i work at a pharmacy...

[penelope]

a major retailer pharmacy, and so the ironic and terrible part about it is that i cannot get my prescription filled there, or even at another location of the same store because if anyone pulls up my profile for any reason they will see valtrex and know. and so i go to a different pharmacy to get the valtrex filled but then i have to pay out of pocket because my insurance is through work it only covers prescriptions filled there, and let me tell you valtrex is expensive! but luckily this is my first ob so i'm on the 10 day run and i have no plans as of yet to go on it as suppresive therapy want to wait and see how often i get ob first, but if i do decide to go on suppresive i will have to suck it up and get it filled at work, which i can't even imagine how awful that will be.

[dvlnblkdrs]

it should be against policy for people to do lookups on friends and employees.. so i say ghead n go to at least another location.. and if someone does find out, so what if anything use what uv learned here and educate someone.. and yes i do understand exactly how expensive valtrex is at $300/month, glad i have good ins..i only pay 30.. but yea.. dont stress...only thing that comes of stress is a literal pain in the neck

[WaxedWrong]

does your place have online rx? when im extremly lazy i can actually have someone deliver my rx to me.

my dad gets his mailed to him aswell but he has lots of stuff, in bigger quantities. see if your insurance covers this kind of thing, cause then you dont have to deal with any stores in your area, hell you can prob do it with out ever talking to a real person.

he uses this one- http://www.innoviantrx.com/

[gutted.]

thats such a bummer, yes they shouldnt go looking at other peolpes files, but i bet they do, its human nature to be curoius!"!

[BoxofRain]

yeah I know what you mean about not wanting to go to the pharmacy you work at where people know you.........i wanted to die when i filled my first prescription for valtrex when first diagnosed and I hate it so much because people are nosy in my town. Worst of all a friend of mines sister works as a pharmacy tech. so now I know she knows because whenever I need something unrelated filled there it is on the screen for all to see I once had a prescription for valtrex. I wish it could somehow be erased or something because i only got it that once and had a horrible reaction to it so cant even take it anyway....sucks that the "evidence" is on file for anyone who works there to see. definitely stinks

[bluefrog]

i have not yet gotten a prescription for antivirals, but i can def. relate to feeling like i def. do NOT want to have to bring that written script to the counter.ugh.... funny even, i signed up for positivesingles.com and another "H" type site and would not use my debt card for my checking account because i know people who work at my bank and my credit union. damn the stigma we must deal with......

[tothefuture]

In the NHS it's a sackable offence to look up anybodies' details on the computer system if you don't have a valid reason to do so.

The other thing staff can do, is if they receive treatment in the Trust they also work in, then they can sign something to say that they don't want their details put on the computer, and that if this in somehow jeopardises their treatment, then they take responsibility for that. Would that be a possibility for you?

[WaxedWrong]

so now I know she knows because whenever I need something unrelated filled there it is on the screen for all to see I once had a prescription for valtrex. I wish it could somehow be erased or something because i only got it that once and had a horrible reaction to it so cant even take it anyway....sucks that the "evidence" is on file for anyone who works there to see. definitely stinks

i so completly know what you mean, any time i go to fill something else, or get a refill the first thing they say is valtrex. even with a line of people behind me.

im like no, can you see the prescription has been canceled.

[lil'bit]

i know that feeling when i get my prescription for birth control filled i worry about them reading my history especially when i'm going in my EMT uniform.

[Caliope]

I'd just lie and tell them a sad story about Shingles. How painful it is and how it is from the chicken pox. . .

tell them they need to be educated instead of jumping to conclusions as many medications have multiple applications.

