance, they deny that right away. Every prescription plan I've seen will refuse to refill earlier than 5 days from the expected date of an empty bottle ACCORDING TO YOUR DOCTOR's DOSE SCHEDULE. Even if it isn't insurance, Pharmacies are forbidden from refilling without a change in the dose schedule faster than (I think) 7 days from the expected empty date.

Talk with your Doctor and have him rewrite the prescription or provide an interim prescription. Most importantly, if you want to continue with Benzos you'd better learn that when a doctor says .5 mg 2x a day he means .5 mg 2x a day, not whatever dose you think you can handle. If your doc is good, they will work with you on upping the dose. .5x2 is pretty small, but it's meant as a trial. If I was your doc I'd say you failed the trial, You didn't follow the dosing schedule and you didn't call the doctor to request a revision.

Be careful Seattleguy (by the way, I'm in Bonney Lake, hi neighbor) or you will lose benzos and maybe have to find another doctor.


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## firedancer (Nov 14, 2003)

powerman said:


> Insurance can also often play a hand in how much you can get.


that is usually my problem. insurance can play a huge role in refills.

right now i have a script for 10mg flexiril each night and the last script was filled on 9/23. here it is 10/7 and i only have 3 pills left and i haven't taken more than was prescribed this month. sometimes i wonder if i get all the pills that are prescribed. i know that from now on, i will be counting them. so, i have to wait until around 9/20 to get it refilled. i have no idea where those missing pills went. :stu


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## L0raz3pam (Sep 14, 2006)

Isn't the "too early for refills" thing a function of the insurance company not paying for it? If you have a refill left on the bottle, then they must refill it.

I had the same problem before. I ran out early and was told "too early for refill". I offered to pay out of pocket for it, and the pharmacist gave it to me. Benzos are so cheap anyway. It turned out that I only save $15 through the insurance company.


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## seattleguy35 (Dec 14, 2005)

Update News, guys:

I talked to my doctor about this. I told him that my anxiety is up beyond the orbit due to stress of workload/school load. We negotiated. He doesn't want me to take 4 times a day of 0.5 mg Klonopin but said it's ok if I take 3 times a day 0.5 mg Klonopin only on most stressful days from Monday to Thursday. Fridays and weekends aren't really stressful so I really don't need Klonopin for these days.

So he gave me a script for 3 times a day Klonopin.

He also said I"ll still be on Effexor 150 mg and will see him back in 8 weeks. My depression, on other hand, seems to be stabilized (woo hoo).... Could be that I'm too busy to notice my depression? Who knows? 

That made me wonder:

Everyone (who is on benzo)-especially UltraShy -THE King of Benzo!... Do you all pop a benzo every time you know you WILL have an anxiety attack (i.e. before work, or before a class) or pop benzo strictly accordingly to what the doctor says even you know you will have more than few anxiety attacks a day (more than 3 times a day?)

Any thoughts? 

SeattleGuy35


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

3x of .5mgs a day still sounds like your doctor is a benzo phobe. I just take them all at once. 0.5 mgs would do nothing for my anxiety but 1.5mg will.


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## L0raz3pam (Sep 14, 2006)

I pop a benzo only when I know I am going to need it. Otherwise, I don't take it at all. I'm afraid if I take it too much it might lose its potency and I might need more dosage to achieve the same effect.

You might want to consider Buspar (Buspirone) to potentiate your Effexor. I know many on this forum bad-mouth it. But it has worked wonders for me even after I read all the stories of "how useless it is". No way is my positive experience a placebo effect considering all the negative things I heard about it before I started taking it.


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## L0raz3pam (Sep 14, 2006)

Noca said:


> 3x of .5mgs a day still sounds like your doctor is a benzo phobe. I just take them all at once. 0.5 mgs would do nothing for my anxiety but 1.5mg will.


I agree with Noca. Your doctor should have upped you to 1mg tablets once a day instead of 0.5mg 3X a day. I'm not sure what the 1/2 life is on Klonopin but I assume it's around at least 8 hours which is just fine to get through a day at school/work with 1mg a day for you.


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## korey (Apr 25, 2006)

I take a tablet of Xanax before class, before work, and sometimes before bed. Those are the only times I really need it. Some days, I wake up in a state of weirdly high anxiety where I (honestly) can't leave my room, so I sometimes take two to three tablets of Xanax when that happens. 

I've been unknowingly tapering off my Xanax over the last month. I'm supposed to have about 15mg of Xanax left, according to the direction on my prescription, but I have closer to 60-70mg left. I intend to switch to Valium on my next psych appointment (this Wednesday), so maybe my tapering is a good thing.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

seattleguy35 said:


> Everyone (who is on benzo)-especially UltraShy -THE King of Benzo!... Do you all pop a benzo every time you know you WILL have an anxiety attack (i.e. before work, or before a class) or pop benzo strictly accordingly to what the doctor says even you know you will have more than few anxiety attacks a day (more than 3 times a day?)


I don't follow any rigid dosing schedule. I take benzos as I need them which is sometimes a lot more & sometimes a lot less, both in terms of dose and frequency. It varies a great deal depending on circumstances. My prescription is for 10 mg a day and I've been averaging around 7.5 mg a day.

A lot of my anxiety is pretty predictable. I know that I'm going to need a large dose before any social situation, so I take it soon enough that the drug has reached peak effect by the time of that event. I've also gotten into the habit of carrying 4 mg of Xanax in my pocket in a small pill case at all times just in case.

Sometimes anxiety does just strike me out of the blue without warning, so then I take some Xanax immediately to reduce it ASAP.

My doctor gives no strict & specific instructions on how to take Xanax. He apparently thinks I'm smart enough to know when I need it. Actually, the prescription label has been written in various ways over time such as:

-Take 1 tablet ever 3 hours

-Take 1 tabet 5 times daily

-Take 1 tablet up to 5 times daily for anxiety

In all cases, the prescription was for 2 mg x 150. I just use it in the manner that works best for ME. After all, who knows what dosing method works better than the patient who actually uses it?


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