[Jessika]

Hey everyone. I posted this a while ago but never got a Response. So I thought I would Try this again. To start Off I want to say I Have over 30 plus Kidney stones Since September. I have 2 doctors One is My family doctor and the Other is a Kidney Doctor. I went to my family doctor last week and he asked me if I had a promblem with Hydrocodone I was Like No why, He said well the Dea sent me a report on all the hydo you have had filled and all the Doctors You have been to And they Have Red flagged You.[?] Which I havent seen anyother Doctor Except for the doctors at health Plus and the only reason I went there was because My other Doctors Couldnt fit me in when I had a Kidney stone Attack ( they are very Painfull)So I needed some Meds. I take 3 7.5 every day allmost because I am always In Pain.. But I guess My question Is What Does Red flagged mean. and Is it serious when You are RED FLAAGED> I would Love to hear what Yall think.. thanks guys.. Jess

Jessika

[BSGjunkie]

Jessika,

I can feel your pain, in more then one way. I too had multiple kidney stones - not 30, but I was in the double digits. I can understand your pain, and hope it gets under control.

I also had a doctor pull a DEA report on my as well.

From what I understand, the doctor themself is the one that requests the DEA report, and the Doctor is the one that requests a note to be placed on the account.

The DEA report will show all of your activity with scheduled drugs since your state started their program. It'll list every time you've filled an Rx for each drug, along with who and when gave you the Rx. If a doctor feels you may have some problems they can request the report to make sure you're not doctor hoping.

From what I understand, the flag on your account won't do anything other then put a warning out for other doctors to watch you.

Doctors have to worry about over prescribing any medication, especially pain killers now a days. Many have lost their license - and unforunitly it causes other doctors to be cautious when writing Rx's for those in need.

If your doctor is having a problem treating your pain, and is worried that you're abusing it, maybe you should ask him for a referral to a pain management specialist. It may put you both at ease. The pain specialist will be able to monitor your dosage and pain a little better then an average doctor. I had a lot more success wit the pain specialist, especially since I had to play, what I call, the 'waiting game' with the stones.

Good luck and I hope you feel better.
Junkie

[Jessika]

See I didnt Know the Doctor Had to be the one to pull the report. He made it seem as The DEA just sent him out a warning, like he didnt know anything about it until he got it. My doctor is an old family friend and I can beleive he would pull a report on me like that it kida Piss*s Me off to no end. Because I wasnt What You call doctor Hopping. The only other Lortab scripts I had was from my deniest He gave me vicodin 3 scripts over about a month in a half period for root canals. And the other 2 doctors I seen at health Plus. I went to health Plus weeks apart for the sme thing because I was truly in freakin pain, but each time I went I seen a different doctor. I Just dont get it. Now I am forever Labeled as a "drug Seeker"

Jessika

[BSGjunkie]

Jessika,

I could be wrong. I'm not a doctor or with the DEA so I don't fully understand the system. If you've only had a monthly or even bi-monthly script from your doctor and a specialist, there shouldnt be a big problem - even if you're flagged.

Junkie

[Jessika]

Thank you for You help Junkie It helps me Understand it alot better.I really dont think I should be flagged either. he would give the the scripts as needed. When i was in pain i went to him he gave me the scripts. I am just wondering if it was were i used to different pharmacys????? and got one script and maybe I wasnt susposed to get the other script so soon from the other pharmacy. who Knows. I was just worried because Dr. told me the DEA will give you enough rope to hang yourself then they will get you.. WHAT EVER THAT MEANS. Once again thank you

Jessika

[dizzy23]

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quote:Originally posted by Jessika

Thank you for You help Junkie It helps me Understand it alot better.I really dont think I should be flagged either. he would give the the scripts as needed. When i was in pain i went to him he gave me the scripts. I am just wondering if it was were i used to different pharmacys????? and got one script and maybe I wasnt susposed to get the other script so soon from the other pharmacy. who Knows. I was just worried because Dr. told me the DEA will give you enough rope to hang yourself then they will get you.. WHAT EVER THAT MEANS. Once again thank you

Jessika

Pharmacy "hopping" is not a good ideal and will eventually catch up with you.When they find people doing that it looks like they are only trying to get drugs to get high.Even though that might not be the reason for them going to different pharmacies it doesn't look good.

Debbie

Try to be correct!But not always successful!

[BSGjunkie]

Debbie is right.

The DEA can also flag you if you're filling rather frequently - a new Rx every few days, ot something similar.

