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CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 12:37 am
by IThinkImInTorture
Here I am isolated at home with my wife and two daughters. My neurologist called in a RX of gabapentin but CVS won’t ship it to my house like other medications because Gabapentin is a controlled substance. I’m 48, obese with high blood pressure; high risk for COVID, yet I can’t get my prescribed medication delivered to my house. I’m tempted to order from a Canadian or Chinese mail order pharmacy. It’s disappointing that my own country withholds a much needed Rx from a mature tax paying adult. Government is part of the problem not the solution.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 1:07 am
by QyX
Ye, you are right, that this is completely silly.

Even though Gabapentin has potential for abuse, it is still very limited, those states that have classified Gabapentin as a controlled substance did so under Schedule V, which is weak compared to drugs like opioids (Schedule II) or benzodiazepines (Schedule IV).

I don't know about the laws in each individual states but I suspect this is simply a company policy than a requirement by law. Absolutely bonkers, that you can buy alcohol without any prescriptions in unlimited amounts but a relatively harmless drug with low potential for abuse can't be mailed to a patient even though he has a valid prescription during a time of a global pandemic. It is completely ridiculous.

From Wikipedia:
Surveys suggest that approximately 1.1 percent of the general population and 22 percent of those attending addiction facilities have a history of abuse of gabapentin.

Effective 1 July 2017, Kentucky classified gabapentin as a schedule V controlled substance statewide. Effective 9 January 2019, Michigan also classified gabapentin as a schedule V controlled substance. Gabapentin is scheduled V drug in other states such as West Virginia, Tennessee, and Alabama

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 1:26 am
by IThinkImInTorture
I’m compromising asking the doctor to resend the RX to a CVS with a drive thru.

I can’t buy an N95 mask as they are reserved for people working in high risk jobs.

In the end the doctors get paid and the person is left to fight for sufficient treatment.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 1:33 am
by ViewsAskew
That is terrible.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 2:42 am
by Rustsmith
Another option is to have your doctor sent the prescription to a mail order pharmacy, such as Express Scripts. Express Scripts sends all sorts of controlled substances to me through the Postal Service or parcel delivery companies like FedEx and UPS. The problem is that it can take about two weeks to get the meds once your doc sends in the prescription.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 4:07 am
by IThinkImInTorture
Rustsmith wrote:Another option is to have your doctor sent the prescription to a mail order pharmacy, such as Express Scripts. Express Scripts sends all sorts of controlled substances to me through the Postal Service or parcel delivery companies like FedEx and UPS. The problem is that it can take about two weeks to get the meds once your doc sends in the prescription.
Thanks for the feedback. It’s odd to me that CVS can’t ship due to Federal laws but an online pharmacy can. Strange.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 6:34 am
by badnights
It sure seems twisted, doesn't it? Maybe your quickest solution is the one you suggested, to get the doc to re-send to a pharmacy that does drive-thru pickups.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Tue May 05, 2020 2:04 pm
by IThinkImInTorture
badnights wrote:It sure seems twisted, doesn't it? Maybe your quickest solution is the one you suggested, to get the doc to re-send to a pharmacy that does drive-thru pickups.
I just tried to register with express scripts. It prompts for member I’d or social security number. I used social security number and registration failed asking for a member if instead.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 2:50 pm
by Brynmr
IThinkImInTorture wrote:Here I am isolated at home with my wife and two daughters. My neurologist called in a RX of gabapentin but CVS won’t ship it to my house like other medications because Gabapentin is a controlled substance. I’m 48, obese with high blood pressure; high risk for COVID, yet I can’t get my prescribed medication delivered to my house. I’m tempted to order from a Canadian or Chinese mail order pharmacy. It’s disappointing that my own country withholds a much needed Rx from a mature tax paying adult. Government is part of the problem not the solution.

I get my gabapentin from Optum RX no problems. https://www.optumrx.com/public/landing

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Wed May 06, 2020 4:51 pm
by IThinkImInTorture
Brynmr wrote:
IThinkImInTorture wrote:Here I am isolated at home with my wife and two daughters. My neurologist called in a RX of gabapentin but CVS won’t ship it to my house like other medications because Gabapentin is a controlled substance. I’m 48, obese with high blood pressure; high risk for COVID, yet I can’t get my prescribed medication delivered to my house. I’m tempted to order from a Canadian or Chinese mail order pharmacy. It’s disappointing that my own country withholds a much needed Rx from a mature tax paying adult. Government is part of the problem not the solution.

I get my gabapentin from Optum RX no problems. https://www.optumrx.com/public/landing
I just tried to register at Optum RX and I could not. An employer may need to be registered or something.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Mon May 11, 2020 5:33 am
by Brynmr
IThinkImInTorture wrote:
Brynmr wrote:
IThinkImInTorture wrote:Here I am isolated at home with my wife and two daughters. My neurologist called in a RX of gabapentin but CVS won’t ship it to my house like other medications because Gabapentin is a controlled substance. I’m 48, obese with high blood pressure; high risk for COVID, yet I can’t get my prescribed medication delivered to my house. I’m tempted to order from a Canadian or Chinese mail order pharmacy. It’s disappointing that my own country withholds a much needed Rx from a mature tax paying adult. Government is part of the problem not the solution.

I get my gabapentin from Optum RX no problems. https://www.optumrx.com/public/landing
I just tried to register at Optum RX and I could not. An employer may need to be registered or something.
Call them up and see what the problem is. You do need your prescriptions sent in from a doctor of course.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Mon May 11, 2020 8:38 pm
by ViewsAskew
Could be that the insurance company needs to have them as an approved provider.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Mon May 11, 2020 10:29 pm
by yawny
That’s nuts...I literally just received my Gabapentin mailed from my local CVS. Even worse, my anxious cat just got his own Gabapentin prescription. Sorry you’re going through this. Maybe it’s a state law?

If you haven’t already solved this, maybe call up your local pharmacies and see if they’re willing to mail it to you before you move the prescription. A quick way to get a list of your local pharmacies is at GoodRX.com. Just type in the medication name. Also, you’ll notice that there are several categories to choose from (Free Coupons...) and one of them that comes up for me is Mail Order pharmacies. I hope all works out for you.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Mon May 11, 2020 10:54 pm
by IThinkImInTorture
I got my McLean, VA neurologist to call a RX to a CVS with a drive thru. When I drive up they told me I couldn’t get the RX as another RX exists at the first CVS. I got so pissed off I lost composure yelling thru my scarf. I pulled thru and waited until they called and cancelled the first RX. The whole system is broken and the doctors are unaware of the process to be able to assist patients.

Re: CVS Won’t Ship Gabapentin to House

Posted: Wed May 13, 2020 6:04 am
by Brynmr
IThinkImInTorture wrote:I got my McLean, VA neurologist to call a RX to a CVS with a drive thru. When I drive up they told me I couldn’t get the RX as another RX exists at the first CVS. I got so pissed off I lost composure yelling thru my scarf. I pulled thru and waited until they called and cancelled the first RX. The whole system is broken and the doctors are unaware of the process to be able to assist patients.
I would have yelled at them too. Sometimes that's called for and sometimes that helps.