Pain Medicine Stolen At Work?!
Question: I have cancer and I take some pretty strong pain meds. I wear a patch but I have Oxycontin for break through pain. Well the other day someone broke the lock on my desk and got in my purse and stole my pain meds. I was lucky the prescription was due to be refilled and was able to replaced. My employer called the police but in the end told me to not leave my pain meds unattended again whether they are locked up or not. The cops said take your pills at home and don't bring temptation with you. I asked if it would be okay to carry just one or two around in a baggie in my pocket and the cop said that would get me arrested. I don't know what to do! I need the pills at times and I can't leave work and drive 30 miles back home to get one. But I can't risk them being stolen again. If it had not been time to refill I would have had to "suffer" until my next doctor appointment as they can't just be called in, and the doctor wouldn't do that even it were legal. What should I do?
Answers: I have cancer and I take some pretty strong pain meds. I wear a patch but I have Oxycontin for break through pain. Well the other day someone broke the lock on my desk and got in my purse and stole my pain meds. I was lucky the prescription was due to be refilled and was able to replaced. My employer called the police but in the end told me to not leave my pain meds unattended again whether they are locked up or not. The cops said take your pills at home and don't bring temptation with you. I asked if it would be okay to carry just one or two around in a baggie in my pocket and the cop said that would get me arrested. I don't know what to do! I need the pills at times and I can't leave work and drive 30 miles back home to get one. But I can't risk them being stolen again. If it had not been time to refill I would have had to "suffer" until my next doctor appointment as they can't just be called in, and the doctor wouldn't do that even it were legal. What should I do?
Lemme tell ya my story. Okay I have severe back pain. Well normally I too just wear a patch for pain but I too have pills to take for break through pain. I never carried around the whole bottle of Lortab for the same reason you are having trouble. I figured some one might steal them or I could lose them or something. My wife gave me 2 little metal pill cases to carry a few in my pocket and another to put in my car. I thought my problem was solved. I very rarely take the pills but its a comfort to know they are available if I need them. Well the ones in my car were in the center console. There were 4 pills in it. I carried 4 in my pocket. On my way to work one day some idiot rear-ended me and somewhat injured me. So while I was being hauled away in the meat wagon the cops were searching my car. I had lost the ones in my shirt pocket on the floor boards of my car and the others were still in the console. They found them all. They came to the hospital and arrested me. They charged with with intent to distrubute (they thought I was dealing) and carrying dangerous drugs improperly. I went to court and was able to prove they were my pills and I had a prescription for them. The Judge very be-grudingly dropped the intent to distubute charge but let the improper storage charge stand.
But thats not the worst of it. When the cops intially let the story out to the newspaper (we live in a small town and this big news) they said drugs were found in the car and they thought I was under the influence yadda, yadda. So even though the charges were just about all dropped later people in the community never knew that part. People whisper that I am a drug addict, drug dealer and so on. Its still on the internet for everyone to see.
So yes get that labled container for a just a few and don't EVER have them in another container.
I can understand each side of the situation and my best suggestion is to talk to your pharmacist about a small labeled container for one or two pills. The issue with carrying them loose is that you cannot "prove" they are yours.
Addicts are ruthless and the economic times are hard and people are insensitive.
No you shouldn't suffer. See if your pharmacist can help you legally carry a couple pills where you can meet the employers request, the cops warning and keep them safe.
Good luck on finding remission!
Yes keep a couple in your pocket.
That is terrible someone stole your meds. I take a pill to keep me awake (I have sleep apnea). The pills can be abused and people have asked me for them and I have had a couple of people try to steal one or two from me at work as well.
The next time you have your prescription refilled ask your Pharmacist to give you a "empty bottle" with the same label that the "full" bottle has on it. Explain to him that you need to carry just a few to work and don't want to get in trouble for carrying unlabeled meds around (he will understand, this is done all the time). Or you could keep your old bottle and just put few in it at a time. I can understand your employer not wanting to be liable for the thefts or anyone who could become ill or die from taking meds that are not prescribed for them. You might have to bite the bullet and just carry the bottle in your pocket.
Its a real shame when a cancer patient can't trust other people around medication they so vitally need. I know a friends mother was in the nursing home dying of cancer and the aides and nurse were stealing her pain patches right off her body. That is sick. People will do anything for a high.
Speak to your pharmacist. See if they can supply you with a small, flat container that would fit in your pocket with your pharmacist label on it. I have to take one every four hours as well as a couple of other meds. My pharmacist fixed me up with a container that fits flat in my pocket, also with a slip to show I am legally entitled to carry them.
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Keep an empty prescription bottle in your purse so you can prove that you DO have a prescription for the meds if you are ever in any legal situation. Keep a couple of pills in a little pill holder in your pocket and on you at all times.
I have had to do that with Lortabs before because I was scared kids at school would steal them or turn me in if I didn't have a prescription bottle.
Oh, BTW...If you are willing to work, when you are obviously very ill, your boss is a real jerk to make it seem as if YOU did something wrong. He should be more focused on getting the dummy that took your pills.
I'm sorry this happened to you :(
Firstly it is NOT illegal for you to have prescribed drugs on you. I think the cop meant that you would be arrested for possession so the could check out that you are allowed to carry them. But this shouldn't happen when you tell them they have been prescribed although they will have to check out your story.
There are a few things to can do. Firstly get a pill box and put a couple of days prescription of pills in it and keep it in you purse. They can be bought from any pharmacy.
Secondly get a letter from your doctor explaining that you are legally entitled to carry this pills.
Thirdly you could also leave or produce a a copy at your local police precinct. If they have a record of you produces it it may help them and save time. But don't rely on this as they may not want to do it.
You could get the name of a police officer who knows that you are legally taking these drugs & refer any future enquiry to him/her. The police shouldn't object to this as they are always looking for ways of saving time and money.
I know the need to have your medication on you at all times and some study shows that the "comfort" of knowing you have them with you can be beneficial to you. Some asthma studies show that people who carry their inhalers with them can have less frequent or less severe attacks because they know they have them with them.
Also there may be a case for you to sue your employers for the loss of those drugs and the stress you have & still are suffering.
They have a duty of care towards their employees & it seems their security is not up to scratch if your personal things are being stolen from a locked desk . Look at your terms of employment to see if they have a clause for personal items or medication.
But the fact that the lock was broken shows that they have a problem.
They can only arrest you if they supect you first, and if they do they cannot charge you anyway. But honestly who is going to know if you are carrying a few pills in your pocket?
Speak to your pharmacist about a smaller labelled container or ask for a photocopy of the filled prescription to accompany the few pills you need to take with you.
Good luck,
Chris- Registered Nurse
Just carry some in your pocket you won't get arrested unless they have a reason to search you and even then you do have a perscription so there's nothing they can do.If you have an empty pill bottle with the lable on it keep them in there and just put some kleenex on top of them to keep them from rattling around.
take a old refill bottle and put 1 or 2 tablets in it as long as it has the proscription info on it they can do nothing.
some pharmacist will put your proscription info on a small bottle that you can carry in your pocket with 1 or 2 tablets in it.