Well, first off - don't leave narcotics or any prescriptions out where others can get them!!!!

Follow up with the police. Don't let this person into your home again.

I know, this is exactly what the police are telling you - but you let this person into your home, and let her see the drugs, and left her alone with them. But of course, there is no proof.

OMG! I wonder how he's going to get the prescription again. They won't give him more so soon. Did you actually search around her place and make her empty her pockets?
That is unbelieveable. I can see how the cops would say...."yeah right", it can't be proven, unless you can somehow get them from her. This is awful. All you can do is tell the physician what happened and HOPE he renews the script. And be wary of your neighbor!

You might talk to your pharmacist and let him know they were "apparently" taken by a neighbor. I would suggest using the word apparently, so the neighbor could not accuse you of "threatening" her/him. People who are drug addicts where they are doing legal drugs or non legal can get very defensive and threatening. I would call your law enforcement and ask to speak to the drug enforcement officer, or the Captain. If necessary arrange to meet them away from the apt. This is a serious problem, but please take it step by step. Also by notifying the druggist, report it stolen, you might be able to get another prescription and you will not get into trouble.
Remember keep calm, document who you talk to, when, date, time etc. Also make sure everything is locked up, house and car. Make sure nothing else is missing.
Stay safe.

"Did you actually search around her place and make her empty her pockets?"

I'm sorry to hear that you and your DH have to go through this, but you can't and shouldn't do that. It's called an illegal search and seizure, which is absolutely against the law. Regardless of what you suspect you can't demand to search her place or look on her person.

You mentioned she was a newer neighbor and had come to see how your DH was doing. I suspect you now know why she was so interested, which is pretty low. I would be very wary of even speaking to her about anything now, not even the weather.

I would never put blame on you or your husband for putting a narcotic in plain view INSIDE YOUR OWN HOME. You should be able to trust your friends and family.

I don't know that you can get another prescription for the same drug. Here, it's a 'triplicate' prescription. It goes into the computer and every pharmacy in Alberta knows you got that prescription. Unfortunantly people say they've lost their narc's, or had them stolen every day to try to get more. Not saying you're doing that at all. But we hear it all the time at work. Also, if the drug is covered by extended health benefits, they won't pay for another prescription until the original one is supposed to be finished.

I don't understand why the police didn't come out. Are you certain the bottle didn't fall under the couch? Or fall behind something? Is the person who came over someone who you trust 100%?

By the way, speaking of narcs: one of our drugstores was robbed the other day. The robbers wanted oxycontin. The store didn't have any. They took Viagra and Cialis instead. According to the news, addicts mix it with ecstacy and call it sextacy.

Unfortunately the police don't have cause so they are limited in what they can do. Were there any refills on the pills? If so it is really important that you call the pharmacy and have them cancel the Rx. I hope you can get another Rx from the doctor and that hubby is feeling better soon.

Vicodan can be sold on the street for $$$. Your doctor should be able to write another prescription for your DH since he knows you. When I worked in an ER in CA, some patients would come in and say they "lost" their vicodan. Interesting that vicodan was the only prescription they ever lost. Usually the ER docs would not write them another prescription.

You MAY be able to convince your doc to give you another prescription. You can request a urine test which can immediately reveal which drugs are in his system. In this case the doc would be looking for an absence of Vicodin in his urine. That way the doc knows you're telling the truth, though not all would be so understanding. It's worth a shot.

I know this because my DH is a rep for these particular urine cups. Doctors walk a fine line dealing with people who are addicted to pain meds (which they can suspect you of) or people who are prescribed the meds and then go out and sell them (which they should know you well enough that you are not those kind of people). Sorry you have to deal with this!

Blessings,
Haley

There really is nothing you can do about the neighbor except keep her away from you and don't trust her.

I would ask the doctor for another prescription. If s/he balks, suggest a very short-term prescription, like 10 pills, with another prescription to come at the appropriate time.

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this.

Tomorrow is Friday, so call the doctor's first thing in the morning and explain to the nurse or physician's assistant what happened. They can verify your call to the police if they wish (they won't). If you are established patients, he should trust your honesty.

If you don't call tomorrow, you will have to go the whole weekend, and if they help your DH's pain, it would be a shame for him to suffer without them.

