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Report: #1359974

Complaint Review: Walgreens Pharmacy - Nationwide

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  • Reported By: Erickson-DuPont — Gatlinburg Tennessee USA
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  • Walgreens Pharmacy Nationwide USA

Walgreens Pharmacy Tennessee All Sorts Of Illegal,(or should be, Things Pertaining To "Drugs" in Tennessee Chattanooga Nationwide

*Consumer Comment: Stacey: I prefer to color inside the lines

*Consumer Comment: Walgreens - I can relate!

*Consumer Comment: You can paint this anyway

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I have been a loyal customer of Walgreens Pharmacy for over twenty years.  I recently married and relocated to Gatlinburg, TN from Chattanooga, TN and thus began my "nightmare."  In July of 2015, I attempted to drop off my prescription for Suboxone 2mg/0.5mg.  The pharmacist refused to fill the prescription because it was from a doctor in "Chattanooga."  My ex-fiance was a Pharmacist at Walgreens so I knew she had to, at the least, tell me a nearby pharmacy that would fill it for me.  I could not find the medication in stock at any other Walgreens Pharmacy near my new home.  The Newport, TN store was the only Walgreens that carried the medicine that I needed.  I asked the pharmacist to give me a valid and sensible reason that she would not fill it.  Her response;  "I don't know you or this doctor."  I had previously filled a number of prescriptions for Vyvanse at this same pharmacy and they never had any qualms about filling a schedule two substance but they refused to fill, at that time, a schedule three medication which is a "lesser" controlled substance than Vyvanse.  I brought this to her attention but she became irate and told me that she "refused to fill my Suboxone because she felt uncomfortable doing so."  

I take Suboxone, or use to, not for pain as much as I take it for "severe treatment resistant refractory depression."  I phoned the store and spoke with the manager who told me that "the pharmacist can refuse to refill any prescription that they don't want to fill."  So, if your physician prescribes a medicine like birth control and the pharmacist you give it to believes that "birth control is bad" they don't have to fill your valid prescription but they must;  tell you why they are refusing to fill your prescription, and inform you of another pharmacy that will or can fill it.  They need to have a valid reason to refuse to fill.  This pharmacist could not give me a valid reason nor did she tell me where else I could get the prescription filled.  Let me add at this point that I am very conscious about the way I look because I have a condition known as "Body Dysmorphic Disorder." I try to dress very conservatively, I wear my makeup very tastefully, and I "obsess" over my skin and hair.  As a result of this disorder, I am very sensitive to social criticism.  There are times that I find it difficult to leave my house.  This pharmacist made me so paranoid that I went to get my Botox and restylane touched up.  My husband called and we both went by the store attempting to explain the situation we were in but to no avail.  We were banned from ever "going back to that particular store."  

My husband and I are both polite, college educated, church going, conservatives, and I hate to have to say this but we are both "white".  We were "banned" from a store?  I happen to know the head of the prescription tracking system in Tennessee.  Basically, the head honcho at the TN DEA.  I asked my friend at the DEA to contact this pharmacist.  The head of the state prescription monitoring system who, as we both thought, pharmacists "have to obey" was ignored.  Imagine, you are a pharmacist and the head of the DEA calls you instructing you to "fill someone's prescription" but you tell them you "will not do it."  Lol.  WTH?  My friend advised me to find another pharmacy because of the complaints they receive everyday about Walgreens Pharmacy.  Incidentally, Walgreens uses a "secret discriminatory form to pick who they don't want to fill prescriptions for."  I contacted everyone, including Walgreens headquarters.  The State of TN Walgreens Manager was even contacted by me and I asked him for help.  He told me later in the conversation to; "go to hell" and hung up on me.

 I actually still use Walgreens because I know how easy it is to get arrested in Tennessee for "doctor shopping."  I have a print out of my state prescription record history.  The pharmacist at the Newport store placed a "note" in my Walgreens computer records.  A not "very nice" note.  Let me get back to the point that I am trying to make.  Be careful when dealing with scheduled drugs in Tennessee!  If I hadn't known the people that I did know, I might be sitting in jail right now.  Why?  Because in Tennessee, seeing more than one physician in a month is an alert that someone could be a "drug seeker."  Getting a prescription filled at more than one pharmacy is a "red flag."  Taking more than one controlled medication, is also a "red flag."  The one physician a month even applies, for example, if you go to a group of primary care physicians and need to see another physician in that same medical group.  I was so upset when I saw my record that I burst into tears but what was more disconcerting was according to another friend:  Ninety Percent of people or greater in TN, have "flagged" prescription records.  Mine was not flagged thanks to the "people that I know."  To all of you who have had "run ins" with pharmacists who "refuse to fill your prescriptions."  I want you to understand something.  Really try to grasp what I am about to tell you because it's very important.

