POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: wolfter on July 20, 2011, 06:52:32 am
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I have been receiving my meds through the mail for 2 years now and thought I was just being goofy or something. (not a stretch) I'm 100% compliant with meds but seem to be amassing large amounts of them. I solved the riddle. When I was ordering monthly, I had a standing order that was processed 3 weeks after my previous order. At the end of one year, that equates to an extra 3 month supply. Now I'm receiving them through a different pharmacy where they ship them every 3 months. Just rec'd my 2nd shipment and it was processed 3 weeks early. Again, equating to an extra 3 month supply at the end of one year.
Should I inform the pharmacy that I don't want the order filled early or allow them to continue so and collect large quantities? My local ASO doesn't accept them and I'm not sure if there's an organization that does. I can't be the only person amassing excess drugs. What are others doing with them?
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One of the advantages of mail order is that it makes it easier to build a bit of a stockpile. When it gets too big, I take the meds off the auto-renew on the mail order website and wait a month or two to let it go down for a while before renewing.
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I don't do the standing-order. With my old pharmacy, I just put a reminder on my calendar to reorder -- with my new pharmacy provider, I'm able to have THEM send me a reminder email. This keeps my buffer in the 6-9 month range (yes, Miss P, I know -- you think this is excessive.....). If you let your buffer grow to over a year, you are wasting meds -- as they "out date" after 12 months.
Mike
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Jeeze, I have been trying to build up my supply for 7 months now and its just not happening. My pharmacy (which is an HIV specialty pharmacy) send my meds automatically to me each month. I get them on the exact same day every month (evem though they promised to send them as early as possible). I wish I had this problem.
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I had to google HIV speciality pharmacy. I didn't know such a pharmacy existed. What are the benefits of such a pharmacy from a practical standpoint?
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i get a 3 month supply of my meds from CAREMARK,i also have a large stock pile of meds but the expiration on some of them is NOV. 2012 AND THE REST IS NOV.2013
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My local ASO doesn't accept them and I'm not sure if there's an organization that does. I can't be the only person amassing excess drugs. What are others doing with them?
There are organizations that take them such as:
http://www.aidforaids.org/
IMHO it's good to have a reserve of a few months.
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I had to google HIV speciality pharmacy. I didn't know such a pharmacy existed. What are the benefits of such a pharmacy from a practical standpoint?
Check out their website www.momspharmacy.com
The reason I go to them is because when I got my perscription filled at Walgreens they didnt have Atripla in stock. I didn't want to get into a situation where I would need it and they wouldn't have it. I figured an HIV pharmacy would keep stocked in HIV meds!! Also, they are very accustomed to helping you get copay assistance, working with adap, and other common programs.
If you are on multiple meds, they can also create a little pack so u can keep your meds straight. No pill sorting. Just open the pack and go. And they ship for free :-)
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There are organizations that take them such as:
http://www.aidforaids.org/
IMHO it's good to have a reserve of a few months.
Thanks for the link. I just sent them an email and hopefully I'll hear back soon so I can share that information for others. At this point, I have almost 6 months of reserves which is obsessive and don't like my room looking like a pharmacy. :) Plus it screws with my clutter free lifestyle.
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If you let your buffer grow to over a year, you are wasting meds -- as they "out date" after 12 months.
You won't be wasting any meds if you always open the bottle with the nearest expiry date first. You've got to keep your stock rotated, just like they do in groceries.
My bf keeps his med bottles on a deep shelf in his bedroom. Every time he gets a new supply, he brings the bottles he already had forward to the edge of the shelf and adds the new bottles to the back. Pretty simple system. I think he has about a four month buffer.
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Here is a copy of the email I rec'd in case anyone else needed the information;
Dear Greg,
Thank you for contacting us. As you mentioned it, we remove all the names from the bottles, donors confidentiality is very important for us.
The medicine you are about to donate will help us to keep saving lives in developing countries. Although we are focused on collecting mostly ARV's, we also can take The Fluconazole and the Imiquimod. We appreciate your donation, please send the medicine to:
515 Greenwich Street, Suite 506
New York, NY 10013
ATTN: Recycling Program
Please don't hesitate in contacting us if you have further questions.
Best,
Liliana Velasquez
515 Greenwich Street, Suite 506
New York, NY 10013
United States
Tel: +;1 (212) 337-8043 x302
Fax: +;1 (212) 337-8045
Web: www.aidforaids.org
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I always keep a decent buffer of meds. Who knows when insurance will be canceled, job changes occur, changes in assistance in ADAP, etc. I know people who have the exact opposite problem with their meds via mail order; they often show up late. Sometimes, a buffer is the only thing that covers those periods.
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I really think it would be nice to keep a buffer (seeing that you are in the US) but then amass further and donate them. If its the private insurance paying. But I wouldn't stick them with too too many extra a year. Costs!
If its direct government funding for your meds, then it seems responsible to figure out a way to keep your buffer but not let it get too out of hand.
I dunno. I unloaded all my extra drugs through PM in this forum, so that felt good. Now I am more relaxed and in this country (Switzerland) i don't worry about future coverage. I don't even have 2-3 months extra anymore. Maybe one.