POZ Community Forums
Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Questions About Treatment & Side Effects => Topic started by: ImagineFL on June 07, 2006, 10:17:28 pm
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I picked up my next 30 days of drugs today (two days late due to the ineptness of CVS) and my Kaletra is different. ???
I used to get solid, gold colored tablets and today I got orange gel tabs... anyone know whats up with this?
Patrick
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Hi Patrick,
It seems that you have receive by mistake the old form of Kaletra(orange gel caps). You should report to your pharmacist, because those pills have to be taken with foods contrary to the new formula(solid tabs) you were usually getting.
Jacques
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You were given the old Kaletra capsules. Look at the directions carefully because the number of pills to take would be different. 4 Kaletra tablets (yellow) are equivalent to 6 Kaletra pills (orange).
http://www.kaletra.com/faqs.asp (http://www.kaletra.com/faqs.asp)
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Thanks Jerry for the improved answer.
Jacques
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Thanks for all the information, I really appreciate it.
The label says the same thing as always, two tables twice a day, and know where on the bottle does it say anything about taking it with food. I suppose these are the ones that need to be kept in the refrigerator too? Never mind on that late questions, the FAQ just answered that question.
The pharmacy I use, CVS is not open this early in the morning like the other big guys (Walgreen's, etc). Which sucks... I can never get anything from them until late afternoon after work. Not to mention that my last refile, I was shorted on a couple of prescriptions. >:(
Also, thanks for the FAQ on the Kaletra sit, I printed it and will be faxing it to CVS as soon as I get into work.
Thanks again!
Patrick
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I want to say thank you again for the link to the FAQ and the information everyone provided me with. I printed and read the information on the new versus the old Kaletra and needless to say, by the time I arrived at work, I was steaming. Here is the rundown on what CVS did:
- Gave me the wrong meds
- Give me incorrect dosage instructions
- Shorted me 10 days worth of medications
- Failed to put warning stickers on the bottle regarding refrigeration & taking them with food.
- Did not have my prescription ready on time, causing me to miss a dose
CVS said they do not stock my prescriptions because of the cost of them. Well, I get them filled their every month, they should have them on order a couple of days before the 1st of the month, as that’s when I pick them up.
So stocking this medicine that I relay on is too costly for them. Apparently, this shows what my health is really worth to them.
Now I need to decide how much of a stink I am going to make over there. I doubt I could sue them, as I didn’t really have direct health affects yet. Granted, I did take two doses with the old prescription instruction (Yes, the changed the drug and didn’t bother to change the dose on the bottle).
I do feel that I am entitled to some sort of compensation for their blatant incompetence that jeopardized my health and wellbeing.
Any thoughts on how I should handle this? Obviously, I need to contact the pharmacist and demand the correct pills. Should I write to the corporate office? Contact the DEA? How about the local papers? Or should I threaten to do all of the above and see what they have to offer?
Once again, thanks for your input. I’m at work right now and might not be able to sneak back on this site to check things out until tonight.
Thanks again!
Patrick
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CVS is the absolutely worst pharmacy in my opinion, at least here in Washington. A year ago I went to get a refill of my 10 mg Celexa prescription. When I opened the bottle, the pills looked different, but so many of my meds had recently gone to generic that i just took them thinking nothing of it. All of a sudden I was tired all the time, couldn't concentrate, did not know what was happening. Turns out that CVS substituted alprazolam for my Celexa. Alprazolam is the generic name for Xanax- totally different kind of drug. I not only yelled at the pharmacist, but I told my doc and he said that he would be making a few phone calls. I just thought of this- I was so angry with CVS that I probably needed the Xanax, sorta funny.
I switched all of my prescriptions to the place where I used to get my HAART drugs, Pharmacare. Now Pharmacare is a subsidiary of CVS, but they are so much better. They specialize in drugs for people with complex prescriptions and chronic diseases.
Don't know what they are going to give you. Not sure that there is much of a remedy except getting the correct meds.
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I don't use CVS, but I can tell you the myriad problems I've had with Rite Aid. If it weren't for the fact that I have so many drugs and difficult ones to procure (think Schedule II), and that they're open 24 hours, I'd take my $2500 a month elsewhere.
