Script shenanigans (Dexamphetamine Reloaded)

*wipes tear away from eye* I thought I’ll never see you again.

Would it be possible to cash in a dated dexamphetamine (Schedule 8)
script several weeks EARLY? I was wondering the same question myself,
and I decided to try after reading a caveat in the pharmaceutical
dispensing guidelines regarding Schedule 8 substances. It was in a
pharmacy site, but I forgot the link. I remembered getting there from
the “australia schedule 8 prescription” search string though. Anyway,
if you’ve been reading about my “narcolepsy” and the legal speed I was
prescribed to manage the symptoms, you’ll have read my final farewell to dextroamphetamine sulfate [sixthseal.com]. That farewell seems to be premature though. Don’t you just hate that? 😉

32 days have passed since the last time I refilled my script
(including today). I had thought that was the last time I’m going to
see my little white friends, because the good doctor upgraded
(supersized?) my dexamphetamine prescription by trusting me with the
responsibility of 200 x 5 mg dexamphetamine (Dexedrine in the US)
tablets upfront with a refill in 50 days instead of the usual 100 x 5
mg every 25 days. The nice doctor did not increase my dose, but he
allowed me to get 200 tablets at once, which is not standard
prescribing procedure for a Schedule 8 drug.

I have 2 repeats left on the script (time based, only valid if 50
days have passed since the last refill) and I’m not due for a refill
until 10th of July, which is next month. I would be back in Malaysia by
then so I thought it was the last time I’ll be having pharmaceutical
quality amphetamines. However, I decided to use one of the methods in
my Tome of Doctor Shopping (available for the low, low price of
A$0, I’ve documented everything on this site) to see if I could just
eek out one last refill before I go back. It just might be possible,
and I won’t have to lie to get it. I just have to be economical with
the truth. 😉

I’ll be going back soon for my holidays and my tablets would run out before I come back, so can I please have an early refill?

There is no untruth in this statement, everything is TRUE. Isn’t
that great? =D I just didn’t mention that I’ll be going back for good,
as that would invalidate the script (it still has a repeat) which is
supposed to be inherited by CT. I also neglected to elaborate
that I won’t be heading home that early. My tongue slipped and that
made me erroneously emphasize the word “soon” with a particular tone
which might be misleading to chemists, leading them to think that it
was a date like tomorrow. Sorry! 😉

I haven’t been to any of the pharmacies I went to today. I didn’t
want to use the regular dexamphetamine one, since the pharmacist
clearly told me about the 50 day refill timeframe. I can’t use any of
the pharmacies near my place because I have either filled
benzodiazepines or bought fit kits and other injecting paraphernalia
there, and I didn’t want to risk my script. I decided to trawl the
pharmacies further away from my usual haunts. We’ll see how it goes:

Pharmacy #1

This medicine may increase mental alertness and/or co-ordination. If
affected. Do not bite lower lip or smoke too many cigarettes.

I walked in and gave the pharmacist on duty (a nice looking old man)
a big ass smile and said “Hello” cheerily. 🙂 “Could you possibly help
me with this? It’s not due for a while, but I’ll be going home for the
holidays soon and my prescription will run out before I come back, so would it be possible to get this filled today?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem, I’ll get to it right away. It would take a couple of minutes, do you use prescription assistance programs?”

“Sure, take your time. I appreciate your help.”

I tried to be nonchalant and pretended to read a book while in
actually fact I was watching the pharmacist out of the corner of my
eye. I saw him make a phone call, no problem, he’s probably just
validating the script, 200 is an extraordinary amount for
dexamphetamine. He came up to me after that and said: “I’m sorry sir,
but I only have 100 tablets in stock now. However, if you come back at
4:30 pm, the prescription would be all ready for you.”

It was slightly before 9 am in the morning then. Hmm…this is a
definite go, I thought, I’ll be happy to come back at 4:30 pm if that
means I would get the refill. However, it bothered me that such a large
pharmacy did not carefully maintain the stock levels to avoid
situations such as these. Maybe I’m just paranoid, but it doesn’t hurt
to be careful, and I’ve learnt something important in my years of
recreational drug use: When in doubt – bail.

