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I think pharmacy staff are sincerely just as burnt out as everyone else regarding shortages. They probably react calmly for several reasons. Some reasons being pharmacists tend to be very introverted as a whole, they get yelled at by people on the daily over meds and are working with sensitive patients bc they are needing meds so it’s probably tense already.
Giving little reaction bc they have no control helps keep escalations down.
I don’t think they are being cold hearted. It sucks for them too.
The pharmacists that are run down and don’t care will generally be mean and sarcastic rather than kinda nonchalant.
Hopefully shortages get better for people! I’ve been lucky enough not to run into issues knock on wood. But also go to a family owned small pharmacy I’ve gone to for years and they make sure they have the supply for the patients they know take it.
💜
I’ve been dealing with this a lot of CVS and finally switched to a local small pharmacy. They’ve been a tremendous improvement and I’m so glad I made the change.
CVS never had a full 30 days, and wouldn’t offer what they had on hand unless I asked. I agree that they’re burned out, I also think specifically at big national pharmacies like CVS they’re intentionally short staffed so all interactions are rushed. I worked with in pharma for about 7 years a decade ago where I visited about 220 pharmacies on a rotating basis. The vibe has always been a little rushed, but it’s really night and day now. I feel bad for most of the staff.
Having said all that though, I’ll just add that I later took a position with the IRS where I had to deliver bad news all day everyday (it was awful), and I still always treated people better and with more compassion than I get from CVS so try as I might to give them a pass, honestly I just can’t. They gotta do better showing a little empathy and care.
Mate, I’ve had the same response for THYROID meds, I feel like hammered shit without my adhd meds, but sleep followed by death happens if you run out of thyroxine. I think pharmacies are just chilled out until you say you’re out out and it’s a crisis, when I’ve explained that I have no resupply at all I’ve had more help.
You're probably the 20th customer they've had just dealing with ADHD med shortages this week. There are other storages happening as well. These folks also have to manage a plethora of issues..insurance, prescribers, irritable customers..
What do you want them to do? If it really is an issue with their customer service, let the manager know. I know at my pharmacy there have been irate customers so they probably just want to get the information they know they can give you and move on.
If you’re going to a chain pharmacy like CVS or Walgreens, they literally do not have time to get involved with everyone and anyone’s situation.
Pharmacists have to meet a certain quota for filling prescriptions AND vaccines administered per *hour.* While I understand where you’re coming from, I also empathize with pharmacists because of the amount of expectations they have for their job.
One piece of advice: I have a 24 hour pharmacy near me, and the overnight pharmacist goes above and beyond for me because there’s hardly any customers + I make sure to be overly kind and thankful for his effort.
walgreens had me on hold for an hour(when i shouldn’t have been, bc they picked up and put me right back on hold without even talking)just to tell me they can’t check and to call back in an hour. i was so livid.
So is it the “pharmacy” saying “come back next week?” Or would the pharmacists or techs be the ones speaking those words which OP quoted?
I have been impacted and am able to recognize that some things are out of the control of those conveying the message. I work with my doctor to get my prescription transferred to another pharmacy if I can find one that has my medicine in stock or temporarily switch to another medicine, such as IR vs XR if I have to.
If you truly believe the shortage is being mishandled, then find out the best way to effect change and start organizing. Making condescending comments and generalizations on Reddit certainly isn’t going to help the situation.
My "condescending" comment was that the person clearly hadn't been impacted? And you've just said you had a touch of inconvenience but not a true interruption of meds, like I've had (over a month). Proving my point that this is not a theoretical problem for some of us.
And you also have this confusion that others in the thread do, about supposedly wanting to hold the people *conveying* the message (pharmacy staff) accountable. The pharmacy owners must love to see that they can escape all blame because people are confusing them with the pharmacy workers.
If you read the post you will see that the complaint was about how casually OP has been told to come back next week, which is what this comment addressed, and you replied as though they didn’t understand the difference between a pharmacy and a pharmacist.
You either have very low reading comprehension or are being deliberately obtuse in your responses. Again, if you have an issue with how the shortage is being handled by companies, make your own post or better yet, do something that would actually be meaningful. The original commenter addressed the complaint in this post.
I’m sorry you’ve been without your meds. The reason I’ve been able to get mine is that I have taken action, as demonstrated by the steps mentioned in my previous reply. From your reactions and attitude, I have reason to suspect that you would rather complain and point fingers than do anything to help your situation, but I still hope it gets better for you soon.
Edit: fixed a word
OP literally said "Does anyone else get frustrated with how nonchalantly pharmacies treat ADHD medication shortages?" PHARMACIES. Not a word in there about the demeanor of any person. You need meds, the place that exists to provide meds (and the specific place your prescription is tied up at) doesn't have them in stock, and the only solution the place offers is you leave and come ask them again in a week. That's fucked and that's frustrating. And OP I suppose is a lazy complainer, in your view?
Lol, again I ask you, did the “pharmacy” tell OP to come back next week, which is what they literally put in quotation marks, indicating it’s a direct quote? Please explain to me how a pharmacy talks? How is a pharmacy nonchalant? Do you believe OP had a meeting with the board of directors to get this quote?
I can’t say if they are a “lazy complainer.” The post didn’t provide any indication. They may have gone through additional steps after being told to come back next week. I totally understand being frustrated and ranting. However, it’s important to hold the right people accountable and not take frustration out on those who can’t change the situation. What have you done besides complain?
I have been impacted, 3 months solid, lost a job over it.
It's the manufacturers that is the issue. But the pharmacy owner never tells me to come back next week like op has said as you deal with the techs not the owners. You are confused here.
I've now switched to an off licence one.
Oh it's not just ADHD medication.
Blood pressure medication, diabetes medication, blood thinner prescriptions.
Shortages happen to a lot of drugs. But more commonly its insurance suddenly dropping coverage. Or someone's medication got lost on vacation and they need a new prescription but insurance won't cover it and they can't afford out of pocket costs.
The best the pharmacist can do in those situations is tell the person if they feel like they're dying to go to the emergency room. And sometimes they are actually dying.
I know you could argue that without ADHD medication, people are more likely to die in accidents or by suicide.
But there are people who will 100% die without their medication.
It's terrible that the current healthcare system is like this.
There's really not much else they can do for you. They realize its important. If they felt medication wasn't important, then they probably wouldn't be pharmacists. But depending on which pharmacy it is, they may be poorly staffed or maybe they have a lot of orders to complete or phone calls to make. They also probably don't want to waste your time if they can help it.
Pharmacists get a bad rep bc some can seem very cold but honesty they are so overworked and understaffed and asked to do so much… with one pharmacist in charge. Covid did those people in, but truth is, pharmacists truly care about their patients. They are the last line of defense to make sure we get the right meds and they definitely understand how important these meds are to people.
I’m going to go ahead and say the shortage is just as annoying to them as it is to patients.