It is generally the insurance agency, not the pharmacy, which limits how quickly you can fill a Rx - and most times its 3 or 4 days. I hope you weren't needing to fill an Rx that quickly. How often was it? That could be your problem.

Junkie

[Jessika]

No It wasnt a regular thing getting my scripts filled at diffrent Pharmacys. When I would go to my one Doctor I would go to the Pharmacy near his Office. but When I would go to the Kidney Doctor I would go to my regular Pharmacy. I live about 35 Miles From my doctor so i didnt think It was a big deal to go to whatever pharmacy that was Closest as long as it wasnt a different pharmacy everytime. And as far as the Denist script Maybe when i took it in to get filled i already had an active scrpit or something I really dont know. but it wasnt like i was skipping from dr.2 dr, and Pharmacy 2 pharmacy, I think the DEA should be looking into other things than me. I mean Since september I have only had 6 scripts for my pain pills and 30 tabs being in each bottle, so it is not like I was getting a buttload of them and taking them all at one time. when you have as many kidney stones As I do 30 tabs dont get you far when you are having a kidney stone attack..
Butmy doctor scared me so bad i am afraid to get my other script filled and it has been over a month since my last refill.

Jessika

[BSGjunkie]

6 bottles in 5 months is nothing to worry about. You're right, the DEA has bigger things to worry about - therefore you shouldn't worry about it either.

Fill your new script so you don't have to deal with the pain! I know what a stone attack can feel like, and its nothing I'd want to handle without some help [:0]

[Jessika]

zippysgoddess ...No it was not right for them to do that. My story has not changed at all.And I dont appericate you coming into this calling me a liar either. I told You What happened. and that was the truth. . I can post the email if you like When I sent you the email I was scared and wanting someone to talk to Sorry if my number was off by TWO!!!

Jessika

[Jessika]

For One I did not say I was using to much. Once again would you like to post my email so you will know excatly what I said???? And two You try have 30 kidney stones and see how much pain medicine You need. Just dont Judge people.Did any one one ever tell you it wasnt nice?

Jessika

[zippysgoddess]

For your information, I am in pain all day, every day of my life. I have a condition that cannot be fixed, not even with surgery like yours can, and even though I take pain meds every day, I am still always in pain. They barely take the edge off so I can function. My condition will also only continue to worsen as time goes on, there is no way to stop it or even slow it down. So yes, I do know what chronic pain feels like and I am looking forward to a lifetime of it.

However, I get my two bottles of pain meds each month and that is ALL that I use each month. I do NOT use more than I am supposed to, nor do I try to get extras anywhere.

Because I am happy if they just take the edge off enough that I can function and take care of my family each day and I do not want the DEA looking over my shoulder watching me for suspicious behavior. And once you have been on their list, they will watch you for years to come and poke their nose in at the slightest thing they think is suspicious.

Yes, even though you didn't intend it to look like that, your actions did show the classic signs of drug seeking behavior. You got too many scrips filled too close together and were, in reality, taking dangerous quantities of pills that could have jeopardized your own life and health.

verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~

[zippysgoddess]

I apologize for judging you, I did not mean to be snippy or make you out to be a liar, but you do need to realize that changing details made it seem suspicious when I totally believed you and what you were saying.

I realize now it was just a misunderstanding. Sorry.

verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~

[justwhatever]

jess---

I'm sorry to hear about your DEA situation- if a doctor said that to me it would have scared me too. Does your regular doctor know that you are seeing a specialist? If he does, and you really aren't abusing anything, than I would fill your prescription so you don't have to suffer. What state do you live in? I went through years of doctor shopping and pharmacy hopping and lying across multiple states and I was never told I had been "red flagged," but I never used insurance. Maybe I got lucky, but that part of my life is over. I'm almost positive it was your insurance company that alerted the DEA because something similar happened to a friend of mine when she used a different pharmacy than usual. Good luck

this forum is about helping and healing-- feel free to correct my mistakes

[zippysgoddess]

It does not have to be the doctor or the insurance company that notified the DEA, I especially doubt it was her doctor as he was as surprised as she was and he has really been on her side about it and has been working to get it straightened out for her.

In the past few years, the DEA has really been cracking down on this stuff, since almost every pharmacy is now computerized, they can check all records remotely, the pharmacies have to let them do this under the new laws. They can download the pharmacies databases, then they run them through their computers with certain search strings, any person who meets certain criteria, such as getting over a certain number of narcotics or Benzo's within a certain time frame of each other, well their name pops up and alerts the DEA officials, they peruse the information and if they think it warrants looking into, they check into it. They can do this state by state, then once that part is done, they can talk all the info from each individual state now and check them against each other to see who is playing the state hopping game. So it is much harder to get away with this stuff now than it was before.