Good luck, and let us know what happens. That's really shocking. If she did take them, you can bet she put them somewhere hidden (car or whatever). What a low thing to do.

What would scare me is that she might come back. Make sure to keep your doors locked. Hugs Dottie, you don't deserve such trash for neighbors.

what you can do for the ins and pharmacy is give them the name of the cop you spoke to...

just was thinking..i'd pass the word around to your closer pals about what happen...a word to the wise about this person and the sticky fingers...they might try it again with other ill residents...

Dot, so sorry this happened. I cannot imagine how you feel, knowing this person is just down the hall from you. Hope when you give the information to your doctor or pharmacist , they will be able to assist you in getting the medication refilled. Very good advice from one of the posters for you to remember if there were refills, and notify the pharmacy, the pills were stolen. Keep us posted and know that we care.

a caregiver stole some sleeping pills from me and the doctor pretty much said "tough luck".......... maybe yours will be more sympathetic!

I am so sorry that you are having to go through this! Maybe if you could get an actual copy of the police report and offer to let the doctor's office see it, then they would give you another prescription. I've heard all kinds of stories about people trying to defraud doctors into giving them narcotic prescriptions, so of course they'll probably be suspicious. Wow, I don't blame you for being so upset. Hope it all works out ok.

That IS terrible. I've found lately, that almost every delivery person/installer, etc who comes to my house needs to use the bathroom while he's here--even if it's just a few minutes for a delivery. Have heard that they do that to look for drugs in the medicine cabinet. Joke's on them in this house--I don't keep any kind of prescription meds in the bathroom. It's the worst place for them, anyway, with all the heat and humidity.

Anyway, what I wanted to say was this--even though you probably won't be letting this woman back into your home, if and when you do get the prescription filled, you need to consider getting a locked box to keep things like narcotics in. It's bad for someone to steal them, but just think how much worse it would have been if someone with a child came to visit and the child got their hands on them and ingested a handful? Narcotics should always be stored under lock and key.

Depending on what your dr. says, you may want to ask if: he has any samples on hand he could give you to tide your husband over or if there's something OTC he could take (my endodontist has told me I can take 4 X the recommended dose of motrin when I've had an abcess--not saying your husband could do that, just offering an example.) There may be something he can use that doesn't involve a prescription.

Some of the responses here make my head shake. Let's scare her some more by telling her to make sure to lock her doors in case the woman comes back..........

Okay, it's a NARCOTIC. Not a prescription that gets refills. It's not an antibiotic. I'm pretty sure the same rules apply in the US when it comes to narc's as it does here. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But in this day and age of narc thefts, I can't see it being easier to get a narc there than it is here. My husband couldn't get a second prescription for his back pain, and he didn't lose his med's. He ran out. They put him on 600mg advils.

You can talk to your doctor until you're blue in the face. He *might* have samples in his office. But odds are small he will, as if people find out he has narcs in his office, he'll get broken into.

I do like the advice you got from one person. Let your other neighbours know what happened. Be very careful how you word it. Just tell them 'a' neighbour stopped by and when that person left, your medication disappeared. There's no hard proof that this person stole it, but there's no other explaination as you searched your home and it's gone. If you don't word it just right, it can come back to bite you in the butt.

Thank you, my reliable KT friends for the responses. The police did come, he even helped us look all over and under things, then went down to her aPT and of course she denied it. I did talk to two other older ladies in the downstairs APT and warned them not to let the gal in. The only good think, at least I guess it is a good thing is that hubs had such a bad reaction to the pills, that he called the pharmacist and she recommended an OTC that he can use and it does help, with the pain. Not as much as the Vicodan, but enough. We have learned our lesson about having our meds out in the open, but DAMN IT, it is our APT!!!! This woman will never come in again.

Just for the record, dotmom stated, the woman invited her to search the premises. So it would not have been an illegal search.

Glad to hear the police did come, and follow up on your call. Hope your DH is better.
What an ordeal.

Dotmom, I'm so sorry you were used like this. Sadly, there are few people one can trust these days.

Azzalea, I've noticed the same thing about people asking to use the restroom when working in the house. Drives me crazy. I don't have anything interesting in my bathrooms either, but dang it, I don't like strangers putting their butts on my commode either. LOL

Yes it sure is a good idea not to keep any pills out in the open for people to see. Medicine cabinets in bathrooms are also prime targets for thieves. We found out the hard way when we hired some workers and they used the washroom, We were suspicious when one of them was awhile in the loo and later when we checked, pills were missing.

