Medication Change

[david walker]

Last month my doctor changed me from hydrocodon to percecet. It has been great, I went from 5-7 pills to 3 a day. Why do I have to request the percecet each month? The mail is late and I have run out of my meds and had to go back to the hydrocodone.

[Chuck75]

I believe it's a cost thing up front, perhaps followed by narcotic class of drug.

I take a non narcotic drug that the VA started making me refill each month, instead of every three.

Last month my doctor changed me from hydrocodon to percecet. It has been great, I went from 5-7 pills to 3 a day. Why do I have to request the percecet each month? The mail is late and I have run out of my meds and had to go back to the hydrocodone.

[JON]

Percocet is a class 2 controlled drug and the VA makes you call in to reorder class 2 drugs each month. You can then either pick them up at your VA pharmacy and sign for them or have them sent certified mail (which you must also sign for). May I suggest that when you order, ask when they anticipate sending them and call back a few days before the ship date and ask the pharmacist if they have been shipped. You can then anticipate 1-2 days to arrive.

I have had problems with calling in refills where the pharmacist has dropped the ball and not entered the request to renew. That will slow everything up and create frustration for you. The VA tells me when I call the pharmacy for a refill, they call the doctor for authorization and can't ship out meds until they receive a "hard copy" from the doctor. You see the potential for error in this process.

[Pete53]

In 15 years I have never had to many problems with refills except for xanax. Funny how a street drug can cause so many problems.

[john999]

Chuck

I get my pills through the opiate program. I had to sign an agreement to only get my narcotics from VA. Every month I fill out a form rating my pain and I send it in to get a refill. The thing is that it is also good evidence that you have a serious condition that requires constant treatment. I also list all my side effects which include depression, irritability, mood swings, falling, lack of coordination etc. This is a great way to document your additional disabilites due to your meds. Did you go through the pain management program at the VA? I recently added the fact that my chronic pain is aggravating my agoraphobia which it is doing. Although it is a chore sending in the request creates tons of documentation. What is documented becomes fact to the VA. Have you been evaluated by pain management?

[Guest RickB54]

In my 20+ years of va medical care I have never had a problem getting any refill to include so called class two drugs. I used to phone in the refills each month. Now I get on the computer and order my refills the same day I receive a refill in the mail, this way I am sure to get the next refill on time. My problem is the va changes some of my medications so often that my body does not get a chance to adjust to the new medication before they change them again.