 This BS, where a pharmacist can refuse to fill a valid prescription from your physician is caused by the so-called "War On Drugs."  This BS will continue until the "Drug War" is known for what it truly is:  A futile waste of the American Citizens money by state government who profit off PAC's (political action committees) from drug companies to push or ban their drugs.  For example,  the "Tennessee Narcotics Act of 2015" was written by lobbyists from Reckitt Benkisser, the pharmaceutical company that manufactures Suboxone, because the patent on Sublingual Suboxone Strips was about to expire or go "generic."  In other words, Reckitt Benkisser wanted to extend their patent rights on Suboxone so they "paid off" seventeen states and wrote a bill that some states decided would become law because the governor of some states was lazy, unethical and uncaring enough to say:  "Screw my constituents, I have a chance to get thousands of dollars and make it appear that I am trying to keep my constituents safe but what I am really doing is making a medication inaccessible to the people in my state for a monetary bribe."  The demonization of certain drugs is done on purpose because drug companies control our economy and politicians.  So be assured if it's difficult to obtain a drug the reason is big pharma could be either trying to keep their patent rights or trying to promote the sale of a mirror isomer of the very same drug just places on a different isomer.  Example- Celexa (citalopram) and Lexapro (escitalopram) the same drug but one is placed on the s isomer.  Incidentally, plants are not profitable because big pharma can't patent a plant.  Hmmm, why is marijuana illegal?  Please, educate yourselves.  The "Drug War" has been waged for over forty years now.  Its akin to me telling you that you can't eat chocolate.  It's a joke.  An expensive, joke that puts American citizens in precarious situations.  It prevents cures and access to those cures.  We must demand legalization now because things will just continue to get worse.  A forty year war?  Don't real wars end?  

I did file suit with the state attorney general but I still have not heard back from him.  I wonder how much that has to do with my being vocal about Bill Haslam's unethical act?  Incedently, I had to drive all the way back to Chattanooga to get the prescription filled.

 

God Bless

 

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 03/06/2017 06:43 AM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/walgreens-pharmacy/nationwide/walgreens-pharmacy-tennessee-all-sorts-of-illegalor-should-be-things-pertaining-to-dr-1359974. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
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#3 Consumer Comment

Stacey: I prefer to color inside the lines

AUTHOR: Gretchen - (USA)

POSTED: Saturday, September 23, 2017

Re: Rebuttal left for Erickson-DuPont

The rebuttal/comment you left for Erickson-DuPont is shameful. Not only is it assuming and judgemental, but downright rude and grossly ignorant. 
Addressing your mis-information in order:
Suboxone is INDEED prescribed off-label as a treatment for depression/treatment-resistant depression by some Psych M.D.'s (by law the Psych needs to be certified for addiction treatment to prescribe opioids). If an opioid is prescribed it is usually after the patient has failed to respond to treatment with the monoamine anti-depressants like the few SSRI's & SNRI's you listed (btw: it's Prozac, with a "z"), and the only NDRI yet approved- Wellbutrin. Second/Third/Fourth... line treatments (some need to be Rx'ed off-label) are TCA's; MAOI's (rarely); meds in the atypical antipsychotic class - Abilify, Zyprexa, etc.; a few anti-seizure meds like Lamictal and Klonopin (yes, a benzodiazepine); stimulants like Ritalin, Adderall, Vyvanese, & even Provigil/Nuvigil; Mirapex at lower doses - this is a med used in the treatment of Parkinson's & also RLS; Cytomel, which is T3 thyroid hormone; the up-and-comer Ketamine... The list goes on...

A simple Google search of "novel anti-depressants" will flood your browser with study after study, articles in peer-reviewed journals, etc. Searching "opioids for depression" will yield numerous studies, professional publications, just tons of information. The Google results for "Suboxone for depression" will yield lots of interesting & current information. NAABT gives a concise yet thorough explanation of the link between opioid dysregulation and depression as well as the actions of buprenorphine on the various opiate receptors and how its actions specifically relate to depression remission, plus the effects of the naloxone component in Suboxone strips. (Hint: it almost useless. Naloxone has very poor bioavailability when taken sublingually.) 
So, while the brief explanation of naloxone's actions that you copied and pasted from Drugs.com is true, it only exerts those actions at a high oral dose or when given by injection - both of which can result in death if administered to someone addicted to opiates. Relying on Drugs.com for more than the extreme basics is not a good idea, and when using that little bit of general information to assert as be-all end-all sweeping facts is, well, imbecilic.
Now, Suboxone is indeed a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone, with the naloxone dose far less than the amount of buprenorphine in the preparation. The dose of bup in Suboxone given for opiate addiction is 8mg/day to 24mg/day, for depression the range is usually 0.5mg/day to 2mg/day.
AND 
Suboxone IS used as a pain medication, a very viable alternative to standard opiates (hydrocodone, oxycodone, etc.,) for treatment of chronic pain. Not only is it very effective, but the risk of dependency is much lower than conventional opiates. Google "Suboxone for pain".
It is obvious that you know how to use a computer. Use it to do some research before responding like you are an authority on the subject.
Oh, and maybe you should put yourself together & do your makeup once in awhile. You'll probably feel better about yourself and may shed the need to judge others so harshly and tear them down in order to make yourself feel superior. It's just not a good look for you.