The first notice they send your doctor is a red flag notice saying that you have raised their suspicions for questionable drug activity. They wait to hear back from your doc, because in some cases, their could be legit reasons for this, according to what your doc says, then they will decide if you remain red flagged and are reported to all docs and pharmacies, via the computer network, once this is done, you remain red flagged.

It is also not necessarily the insurance companies that limit how frequently you can get a prescription and how many months worth of pills you can get at once. There are some insurance companies that allow up to 3 months worth at a time, but if the DEA regulations are different, then it doesn't matter what your insurance companies regulations are. Yes, there are some companies that limite, especially Medicare and Medicaid companies, but a lot of it is also the DEA.

For instance, under the DEA regulations that started last year, you cannot, for any reason, get a fill of more than a months worth of any Schedule I or II Narcotics. Your doctor is also no longer allowed to have an refills on those prescriptions. They cannot phone them in, either, the pharmacies are only supposed to accept the original written prescriptions. Thus if you are on any of these types of drugs, you have to see your doctor once a month for a maintenance visit to get your meds.

Many insurance companies are also now refusing to cover any Benzo's at all, most of the new Medicare prescription companies will not cover any of them, regardless of why you need them.

verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~

[justwhatever]

Interesting. So if someone is to get "red flagged" every doctor and pharmacy in the area is notified or what? I used to work at a major pharmacy (about a year and a half ago) and I never saw anyone red flagged on our computer. I guess things are changing quickly.

this forum is about helping and healing-- feel free to correct my mistakes

[zippysgoddess]

Yes, they are changing very fast. The reason I am so familiar with this, is our neighbor's adult daughter had moved in with them and she was always trying to get me to give her some of my pain meds. I was curious as to why, if she was having pain issues, she didn't just see her doc and get her own. I mean, I sure wasn't giving her mine, which I desperately need, and going to jail or something for her.

Anyway, she claimed she hadn't done anything, but her doc wouldn't give her pain meds and she always had to go through major hassles to get anything filled at the pharmacy, and there was only one pharmacy in town that she could do business with.

I got curious and spoke to several pharmacists and looked into her criminal record and it turns out she had gotten in trouble for getting too many meds filled to often, and she had also tried to alter a cough syrup scrip that was prescribed for her young son (so awful, what a mother!) to get a codeine cough syrup.

When the docs, hospitals, and pharmacies are notified, due to privacy issues, they are not informed about what you got in trouble for, just that you are on the DEA watch list, people on this list cannot get any prescriptions filled early, it has to be done the day it is due, they cannot pick up scrips for anyone but themselves, even stuff for her children, she had to have her mother or boyfriend pick up, all scrips must be double checked and confirmed with the doctor and hospital ER's can only give a max of 3 days worth of non-narcotic or non-benzo pills, just to help that person until they can see their regular doc.

Yes, the DEA watch list, which is the polite term for the red flagged list, is sent out to everyone in the area the person lives in, it is also a universal list, sent all over the U.S. but most pharmacies do not bother to look at the info of those who aren't in their area, unless they suddenly have someone show up that seems suspicious, then they can search that list and see if the person in question is on it.

That is the reason many red flagged people, including our neighbor's daughter, end up restricted to one pharmacy, then it is easier for the pharmacy and doc to keep track of valid scrips. The doc can just call the pharmacy and say I have prescribed such and such, so the pharmacy knows ahead of time that the scrips are valid and can be safely filled. (This restricion is usually only done to people who are repeat offenders.)

One day, this woman came over to our house and she literally passed out on our couch, we were so worried, trying to wake her up and wondering if we needed to call an ambulance. Then we called her mother and found out she had stolen a bunch of her Xanax that morning. My husband sat her up on the couch and reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt and sure enough, there were still several in there, she had taken about 10 of them at once.

Anyway, you really have to screw up to get a definite red flag, this isn't something that most people have to worry about. If you occasionally run out early, or lose a prescription, lose a few pills, or have it stolen, you don't have anything to worry about. That is why this poster's doc was able to straighten it out so easily, and also the reason the DEA contacted her doc first, it wasn't something she had been doing all the time, they were just suspicious and wanted to double check. Sometimes a doc does change a scrip, or a chronic pain patient may need to take more pills than are prescribed and may not have a choice if their doc is too busy to fit them in, this could result in a trip to the emergency room needing more pain meds, or having to get a scrip from their doc earlier than they should have.

