One of them didn’t have a DEA number (and we didn’t even have it on file) so I had to call the doctor’s office. The “nurse” that answered the phone told me she wasn’t authorized to give that information out, but to go ahead and fill the script because it was valid. (What school did she go to where they think that’s acceptable?)

The other one had the date 5/22 without a year. It was from the hospital, where the patient had given birth. So, we asked to speak to the ob/gyn who had seen her (since we couldn’t read the doctor’s name, of course). He said she had been discharged on 5/22/07, but he didn’t remember writing a script for percocet. “But I’ll ok it anyway. Here’s my DEA number…”

After those and a few other perco scripts, our supply for the long holiday weekend was brought perilously low. I hope there aren’t a lot of car accidents.

Or so we thought. This morning, two more prescriptions, one for Lexapro and one for Celexa, were e-scripted to us for Anna — along with faxed prescriptions for Xanax and Xanax XR. Now, I’m not a pharmacist — I haven’t had my 6 years of school yet — but even I know you don’t mix Celexa (citalopram) with Lexapro (escitalopram), since they’re essentially the same thing. (not even to mention that Xanax and Xanax XR are the same medicine, alprazolam.)

Of course, this all happened right before noon, so I had to wait until 1:30 to call. (How come doctors get 90 minute lunch breaks and pharmacies are lucky to get 30 minutes?) Well the, ahem, “nurse” I talked to said, “Of course Dr. Feelgood wants her on all of them. He prescribed them, didn’t he?”

So, I explained to her my concerns. “Well, let me ask the doctor. Hold on one second, m’kay?” After a few seconds, she came back and told me she had spoken to the doctor and confirmed that he wanted all 4 meds. Needless to say, I didn’t even bother getting her name.

After I told all of this to the pharmacist, she decided to call and speak with the doctor himself. (Good luck.) However, she was told he wouldn’t be available until 3:00. When the pharmacist called back, she was told he was gone for the day.

Any guesses on whether we filled the scripts or not?