Can you return a prescription drug

[Tiggeroo]

if it is not working for you. I have been sick and am on several different meds which, even on insurance were expensive. The decongestant that I've never taken before is doing nothing. It was expensive. Just wondering.

 

[C.Ann]

I'm afraid not.. Sorry..

Maybe next time you're sick you could see if your doctor has samples for you to try first?

Feel better..

 

[dodukes]

I would think not but don't know for sure. What would they do with them once you returned it and imagine if you bought it swapped out and returned something else. I know I wouldnt want medicine someone has returned.

 

[erincon23]

No. I have hundreds of tablets from different prescriptions for my DS14 laying around -- he had a back injury last year, so I have... muscle relaxants, Lyrica-type medication, another type of painkiller... -- nothing seemed to work for him, and some of them actually made him goofy. I called the pharmacy to ask what I can do with any of this and they said it's law that if something leaves the pharmacy, it can't be returned unless they dispensed the wrong thing. (and their suggestion for disposing of excess medications -- can't throw them down the toilet since they then go into the water system -- mix them with coffee grounds or cat litter so they are uninteresting to anyone who might steal them, then throw them away. I wish there were some safe way to donate them at least to people who couldn't afford the prescriptions!)

 

[Tiggeroo]

Yeah, I kind of figured that. Usually he will give me samples. All of the other things are drugs Ive taken before. But I have slightly high bp and he gave me a decongestant that doesn't raise your bp. It's doing nothing and even with my insurance it was 65. I'm going to end up throwing it out. I know they can't re-use it but I thought they'd send it back to the pharmaceutical company with a note of customer dissatisfaction.

 

[tvguy]

Yeah, I kind of figured that. Usually he will give me samples. All of the other things are drugs Ive taken before. But I have slightly high bp and he gave me a decongestant that doesn't raise your bp. It's doing nothing and even with my insurance it was 65. I'm going to end up throwing it out. I know they can't re-use it but I thought they'd send it back to the pharmaceutical company with a note of customer dissatisfaction.

My mom is a retired nurse. She went through a half dozen blood pressure medicines until they found one that worked, and didn't have some unacceptable side effect. She always told her doctor not to prescribe something he didn't have samples for, because she wasn't about to pay for something that she finds out she can't tolerate.

 

[tinatark]

This won't help you now, but in the future if a new drug is prescribed, you can get the script partially filled - get a few days worth to see if it works for you.

 

[Gigi22]

If the prescription has been filled correctly, you cannot return it. If, however, there has been an error in filling the prescription, you must return it to the pharmacy. The pharmacy we used to go to made an error in DH's medication that I noticed (it was an incorrect dosage), we took the remainder of the prescription to have it corrected, and the pharmacy was required to report their error to TPTB.

 

[CathrynRose]

Doesn't that suck??? I had that happen once with an inhaler - Advair.

It had *just* come out, and wasn't on the "formulary" list. I paid something like $160 or something obnoxious for it.

And it was terrible! Terrible for me. Did not work, and made me REALLY dizzy.

 

[barkley]

No. I have hundreds of tablets from different prescriptions for my DS14 laying around -- he had a back injury last year, so I have... muscle relaxants, Lyrica-type medication, another type of painkiller... -- nothing seemed to work for him, and some of them actually made him goofy. I called the pharmacy to ask what I can do with any of this and they said it's law that if something leaves the pharmacy, it can't be returned unless they dispensed the wrong thing. (and their suggestion for disposing of excess medications -- can't throw them down the toilet since they then go into the water system -- mix them with coffee grounds or cat litter so they are uninteresting to anyone who might steal them, then throw them away. I wish there were some safe way to donate them at least to people who couldn't afford the prescriptions!)

some counties and states have programs in place for unwanted/expired meds where you can drop them off at sites for appropriate disposal. i did a google search on your state-go to your state's epa website and there's a search engine by county that lists the drop off locations.

a new federal law passed in september that will make it easier for states to create more of these programs but in the meantime there are temporary programs in some states where certain pharmacies and law enforcement entities will take drop offs (until the actual implementation date of the law it's still illegal for pharmacies and other drop off locations to accept 'controlled' meds, these can only be turned over to law enforcement).


on the subject of expensive meds-if it's something you've not taken before it might be worth it to find out (before filling it) who the manufacturer is. do a google search on them and see if they are offering any free or reduced cost initial dispensing coupons (usualy the prescibing doctors have these to hand out, but if they've run out they might not even mention it's available-i've found if the manufacturer is still offering it they will often let you download or will e-mail you the coupon code for the pharmacy).