Anyway, I'd be pissed too. They gave you the old Kaletra, which isn't even supposed to be available in the US anymore as I understand it. At least, not after it's all used up... the new Meltrex kind were introduced like 6 months ago. I had a similar thing happen when they changed from gelcaps to tablets: they told me to keep taking 3 at a time, just like normal. I even asked the pharmacist specifically, because I knew in advance what the deal was, and he still gave me incorrect information. BTW, they hate you knowing as much as they do.
I have also had them give me that "it's too expensive so we don't preorder it" bit. But that's a load of old crap... now they do in fact order it ahead of time, at least with my happy pills. Probably because they know I'll go ballistic if it's not there. :P
The Truvada is another story. They have actually called me twice now to ask if it's okay that they don't special order it, so I get it in seven plus days instead of the next. Because it costs them extra. Ugh.
I don't know that you can sue (yet), but I would bitch, moan and complain a lot, if only to vent. I'm not sure how much good it will do at the store level -- I've had several conversations with the pharmacy manager, to the point that when I ask her something, she says "What's the issue now?" (I'm not making this up!).
Last but not least, you should check into what can interact with Kaletra, which CVS may bury deep in that fine print thingy you get in the bag. Basically, certain things that work on the P450 liver enzyme can alter the drug's level, or vice versa. There are many quite common ones: grapefruit juice, sildenafil (Viagra), methadone, certain antibiotics and antifungals... the list goes on and on.
David Flockhart, MD Ph.D, chief of clinical pharmacology at Indiana U's School of Medicine, has come up with a useful chart of CYP450 stuff at http://medicine.iupui.edu/flockhart/table.htm (http://medicine.iupui.edu/flockhart/table.htm) that is quite informative.
FWIW, the full Kaletra prescribing info can be found at Abbott's site here: http://www.rxabbott.com/pdf/kaletratabpi.pdf (http://www.rxabbott.com/pdf/kaletratabpi.pdf).
Good luck!
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I ended up calling CVS from work... everyone could tell I was pissy 'cause my face and ears were bright red.
I explained to the pharmacy technician what had happened and then had to explain to here the difference between the two pills... she put me on hold and transferred the call to the pharmacist. ::)
I didn't want to make too much of a scene, as I plan on dropping my resume off this weekend for a shift supervisor position at night.
She recognized my name and I think the famous line "Don't f*&ck with me fellas!" crossed her mind because she was very pleasant and her and I have had run-ins before. I did ask for my co-payment back in form of a gift card, which she rushed to get.
The first time was a week after I moved to Florida from Michigan and went into the store to get my Vicodin refilled. The pharmacist took the bottle and told me I could not get it filled for 8 days and that I was taking them to fast.
I made a small scene, returned with the bottle to my car and grabbed a pen and a piece of paper. According to what my doctor prescribed, I should have run out of them 3 days ago.
I took my bottle, my sheet of paper and went back in for round two. Her next excuse was "It's an out of town prescription, we would need to talk to your doctor first". Another small scene and I was off to Walgreen's.
Walgreen's filled it right away and I was a happy camper. ;D
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Hello Patrick,
Thats a pretty crapped out situation. I never dealt with CVS for medication. only Walgreen's. Overall, I have been very satisfied, although on two or three occasions, Wallgreens has shorted me in the pill count.
One thing for certain, I always count the pills, the minute I get home. Hope things work out for ya
Ray
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In the Uk its been the other way around, you MAY find that these cause more stomach irritation, according to long term takers who are friends.
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I hate those pharmacists that like to think they are godlike. However They are bout by laws and could get into HUGE trouble with state pharmacy boards for filling perscriptions incorrectly. If you have any more trouble tell them you're gonna call the state pharmacy borard on them .......... They'll kiss your behind big time lol
Good luck with your meds
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Hi. Since we're sharing horror stories...After my run-ins with Sav-On :-[ I moved to a smaller outfit, AD-RX that cares, advises me, cares when any mistake is made, and even delivers the smallest order to my home for free. The price? Closed early Sat, and Sun. I view my pharmacy as a small part of my healthcare team of specialists. Worth it! 8) -megasept