Doctor and prescriptions

[LJfusion]

I'm in a bit of a confusing situation.

I got my hormone prescription from my old doctor but couldn't continue seeing him so I got myself a new HRT doctor. She currently cannot prescribe testosterone to new patients but is working on getting that done, I just go to her for my blood work to make sure everything goes well.

I'm also planning on moving and the only doctor around where I'll be moving doesn't have availability until three months after I run out of my hormones.

My current prescription has 10 refills left(1 month per refill) but only 2 months remaining before it expires. I filled it the day I got it from my doctor so I don't understand how I could possibly have so many refills left when it expires.

Because of this, I have a question: Since I still have 10 refills left, would I be able to get three a month instead of one a month, that way, I have enough to hold me over until I can get a new prescription? I'm not sure how pharmacies work and if I can do that. I know I've gotten refills a week in advanced.

Obviously my goal isn't to give my testosterone away or to take too much at a time(I definitely don't need it converting to estrogen), but I know pharmacies have to do things a certain way with certain medications. I just want to keep going with my hormones and not have to stop taking them for a few months.

I'd ask my pharmacy but they already closed for the day and this is stressing me out. I also called my doctor to find out what she would recommend and I'm currently waiting for a call back from her.

Any suggestions while I wait for my doctor to call back would be great. I could also mention any suggestions to her and see what she thinks.

[Dena]

I don't know where you are but I am in the US and my first prescription was only filled one month at a time.  The second was filled for the full  6 months. The difference is the first pharmacy (CVS) had my insurance on file and the insurance company rules only allowed filling it one month at a time even though they didn't cover a cent of the costs. It cost $4.80 a refill. The second time, the Walmart didn't have my insurance on file and I paid $20 for the 6 month supply. Part of the price difference is CVS one of the more expensive drug stores and add to that the cost of doing 6 refills instead of one. If you pay out of pocket, you should be able to get everything in one refill IF YOU ASK.

[LJfusion]

I do go through insurance and my insurance at first had a problem with my second refill because it was only 28 days and not the full month even though my refills only lasted four weeks and not a full month. My doctor fixed that and now I've been able to get a refill as early as a week in advance. And this other time, it was two weeks in advance when they told me I could get a refill but I told them I didn't need it yet.

My doctor was only supposed to write a script for 3 months and I got a script for 15 months instead. However, even though it had 15 refills, it expires after 6 months. None of it really adds up.

[Ayden]

I used to work in a pharmacy so I can probably give you an answer assuming you live in the US.

Regardless of what the doctor wrote on your script, testosterone is a CIII (schedule 3) narcotic and it is only good for a 6 month supply from the date it was written. No pharmacy will fill it for more than a six month supply due to FDA guidelines for the dispensing of controlled substances. You may, depending on the fact that a month supply is 28 days vs 30, be able to get an extra vial. That would be at the discretion of the pharmacist.

If they say no, don't take it personally. They are regulated very heavily. Simply talk to your doctor and see if they can refer you to someone who would be able to write you an umbrella script.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

[Mr.X]

Someone should never need to go without his medication. That's dangerous. Especially if you had female organs removed. It would mean you'd go without any sex hormones for a while, which is not good.

I don't know anything about the US, or how things are done medically. But wouldn't you be able to contact your old doc and tell him what's happening? Perhaps he can give you a prescription when you run out, even when you can not see him? He knows your situation and details, so to me it would seem it shouldn't be an issue.