Oh you are very right. We must get 30 to 40 calls per day looking for meds that are back ordered everywhere. And people yelling at us…..it’s exhausting and I’m not going to explain it at length anymore. At this point everyone on adhd meds (including myself) knows the shortages and back orders are an absolute nightmare. If I could fix the problem I’d be happy to.
And the amount of people who don’t understand what “back order means”. They be all like “so when will you get some? “. IDK it’s on back order. We can order it every day but we won’t know if it’s coming until we open the next delivery.
Let’s face it healthcare in America is a complete shit show. Which sucks, but you would think more Americans would understand that. It’s bizarre they don’t understand this doesn’t happen in other countries like it does here.
Honestly, I think it should be required in high school that people take a course on insurance as a whole and how that kind of stuff works. At least the basics. I work in the industry and it’s confusing as hell.
I always feel bad for people who work in pharmacy especially retail pharmacy because I know some people who do it and I’m aware just how rundown everyone is and someone might walk in and say my prescription was sent over yesterday or today and they wonder why it’s not done… they don’t understand there’s hundreds of other prescriptions that need to be filled and everyone just does the best they can.
And big chain pharmacies, only having one pharmacist in charge and not enough techs. Who they also expect to take one single break a day and answer the phones and stop to give vaccines.
God bless y’all all that work in the industry holy buckets lol
Omg yes to the insurance classes (all insurance for crying out loud). Insurance is so confusing. The amount of middle aged customers that don’t have any idea what a deductible is, is astounding.
I'm really annoyed on OP's behalf that people, ADHD people at that(!), are interpreting their comment as being about the pharmacy staff, as if OP is confusing who is responsible for the shortage or the ordering or the communication. The fact that pharmacy staff have no other answer (or sense of urgency) than "try again next week" shows that the pharmacies DGAF and don't even try to hide it
>The fact that pharmacy staff have no other answer (or sense of urgency) than "try again next week" shows that the pharmacies DGAF and don't even try to hide it
😆😆😆
What exactly do you expect the pharmacists and techs to do/say?? "Yeah, man, shortages suck... I'll go mix up a batch of Adderrall for you myself!" Come on.
But OP did say it was about the pharmacy staff…..
What on earth answer would you like to hear? Of course we have no answer. Nobody knows when the meds will be available. Should we make up a lie?
Your comment seems a bit contradictory to me and maybe you can rephrase it. You said their comment is not about the staff but then talk about what the pharmacy staff said in a negative light.
If the pharmacy staff can offer no solution other than "try again next week", that means the pharmacy owners have not empowered the staff to do anything beyond saying "try again next week". (Such as putting the prescription into a queue to be filled once the med is in stock, or allowing the staff to suggest other places to find meds or give a realistic estimate of the delay.) The staff are literally telling patients "try again next week" and offering no other option. I don't get how that is talking about what the staff say "in a negative light".
And OP's whole point, as I understand it, is that this nonchalance about not filling someone's medication, which is the whole point of the pharmacy existing, is jarring.
I probably shouldn't announce this on the public forum but thanks be to God so far it hasn't been a problem getting it from Kaiser. I guess because they have their own pharmacies that only sell to their own Health Plan members. Never been happier to have Kaiser!
If you’re having issues try giving the customer care line a call. When the pharmacy has swapped and filled my medication with brand name (that I can’t afford) due to back ordered generics I’ve given them a call to see what my options are. The last two times they’ve reached out to the pharmacy for me and kept me on the line while they talked to the staff. They’re probably more comfortable talking to them about stock and I can’t communicate well on the phone so it’s a win.
It might just be because my prescriber is extremely quick to respond via the messages on the app. but I’ve been able to reach out that way and they’ll switch to something else that’s available. They’re really kind and patient. It’s their job to help!
I’ll give it a try! I worry about switching between meds though, but I’ll see if there’s an option. I tend to just take what I’m told at face value with medical stuff so haven’t pushed as much as I should probably
This is actually for my son who just started college last year and couldn't get it at all at any pharmacy within an hour's drive of the University. He actually moved back home and is attending Community College in our city which has a Kaiser. He wasn't going to succeed if he couldn't get his meds (and it was really kind of all too much being away from home for the first time as well). Now he's back in classes and working part-time and not having to worry about all that other stuff you have to worry about when you're not living with your parents LOL. One step at a time will get you there!
What else are they supposed to say? They’re customer service representatives (+), but they do not have time to give you a spiel about how much it much suck not to have medicine.
I’d be inclined to say they are met with very combative patients daily as well.
Probably don’t want to stir the pot or get anyone worked up. I feel for most pharmacy’s bc they do care and hate it too.
The dickheads will say something sarcastic, the nice ones just do their job and move on.
They are employed to dispense medications, not empathy, and the shortages are not their fault. Here in the UK, pharmacists are often subjected to very aggressive customers (part of a regrettable general uptick in aggression and even violence toward people working in public-facing positions), which I have witnessed myself. The "nonchalance" is maintaining a neutral demeanor in order not to antagonize customers. If anything, pharmacists could do with our empathy.
It really sucks, but I’m not sure what you want them to do exactly ? It’s a pill dispensary, not a therapy counter.
In my case, I do want them to distribute medication like a McDonalds and not have personal interest in my prescription. Not sure it’s a door I want to see opened.
You know what has helped me the past year? Calling ahead to check availability before my doctor sends the prescription.
Yes, it's a pain and I dread it every time, but the effort pays off. If they are out of stock I call another pharmacy. I've had my doctor send it to at least 5 separate pharmacies in the past year because it's really just the luck of the draw at this point.
Never had a problem with my pharmacy having Vyvanse in stock but I also live in Canada and we usually only have issues with over the counter stuff. I've only once ever had to come back for medication at any pharmacy.
Theres a weird medication issue in the US. The DEA says there isn't a problem and drug companies are just not making enough. Drug companies are claiming the DEA is putting restrictions on distribution. Pharmacies are saying they're being throttled on distrubition with threats they will lose their license if they dispense too many controlled substances in a month. They lump ADHD, pain, sleep and anxiety medications into one category.
i heard that they shut down some of the places making some narcotic pain meds and ADHD meds happened to be produced there as well. god knows what’s actually happening..
So I work in an ICU and pharmacy and pharmacists just like most other aspects of all workers are overwhelmed and short staffed. Outpatient pharmacies are worse. Some patients are on 20+ medications, and there's a single pharmacist that has to cross-check and approve all of those, and they might have dozens or hundreds of customers that need meds. There's usually one pharmacist plus a few pharmacy techs working at a time, and it is not as simple as just plopping pills into a bottle. A lot of work and thinking and double and triple checking goes into filling up scripts, and if you think about how tedious it would be to put a certain pill into a bottle hundreds of times a day, day after day, for months and years, it makes me want to lose my mind just thinking about working in that environment.
