So I went back to the pharmacy. New pharmacist same result.

The way the doctor wrote the prescription it cannot be released until January 2nd.

I'm not certain but I think it's as simple as the fact that the original scrip said take 1 pill per six hours. Whereas a lot of prescriptions will say 1 or 2 as needed every six hours. If she'd had written it "1 or 2 as needed" then the system would have allowed the higher number and quicker usage.

It is just locked into the system as a certain number over a certain timespan. Once our doctor said, "Yeah go ahead and take two if that manages your pain" we stepped outside the number within the system and the system doesn't like it.

So the doctor needs to call in a new prescription (elsewhere!), but she hasn't responded to six messages over the last two days. Which is weird because previously she was so conscientious she checked in with us during her vacation.

Anyway, because I have learned the horrible lesson of American healthcare which is that if you play by the rules you get nowhere, I recalled that JZ's mom had been through a number of minor surgeries over the last two years and gave Jacqueline a bag of expired medicine to dispose of responsibly.

We still had the bag. We found useful meds inside. Checked with Tepalina for the the conversion chart and we've got a backup plan to get through the next two nights.

This whole thing is so fucking stupid. I'd say enraging but I'm calm at the moment. Because of random granny bag.

because I have learned the horrible lesson of American healthcare which is that if you play by the rules you get nowhere

You know it. Do I always need refills of stuff when it's offered? Nope, but I fucking stockpile it. I have enough klonopin to last me through another shitty election cycle.

Because of random granny bag.

Granny bag is a good backup, but it is a sad fucking state of things that JZ's pain management is down to the granny bag. I mean, I understand the restrictions on the pharmacy's end, the way you explained it. They definitely can't break laws with opioids or they get a giant stompy foot. But what the hell is going on with JZ's doctor???

JZ's doctor better have a good explanation --like a major emergency for her family. Is there a physican's assistant or NP or anyone? Or a new doctor....

My former boss, my sweet Jewish dad, is now calling Walgreens to make sure they even have it in stock, and the new patient navigator in Oncology is backchanneling the general medicine team to politely ask what the fuck.

I am so glad you are taking advantage of those resources, and the granny bag. I am actually really shocked the backchannel didn’t work. I know it is bad that we have to use the backchannel, but in my experience, it has worked.

Oh, fuck, Hec & JZ. I am so angry that you are reduced to this frankly still dangerous workaround (although relieved you have it!) What a goddamn mess.

frankly still dangerous workaround

The contents of the granny bag are what JZ was originally taking in the hospital, so it's not a total MacGyver of random meds. And, honestly, the deal with expired meds is this: if they're liquid, they should be tossed, because they can get nasty; however, as long as pills/tablets aren't crumbling/discolored/smelly, then the worst that may happen is that they'll be less effective than they would have been when they were still within their "use-by" window. They won't cause additional problems.

(I say that noting that I am SUPER cavalier when it comes to my own personal attitude toward meds, even pain meds [which is dumb and I admit that], but I would never ever EVER give dodgy advice to anyone else. If I thought for a nanosecond that expired meds might be dangerous, I'd say to toss them out. But it helps that the granny bag meds are meds JZ has taken fairly recently, so they know it's a med she can tolerate. If they're the fallback option, the outcome will range from No Pain Yay, to Adequate Pain Control, to Dang This Isn't Doing Shit.)

I know you would not give bad or dangerous advice. I assumed they were the same meds, because I would have probably given the same advice (or texted a nurse friend).

To be clear, they aren't my meds, they're my mom's, from her various hip and face surgeries. She didn't have any resources in Reno to safely dispose of them, so I brought them down here and it's just random chance that I hadn't gotten around to it yet. But one of those meds is also one of the meds I was on during my ER hallway spa days.

eta: Doctor S is checking back in and clarifying some things and I love this careful methodical little man so much. I can feel my BP dropping every time my phone pings and it's him.