Is This Normal for Prescription Meds?

[WellPreserved]

My son has been on the generic version of Concerta for 12 years. His doctor called the prescription into our pharmacy on Monday but the pharmacy said it wouldn't be available to my son until Friday when his previous monthly prescription ran out. This is normal and I get it but it's a pain to try to schedule around vacations as this is not a medication that he can just stop taking. The pharmacy notified him on Friday that it was ready for pick-up and when he got there, they said that they were out of his generic meds but they could give him on brand Concerta for $212 - his normal co-pay is $7.00. He paid for it and is taking it. I feel that this was a pharmacy problem not a customer problem but just wanted to check with the mom hive mind before I went to do "battle" on Monday morning, lol. We only have one pharmacy in town and they are closed on the weekends so trying another was not an option.

[Anonymous 1]

They shouldn't have said it was ready if it wasn't. They've had to sub my son's meds too but always made it clear they were being subbed before we picked them up. Tbh, I'd raise heck. Now I'm wondering if they should do a pill count. Because why did they say the generic was good to go and now it isn't? Seems sus to me.

[Anonymous 2]

In my experience pharmacies without competition are absolutely terrible. I'd switch to a mail order pharmacy that's what I ended up doing. I kept running into issues with them telling me it was ready when it was out of stock, not ready, etc and was missing doses because of it.

[WellPreserved]

In my experience pharmacies without competition are absolutely terrible. I'd switch to a mail order pharmacy that's what I ended up doing. I kept running into issues with them telling me it was ready when it was out of stock, not ready, etc and was missing doses because of it.

I've thought about doing this but my son's primary has to call in the prescription every 30 days so wonder if mail order would work for that? It has been tough with only one pharmacy. We used to have a CVS but they lost their pharmacist so only open for their retail and over the counter items. A lot of people have had problems with our pharmacy but this is the first time I've had an issue so thought I was going to stay lucky.

[Anonymous 2]

In my experience pharmacies without competition are absolutely terrible. I'd switch to a mail order pharmacy that's what I ended up doing. I kept running into issues with them telling me it was ready when it was out of stock, not ready, etc and was missing doses because of it.

I've thought about doing this but my son's primary has to call in the prescription every 30 days so wonder if mail order would work for that? It has been tough with only one pharmacy. We used to have a CVS but they lost their pharmacist so only open for their retail and over the counter items. A lot of people have had problems with our pharmacy but this is the first time I've had an issue so thought I was going to stay lucky.

The pharmacy I used would automatically contact the doctor to refill it when it expired. I don't remember which one it was though.

[Heyteacher]

Normal I don’t know…but I can say a medication I take that I can’t just stop is back ordered until June…on a national level….

As he already paid it I would maybe appeal to the insurance company and see if he can get a refund maybe….

[mater-three]

Yea - it happened to us when my youngest daughter was on concerta. Luckily, our copay for name brands were only $50. Our copay was $25 for the generic. They don’t usually give name brands any cheaper unfortunately.

[jas]

They're not going to refund a name brand due to not having the generic. The decision was made when it was picked up and paid. You can try to appeal to your insurance, but I don't think it'll go anywhere. Try mail order and yes, your doc can still contact them once a month. I've used express scripts and my sons doc had no issues when my son was on Concerta.

[Traci_Momof2]

Oh my gosh the number of rx med issues that I've dealt with in my family - I could maybe write a book.

My son used to be on an ADHD medication and as a controlled substance it was first difficult to find a pharmacy that had it. Then it became a problem getting the script to the pharmacy and what not. It's been years now since he's taken it so I haven't dealt with that one anymore. But my DH has been on a different medication that is also considered a controlled substance and it seems like every single time there is an issue of some sort. I've had multiple times where the drs office said they sent it over but the pharmacy says they didn't receive it and I've had to deal with back and forth to get it straightened out. I've even driven to his drs office to say "fix this!" Or if the pharmacy actually gets the script on time then they are out of stock of the medication and we have to wait for more to come in. And since it is controlled you can't do it ahead of time to try to get ahead of the curve. It's one that he can go a couple days without it and it's not the end of the world but each day he goes without gets worse and worse and he really shouldn't go more than a few days at a time.

It really shouldn't be this hard. I understand it's the ones who abuse these drugs that make it so hard for us honest ones but still, why does it have to be so hard to get something that the doctor has clearly said that the patient needs. I hate American health care and everything about it.

[LiveWhatULove]

Yes, sadly, this is normal. Stimulants are having supply/shortage issues and many are being forced to go without meds or pay high co-pays. Not to be flippant, as I know this is so frustrating, but I am shocked you have not dealt with this until now — it is that common in the US.

And it is not only these meds, there are others. The system is so f*ed.