Have you ever had a dr give generic when you cant have it?

[momof3boys]

I had this happen to me this week and had to go through all the hassel of getting it fixed! I take Keppra XR for my seizures, and Glucophage XR for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. We now have to go through a mail order pharmacy since our insurance changed things around starting in July of this year. Instead of being able to take a prescription to our local pharmacy for a six month supply, they now make us go through Express Scripts. We have to send the prescription in, along with a new order form, and they process it and ship it to me. Well, I made sure the dr sent me a prescription for the name brand medications. I got my Keppra XR yesterday in the mail. But then I checked on the status of the Glucophage XR, and noticed they changed it to the Metformin ER! My dr had to me try the Metformin 12 years ago when she dx'd me with PCOS and I had terriable stomach pain and was running to the bathroom every second! So she changed me over to the name brand, and I havnt had any problems with it. I call up the pharmacy people, and come to find out they faxed over a letter to my dr, asking if he was ok to give me the generic, and the nurses there approved it!

I cant believe after going to their drs office for over 12 years now, that they approved a medication they know I cant handle! So today I had to wake up early and call the drs office, tell them about the situation, and they never once said they saw anything in my chart that said I had to have the name brand. But said they could refax the paper that they approved for the generic, and change it so it says name brand. Then I call the pharmacy, and talk with a pharmacist, and they said they would contact my dr to get that change made, in the meantime, if I need to order this is in the future, this may happen again since the drs approved the generic paper in the first place! I tell ya, what a pain in the butt this new pharmacy service is!

I dont want to be stuck with a medication that I cant take due to problems... and the pharmacist said once the metformin arrives, which they already shipped out on October 26th, that I could dispose of it, and they would credit my account the $35 they charged me for the six month supply.

Heck I would gladly take the Glucophage XR for a six month supply for $35! But instead, I have to pay $150 for a six month supply.


Anyways, I had to get this out. Ive been so frustrated with this darn pharmacy lately, its driving me nuts! My husband found out he has a growth on his pituatary gland, that isnt big enough that the dr wants to remove it. Instead, they want to treat him with HCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin) to correct his problem with the inbalance of hormones causing all his problems.... and after faxing over the authorization form for approving the medication to treat a growth problem, they wont approve the drug for us. It would cost us $100 a month to use! That we cant afford! Maybe $100 for a six month supply, but we cant no way afford that a month! I hate insurance companies! We finally get the answers we need, and now our insurance company wont help us with getting the medications we need at a cost we can afford!

Sorry for the long post.... stress has gotten the best of me lately!

[Emee]

I have gone thru the same thing with my dr's office & mail pharmacy. I would mail in my prescription which stated "name brand only", I circled it in red, I even added a notation. When the med was delivered it would be generic. I called the pharm & they would say the dr's office okayed the generic. I had this happen more than once. I started sending the generic back (be sure you have some extra on hand) & having them send the brand. My insurance won't cover the brand name so I have to pay out of pocket for it which is quite expensive. I called the pharm & had them flag my file "brand only". After all that, everytime I send in a script I expect to receive generic.

Sorry you're having this experience.

[momof3boys]

Yeah it sucks! Ive gone through the same insurance for years, never having a problem getting the brand name. Whats weird is that they approved my Keppra XR and sent the brand name, but when I send them the prescription for my Glucophage XR and highlited the "Brand Name Neccessary" they tell me they had attempted to fill it with Glucophage, but then sent the forms over to the drs, who approved the generic.

I still havnt heard back from the pharmacy or the drs office. Im tempted to just give the pharmacy people a call and see if they heard from the drs yet. I have some extras on hand, thankfully.

[Blue Cat]

I had that problem, finally got the doc to put "NO SUBSTITUTION" on the script and I have to go into the pharmacy (Kaiser - on site) and not due the cheaper mail order as they tend to screw it up. Very frustrating and time consuming.

[momof3boys]

Yeah I wish I could get the six month or three month supply at our local pharmacy. It sucks the insurance changed it so we can only get a months supply through our local pharmacy. Its cheaper to get it in a six month supply than it is for just a months supply. But Im very frustrated that my drs office okay'd the generic. They should have looked better at my chart before signing it over and faxing to the company. I called the mail in order pharmacy tonight and they said they faxed over the paper to the drs for them to sign for me to have the name brand, and they havnt heard back from the drs office. Now I have to wait til monday to call the drs and ask them about the fax. What a pain in the butt this is!