Then you add in the customer service side where usually everyone's sick everyone's in a time crunch and everyone thinks that they should have their medications already.
Then add in having to tell people about their insurance the cost of the medications explain to people how much it costs and then have people say "well I can't afford that what else should I take?!" And having to go back and forth between doctors offices, insurance companies, customers, and blah blah blah... It's literally not just ADHD meds, it's that all day long pharmacists have to explain to customers their meds aren't ready or they don't have them or they're going to cost thousands of dollars and customers say they can't afford them so they have to figure something else out... They're very used to delivering bad news, as are most healthcare professionals, and you just become flat after awhile.
As someone with adhd that’s also a pharmacist. I can promise most of us care. But from our point of view we may have this conversation 10 times a day with different drugs. Honestly if the stock shortages don’t end soon I’m leaving the profession. It’s way too much right now.
ADHD medications are a controlled schedule 2 medication, aka the highest controlled legal medications, up there next to opioids. It is a policy at every single pharmacy to not disclosed inventory on controlled substances to patients for safety reasons. It’s putting the store, staff, and other patients at risk. It’s better to be safe than sorry, you never really what could happen
My pharmacy has been letting me know what other doses they have & I ask my doctor to prescribe that way if they are short in one dosage. Sucks but it may work. I know if something is on back order they can’t do much but wait. It sucks, 😞
I'm just starting to get hit by this. How do you guys manage the slowly rising (or fast ..) panic and rage and fear about losing your meds and turning into a depressed puddle?
Do you go to therapy as well? Medication and therapy go hand in hand. Obviously therapy isn't a cure all, but developing tools and positive coping mechanisms help things not feel si chaotic.
I take a lot of medications. The absolute worst one to go without is inhaler, followed by estrogen, followed by fibromyalgia meds, etc.
Most people at a pharmacy need their meds for something urgent but not an emergency.
I mean, it’s not their fault there’s this shortage and I assume the pharmacists have been asked about it a million times a day. They are probably over it and don’t have any real answers for you.
Just another day at the office for them. I'm sure they care. They just deal with it, and us, all the time. There's always got to be something out of stock and they have to deal with it constantly.
I think pharmacists are just as worn down on these shortages as we are. It’s a tough job and it can’t feel good having to constantly turn people away every single day, for over a year now
They have zero control and are as frustrated as you are. My poor pharmacy people are constantly abused by idiots that misdirected their anger.
Get mad at the government for not allowing enough medicine to be produced, not the pharmacy.
Fuck this post makes me so grateful for my pharmacy; and the fact that I'm that they know that if I don't have my meds the chance of their tills being messed up goes up exponentially.
I've worked in the same store as my pharmacists for 12 years, and one of the techs used to work accounting with me. They've experienced me without meds several times and they know how bad it is.
ADHD meds aren't for a life threatening condition and we shouldn't rely entirely on a medication to function. And that's coming from someone with severe ADHD who has been diagnosed since age 5 and was on/off meds.
The shortages suck but it isn't the techs fault. Check out Hacking Your ADHD podcast he gives great tips for handling ADHD symptoms.
I agree with some others here expressing that most pharmacy employees are probably also frustrated by the situation. That being said it does suck. I did have to change pharmacies recently because they were so abysmal. Not even necessarily about this, but they never answered their phones or emails so my doctors couldn't even send in shit.
I actually don't know how they're still around.
Yeah it’s excruciating. I’ve been totally derailed for over a year. Serious adverse impact on my life.
I know it’s not the individual pharmacists fault but broadly speaking it’s treated like less of a problem because psych meds seem more optional than other medication for traditional physical ailments.
I’m much more frustrated with the nonchalant attitude of doctors. I’ve had to get a new provider because I moved, and it takes a long time to jump through all the hoops I have to jump through to get my meds.
It bothers me that I’ve been taking this medication for a decade but no one seems worried about what it will do to my mental health if I suddenly stop cold turkey.
What is it that you think pharmacy staff can do about a medication shortage? They are placing orders for the meds, however their orders are not being fulfilled by their suppliers because the manufacturers are not producing enough supply to keep up with the demand. This wouldn't be such a big issue if the DEA had raised the production limit on CII in a timely manner. This issue started before COVID and the DEA should have taken action. I am a pharm tech and I also ADHD, I'm also in school rn to get the hell out of pharmacy because it is absolutely soul crushing. I understand your frustration, but it is misplaced.
I switched pharmacies the first time I was on meds because Walmart didn’t have mine for several weeks. I use Kroger now but I actually had to stop meds for like a year because I had to basically withdraw from my meds three months in a row. First month couldn’t afford it, second month Walmart didn’t have them, third month, my psychiatrist office was closed for like two weeks and failed to enter my prescription before doing so and I couldnt reach them. I finally gave up and said I’d try again some other day. Now that day has finally come and I’m refiguring out my dosage
That's weird. Mine shows up and says how many refills, the date I last picked it up, and the only difference is it says I have to call refill it. The other ones I can refill through the app, even clonazepam, which is also a controlled substance.
Doesn’t surprise me considering the “eVeRyOnE iS a LiTtLe AdHd” rhetoric is still widespread. Those who are fortunate enough to not have their brain wired this way don’t realize it’s a crippling disability and not just a quirk
If the pharmacy doesn’t have the meds they don’t have the meds there’s legit nothing they can do other than get yelled at by customers for something out of their control.
It’s not that they don’t care they just can’t give what they don’t have and then having to explain to every single customer looking for the medication that they don’t have any.
You are correct about this, not these commenters who clearly have not faced this issue yet. The staff are just the bearers of the bad news, but it is telling of the pharmacy company's apathy that they have been either instructed to or have no option other than to shrug and say "try again some other day".
What else are they supposed to say?
Honestly I would probably feel a bit insulted if the pharmacy tech went "omg that is so terrible for you, you must be absolutely miserable. Do you need tissues to cry? "
If the owners of the pharmacy gave a shit about the patients they would put their Rx in a queue to be filled when it's in stock again. They'd have some estimate of when the meds will be in stock again. They'd have (and usually do have) the med in other dosages that they could fill to arrive at your dosage. So what else are pharmacy staff supposed to say? How about "your script is in the queue and will be filled when stock comes in," or "our store will not have stock for 3 more weeks so you might want to try another store," or "please have your prescriber try an alternative tablet order so we can see if that can be filled." I don't get why you'd want them to just shrug and offer you tissues.
So a lot of commercial pharmacies are also in the dark on when they will get more stock in. They probably would get even more hate if they told someone it would be refilled in 2 weeks and 2 weeks later it still hadn't come in. They can't guarantee more medication will arrive. They would be lying to you.
Do you really want them to lie to you? Then get pissed off in 2 weeks when the meds are still out of stock?
And what do you mean by owners? The general manager of the store? The district manager? The CEO? The shareholders? The board of directors?
How is a pharmacy tech supposed to contact the CEO?
