I tried to refill my Soma prescription at my regular pharmacy 1 week early. I needed to do some banking at the same store my pharmacy is located in, and this was for convenience sake only - I was not out of pills yet. I had done this one other time when the prescription and date I needed to pay a bill at the bank were pretty close. I had no problem that time. This time, the pharmacy tech said the pharmacist would not fill the prescription, it was too early. She said she would do it 3 days later. I had no problem with that, thanked her and said I'd be back in a week. As I was about to leave, I noticed the tech & the pharmacist looking at me and whispering in a negative tone. I could not hear what they were saying, but it didn't appear to be good. Should I be worried that they are viewing me negatively or that they are "red flagging" me? The only other issue I have had with this pharmacy is that I am a chronic pain patient and I brought in a script for hydrocodone from my dentist about 5 months ago (root canal) while I still had an active hydrocodone script from my pain m.d. I had permission from my pain m.d. to get this other prescription filled as I am on a pretty low dosage of the hydrocodone and neither he nor I thought it would be enough to cover the additional pain of my tooth issues. When I did that I noticed they put a note on my prescription saying I had "dual prescriptions" for the same medication. The pharmacist did ask me if I realized that and I said "yes, and my doctor is aware of this". So - should I be worried??
Should I be worried about being "red flagged"?
Question posted by sydneyb60 on 16 Aug 2011
Last updated on 15 May 2013
3 Answers
I did the Soma thing for a few years. This is the ONLY drug that scared me. I'd switch to Zanaflex or something else. Soma is bad news IMO...
Hi jajhr - may I ask why Soma scares you? I have not had any bad reactions to it other than it makes me really tired which is to be expected. I'm not familiar with Zanaflex, I'll look into that because to be honest, the Soma doesn't do a lot to help with my muscle spasms. Thanks for the info!
I would not worry. You are coordinating between your doctors and as long as you are doing this you will be fine. Insurance companies are being strict about when prescriptions are refilled and even stricter about narcotic refills. Since you are a pain patient you will have to get use to people, especially other doctor, thinking you are an addict even though you are being managed by your doctors for pain. It will be difficult sometimes and it sucks. You can also remind the pharmacist and his tech that any discussion about you and your medication are covered by HIPPA. They should get the message.
I wouldnt be that worried yet. They may be starting to keep their eye on you though so I would be sure that you dont try to refill early any more if possible to give them nothing to comment about. Soma is not a controlled drug so it shouldnt be something you'd be flagged for. Since you had the PM docs permission to fill the dentists Rx and he was aware that you had two Rxs for the same med, you should be okay. They may call your Dr to confirm that he does indeed know you have another Rx for hydrocodone but if he says that he is aware, there is nothing they can do. It is not their place. They are likely just gossiping which is extremely unprofessional on their part! I had something similar happen to me years ago. I was aquainted with a girl who worked at a pharmacy as a tech and knew several members of her family.
I heard from one of the family members that this pharmacy tech was talking to his wife about the fact that I was filling certain prescriptions and it made me very angry. Things like this violate HIPPA laws. They are only supposed to speak of any protected information in the capacity of work so I reported her to her supervisor and she got into BIG trouble and almost lost her job because of it. It is a big No-No to gossip about a persons medical conditions or what meds they take or even that they are a patient. There is really no way for you to prove they are gossiping about you unless you did overhear something, in which case you could report them. Just try not to let it bother you too much. Then again, it is your business(ethically and finacially) and it IS VERY unprofessional behavior on their part so you could inform your PM doc that you want to change pharmacies and take your business elsewhere.
Thank you DzooBaby - I agree, the pharmacist & tech are very unprofessional. We live in a big town, but small neighborhood and everyone seems to be a bit gossipy (we just moved here a year ago). I will give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but believe me, I'm not going to tolerate being treated poorly because they think I'm something I'm not. I cannot believe that your tech actually told family members your personal information! I would have reported her too. I guess for some people that urge to gossip is just too irresistable!
I know. I hated to get her in trouble but I just couldnt let that pass. She had no right to be telling mutual friends/her family about my health problems and what meds I take. That was plain wrong and she needed to be called on it! I think you are doing the right thing for now. I agree, some people just have no life of their own and have to talk about others! If you actually hear them talking about you then you should report it to their higher up even if you have to go to the President or CEO of the pharmacy company. Good Luck!
Related topics
Further information
- Soma uses and safety info
- Soma prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Soma (detailed)
Similar questions
Search for questions
Still looking for answers? Try searching for what you seek or ask your own question.
