# Pharmacy denied my Xanax refill....wtf?



## korey (Apr 25, 2006)

At my last psychiatrist appointment, my psychiatrist gave me a prescription for 120x0.5mg Xanax to be taken 4 times daily as needed. I told him that I had been using it sometimes more than suggested to get to sleep, and he didn't seem to care. Anyway, the prescription he gave me last time had 2 refills on it. I've been having the same insomnia as before, so I've been using the Xanax along with Benadryl and trazodone to get to sleep at night. Consequently, I've been running out of it quicker than usual, so I had it refilled a couple of weeks ago, and no questions were asked, but I called in the final refill of it today, and the pharmacy said no. They said I'd have to wait another three weeks before getting it refilled. How can they say no to a prescription? They're not doctors, though they think they may be. This is total bull****. :mum 

I intend to get a new prescription for 120x1.0mg of Xanax from my psychiatrist this Tuesday at my appointment, along with a prescription for Xanax XR so I can stop being so phobic and anxious all the time. Then we'll see what the pharmacy has to say. :twak


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Don't blame the pharmacy. Blame the DEA as they are fully responsible for this if you're going to blame somebody.

Xanax is a controlled substance and pharmacies are not allowed to just hand it out at will. They are forced to wait till a certain percentage of your prior fill should be use up (based on the label directions). So, if you use it faster than prescribed, you're going to run into problems. This is true with any controlled substance.


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## korey (Apr 25, 2006)

The DEA needs to DIE.

As I said before, hopefully my psychiatrist will give me a new prescription for 120x1.0mg (or more) of Xanax this Tuesday, and then I can get it filled. Hopefully, he'll go for the concomitant therapy of Xanax with Xanax XR, too.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

korey said:


> The DEA needs to DIE.


 :agree


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## adordan (Oct 15, 2005)

yeah benzos are scheduled. despite your good intentions there ARE people who use them for recreational purposes only (not sure why, I guess people will try anything once, and some people like feeling...very relaxed) and there ARE people who will become addicted, and so it makes it a bit more difficult for those who really need them.


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## adordan (Oct 15, 2005)

but anyway, you can just get a new script when you see your psych, no problemo.


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## Kristen930 (Jun 24, 2006)

korey said:


> How can they say no to a prescription? They're not doctors, though they think they may be.


I am a pharmacist, actually a Doctor of Pharmacy. So yes, some of us *are* doctors. We are just not physicians 

Typically you cannot refill a controlled substance anymore than 3 days earlier than when the refill is due. This is done by law in order to prevent diversion and misuse. Other drugs can be filled early, but insurance probably won't pay.


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## korey (Apr 25, 2006)

Sorry for generalizing :b

I'm probably going to go back on Xanax XR. My mother is convinced that I've been abusing/misusing my immediate-release Xanax, and I've found out that our insurance covers Xanax XR at 100% anyway. So, I'll probably ask my psychiatrist to put me back on it at a higher dose or something.


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

korey said:


> My mother is convinced that I've been abusing/misusing my immediate-release Xanax...


And how does XR prevent abuse/misuse? After all, anybody who knows how to chew can figure out how to turn XR into IR.


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## _Futile_ (Jun 12, 2006)

Tell them you will call the police if they dont give you a refill


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## ShesKrayZ (May 9, 2006)

I've had trouble with the pharmacy at the VA when they first switched to having all refills mailed because it might take a week to get the refill but they wanted to wait until you had less than a week of the drug before they would mail it. After a lot of people complained, they gave in and will mail it out at two weeks now. Once they told me that Zoloft was a psychotrophic and a controlled substance and that they couldn't even give me a couple of days tablets to make it last until the refill came in. I told my doc and they ended up mailing me a three month supply. Some pharmacists are just nutty. But then again they should not overfill your prescription without talking to your doc. If the script says 120 a month and that's what they are giving you then it's a prob between you and the doc not the pharmacy.


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## korey (Apr 25, 2006)

UltraShy said:


> korey said:
> 
> 
> > My mother is convinced that I've been abusing/misusing my immediate-release Xanax...
> ...


I dunno. I guess the once-daily-dosing of XR will make it less likely for my mother to think I'm abusing/misusing it. I don't intend to chew it, anyway.



_Futile_ said:


> Tell them you will call the police if they dont give you a refill


lol. No thanks. They're just abiding by the law.


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## korey (Apr 25, 2006)

*Update*

It seems that abruptly going from a rather high dosage of immediate-release Xanax to nothing in a matter of days is not a good thing. For the last week, I have been going through what must be Xanax withdrawal. I thought it was a stomach bug at first because I've been dizzy, nauseated, restless, weak, and shakey, but since then, I've read that these symptoms are common with benzo withdrawal.

The symptoms seem to be going away, though. I've taken what little Xanax I had left and cut it all in half so I can taper off it and hopefully knock the edge off this withdrawal. :fall


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## Lupus (Oct 29, 2005)

ShesKrayZ said:


> Once they told me that Zoloft was a psychotrophic and a controlled substance and that they couldn't even give me a couple of days tablets to make it last until the refill came in. .


Hhahahahah....sorry that really just blew me away.


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