The bathroom is the worst place in the house to put your medicine. The heat and humidity isn't good for them. We keep ours in a cool kitchen cupboard.

I'm glad the police showed up and maybe put a scare into the woman. :-)

good luck

I'm sorry you are going through this. You've done about all you can do.

Debby, they do have refills on vicodins here in the states. It really depends on the doctor.

I will tell you this about a friend of mine. She had a new prescription for some pain meds in her old wallet. She got a new wallet for Christmas and threw out the RX by accident. She called her doctor and they told her she had to make out a police report and then the doctor would consider writing her a new one...the doctor did agree to write a new one but told her to not let it happen again!

My brother is a physician. He has, on rare occasions, given a new rx to patients that have had their meds lost or stolen.

I hope your DH gets to feeling better soon.

Charlee

charlee_mo, I'm going to double check with our pharmacy to see exactly how it is here. I do believe (and now I'm doubting myself) that the only person who can pick up a narcotic from the pharmacy is the person whose name is on the bottle. Even if it's a refill. I think (and I could be wrong) you have to have ID. I do know that we have had the police arrest a few 'customers' who have come in with forged prescriptions for narcs. Stupid drug addicts shouldn't come in with a fake script from the medical office next door where 99% of the prescriptions in our store are written. They all know the handwritting...... :o)

I have been picking up lortab and tylonol with codeine for my DH the last 2 weeks since their surgery. Just call in a refill and I pick it up. They are in their names and they don't ask for any ID from me, then again it is a small town pharmacy.

Stacie

My DH was on vicodan and it could be renewed but he did have to sign a paper in front of pharmacy to say i could also pick it up for him. Even if your not going to try and get it filled i would let pharmacy know what happened so if there is a renew on it so they can watch for someone wanting to get it refilled again.

Good morning KT friends. After a tossing and turning kind of night, I'll have to put last night and the stolen meds behind me.....with a HUGE lesson learned!! We will not be trusting of anyone again. Sad, isn't it? Yes, a big part of this is our fault, having the meds on a table out in the open, but we didn't expect any company. If any neighbors drop in, it during the daytime. There were no refills on the prescription, so that is all they will get from us, and I hope they choke on it. After talking to a couple neighbors, we think Shelly passed the pills off to a gal who is a caretaker to an elderly lady, and a real low-life type, so it was easy for her to sy the Police could search her APT, and we all know he can't unless he gets a warrant.
I'm not shaking any more but I'm still really pi$$ed.

Don't beat yourself up Dot. You/dh are VICTIMS here. It's unfair for anyone to imply that you were even careless in this situation. I would mention this incident to the superintendent/owner/etc of your apt's, so s/he can be aware if this happens to other tenants.

I hope your husband's back pain is eased.

What a shame that this has happened, and what a shame that you won't trust anyone again because of this experience. I can understand not trusting her and being diligent of things in the future, but to not trust anyone ever because of this is tragic and a loss to you, I think. Hopefully you'll be able to move forward with lesson learned and still with a belief that the vast majority of people are good and trustworthy.

I hope that your DH's pain is better!

I'm so sorry!
I hope your DH gets enough release of pain from the OTC pills.

It's terrible that we can no longer trust the way we did even a few years ago. My friend gave her neighbor a ride to town, she grabbed her keys and wallet to fo and do this good deed. She let her out and returned home. She reached down to get her wallet out and it was gone.
I guess the new motto must be "trust no one" !

The caregiver is most likely taking the elderly lady's pills from her, too. I would call the division of Senior Services and also her employer and say, that although you have no proof, this is what COULD be happening. By law, they have to investigate something that is or could be harmful to the patient/client.

I used to work for VNA and stealing was common among the home health aides. If it is discovered that something is going on, the person involved will be black-listed and not allowed to ever work in the business again.

Dottie, this is sort of off topic, but how is your husband doing? I may have missed your posting about it, but I'm glad he made it up the stairs. Sorry your dirty, rotten neighbor (LOL) caused you both anxiety--you sure didn't need any more.