I did not plan to be untruthful, but circumstances dictate that
moral issues should be shelved and contingency plans initiated. “Oh,
that would be great, but unfortunately I have an exam later so I
wouldn’t be able to come back at that time”. Pharmacist: “That wouldn’t
be a problem, we close at 6 pm, so if you just come back anytime before
that, the prescription will be ready for you.” He was still holding on
to my script. I wanted it back. “Well, my exams are in Caulfield so I
wouldn’t be heading down again, since it would be out of the way.
Thanks for your help anyway.”

“That wouldn’t be a problem, you can just come back tomorrow or another day, and it’ll be all ready for you.” He was still
holding my script. Subtlety will not work here. “Thanks, but that won’t
be necessary. I’ll just get it another day. I’m sorry for bothering
you.” I hold my hand out for the script. He handed it back rather
unwillingly. “Have a nice day” I say as I walk out. I walked to the
traffic lights about 25 meters from the pharmacy and stood there while
the pedestrian lights were red. I happened to glance beside me and saw
two police officers smiling at me in a manner I thought was predatory.

Paranoia? Or did the pharmacist call the police? He wouldn’t would
he? Even though prescription fraud is punishable by a 1 year jail
sentence, I didn’t do anything wrong by asking for an early refill (at
least I don’t think that’s breaking any laws). It’s such a minor
infringement anyway, but why are the police looking at me like that? I
am dressed well and conservatively, like I always do when doctor
shopping or filling scripts. I nodded at the police and said “Hello
officers.” I looked back at the pedestrian lights. It turned green. I
walked.

It’s probably just a coincidence but it was disconcerting.

Pharmacy #2

Keep a supply – …

Okay, it seems that refilling scripts before the due date is
possible under certain circumstances, like the one I’m experiencing. I
just need to tweak (no pun intended) the statement a little bit to
optimize it. I walk into the second pharmacy and said “Good morning, I
was wondering if you could help me out with this. It’s not due yet, but
my exams are over and I’m flying back home tomorrow. The tablets would
run out before I get back, so would it be possible to get this refill
earlier so I don’t miss my medication?”

“Okay, just a minute, let me ask the pharmacist.”

The pharmacist (who happens to be another old man, but not as kindly
looking as the first one) looked at the script, looked at me and walked
over. “I’m sorry, but we don’t stock these. Why don’t you go back to
the original pharmacy and get it from there?” “Okay, thanks for your
help.” No go. I don’t believe for a second that this large chain does
not carry dexamphetamine. The pharmacist probably just though the
script was a bit odd, considering the amount and the fact that I’m
filling it at a place which is really quite far from the one who issued
the repeat authorization and didn’t want to fill it.

Oh well, since I’m bending the truth a little (okay, more than a
little), I have no right to comment, but does the pharmacist think I
look stupid? That’s such a lame excuse coming from this well known and
large pharmacy chain, but he’s probably thinking the same thing too. 🙂
“Does this guy think I’m stupid?” Heh. No harm, no foul, I’ll just move
along.

Pharmacy #3

…don’t cease…

I optimized the statement again. I decided I wasn’t going to draw
attention to the due date unless the pharmacist asks about it. Hey,
maybe I’ll get lucky and he’ll miss the fact that the due date is next
month. “Hello, can I have this filled please?” I say while smiling my
“I’m just an innocent student, a nice guy” smile. Cheery and polite,
what a hoot I am. 🙂 Unfortunately, this pharmacy does not carry
dexamphetamine. I did believe him, because it was a small, hole in the
wall chemist, with a tiny prescriptions section. The pharmacist was
kind enough to point me in the right direction too. “Hmm…let me think
of the pharmacists in (deleted) who stocks these. There are two at
(deleted) Street that would most likely have them in stock. You could
pop over and see.”

“Thanks for your help!”