[SmilingThroughTheRain]

hey everyone. i currently work in a pharmacy and i know what it feels like getting your prescriptions from one. From the pharmacists and pharmacy tech's i have worked with they are professional, descrete, and trustworthy. Most of them understand what herpes is from a professional point of view and arent disgusted by it. I am not too sure how it works in most countries, but in Canada the government monitors what pharmacies access what patient profiles. Everytime a person asks for access into a patients profile it asks for a reason why. Every couple of months the agency the monitors this activity sends a letter to each pharmacy showing a list of time that a patients profile was accessed and asks the pharmacists to justify the reason why the patients profile was used. My ex works in the health industry and i was worried he would find out about my status but if he ever looked up my info i would sue it big butt and he would lose his job

[Only Human]

I work at a hospital and we are NOT allowed to look at other patient's profiles unless they are sitting infront of us and want to see a doctor. Even then we are not allowed to surf through their profile to see tests they took and so on. There are people hired to monitor our screens to make sure we're not looking up other patients out of "curiosity". Plus, the co-workers at the pharmacy you work at are not to give out information like that. If it got out I would imagine they'd lose their job and could possibly be sued!! There has to be some sort of privacy policy they sign to assure that the patients info stays in the computer and not out on the street ( I had to sign one stating that if the patients info gets out and it's linked to me disciplinary measures would be taken, which can include losing my job, not that I surf through patients info I couldn't care less about what they have and so on). You should inform yourself more about that, it's not fair that you have to pay out of pocket out of fear that a bigmouth could spew out something that is none of their business.

[StarsToTheWest]

Positive Singles doesn't use their name in your billing statements. Just like Toys in Babeland or any other kind of website that knows that your privacy is in question.

[always searching]

I know EXACTLY what you are talking about! It took me 2 days to get the rx filled. I didn't want to go to any of the big pharmacies (CVS, RiteAid, etc) because they are all computerized and I was really scared one of my neighbors or someone would work there and see it. Also, they hire teenagers and my daughter is starting high school this year. How devastating would it be for her to hear from people at school that her mom has this?

I also didn't want to fill it at an independent pharmacy in town because people talk. So I went several towns over and sat in my car for a good 20 minutes giving myself a pep talk. Got out of the car, walked in the door of the pharmacy, looked at the woman behind the counter - she was about my age - and BURST INTO TEARS! Ran back out to my car and drove home crying.

Finally, I went to a pharmacy thats about 30 miles from home and sucked it up. I used to live in this area a long time ago and remembered that the pharmacist was a kind, older man. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The next time I refilled it I just called them first and drove out there. Yeah, its inconvenient to have to drive 30 miles for it but it beats having the whole town know.

This fear of others knowing is what kept me from getting tested right away, too. Someone in my husband's family works for the lab that my insurance uses and she snoops. I know this because she actually came up and asked me once why I had a liver enzyme test done (I was taking lamisil for a toenail problem at the time). I was like WTF?

ALL of these scenarios are against HIPAA laws and people could be fired and even prosecuted but really at that point the damage has already been done.

[dvlnblkdrs]

<still hasnt figured out the big deal in people knowing.. but whatever.. lol i tell everyone..lol

[fuller]

I just wanted to say that's crazy. You shouldn't haev to spend all that money just becuase your scared they might find out. Isn't taht their job? You don't judge teh peopel who come to you and get refills..so why should they judge you? Just like the people at the other pharmachy don't judge you. If they did it would be VERY wrong considering their job. You should just not care what they think and get it there. If they are professionals it shouldn't matter anwyase. I feel just as insecure everytime I go to get my valtex refills becuase they flat out ask me out loud if it's the valtex? LIke everytime. I just brush it iff as they should be professionals and should not be judgemental in their job and that it's not personal. Considering all the perscriptions they give out if they single you out or cared then that would be wrong.

[thiscantbe]

and not that this is right

well first, i know people shouldn't look, but i also know those screens tend to pop up everything you've taken and it sucks, and some places might not strictly monitor searches as well as others.

and second, altho the stigma against genital herpes isn't fair... you could use the lack of stigma against cold sores to your advantage. You *could* be taking the prescription to prevent cold sores for all they know - the valtrex doesn't care where your herpes pops up. I know that people continuing to push herpes under the carpet isn't a good thing, but it isn't fair to feel like everyone at your workplace is going to know your business.

and ditto the comment about shingles... you could have one valtrex rx if you got that, altho if you keep getting it filled clearly it isn't for shingles lol.

