Prescription Woes
I’m working on a longer post about different ways to keep track of medication, but my wife is having problems with one of her doctors, who is refusing to refill a prescription at the moment.
We have a great prescription plan with my medical insurance, so the cost is rarely an issue. I have a certain amount of money taken out of my paycheck each month before taxes, and that gets put into a flexible spending account, which I then get reimbursed from throughout the year. This is the only way we can get a break on taxes as far as our medical expenses are concerned.
The most difficult problem is keeping track of what medications need to be refilled, so that we can order the refill and pick them up before we run out. I know that sounds like a no-brainer, but when you are dealing with over a dozen medications that have to be approved by four different doctors, coupled with the insurance company that will not re-fill a prescription unless you order the re-fill within a certain window of opportunity, then you have a situation that can get ugly very fast.
I’m so happy you are writing this. I’ll be sharing it with my hubby because I’m sure he can relate. I’ve had a tough time with prescritpions too….and usually it’s not the DOCTOR who won’t fill it, but the office staff who have a procedure you have to do before it can be filled. It’s complicated and confusing. I have had much success with a small private pharmacy. They are good about calling me when a prescription doesn’t go through or if there are insurance problems so I can deal with those before I go pick them up. I also try to fill prescriptions about a week early. After two months, I’ve got two weeks worth of everything, so if I forget a refill, or if there’s some complication I’m okay. It’s also good for travel or holidays when it could be harder to get prescriptions filled quickly.
Vidora
myspace.com/ladyvidora
I feel your pain. You are so sweet for helping your wife with this. I take care of my rxs myself, and keeping track of everything can get ugly (especially when I’m suffering from “lupus brain” / “fibro fog”).
I too have tons of prescriptions to deal with, and with my memory being affected by the Lupus, it gets to be stressful. First of all I have one of those 7-day pill containers that I fill every Sunday. As I fill them, I look at each bottle to see about how much time before I need to get a refill. As far as the refills themselves, what I do is, when I call one in, I write both the date I called it in, as well as the date it’s supposed to be ready on the old bottle label. When I pick up the new prescription, I calculate how many pills by how many times per day and figure out when I’ll need to get it refilled again. Then I set a reminder in my cellphone for a week prior to that date. It all sounds like alot, but it really helps. I still have some problems however, due to doctor/nurse/pharmacy errors. Some things just can’t be helped, but if I know I’ve done my part then that cuts some of the stress out. I hope some of this helps you or anyone else reading this.
~M*R*V
It’s interesting to read how others deal with the nuts and bolts of chronic illness!
I use two 7-day pill containers, the kind with plenty of room for everything, including those big fish oil gel tabs and Citracal. When I get down to the last few days of the second week, I refill both containers completely. Prescription bottles that are very low or empty go upside-down next to the phone, and I call in for a refill when I get the time.
My pharmacy, ShopKo, is very good about holding a “too early” or “expired” refill request and filling it at the earliest possible date, i.e. when insurance allows it, or as soon as they can get the doctor’s okay. I still usually have several prescriptions to pick up every week (sheesh).
The exception to the pill-box routine is bedtime meds. For those, I make myself open each pill bottle and retrieve the nightly dose just at bedtime. They’re kept in the kitchen at the other end of the house from the bedroom, too. I don’t want to risk going on auto-pilot and taking them without thinking.
Another thing I do is carry a complete one-day dose of all pills with me at all times. That’s saved me numerous times when we decide to stay in town for dinner after work. It also gives me a day’s grace period if I accidentally run out of something. It happens often enough that these pills get refreshed routinely.
Great topic–thanks!
Wendy
Medications are a endless issue. I had one doctor that kept on only giving me one refill and it took forever to refill the medication. I finally asked the doctor to write me a script so I didn’t have to play chase. Lupus is hard enough- without doctor nonsense.