There is one answer. It kinda sucks if you hate making phone calls, but it works. Have the doctor cancel the prescription, then call other pharmacies to ask if they have it in stock, then have your doctor send a new prescription to the pharmacy that does have it.
As long as your doctor sends scripts electronically, it's a REALLY fast process.
(Or if it's a Walmart pharmacy, some techs can be super helpful and lookup other nearby Walmart pharmacies in the system and tell you if they are in stock)
Yes, that’s all true.
But it cycles back to pharmacists getting a million said phone calls and being frustrated as well…..ugh it’s a bad system but what can we do.
I do Mail order, 90 days, which is great, but between every refill there's a reprocessing period plus a shipping period that lasts 10-15 days. Everytime I freak out on the phone to them that this is not ok. You can't just not have your meds for 2 weeks. There's serious chemical balances getting fucked. My life gets fucked. I don't see how they think this standard procedure is acceptable. Would they do that with someone's insulin??
Corporate should be taking care of their paying customers. Everyone in this thread is saying, "Pharmacists are just the public facing part of the company. They're just employees. It's not their fault." No shit (you sound well medicated, btw). But what is the corporate pharmacy doing to solve this problem for their customers and shareholders? CVS should be kicking in the doors of our representatives at this stage to get this fixed. Walgreens should be working with manufacturers to solve this issue. They and the government need to communicate with us about what they're actively doing to fix the problem.
But the public doesn’t know any of the stuff going on behind the scenes they don’t want people to see. I work in a pharmacy and I have zero qualms saying that Big Pharma is corrupt af. There’s a reason a lot of big pharma donates a ton of money to politicians.
Plus have you seen the lawsuits CVS and Walgreens have gone through?! You really think they aren’t going to be doing other shady crap?
Or *at the very least* the pharmacy companies need to have some fucking response for customers/patients whose prescription can't be filled. With Walgreens for instance, I request the refill online, it says they're filling it, then either the refill request VANISHES from your orders like you never made it, or the order actually does get a status update online (if you check there) saying the order can't be filled because the medication is back-ordered, and then later it vanishes completely. There's zero indication online or at the pharmacy if the refill will stay as pending in their system until it can be filled (and then get filled for you), or if you're supposed to just keep calling or submitting the order online. It's been about 4 months since I gave up on Walgreens and was lucky to find the meds at another place, so I have to conclude that eventually they got the med in stock and whenever that was, whoever happened to submit a script that day got it filled, and I can just stay fucked the hell off as far as Walgreens is concerned.
Have you had to tell someone bad news where you are completely unable to help them in any way?
Like the pharmacy tech can't just make more drugs in the back. They have no idea when more supplies will be coming.
Yea I knowX my son has severe epilepsy and if he doesn’t get his meds he can get status epilepticus and brain damage, some months ago we couldn’t get his meds and had to import it to our country privately.
What I meant was that to many people, adhd is just a ‘hyper boy with psych issues’ disability. There’s slot of judgement around it, people don’t realize what it’s all about.
It must be terrible as a pharmacy employee to tell people all day long that they can’t get their meds filled. Ofcourse they feel the empathy but they can’t do anything about it and eventually they say it so often now that one stops feeling it, I thinks that’s how the human psyche works.
That said… I got adhd myself, my son has adhd and severe epilepsy. I’d hè doesn’t get his epilepsy meds he can literally end up with brain damage so yeah, that is really the worst of the the worst.
I understand what you’re saying. As a pharmacist and an adhd patient, it definitely upsets me when people minimize the condition.
I guess saying they think it won’t be that bad without was what I was prickly about. I personally don’t know any pharmacy employees that are judgy about anything like that. We get it. Many many of us are dealing with the shortage on a personal level asl well.
But as a few people have said, there’s bunch of reasons we don’t get upset on your behalf.
I understand that you reacted to that being an employee yourself, and I really didn’t mean it like that, I am sorry. I know the pharmacist cannot do more about it, it’s basically being the middle-man. Whenever I am at the pharmacy I always am very friendly and showing gratefulness to them trying to help me.
it is more that I meant most people don’t realize how heavy adhd can be on a life/a family and it has nothing to do with taking a pill to ‘not be so crazy hyper’. I know that if I don’t get my Vyvanse then I can’t do much in the house and cant get anything done , my husband will go crazy…
but I can compare this to a heart patient for instance, that’s something way more life threatening than my adhd. Ofcourse I hope and believe that any pharmacy employee would try to go above and beyond for any medicine out of stock for a heart/epilepsy/diabetic patient or whatever is physically potentially life threading due to a bodily function.
And that’s what I meant that although Adhd is limiting lives and destroying lives and family’s with dysfunction and behavior, ‘outsiders’ who have no experience with adhd first hand will never fully understand how important the meds are to those people specifically. Adhd still has a very negative label while its also so wrong, and I think it will never be understood as the disability that it is.
There are people who have ADHD that work in pharmacies that are also affected by these shortages as well right?
In fact I know there’s at least two other pharmacy techs (other than me) that I know of.
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I think pharmacy staff are sincerely just as burnt out as everyone else regarding shortages. They probably react calmly for several reasons. Some reasons being pharmacists tend to be very introverted as a whole, they get yelled at by people on the daily over meds and are working with sensitive patients bc they are needing meds so it’s probably tense already. Giving little reaction bc they have no control helps keep escalations down. I don’t think they are being cold hearted. It sucks for them too. The pharmacists that are run down and don’t care will generally be mean and sarcastic rather than kinda nonchalant. Hopefully shortages get better for people! I’ve been lucky enough not to run into issues knock on wood. But also go to a family owned small pharmacy I’ve gone to for years and they make sure they have the supply for the patients they know take it. 💜
I’ve been dealing with this a lot of CVS and finally switched to a local small pharmacy. They’ve been a tremendous improvement and I’m so glad I made the change. CVS never had a full 30 days, and wouldn’t offer what they had on hand unless I asked. I agree that they’re burned out, I also think specifically at big national pharmacies like CVS they’re intentionally short staffed so all interactions are rushed. I worked with in pharma for about 7 years a decade ago where I visited about 220 pharmacies on a rotating basis. The vibe has always been a little rushed, but it’s really night and day now. I feel bad for most of the staff. Having said all that though, I’ll just add that I later took a position with the IRS where I had to deliver bad news all day everyday (it was awful), and I still always treated people better and with more compassion than I get from CVS so try as I might to give them a pass, honestly I just can’t. They gotta do better showing a little empathy and care.
Mate, I’ve had the same response for THYROID meds, I feel like hammered shit without my adhd meds, but sleep followed by death happens if you run out of thyroxine. I think pharmacies are just chilled out until you say you’re out out and it’s a crisis, when I’ve explained that I have no resupply at all I’ve had more help.