[ouch]

I am fortunate, I live in a big city, so I don't care about who sees my stupid pharmaceutical profile. Sure it is embarrasing when I have to pick up a prescritpion for Valtrex or whatever (when I do use it, which is rare...I have bad side effects from it.) But yeah, as aforementioned, it could be for coldsores, it could be for shingles, hell, all sorts of things. So....I try not to worry about it too much. It would be SO much harder in a small town though, where everybody KNOWS everybody and everything. I don't know what I would do in such a situation.

I also think these pharmacists, like doctors, have seen it all and probably don't care too much. I am sure they have seen much more interesting things than our little valtrex scripts.

[Shayna]

When I was much younger my beloved Great Uncle passed away. I became depressed and the doctor put me on an antidepressant. It made me feel like I was in a bubble and I stopped taking it. When the doc asked me why I stopped taking it I told him it made me feel like Frances Farmer. They put that on my permanant pharmaceutical profile!

OMG...most docs now are so young they don't know who Frances Farmer is/was!

She was an actress who had a labotomy!

Last time I had to go into to urgent care the nurse who checked me in saw that note and burst out laughing.

[ouch]

Shayna...you gave me the best laugh ever!! I love Frances Farmer and the way hollyweird (and society as a whole) treated her was abhorrent!

Although, there have been conflicting reports about whether she did indeed have a lobotomy. Some say she did, other say she didn't. Who knows?!!? I know she was horribly mistreated as well as raped in one of the psych hospitals she was commited to.

A beautiful, talented, intelligent woman....with a tragic life.

I took antidepressants for a minute years ago....it was weird, because I had no highs, no lows....just there. Screw that. I think doctors are too quick to prescribe certain meds to people. ( I was depressed over my marriage falling apart and health issues I had...PHYSICAL HEALTH ISSUES, not mental!) I didn't need prozac or any of that shit to help. Save it for people who truly need it. Then I am all for it.

[Shayna]

too funny, eh?!

Yes, her life was tragic, and all because of her Mother. It's an amazing story really. I'm glad you knew who she was!

[fuller]

OMG sorry I just wanted to say that the same thing happened to me so I think that is really weird. i was going through a really bad time and was severley depressed about it. So instead of asking me about my problems or my lfie they shoved a bunch of meds at me and when the meds actually made things way worse and I told them about it. They told me that if they just upped the meds it would fix everything. I stopped taking all of them right there and then and have not been depressed ever since. So I agree they are WAYY too quick to give out meds for depression. Sorry just think that's kind of weird.

[Shayna]

Hey Fuller, Don't be sorry! You are right on, in my opinion.

I'd rather be approprietly depressed...work through it (with no meds) and get to the other side.

OMG sorry I just wanted to say that the same thing happened to me so I think that is really weird. i was going through a really bad time and was severley depressed about it. So instead of asking me about my problems or my lfie they shoved a bunch of meds at me and when the meds actually made things way worse and I told them about it. They told me that if they just upped the meds it would fix everything. I stopped taking all of them right there and then and have not been depressed ever since. So I agree they are WAYY too quick to give out meds for depression. Sorry just think that's kind of weird.

[ouch]

Amen Shayna and Fuller. Life happens, shit happens. Good times and bad times and during bad times...dammit, we are going to be "depressed" and "down". So long as it doesn't linger and last or one doesn't feel the need to harm themselves or others, than there is no reason to be on meds. Better to DEAL with the feelings you are having, work through them, then you can truly move on from the situation and HEAL!!!

I am not saying that there are folks out there who shouldn't take meds, because obviously, there are people who do need them : manic depressives, bi-polar people, perhaps someone with lingering depression due to a death in the family or post partum (in these two cases though the meds should be only for short time) anyways, a bevy of reasons. But absolutely it has been shown that many doctors are overprescribing unneccesary prescriptions to people. Lame lame lame. Everybody wants the quick fix I guess.

Yeah, I Love Frances Farmer. I was "introduced" to who she was by a couple of friends of mine back in the early 90s. We use to call her "st. Frances!"

[quietwalker]

Isn't it sad we feel we have to hide this from friends, family, co workers. I hide my Valtrex prescrip cause I am afraid my kids might see it when they come over. I have no idea how they would react but I am sure they will think it is wierd their mom as herpes.