If you do this and have your docs approval so they can explain to the DEA why this happened, then it isn't an issue, you really have to abuse prescription drugs to end up staying on the list.

Oops, got long winded here, sorry.

Anyway, the woman I was speaking of, ended up going to jail for prescription fraud, she lost custody of her kids to her mother, and also has several years of probation to serve when she gets out.

Her story was very interesting as to how the scrip seemed to have gotten altered. She said she had it in the car, it fell on the floor and since the day was rainy and her kids stepped on it, it just blurred it so it looked like someone had tried to change the writing on the scrip. YEAH RIGHT! Thing is, the person who was at the pharmacy when she went in, fell for it, they filled it. It was the head Pharmacist who caught it and questioned it when he was reviewing the days scrips later. He gave her an opportunity to settle the matter easily, without turning her in, by contacting her and telling her it shouldn't have been filled and asking her to return the remainder of the prescription. She refused (Had probably drank it all already) so they reported it to the police and DEA.

verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~

[justwhatever]

Wow, that story was sad. It's almost amazing what people will do when they are addicted. How long did she go to jail for?

this forum is about helping and healing-- feel free to correct my mistakes

[zippysgoddess]

Yes, it is very sad and tragic. At least she still gets to see her kids and live with them when she gets out, but it is such a shame that they have to sit there for awhile with their grandmother and wonder where she is, they are far to young to understand what is going on, they are 3 and 5.

She went to jail for 2 to 5 years, depending on behavior. For awhile they were saying 2 years, but then some other charges showed up filed against her, so now it is looking like it will be 4 to 5 before her kids get to see her again.

The judge has forbidden the children from going to jail to visit her, he said they have already been tramautized enough by what has gone on. They can only talk to her on the phone and by mail.They were right there watching as their mother freaked out once and attacked their grandfather, her own father, and his new girlfriend.

They no longer live near us, when she had tons of fines to pay, they got evicted for not paying the rent and had to move. They rented from the same landlord we do. But her father still lives right up the street from us and I talk to him and his new girlfriend frequently.

A very sad and tragic situation.

verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~

[Jessika]

What a story.. Thats what I ment By I was scared to get anything filled while I was still being watched my the dea. I would NEVER try something like that. my child means more than anything to me and he needs me more than ever. I am a stay at home mom and When I go just to the store he is wanting me let alone going away from him for 5 years. But just so everyone knows My name has been cleared thank god. My Doctor spoke with the DEA and everything is fine and back to normal. My doc put me on a monthly prescription that way i wont run out and need to seek other treatment in other places. Thanks eveyone for all the post and thank you very much zippysgoddess for everything youve done and helping me understand what all this means.

Jessika

[Jessika]

just curious Zippy, how did you get access to her crimnal record? are you with the police or something. just curious is to how someone get someone peosonl info like that

Jessika

[zippysgoddess]

Criminal convictions are public record. Many states have databases you can access online, some are free and some charge a fee. PA, the state I am in, has a free one. This is only for criminal charges as I said, non-criminal are not public record and are therefore not made available.

verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~

[Jessika]

Thats Cool you can do that. There are a few people my self i would like to look into.. ha ha

Jessika

[zippysgoddess]

LOL! Yes, it does come in handy!

verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~

[cluelessNJ]

Jessica,
How are you? I hope all is well!

Not so clueless,

CLEAN DATE 1/23/06

[Jessika]

Everything Is great. THe how red flagged thing has been taken care of. thank God. It was all a misunderstanding. but thank you for asking

Jessika

[Jessika]

Cant You get in trouble by the dea for ordering Pain meds over the Computer?????

Jessika

[zippysgoddess]

Not if it is a legitimate mail order pharmacy and you have a legitimate prescription for them. Some insurance companies now require people to use online or mail order pharmacies as it is cheaper.

When you can get in trouble is if you order without a prescription, from an unlicensed pharmacy, or if you use one of those ones that just lets you pay a fee for an email or phone consult with a doctor that then prescribes you something.

So yes, what OPITATE (what is that word supposed to be?) is talking about is blatantly illegal and you can have your orders seized by customs if they are from an overseas pharmacy or by postal inspectors in the US and be reported to the DEA and possibly prosecuted if they can prove you place the order. Oh, and if your meds get seized, you are just out of luck, no way to get your money back either.


verwon@gmail.com

My information is not guaranteed correct. I do not get them right all the time, but I do enjoy the hunt~