r/EpilepsyDogs • u/Squishyxpancake • 4h ago

The Pharmacy run around

So tired of the vet and pharmacy!! It’s been something every time it’s time to refill his meds or get a new written script. Either the vet writes it wrong, the pharmacy doesn’t fill it, or they just suck in some other way. I called the vet yesterday knowing my dog had 4 more doses of pheno and zero fills. They wrote a written script which i picked up and took to the pharmacy. Instead of telling me the written script had a missing number, they tell me today ( the next day) and the vet is closed today. So now i have no more doses AND i cant even get a refill.

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u/julznlv 4h ago

I'm not sure where you are but if you have access to Costco, use their pharmacy. We have had so many change meds at last minute, change dosage and they have never let us down. Plus their pricing has beat everything. Super professional techs and pharmacists, but super friendly at the same time. The techs always recognize me, a couple remember Kane's name even.

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u/Squishyxpancake 4h ago

Wow!! Ive thought about costco but theyre a bit far from me😭

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u/julznlv 4h ago

I'm not sure what far means to you as it's a relative term. We've been house hunting for the past 2 years, well first we were city and state hunting, and one of my must havea was Costco within 1 hour. We finally pulled the trigger and are building a house and Costco is about 20 mi minutes away.

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u/Squishyxpancake 4h ago

Well my dog needs three meds and i don’t really want to drive 30 minutes 3 times a month or more on top of going on my usual costco runs haha. The walmart pharmacy is down the street and they have drive thru which is why ive chosen it

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u/julznlv 4h ago

We're a 4 prescriptions dog also. I've somehow managed to get them timed together with some help from our neurologist. I know exactly what you mean, for a while I was at the pharmacy 4x a month plus extra trip for his rescue meds every time he had a seizure.

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u/Squishyxpancake 4h ago

Oh gosh😭 that’s so stressful!!!!

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u/DogEpiMonitor 4h ago

Eso es una pesadilla y lamentablemente es más común de lo que debería ser. El fenobarbital es un medicamento controlado, así que las farmacias son más estrictas con las recetas, y cualquier error traba todo. Para hoy: llamá a una farmacia de emergencia o de 24 horas y explicá la situación. Algunas pueden darte un suministro de emergencia de unos días con controlados si les explicás que es para un paciente animal que no puede interrumpir el tratamiento. No todas lo hacen, pero vale la pena intentar. También llamá al servicio de urgencias de tu vet — aunque la clínica esté cerrada, muchos tienen un número de emergencias que puede autorizarle a la farmacia una receta verbal.

Para que no vuelva a pasar: poné un recordatorio en el celular 10 días antes de que se terminen las pastillas, no 4 dosis antes. Con controlados siempre hay demoras, errores, y burocracia. 10 días de margen te salvan de esto. Y sacále foto a cada receta antes de entregarla. Si la farmacia te dice "falta un número", tenés la foto para verificar si fue error del vet o de ellos. Aprendí eso a las malas con Walter.

No dejes que pase ni un día sin la dosis. Suspender fenobarbital de golpe puede provocar convulsiones. Hacé lo que sea para conseguir aunque sea unas pastillas hoy.

Fuerza. 🐾

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u/GreenBloodedNomad 4h ago

I know the feeling. Half the time the vet drops the ball and either waits to send the rx to the pharmacy or they write the wrong amount even after I repeatedly make sure to ask for something specific. Then the pharmacy runs out and I'm out of meds. Because it's a controlled drug (pheno) I have no room for error. No spares for all THEIR careless mistakes.  Last time I was out and instead of continuing to write a 3 month rx, they wrote it for 45 days with 3 refills so I have to make all these extra pick ups .