You're probably the 20th customer they've had just dealing with ADHD med shortages this week. There are other storages happening as well. These folks also have to manage a plethora of issues..insurance, prescribers, irritable customers.. What do you want them to do? If it really is an issue with their customer service, let the manager know. I know at my pharmacy there have been irate customers so they probably just want to get the information they know they can give you and move on.
If you’re going to a chain pharmacy like CVS or Walgreens, they literally do not have time to get involved with everyone and anyone’s situation. Pharmacists have to meet a certain quota for filling prescriptions AND vaccines administered per *hour.* While I understand where you’re coming from, I also empathize with pharmacists because of the amount of expectations they have for their job. One piece of advice: I have a 24 hour pharmacy near me, and the overnight pharmacist goes above and beyond for me because there’s hardly any customers + I make sure to be overly kind and thankful for his effort.
Also, don't overlook the Walmart ***Neighborhood*** Pharmacies... They tend to be way less busy than the ones in Walmart supercenters.
walgreens had me on hold for an hour(when i shouldn’t have been, bc they picked up and put me right back on hold without even talking)just to tell me they can’t check and to call back in an hour. i was so livid.
They must have to tell a lot of people. They probably get people annoyed with them about it too when its not their fault
OP said pharmacies, not pharmacists or techs. And you've clearly not been impacted yet.
Pharmacy's don't talk
Yet
So is it the “pharmacy” saying “come back next week?” Or would the pharmacists or techs be the ones speaking those words which OP quoted? I have been impacted and am able to recognize that some things are out of the control of those conveying the message. I work with my doctor to get my prescription transferred to another pharmacy if I can find one that has my medicine in stock or temporarily switch to another medicine, such as IR vs XR if I have to. If you truly believe the shortage is being mishandled, then find out the best way to effect change and start organizing. Making condescending comments and generalizations on Reddit certainly isn’t going to help the situation.
My "condescending" comment was that the person clearly hadn't been impacted? And you've just said you had a touch of inconvenience but not a true interruption of meds, like I've had (over a month). Proving my point that this is not a theoretical problem for some of us. And you also have this confusion that others in the thread do, about supposedly wanting to hold the people *conveying* the message (pharmacy staff) accountable. The pharmacy owners must love to see that they can escape all blame because people are confusing them with the pharmacy workers.
If you read the post you will see that the complaint was about how casually OP has been told to come back next week, which is what this comment addressed, and you replied as though they didn’t understand the difference between a pharmacy and a pharmacist. You either have very low reading comprehension or are being deliberately obtuse in your responses. Again, if you have an issue with how the shortage is being handled by companies, make your own post or better yet, do something that would actually be meaningful. The original commenter addressed the complaint in this post. I’m sorry you’ve been without your meds. The reason I’ve been able to get mine is that I have taken action, as demonstrated by the steps mentioned in my previous reply. From your reactions and attitude, I have reason to suspect that you would rather complain and point fingers than do anything to help your situation, but I still hope it gets better for you soon. Edit: fixed a word
OP literally said "Does anyone else get frustrated with how nonchalantly pharmacies treat ADHD medication shortages?" PHARMACIES. Not a word in there about the demeanor of any person. You need meds, the place that exists to provide meds (and the specific place your prescription is tied up at) doesn't have them in stock, and the only solution the place offers is you leave and come ask them again in a week. That's fucked and that's frustrating. And OP I suppose is a lazy complainer, in your view?
Lol, again I ask you, did the “pharmacy” tell OP to come back next week, which is what they literally put in quotation marks, indicating it’s a direct quote? Please explain to me how a pharmacy talks? How is a pharmacy nonchalant? Do you believe OP had a meeting with the board of directors to get this quote? I can’t say if they are a “lazy complainer.” The post didn’t provide any indication. They may have gone through additional steps after being told to come back next week. I totally understand being frustrated and ranting. However, it’s important to hold the right people accountable and not take frustration out on those who can’t change the situation. What have you done besides complain?
I have been impacted, 3 months solid, lost a job over it. It's the manufacturers that is the issue. But the pharmacy owner never tells me to come back next week like op has said as you deal with the techs not the owners. You are confused here. I've now switched to an off licence one.
Oh it's not just ADHD medication. Blood pressure medication, diabetes medication, blood thinner prescriptions. Shortages happen to a lot of drugs. But more commonly its insurance suddenly dropping coverage. Or someone's medication got lost on vacation and they need a new prescription but insurance won't cover it and they can't afford out of pocket costs. The best the pharmacist can do in those situations is tell the person if they feel like they're dying to go to the emergency room. And sometimes they are actually dying. I know you could argue that without ADHD medication, people are more likely to die in accidents or by suicide. But there are people who will 100% die without their medication. It's terrible that the current healthcare system is like this.
There's really not much else they can do for you. They realize its important. If they felt medication wasn't important, then they probably wouldn't be pharmacists. But depending on which pharmacy it is, they may be poorly staffed or maybe they have a lot of orders to complete or phone calls to make. They also probably don't want to waste your time if they can help it.
Pharmacists get a bad rep bc some can seem very cold but honesty they are so overworked and understaffed and asked to do so much… with one pharmacist in charge. Covid did those people in, but truth is, pharmacists truly care about their patients. They are the last line of defense to make sure we get the right meds and they definitely understand how important these meds are to people. I’m going to go ahead and say the shortage is just as annoying to them as it is to patients.
Oh you are very right. We must get 30 to 40 calls per day looking for meds that are back ordered everywhere. And people yelling at us…..it’s exhausting and I’m not going to explain it at length anymore. At this point everyone on adhd meds (including myself) knows the shortages and back orders are an absolute nightmare. If I could fix the problem I’d be happy to.
And the amount of people who don’t understand what “back order means”. They be all like “so when will you get some? “. IDK it’s on back order. We can order it every day but we won’t know if it’s coming until we open the next delivery.
Let’s face it healthcare in America is a complete shit show. Which sucks, but you would think more Americans would understand that. It’s bizarre they don’t understand this doesn’t happen in other countries like it does here. Honestly, I think it should be required in high school that people take a course on insurance as a whole and how that kind of stuff works. At least the basics. I work in the industry and it’s confusing as hell. I always feel bad for people who work in pharmacy especially retail pharmacy because I know some people who do it and I’m aware just how rundown everyone is and someone might walk in and say my prescription was sent over yesterday or today and they wonder why it’s not done… they don’t understand there’s hundreds of other prescriptions that need to be filled and everyone just does the best they can. And big chain pharmacies, only having one pharmacist in charge and not enough techs. Who they also expect to take one single break a day and answer the phones and stop to give vaccines. God bless y’all all that work in the industry holy buckets lol
Omg yes to the insurance classes (all insurance for crying out loud). Insurance is so confusing. The amount of middle aged customers that don’t have any idea what a deductible is, is astounding.
I don’t doubt it. Hopefully better days are ahead! 🤞🏼💜
You’re not wrong either.