 

[indimom]

Been there, done that. My son got very sick when he was 1. We spent three days in the hospital and they sent us home with numerous expensive prescriptions. ($300 out of pocket even with insurance!!!!! ) Would have been more, but I was able to borrow a nebulizer from a friend and didn't have to pay to rent one.
Eighteen hours later, his fever had returned with a vengence and I took him to the ER. I took the meds along because I knew they would want to know what the doctor had prescribed. They said his illness was not responding to the prescription meds, immediately admitted him, and THREW THE MEDS IN THE GARBAGE CAN!!! I was shocked and wanted to just cry. Nothing to do but just let it go and forget it (but as you can see, I still haven't. )
Three weeks of hospitalization with IV meds, maxing out our OOP insurance, and he was better. You'd think that little bit of change wouldn't phase me considering our overall medical bills that year, but it just killed me to see them toss it out. That was over a weeks pay they threw away! I wanted to take the stuff myself just to "not waste it."

 

[penguin087]

I never thought about this but what a racket! Once you pay for the drug it doesn't matter if it works or not. The drug company doesn't have to stand behind it because the consumer can't return it if it doesn't work as advertised. What other company could get away with that???

 

[Geoff_M]

What other company could get away with that???

There's one problem with your argument... Drug companies don't sell their products to the end consumer. Your beef should be with your pharmacy. Drug companies often have very liberal return policies with regard to their actual customers (wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, pharmacies, etc.). Also, why's no one talking about demanding the office visit fee back from the doctor that wrote the script to begin with?

As a site note, it's also incorrect to assume that if a drug doesn't work for you it's somehow "defective". What you're sold is an active pharmaceutical ingredient that a doctor feels is best to treat your condition. For a LOT of reasons, not every API works the same in every patient. For a number of reasons, many related to laws and safety, pharmaceuticals aren't generally returnable.

There's also lots of industries that "get away" with it. For example, try returning an electrical component at an auto parts store or try returning a opened piece of software that "didn't work for you".

 

[luvmy3]

I never thought about this but what a racket! Once you pay for the drug it doesn't matter if it works or not. The drug company doesn't have to stand behind it because the consumer can't return it if it doesn't work as advertised. What other company could get away with that???

You have a problem with the drug companies now, could you imagine the cost entailed if they had to make a product that was guaranteed to work for everyone. You'd have to make hundreds (maybe even a thousand) variations of the same "drug" in order to ensure there was one that helped every single person.
There are ways to avoid having to pay for a medication that doesn't work, ask your prescribing doc for any free samples they may have, check out the manufactureres website for any coupons, rebates or samples or get it partially filled. Don't blame the drug companies, just be informed of what your options are.

 

[npmommie]

Yeah, I kind of figured that. Usually he will give me samples. All of the other things are drugs Ive taken before. But I have slightly high bp and he gave me a decongestant that doesn't raise your bp. It's doing nothing and even with my insurance it was 65. I'm going to end up throwing it out. I know they can't re-use it but I thought they'd send it back to the pharmaceutical company with a note of customer dissatisfaction.

You got some good advice about asking for samples prior or just getting a few days worth.
Have you called the pharmacy where it was filled to see what they say?

There's one problem with your argument... Drug companies don't sell their products to the end consumer. Your beef should be with your pharmacy. Drug companies often have very liberal return policies with regard to their actual customers (wholesalers, distributors, hospitals, pharmacies, etc.). Also, why's no one talking about demanding the office visit fee back from the doctor that wrote the script to begin with?

As a site note, it's also incorrect to assume that if a drug doesn't work for you it's somehow "defective". What you're sold is an active pharmaceutical ingredient that a doctor feels is best to treat your condition. For a LOT of reasons, not every API works the same in every patient. For a number of reasons, many related to laws and safety, pharmaceuticals aren't generally returnable.

There's also lots of industries that "get away" with it. For example, try returning an electrical component at an auto parts store or try returning a opened piece of software that "didn't work for you".

why would the office visit fee be returned?
there is more to a doctors visit than a simple writing of a script.

 

[npmommie]

I also wanted to add, if you can't return it ( which I doubt you can)
there are groups who travel to other countries and would gladly take your donated medications.
we used to send all of our expired drug samples to a doctors group traveling out of the country.

 

[bookgirl]

You can ask to just buy 1 weeks worth of your prescription to try out then go back and buy the rest if it works or cancel it if it does not work. That is what a friend of mine has done because she has a hard time with new meds.

 

[bookgirl]

No. I have hundreds of tablets from different prescriptions for my DS14 laying around -- he had a back injury last year, so I have... muscle relaxants, Lyrica-type medication, another type of painkiller... -- nothing seemed to work for him, and some of them actually made him goofy. I called the pharmacy to ask what I can do with any of this and they said it's law that if something leaves the pharmacy, it can't be returned unless they dispensed the wrong thing. (and their suggestion for disposing of excess medications -- can't throw them down the toilet since they then go into the water system -- mix them with coffee grounds or cat litter so they are uninteresting to anyone who might steal them, then throw them away. I wish there were some safe way to donate them at least to people who couldn't afford the prescriptions!)

My town recently had a 'drug' turn in and the city would dispose of any unused medications. The police department sponsered it to cut down on script theft, in private homes.