Prescription Question

[CorneliaMarieRocks]

I know this probably belongs in Sickbay, but I thought maybe it might get more viewers here in Off Topic..

my mom for the past 3-4 days has had an abscessed tooth, it started late last week & then Mon morning when she woke up the side of her face was all swollen..She had gone to her primary dr. on Jan 29th to get her meds 'scripts re-written (including her pain meds which were filled that day)...normally she takes 3 of her pain meds daily, but when this tooth thing started up she started having to take an extra pill along with otc ibuprofen because of the pain so come Monday she was gettin' low on her pain meds (she's given 90 which normally lasts 27 days). She got an appointment with a dentist but they could not get her in until Thurs (tomorrow) so they told her to go to the ER

ER gave her an antibiotic & a pain shot plus gave her 'scripts to go get filled (we use an indie pharmacy instead of a chain). She was given 12 Ultram for the pain (might as well have given her M & M's for all the good they're doing) which she has been taking along with her regular Norco...


Now, my question is...If the dentist doesn't give her a pain 'script tomorrow at her appointment, if we take her second Norco prescription to our pharmacy (which we are well established at this place, all 3 of us get our meds at this place) can the pharmacist call the insurance company (that's another thing, all 3 of our cell phones are down at the moment) & get an emergency override (which I would assume would be required seeing as it is too early for the 'script to be filled without calling) so he can go ahead & fill her Norco? Because otherwise, she's gonna be out of pain meds & that's not an option here (only other option I see, I won't even mention aloud here 'cause I imagine it's against forum rules)


Thanks guys

[KuariKaydrith]

I don't think anybody can answer this other than the pharmacist and the insurance company, tbh. So much depends on the insurance company being willing to put the emergency override through, but there is no way of guaranteeing that they will do that for your mom. I'm sure the pharmacist can call the insurance company, sure, but if the insurance says no then there's not a whole lot that can be done. At least that is my experience with this sort of thing.

[cindybubbles]

Can you pay out of pocket just this once?

[EricKei]

What KK said -- This is definitely a question for the professionals. If the dentist is unwilling, then briefly explain and ask what the proper way to go about it is.

[bacchinalus]

It honestly doesn't matter what the insurance/pharmacist will or will not do, or if you can afford to pay cash for it. It's a scheduled drug, and it all depends on what the law is in your state for how early you can fill it.

Certain states (like NY, where I am) have a window that you can fill a controlled med early a certain number of days. But that doesn't apply to any scripts that are shorter than a full month, or if you've used up that window over the course of the last couple months.

You do better to ask the pharmacist what the law is when you bring in the script. Asking the pharmacist will usually get you a more accurate answer than asking the doctor/dentist.

[Seshat]

Sadly, this is law-dependant and most of us aren't familiar with such laws.

Since it seems your mother is already being treated for chronic pain, I suspect she is aware of pain management skills and mental tricks.

For instance, I find that distracting myself with whatever is just challenging enough for my current mental state can work well: sadly, sometimes My Little Pony is challenging. Other times I play computer games, study something, do crowdsourced science work with Zooniverse and the like.

Another technique is to 'bore' your brain with a particular pain. Really, REALLY focus on how the tooth feels. Come up with as many adjectives as you can to describe it, analyse it, draw pictures of it, write poetry - whatever focusses your brain on it intensely. The brain finally throws its metaphorical hands up and gives up on 'telling' your mind about it. For a while, anyway.

Of course, you're probably more than familiar with heat packs, cold packs, rubbing a painful area, using creams that provide a sensation that's 'higher priority' than the pain sensation, and so forth.