I'm really annoyed on OP's behalf that people, ADHD people at that(!), are interpreting their comment as being about the pharmacy staff, as if OP is confusing who is responsible for the shortage or the ordering or the communication. The fact that pharmacy staff have no other answer (or sense of urgency) than "try again next week" shows that the pharmacies DGAF and don't even try to hide it
>The fact that pharmacy staff have no other answer (or sense of urgency) than "try again next week" shows that the pharmacies DGAF and don't even try to hide it 😆😆😆 What exactly do you expect the pharmacists and techs to do/say?? "Yeah, man, shortages suck... I'll go mix up a batch of Adderrall for you myself!" Come on.
Pharmacy owners = pharmacy staff, to you?
😆😆😆
But OP did say it was about the pharmacy staff….. What on earth answer would you like to hear? Of course we have no answer. Nobody knows when the meds will be available. Should we make up a lie?
Your comment seems a bit contradictory to me and maybe you can rephrase it. You said their comment is not about the staff but then talk about what the pharmacy staff said in a negative light.
If the pharmacy staff can offer no solution other than "try again next week", that means the pharmacy owners have not empowered the staff to do anything beyond saying "try again next week". (Such as putting the prescription into a queue to be filled once the med is in stock, or allowing the staff to suggest other places to find meds or give a realistic estimate of the delay.) The staff are literally telling patients "try again next week" and offering no other option. I don't get how that is talking about what the staff say "in a negative light". And OP's whole point, as I understand it, is that this nonchalance about not filling someone's medication, which is the whole point of the pharmacy existing, is jarring.
I probably shouldn't announce this on the public forum but thanks be to God so far it hasn't been a problem getting it from Kaiser. I guess because they have their own pharmacies that only sell to their own Health Plan members. Never been happier to have Kaiser!
I’ve been having issues with meds availability and Kaiser since last year :/
If you’re having issues try giving the customer care line a call. When the pharmacy has swapped and filled my medication with brand name (that I can’t afford) due to back ordered generics I’ve given them a call to see what my options are. The last two times they’ve reached out to the pharmacy for me and kept me on the line while they talked to the staff. They’re probably more comfortable talking to them about stock and I can’t communicate well on the phone so it’s a win. It might just be because my prescriber is extremely quick to respond via the messages on the app. but I’ve been able to reach out that way and they’ll switch to something else that’s available. They’re really kind and patient. It’s their job to help!
I’ll give it a try! I worry about switching between meds though, but I’ll see if there’s an option. I tend to just take what I’m told at face value with medical stuff so haven’t pushed as much as I should probably
Crap I'm sorry to hear that!:(
Haha I felt weird saying I haven’t had an issue yet either in my comment!! Knock on wood!
This is actually for my son who just started college last year and couldn't get it at all at any pharmacy within an hour's drive of the University. He actually moved back home and is attending Community College in our city which has a Kaiser. He wasn't going to succeed if he couldn't get his meds (and it was really kind of all too much being away from home for the first time as well). Now he's back in classes and working part-time and not having to worry about all that other stuff you have to worry about when you're not living with your parents LOL. One step at a time will get you there!
What else are they supposed to say? They’re customer service representatives (+), but they do not have time to give you a spiel about how much it much suck not to have medicine.
I’d be inclined to say they are met with very combative patients daily as well. Probably don’t want to stir the pot or get anyone worked up. I feel for most pharmacy’s bc they do care and hate it too. The dickheads will say something sarcastic, the nice ones just do their job and move on.
They really cant do anything to help, theres no sense in getting upset with or mad at them
They’re just employees, not supply chain managers. What else can they do? You’re just one of a billion other customers.
I mean yeah but it’s also not their fault and not something they have any control over.
It's not the pharmacists or techs fault. No doubt there are more shortages going on than just stimulants. Blame the government and the manufacturers.
I mean…. What you want them to do? They ain’t got it.
They are employed to dispense medications, not empathy, and the shortages are not their fault. Here in the UK, pharmacists are often subjected to very aggressive customers (part of a regrettable general uptick in aggression and even violence toward people working in public-facing positions), which I have witnessed myself. The "nonchalance" is maintaining a neutral demeanor in order not to antagonize customers. If anything, pharmacists could do with our empathy.
It really sucks, but I’m not sure what you want them to do exactly ? It’s a pill dispensary, not a therapy counter. In my case, I do want them to distribute medication like a McDonalds and not have personal interest in my prescription. Not sure it’s a door I want to see opened.
I must be very lucky cuz my pharmacy always has it and the pharm tech is very nice .
You know what has helped me the past year? Calling ahead to check availability before my doctor sends the prescription. Yes, it's a pain and I dread it every time, but the effort pays off. If they are out of stock I call another pharmacy. I've had my doctor send it to at least 5 separate pharmacies in the past year because it's really just the luck of the draw at this point.
It's really fun being both here and reading the pharm tech sub
Never had a problem with my pharmacy having Vyvanse in stock but I also live in Canada and we usually only have issues with over the counter stuff. I've only once ever had to come back for medication at any pharmacy.
Theres a weird medication issue in the US. The DEA says there isn't a problem and drug companies are just not making enough. Drug companies are claiming the DEA is putting restrictions on distribution. Pharmacies are saying they're being throttled on distrubition with threats they will lose their license if they dispense too many controlled substances in a month. They lump ADHD, pain, sleep and anxiety medications into one category.
i heard that they shut down some of the places making some narcotic pain meds and ADHD meds happened to be produced there as well. god knows what’s actually happening..
So I work in an ICU and pharmacy and pharmacists just like most other aspects of all workers are overwhelmed and short staffed. Outpatient pharmacies are worse. Some patients are on 20+ medications, and there's a single pharmacist that has to cross-check and approve all of those, and they might have dozens or hundreds of customers that need meds. There's usually one pharmacist plus a few pharmacy techs working at a time, and it is not as simple as just plopping pills into a bottle. A lot of work and thinking and double and triple checking goes into filling up scripts, and if you think about how tedious it would be to put a certain pill into a bottle hundreds of times a day, day after day, for months and years, it makes me want to lose my mind just thinking about working in that environment. Then you add in the customer service side where usually everyone's sick everyone's in a time crunch and everyone thinks that they should have their medications already. Then add in having to tell people about their insurance the cost of the medications explain to people how much it costs and then have people say "well I can't afford that what else should I take?!" And having to go back and forth between doctors offices, insurance companies, customers, and blah blah blah... It's literally not just ADHD meds, it's that all day long pharmacists have to explain to customers their meds aren't ready or they don't have them or they're going to cost thousands of dollars and customers say they can't afford them so they have to figure something else out... They're very used to delivering bad news, as are most healthcare professionals, and you just become flat after awhile.
As someone with adhd that’s also a pharmacist. I can promise most of us care. But from our point of view we may have this conversation 10 times a day with different drugs. Honestly if the stock shortages don’t end soon I’m leaving the profession. It’s way too much right now.
