I have multiple chronic illnesses and, being a woman, find that they often like to flare up around the time of my monthly cycle. To try to counteract this, my doctor puts me on an extended cycle birth control pill, where I have one cycle every three months instead of every month. While not perfect, I find this works very well and am happy to continue the regimen.
I go to my pharmacy to pick up a refill of the medication. Upon getting home, I discovered three packs of one month of birth control, that is, one week of placebo pills every three weeks instead of every twelve. Obviously, this is not good for me. So, I go back to the pharmacy to let them know I’ve been given the wrong medication.
Me: “Hey, yeah, I’m on ninety-one-day birth control for medical reasons, and my prescription’s been filled with three packs of twenty-eight-day birth control.”
Pharmacist: *Who is male.* “Yeah, it’s the same thing.”
Me: “I’m sorry, but it’s not. It’s three weeks of placebo—”
Pharmacist: *Interrupting.* “—It is the same medication.”
Me: “It might be, but the dose is—”
Pharmacist: *Interrupting.* “—It’s the same thing you normally get, just in smaller packs.”
Me: “It’s actually not. Normally—”
Pharmacist: *Interrupting.* “—Look, you see this. Same drug as the ninety-one-day pack. This is three months, that’s three months. Just different formats.”
Me: “If you would please stop, I have a medical—”
Pharmacist: *Interrupting.* “—It is the same thing.”
Me: “Can I please speak to whoever is in charge?”
Pharmacist: “That’s me. It’s the same thing.”
Feeling discouraged and knowing that if I use the twenty-eight-day packs, I’m in for three weeks of Hell, I try calling the help line for the pharmacy to explain my issue.
Me: “Hi, I just got my prescription from [Pharmacy], and the pharmacist has given me three twenty-eight-day packs of birth control instead of the ninety-one-day pack. I have medical conditions where I really need to only have a cycle once every three months, and the pharmacist isn’t letting me explain that and just keeps insisting it’s the same drug.”
Pharmacist On Phone: “Is this at [Location]?”
Me: “Uh, yes.”
Pharmacist On Phone: “Okay, we’re gonna get you the correct medicine, honey. Can you go there on Friday and ask to speak with [Name]. She’s the head pharmacist on staff, and I promise she’s going to get you the right medicine.”
Me: “Yes, I can do that.”
Friday, I head into the pharmacy and ask for the head pharmacist. I’m greeted by an older woman who listens to my explanation and promptly asks for the wrong medication back, promising she’s going to fill the ninety-one-day pack. Ten minutes later, I have my correct medicine, and she’s checking me out, apologizing for what happened.
Head Pharmacist: “I am really so sorry you had to go through this. This isn’t the first complaint of this sort, and we’re going to get it sorted out. I’ve put a note on your file that you’re to be given the medication exactly as prescribed with no substitutions in the future, but if this happens again, please come directly to me.”
For those of you curious, I don’t mind explaining that I have Fibromyalgia, POTS, Ulcerative Colitis, Chronic Fatigue, and MCAS. During my cycle, I get hit with intense fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, widespread pain, and just generally it’s like having a bad stomach bug. I used to miss weeks of school because of it when I was a kid, before we got me on proper medication.
The ninety-one-day meds somehow make the symptoms less severe, as well as making me go through it less frequently, so I am actually able to work during my cycle. Without proper medication, I’d miss a week of work every month. With proper medication, I have a quality of life I didn’t have before. Birth control isn’t just for preventing pregnancy; for a lot of women, it makes life much better in other ways.
