Drug info - 2 dr.'s , 2 benzo scripts

[Wyborowa]

Swim attained his usual 90 .5 xanax from his doctor 2 months ago. Lo and behold, there was 1 refill on the bottle which i'm sure he made a mistake. so swim refilled it and went back to the dr.'s a month later. He then gave swim another script for 90 xanax b/c he thinks he did not give swim a refill on last months. Swim handed the script to the pharmacy and since swim got his refill only 2 weeks ago, the pharmacist said that it'll be filled by Aug. 5th.

Now mind you, swim told his primary that swim wants to try another med for anxiety b/c the xanac wasn't living up to its promise. the Dr. told swim that for now i'll give u your regular 90 pills for the month and talk to the psych about changing.

Today, swim saw his psychiatrist. Swim talked about switching benzo's and he prescribed Klonopin .5mg 3x's a day (90 pills) Swim filled that on the way home. The question is, can swim still go Aug. 5th and pick up his xanax his primary prescribed?(its a different pharmacy) When asked about it (if swim does) Should swim tell the pharmacist that the primary wants to give swim the xanax in case swim doesn't like the klonopins?(not true) They are both legal scripts, just one would wonder why swim has a primary and psych (1st script from him today) giving him 2 different benzo's? Can teh pharmacist call swims primary and say whats goin on?! Thanks! Swim appreciates.

[Nagognog2]

If the pharmacist suspects SWIM is "doctor-shopping," then a call to the doctor(s) is likely to be certain that no mistakes have been made. SWIM should be very careful with benzos as they are highly addictive (worst withdrawl known) and easy to abuse. Be careful, or SWIM's anxiety will seem mild compared to the sheer hell of being withdrawn from these drugs.

[Wyborowa]

Swim's primary sent him to this psych to help him out, for medication management. Swim in fact is not doctor shopping, its only that swim's primary forgot he gave swim a refill and he gave swim an extra script...

[BUZZFACTOR]

The federal limit on xanax is the original script plus as many as 5 refills. It is SWIM's opinion that your doc knows you have the refill at your disposal and any attempt to fill other benzos or trying to obtain refill early would be a red flag to your doc that there may be an abuse problem.

[Sklander]

SWIM thinks that your doctor didn't make a mistake and knows that you have that extra refill. If SWIWyborowa isn't doctor shopping and he just wants to be medicated maybe he should be straight up with his doctor... Just SWIM's opinion...

[bman1]

It is all in a computer. If swim wants to keep any script do not do it. If swim tries swim might lose all scripts becuae of "a problem"

[allyourbase]

its best just to talk to your doctor about it. going behind his back endagers not only your script but your health as well. what if you WERE to get another benzo script. then youd be taking two benzodiazapines and more than likely become hopelessly addicted. addiction to these medications is no laughing matter and it IS a physical addiction. friends of mine have had classic downer withdrawls (vomiting, rapid eye motion/spasms, epileptic fits) from taking only 2 mg of xanax BID for a year or two and stopping. theyve told me that this is the reason no benzo addict goes after ativan. the comedown is something like two weeks of incessantly tasting your own bile. now this isnt a taste effect, you literally throw up bile, whether youve eaten or not ALL DAY LONG. these are powerful medicines and should only be taken chronicly by those who absolutely require them for daily functioning. your doctor will know all of this. any subterfuge on your part will blacklist you.

[London_Bloke]

* accidental double post

[London_Bloke]

One thing you did not mention is if insurance involved here. Because as sure as the sun comes up every morning, SWIY's insurance carrier WILL catch this.

They do not rely on someone's eyes to catch things like this. Their computer system is designed to flag certain events. When the pharmacist tries to fill both, no matter which pharmacy SWIY goes to (or different ones, it still doesn't matter) the first thing the pharmacist does is get insurance approval. Every pharmacist is linked to every insurance carrier via web site and approval or disapproval is instant. If a script is written as a maintenance medication, the insurance carrier will disallow the refill until the script is within a 3-5 day window of 30 days since the last refill (differers by provider, of course) but their computer will also flag and disapprove any 2 scripts that are designed to do essentially the same job. Once again, it will tell the pharmacist that it requires physician approval. At that point, the insurance contacts the doctor and the physician must approve by fax to the insurance company explaining the medical necessity. That will form will be logged by the insurance, and the next time a pharmacist attempts to fill one or both, they will receive the approval or disapproval, based on the physician's answer to the insurance carrier.

For example, they will probably allow a 1mg Ativan, TID (quan 90) but will not allow another script to be filled for .5 mg Xanax, TID (quan 90) for that same calender month unless the physician assures the insurance carrier that you are changing meds completely.