Pharmacy #4

…without Dr’s advice

I modified the statement again. I implemented the lessons learnt
from the first three pharmacies and decided to experiment with an
additional sentence to add authority to my statement. I put on my best
shit eating grin and applied my friendliest tone with overtures of “Oh,
I feel sorry for all the hard work you do that goes unnoticed. I really
appreciate your self-sacrificing service to the community.” The
pharmacist was a man in his early 30s, he looks young and I somehow
feel that this would be the one.

Me: Good morning! Rainy day huh?
Pharmacist: Yeah, it’s been raining the whole morning. It’s quite cold eh?
Me: Indeed. The weather has been rather dismal these days. It’s
going to be good for the alpine though, I hear there’s some nice
snowfall up there. Too bad I’m going to miss snowboarding this year.
Pharmacist: Oh, that’s too bad. Where are you going?
Me: I’m heading back for the holidays. Just finished my exams,
oh this reminds me, this script is not due yet, but unfortunately, I’ll
be going home for a month and half so the tablets would run out before
I come back. I called the doctor and he suggested that I get a refill
before I go back. The doctor’s details is here.
I flip the repeat authorization over confidently and pointed out the
original doctor’s script, while taking care not to overextend myself
and expose tattoos. It doesn’t hurt to be careful, even a shave to look
clean cut helps.
Pharmacist: 200? Oh, wow.
Me: Yeah, I’ve been prescribed this for narcolepsy. The doctor gave me a larger amount so I won’t have to get it filled so often.
Pharmacist: I see. Sure, this is no problem at all. It’ll just take 10 minutes for me to get this filled.
Me: Thanks! I appreciate your help.

I pray that he won’t call the doctor, because the part about me consulting the doctor for advice didn’t exactly happen.

I pretended to browse around the store and decided that a display of
hair coloring is very interesting and stared at that with a half smile,
all the while keeping my ears cocked for phone conversations. This is
dangerous territory…if he calls the doctor, all would be lost. The
doctor is under the impression that dexamphetamine is cheaper in
Malaysia so it wouldn’t make sense for me to collect the script here,
and he’ll certainly remember if we had a conversation about early
refills, and we didn’t. Malaysia didn’t even approve dextroamphetamine
for anything! It’s not available for prescribing in Malaysia. I
shouldn’t have said that. Lady luck, show me some love!

5 minutes later… (it felt like 50 minutes)

Pharmacist: Hey!

I pretended that he didn’t made me jump. I was on methcathinone
(I’ll write about it some other time) and it doesn’t take much to make
me jump when I’m tweaking. Thankfully, a column of hygiene products
obscured me, so my startled response didn’t get noticed.

Me: Yes?
Pharmacist: It’s (deleted) right? Is that how your pronounce it?
Me: You’ve got it spot on, that’s my name alright.
Actually he didn’t pronounce it right, but going into semantics would just slow the process down, so on with the show!
Pharmacist: Are you still taking it twice daily?
Me: Yeah, that’s my dose.
Pharmacist: Okay, thanks!

*phew*

There was sounds of fast typing, and my paranoia imagined the
pharmacist talking to the doctor online. He was just typing the new
repeat authorization. 🙂

Pharmacist: Here you go buddy. Do you want a receipt?
I hide my grin.
Me: Yes please, that would be great.
Pharmacist: Here’s everything. I also put in a leaflet about
generic medicines, it’s a good read. This is your repeat authorization,
there’s one repeat left, 50 days from now. And this is the 200 tablets
of dexamphetamine, two tablets to be taken twice daily.
Me: Thank you, I appreciate your help.
Pharmacist: Have a nice trip!
Huh? What is he insinuating? Is he trying to tell me that he knows
I’m scripting and he filled it anyway? What would be the appropriate
reply then? Oh wait, he’s talking about the trip back home. Duh!
Me: Thanks, have a nice day mate.

/me walks out with 1 gram of dextroamphetamine sulfate in the form
of two bottles of dexamphetamine containing 100 tablets of 5 mg each.

Remember: Keep a supply – don’t cease without Dr’s advice!

That’s doctor’s orders. 😉