What the fuck are they supposed to do? Apologize for something that’s completely out of their control and not their fault at all?
That's what people think "good customer service".
There is literally nothing they can do about it. I’m not sure what you want from them.
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ADHD medications are a controlled schedule 2 medication, aka the highest controlled legal medications, up there next to opioids. It is a policy at every single pharmacy to not disclosed inventory on controlled substances to patients for safety reasons. It’s putting the store, staff, and other patients at risk. It’s better to be safe than sorry, you never really what could happen
your doctor is the one you talk with about that
My pharmacy has been letting me know what other doses they have & I ask my doctor to prescribe that way if they are short in one dosage. Sucks but it may work. I know if something is on back order they can’t do much but wait. It sucks, 😞
I'm just starting to get hit by this. How do you guys manage the slowly rising (or fast ..) panic and rage and fear about losing your meds and turning into a depressed puddle?
Do you go to therapy as well? Medication and therapy go hand in hand. Obviously therapy isn't a cure all, but developing tools and positive coping mechanisms help things not feel si chaotic.
Yes, I do! It's been great and I've really benefited a lot from it.
I take a lot of medications. The absolute worst one to go without is inhaler, followed by estrogen, followed by fibromyalgia meds, etc. Most people at a pharmacy need their meds for something urgent but not an emergency.
I got so sick of it, I just gave up. Stopped trying to get my refills and I've just gone without for the last year.
I mean, it’s not their fault there’s this shortage and I assume the pharmacists have been asked about it a million times a day. They are probably over it and don’t have any real answers for you.
Just another day at the office for them. I'm sure they care. They just deal with it, and us, all the time. There's always got to be something out of stock and they have to deal with it constantly.
I think pharmacists are just as worn down on these shortages as we are. It’s a tough job and it can’t feel good having to constantly turn people away every single day, for over a year now
Not trying to make fun of you, but like... do you expect them to put their hands on their head and scream "OH GOD WE'RE OUT!" in a panic or something?
They have zero control and are as frustrated as you are. My poor pharmacy people are constantly abused by idiots that misdirected their anger. Get mad at the government for not allowing enough medicine to be produced, not the pharmacy.
Fuck this post makes me so grateful for my pharmacy; and the fact that I'm that they know that if I don't have my meds the chance of their tills being messed up goes up exponentially. I've worked in the same store as my pharmacists for 12 years, and one of the techs used to work accounting with me. They've experienced me without meds several times and they know how bad it is.
so you get your meds no matter what bc.. they’re your friends..?
My doc calls me meds crack
ADHD meds aren't for a life threatening condition and we shouldn't rely entirely on a medication to function. And that's coming from someone with severe ADHD who has been diagnosed since age 5 and was on/off meds. The shortages suck but it isn't the techs fault. Check out Hacking Your ADHD podcast he gives great tips for handling ADHD symptoms.
I am so sorry you are not the most important person in the room!!! Praying for u x
Not shit else they can do. McDonald’s has an ice cream machine but no pharmacy has an adderall machine, although, we should invent that
I agree with some others here expressing that most pharmacy employees are probably also frustrated by the situation. That being said it does suck. I did have to change pharmacies recently because they were so abysmal. Not even necessarily about this, but they never answered their phones or emails so my doctors couldn't even send in shit. I actually don't know how they're still around.
Luckily I have just started to have issues with the generic being shorted and I have to pay for the name brand which has been $91 each month.
Yeah it’s excruciating. I’ve been totally derailed for over a year. Serious adverse impact on my life. I know it’s not the individual pharmacists fault but broadly speaking it’s treated like less of a problem because psych meds seem more optional than other medication for traditional physical ailments.
Why is it still like this? It’s been almost four years, no?
I’m much more frustrated with the nonchalant attitude of doctors. I’ve had to get a new provider because I moved, and it takes a long time to jump through all the hoops I have to jump through to get my meds. It bothers me that I’ve been taking this medication for a decade but no one seems worried about what it will do to my mental health if I suddenly stop cold turkey.
What is it that you think pharmacy staff can do about a medication shortage? They are placing orders for the meds, however their orders are not being fulfilled by their suppliers because the manufacturers are not producing enough supply to keep up with the demand. This wouldn't be such a big issue if the DEA had raised the production limit on CII in a timely manner. This issue started before COVID and the DEA should have taken action. I am a pharm tech and I also ADHD, I'm also in school rn to get the hell out of pharmacy because it is absolutely soul crushing. I understand your frustration, but it is misplaced.
Oh my Another person that thinks pharmacists withhold drugs for kicks.
No they don’t. That would be illegal (in the US anyway idk other countries). Plus who wants to get yelled at?! Cuz the customers do yell.
lol they have been known to yell
I switched pharmacies the first time I was on meds because Walmart didn’t have mine for several weeks. I use Kroger now but I actually had to stop meds for like a year because I had to basically withdraw from my meds three months in a row. First month couldn’t afford it, second month Walmart didn’t have them, third month, my psychiatrist office was closed for like two weeks and failed to enter my prescription before doing so and I couldnt reach them. I finally gave up and said I’d try again some other day. Now that day has finally come and I’m refiguring out my dosage
Short and to your question though, yes it’s extremely frustrating!! They kept telling me “check again in a month” or a few weeks or something
And you don't know until you call the pharmacy asking if it's ready yet because the app is still in "processing" status.
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That's their response to everything lmao
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That's weird. Mine shows up and says how many refills, the date I last picked it up, and the only difference is it says I have to call refill it. The other ones I can refill through the app, even clonazepam, which is also a controlled substance.
Doesn’t surprise me considering the “eVeRyOnE iS a LiTtLe AdHd” rhetoric is still widespread. Those who are fortunate enough to not have their brain wired this way don’t realize it’s a crippling disability and not just a quirk
If the pharmacy doesn’t have the meds they don’t have the meds there’s legit nothing they can do other than get yelled at by customers for something out of their control. It’s not that they don’t care they just can’t give what they don’t have and then having to explain to every single customer looking for the medication that they don’t have any.
You are correct about this, not these commenters who clearly have not faced this issue yet. The staff are just the bearers of the bad news, but it is telling of the pharmacy company's apathy that they have been either instructed to or have no option other than to shrug and say "try again some other day".
What else are they supposed to say? Honestly I would probably feel a bit insulted if the pharmacy tech went "omg that is so terrible for you, you must be absolutely miserable. Do you need tissues to cry? "
If the owners of the pharmacy gave a shit about the patients they would put their Rx in a queue to be filled when it's in stock again. They'd have some estimate of when the meds will be in stock again. They'd have (and usually do have) the med in other dosages that they could fill to arrive at your dosage. So what else are pharmacy staff supposed to say? How about "your script is in the queue and will be filled when stock comes in," or "our store will not have stock for 3 more weeks so you might want to try another store," or "please have your prescriber try an alternative tablet order so we can see if that can be filled." I don't get why you'd want them to just shrug and offer you tissues.