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#2 Consumer Comment

Walgreens - I can relate!

AUTHOR: Gretchen - (USA)

POSTED: Saturday, September 23, 2017

My local Walgreens pharmacy very disorganized & has such a high staff turnover rate that I'm surprised when my monthly Rx's get filled correctly & on time - even my Dr. says Walgreens is the worst. The pharmacists seem to be on a float schedule as there is never one who is predictably there - not a single pharmacist who is at that pharmacy on a predictable basis (f/t at that location). It's virtually the same situation for Pharm Techs.

Note: all of my Rx's have been the same meds/dosages for the past 2+ years & prescribed by same Dr. & have had no insurance changes.
Trying to pick up my Rx's the past 3 days- after receiving their automated calls that Rx's are ready -when I get there they aren't all ready & different pharmacists have been on staff each day. Pharmacist says one needs a prior auth (it's a refill) & didn't bother to try to run it thru my second Rx plan in their system...looks up my acct in computer, sees other Rx plan immediately & submits it to plan, goes thru fine all in <15sec.

Day after I go to get Rx from previous day + Rx's sent electronically that day from Dr.; told one needs a prior auth (a scheduled Rx that my Dr. submits a new Rx for each month, but still, I've had it filled each month for >2yrs at same Walgreens). Par for the course, I had to explain that this particular Rx isn't covered by my plans & is cash pay w/a coupon discount that Walgreens has in my file... a couple keystrokes later & "Oh, there's a note for it in your file with the coupon discount. It will take 30min to fill." I decide to get it & the rest of my Rx's the next day (today).

Anyway, just a few mins after leaving Walgreens I get an automated vm from Walgreens- prescription order isn't ready due to an insurance issue...contacting insurance blah blah -I call back when I get home & ask what Rx & what the issue is. Am told that Rx isn't covered on my plan, I tell Pharm Tech that they fill the Rx every month (same 'ol speel...). Replies, "Ok, I do see that we've filled this for you going back awhile. Maybe your plan has changed." Say that everything is the same & try running it under my other plans they have on file. Tech says he needs to consult the Pharmacist about it & will call me back. Notes on what med gets run under what plan + my cash w/coupon Rx info is all there - entered by one of the very few Pharmacists there who was actually smart enough to record the data. Unfortunately no one bothers to scroll a few lines to look at it, making the above ridiculousness not at all uncommon to deal with.

On one occasion a (former) Walgreens pharmacist rudely expressed her opinion that the dosage on one of my scheduled Rx's was too high. Told her it's filled there every month @ same dosage + my dosage is the highest recommended daily dose on the Mfg's prescribing info sheet - for children - and there is no set value for highest recommended adult dosage. (I've had to educate myself on such things because some pharmacists really do not know). At the point the Pharmacist starts to get angry & condescending.

I then give her my other Rx (scheduled, anti-seizure) and she tells me that I am trying to have a scheduled med refilled a week too early. I told her I normally drop off my anti-seizure med 5-7 days early & it's always filled between then and 1 day before my med runs out. As she starts to write on my Rx, she loudly informs me that she never refills any scheduled Rx's early & reports anyone she thinks is abusing their Rx's. Yes...a med I take to prevent seizures & was just dropping off the Rx to make sure it was filled on time. The Pharmacist actually wrote on the top of my Rx: "DO NOT FILL UNTIL day/mo" & highlighted it with a cheery color. The date was THE day I would take my last pill.
Around 1/2mo into that bottle I had an odd feeling when I opened it. I counted the pills and was under by 5 pills, that means I was missing 2 & 1/2 days worth of anti-seizure medication! To top it off, the fill date on the bottle label was the same day I took the Rx to the pharmacy!

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#1 Consumer Comment

You can paint this anyway

AUTHOR: Stacey - (USA)

POSTED: Monday, March 06, 2017

but this drug is not used for DEPRESSION!! It it used for opiate withdrawal! No amount of "I am put together with my makeup perfect" will not dress up the fact that your report is a JOKE!

Drugs that are used for depression - Lexapro, Paxil, Prosac, Cymbalta, Zoloft the list goes on and on. 

What is Suboxone?

Suboxone contains a combination of buprenorphine and naloxone. Buprenorphine is an opioid medication. An opioid is sometimes called a narcotic. Naloxone blocks the effects of opioid medication, including pain relief or feelings of well-being that can lead to opioid abuse.

Suboxone is used to treat narcotic (opiate) addiction. It is not for use as a pain medication.

So your report is CRAP

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