Must be a Pharmacist around here or someone close to the profession.

Had some dental work done and had a written prescription for Hydrocodone/Acetaminaphen 10-325 (because I was needing to squeeze Motrin 800 into smaller intervals than 6hrs). Dental office manager said this prescription could not be called-in.

1st Pharmacy (drive-thru) said they were out of it. I asked if it was common for a pharmacy to be out of that. He said yes. I said, "Oh, so I should probably be calling around instead". He said, "maybe, but they probably won't tell you over the phone".

2nd Pharmacy (drive-thru) "We can't fill this unless it's on tamper-proof paper"

3rd Pharmacy (Same chain as 1st) filled it no problem.

Bonus Pharmacy adventures. I asked the following question to two different pharmacists. "If this (10-325) doesn't do the trick, how long should I wait before taking a Motrin 800?" Two answers: 3hrs and 1hr.

Anyone out there who can make sense of all this?

No one gives a shit anymore, just give them a paycheck. Greed and corruption will bring us down.

Unfortunately, complexity provides good cover for that sort of thing.

How long have you been taking Motrin for your dental issues?

Hydrocodone is generally a replacement for other pain meds, not a supplement. If you were prescribed Ibuprofen (Motrin) for the anti-inflammatory properties following a dental procedure, then you probably shouldn't be taking it for more than a few days.

If you still need pain meds after 2 to 3 days then there are other issues. Plus, you'll be pretty constipated by now.

lol, sounds about right.

Details were incomplete. Only intended as a brief foundation for the curiosity/question about pharmacy practices.

ibuprofen is for moderate pain and inflammation (swelling), has to be taken with food so you don't put your self at risk for ulcers. It doesn't cause any real side effects if u take it with food.

hydrocodone/apap (norco) is for moderate to severe pain, can cause drowsiness, can cause constipation and nausea, cannot be taken with alcohol and you shouldn't be driving. It also has dependency issues associated with it.

Ibuprofen is usually taken during the day, or if you have to go to work, etc.

hydrocodone/apap should really only be taken when you are at home due to the drowsiness issues.

They both last 3 to 4 hours.

They both are taken as replacement for each other, not with each other.


Mrblah Pharm.D (pharmacist).

Thanks for taking the time to answer. Happy to have the info.

I managed to victimize myself with my own pet peeve - asking a poor question. Reading my post again, I see that what I was seeking was vague at best.

I was perplexed by the inconsistency and seeming randomness of the info I was getting.

Pharmacy 1 - out of stock and saying that was a common condition and then adding the catch-22 that apparently the only solve is to drive around town looking for a stocked pharmacy.

Pharmacy 2 - Tamper-proof paper required (the implication was by law, not branch policy)

And then 2 significantly different answers on a fairly important question about possible mix timing.

But then, really, I know the answer. The world is messy. It's messy and random in every business I have personal experience with, but somehow human nature expects simplicity and uniformity in unfamiliar domains despite a lifetime of experience to the contrary in familiar ones.

well, hydrocodone/apap is a class 2 narcotic, so in most states, it requires a tamper proof/security paper, and brought in by hand (can't be called in or faxed). Some states like Cali, allow electronic prescriptions. While all states may differ in their laws in regards to narcotics, they are all designed to be a huge pain in the ass.

many pharmacy's will give you the run around if you are shopping for narcotics for security reasons. Most won't do stock checks over the phone for narcotics. Most require you to come in person, so you can pass their smell test and their narcotic background check (CURES). It's pretty much up to the pharmacist's discretion if they want to fill a prescription or not.

In terms of frequency, its pretty standardize. The reason you get different answers is because everyone's ability to metabolize (clear drugs out of the system) is a little bit different (age, kidney/liver function, drug abuse/history, other drugs). So while you won't get clear cut answers, the range should be similar, and pretty safe regardless.

The real reason why you don't take motrin and norco together is you don't get any real benefit of increase pain relief and you increase the risk of adverse side effects. The chances of OD'ing are low since both drugs are metabolized differently.... You will increase your possibility of experiencing the misery of combining the side effect profiles of both drugs happening at once if you combine the two drugs, but with no real gain in pain relief.

The pharmacy business is complicated at best, or a lot of bullshit at worse.

hopefully, this clears some confusion.

Fascinating. I had no idea there was so much discretion involved. Now I understand why people want a relationship with a pharmacy. I should celebrate my ignorance on the matter as it was the result of having had very little need for pharmacy contact over the years.

Thanks again.

Brother in law is a pharmacist and he said it's pretty odd for a pharmacy to be out of that medication, though not unheard of. It does need to be on a hard copy rather than called in and it does need to be on a tamper proof prescription pad since it's a controlled drug.