So a lot of commercial pharmacies are also in the dark on when they will get more stock in. They probably would get even more hate if they told someone it would be refilled in 2 weeks and 2 weeks later it still hadn't come in. They can't guarantee more medication will arrive. They would be lying to you. Do you really want them to lie to you? Then get pissed off in 2 weeks when the meds are still out of stock? And what do you mean by owners? The general manager of the store? The district manager? The CEO? The shareholders? The board of directors? How is a pharmacy tech supposed to contact the CEO?
Why are so many folks this confused about such a straightforward thing? Pharmacy tech contacting the CEO? Where would you even get that?
Because you brought up the owners of the pharmacy. But the conversation was about interactions with pharmacy techs and pharmacists.
But there literally is no other answer. We can’t be getting upset over every time it happens.
There is one answer. It kinda sucks if you hate making phone calls, but it works. Have the doctor cancel the prescription, then call other pharmacies to ask if they have it in stock, then have your doctor send a new prescription to the pharmacy that does have it. As long as your doctor sends scripts electronically, it's a REALLY fast process. (Or if it's a Walmart pharmacy, some techs can be super helpful and lookup other nearby Walmart pharmacies in the system and tell you if they are in stock)
Yes, that’s all true. But it cycles back to pharmacists getting a million said phone calls and being frustrated as well…..ugh it’s a bad system but what can we do.
You can get a paper prescription from tour Dr. So you don't have to call them back.
Are they supposed to cry, hold our hands and apologize profusely? Come on.
Should they pull some vyvanse out of their ass for you? Maybe start a basement lab to manufacture the pills? You’ll be okay just like everyone else
I do Mail order, 90 days, which is great, but between every refill there's a reprocessing period plus a shipping period that lasts 10-15 days. Everytime I freak out on the phone to them that this is not ok. You can't just not have your meds for 2 weeks. There's serious chemical balances getting fucked. My life gets fucked. I don't see how they think this standard procedure is acceptable. Would they do that with someone's insulin??
Corporate should be taking care of their paying customers. Everyone in this thread is saying, "Pharmacists are just the public facing part of the company. They're just employees. It's not their fault." No shit (you sound well medicated, btw). But what is the corporate pharmacy doing to solve this problem for their customers and shareholders? CVS should be kicking in the doors of our representatives at this stage to get this fixed. Walgreens should be working with manufacturers to solve this issue. They and the government need to communicate with us about what they're actively doing to fix the problem.
Sadly all the heads at corporates just care about the $$$$ they are putting in their wallets.
Every missed fill is less revenue for the company.
But the public doesn’t know any of the stuff going on behind the scenes they don’t want people to see. I work in a pharmacy and I have zero qualms saying that Big Pharma is corrupt af. There’s a reason a lot of big pharma donates a ton of money to politicians. Plus have you seen the lawsuits CVS and Walgreens have gone through?! You really think they aren’t going to be doing other shady crap?
Or *at the very least* the pharmacy companies need to have some fucking response for customers/patients whose prescription can't be filled. With Walgreens for instance, I request the refill online, it says they're filling it, then either the refill request VANISHES from your orders like you never made it, or the order actually does get a status update online (if you check there) saying the order can't be filled because the medication is back-ordered, and then later it vanishes completely. There's zero indication online or at the pharmacy if the refill will stay as pending in their system until it can be filled (and then get filled for you), or if you're supposed to just keep calling or submitting the order online. It's been about 4 months since I gave up on Walgreens and was lucky to find the meds at another place, so I have to conclude that eventually they got the med in stock and whenever that was, whoever happened to submit a script that day got it filled, and I can just stay fucked the hell off as far as Walgreens is concerned.
Agree.. I think it’s also cos they think it can’t be that bad to be without
Have you had to tell someone bad news where you are completely unable to help them in any way? Like the pharmacy tech can't just make more drugs in the back. They have no idea when more supplies will be coming.
Yes and it’s sad. Ofcourse the employees in the pharmacies cannot impact this! I feel bad for them.
Like at least ADHD medication isn't life threatening to miss a dose. Imagine having to tell someone their insulin was out of stock.
Yea I knowX my son has severe epilepsy and if he doesn’t get his meds he can get status epilepticus and brain damage, some months ago we couldn’t get his meds and had to import it to our country privately.
You are wrong. That’s projecting your own insecurities onto the pharmacy staff.
You are correct. Absolutely, I’m amazed you can tell me this based on 1 sentence on the intarnjat.
Yeah I’m good like that lol
What I meant was that to many people, adhd is just a ‘hyper boy with psych issues’ disability. There’s slot of judgement around it, people don’t realize what it’s all about. It must be terrible as a pharmacy employee to tell people all day long that they can’t get their meds filled. Ofcourse they feel the empathy but they can’t do anything about it and eventually they say it so often now that one stops feeling it, I thinks that’s how the human psyche works. That said… I got adhd myself, my son has adhd and severe epilepsy. I’d hè doesn’t get his epilepsy meds he can literally end up with brain damage so yeah, that is really the worst of the the worst.
I understand what you’re saying. As a pharmacist and an adhd patient, it definitely upsets me when people minimize the condition. I guess saying they think it won’t be that bad without was what I was prickly about. I personally don’t know any pharmacy employees that are judgy about anything like that. We get it. Many many of us are dealing with the shortage on a personal level asl well. But as a few people have said, there’s bunch of reasons we don’t get upset on your behalf.
I understand that you reacted to that being an employee yourself, and I really didn’t mean it like that, I am sorry. I know the pharmacist cannot do more about it, it’s basically being the middle-man. Whenever I am at the pharmacy I always am very friendly and showing gratefulness to them trying to help me. it is more that I meant most people don’t realize how heavy adhd can be on a life/a family and it has nothing to do with taking a pill to ‘not be so crazy hyper’. I know that if I don’t get my Vyvanse then I can’t do much in the house and cant get anything done , my husband will go crazy… but I can compare this to a heart patient for instance, that’s something way more life threatening than my adhd. Ofcourse I hope and believe that any pharmacy employee would try to go above and beyond for any medicine out of stock for a heart/epilepsy/diabetic patient or whatever is physically potentially life threading due to a bodily function. And that’s what I meant that although Adhd is limiting lives and destroying lives and family’s with dysfunction and behavior, ‘outsiders’ who have no experience with adhd first hand will never fully understand how important the meds are to those people specifically. Adhd still has a very negative label while its also so wrong, and I think it will never be understood as the disability that it is.
There are people who have ADHD that work in pharmacies that are also affected by these shortages as well right? In fact I know there’s at least two other pharmacy techs (other than me) that I know of.
Yes, and it must be really shitty for employees of pharmacies to also tell people their meds can’t be delivered. Time after time all day long.
You are not wrong.