How long do I have to wait to refill a pain pill prescription?!


Question: How long do I have to wait to refill a pain pill prescription?
I have a bulging disc in my back and the bone sits on my nerves which causes problems with my hips so it cause severe pain in my hips and lower back. And now it has become so bad I can no longer walk properly also my hips are offset as well which makes it worse. Anyway my PCP referred me to a pain management DR because they can not do surgery or anything do to I guess it being so close to my nerves but I will not see him for another 2 weeks. The pain however got so bad I had to go to the ER about a week and a half ago (because my PCP is not in her office on Fridays ) and the Dr who saw is the one that discovered the bulging disc in my back because they thought I had a kidney stone and had to do a cat-scan so because he knows me he wrote me a prescription for some pain medication and was sure to give me enough to last until I see my pain doctor. Anyway my point is he gave me 25 and a refill for another 25. I take them as directed (sometimes less) but if you do the math I take one every 4-6 hours so 25 should last me a week or so I have enough for three more days and I have had them for a week and a couple of days but my mother told me that I have to wait 30 days to get the refill but that doesn't make sense because I didn't receive a 30 day supply, so how long am I suppose to wait before I can get them filled if what he gave me was enough for a week?

Answers:

if you take them as you should or less which is best if you can, try to stretch them out.. then as soon as you have finished them you can get the refill. but you should try to find ways to deal with the pain in ways that you can if possible, like ice and heat, since it looks like you are going to have to live like this for a while it would be best to learn to deal in different nonnarcotic ways. i know it is hard because i suffer from severe deteriative arthritis actually i am surprized they don't suggest steroids to lessen the pain, sometimes you can have a shot that will give you a few months of painlessness.

my own personal experience



All depends on how the prescription was written by your physician, if he wrote to dispense 25 pills per 30 days, your pharmacist can't change this. however if he didn't write anything, they should be dispensing 25 pills every 4 to 5 days.



pill seeker. we hate your kind



If the doctor said it should last till you see the pain management doctor than he most likely anticipated you being seen within a couple of weeks. If you look on the bottle it may say how much to take and how often. If it says take one every 4-6 hours as needed for pain and you have 25 then that will only last about 6 days because in a 24 hour period if you take one every four hours then that would mean you could take up to 6 in a 24 hour period if you need that many. However if the instructions say take one tablet twice a day then 60 pills are a 30 day supply. You should really call the pharmacy and ask them if you are allowed to get the refill before 30 days because you only have a 6 day supply. I would still advise you to try and get the pain doctor soon. If you don't have enough pain meds till then you need to get more meds from the doctor who prescribed them until you see the pain management doctor and 50 pills should last about 12 days if you got the refill so hopefully you can see the pain doc soon. The pain doc is not able to give you any medications until he/she sees and evaluates you which is why if you are low on the meds you need to have a doc who has seen you give you more. I know you don't want to be dependent on pain meds so a pain doc may be able to give you some injections to lessen the pain. Check out www.tamethepain.com to see the options they talk about for pain.

Not saying this is you but there are people who do get addicted or dependent on pain meds prescribed by a pain management doctor and doctors are not as willing to write continuous scripts for pain which is why your PCP referred you to a pain management specialist. I saw another post of yours that said you ran out of blood pressure meds and your mom gave you a B.P. cuff. You should not stop any blood pressure medication unless told by a doctor. Before you run out of medication you need to make sure the doctor sees you for a follow up or can call in more meds. High blood pressure is not something to mess with and I've had it to probably due to all the pain I've had to deal with in my life and when I had the dose changed (I had extra b.p. meds) my insurance sent me a letter saying that I didn't fill my medication for high blood pressure and they had a list of warnings like what could happen if I didn't continue to take the medication prescribed for blood pressure. I hope you feel better.

ruptured disc in neck still having spasms 8 years later and had surgery, injections, acupuncture, physical therapy, and now have two spinal cord stimulators.




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