does anyone know how I can get a refill on my prescription filled early? I have a fill due feb6, but I need now! it is for norco any ideas would help.CVS pharmacy

thats why they give directions on the label. that tells the pharmacy exactly how long the script should last.

Your ONLY real hope is to beg to the dr office and ask them to OK an early fill. You just better have a good reason or they will think that you are taking too many and that will end your script gettin days.
You are within 2 or 3 days of getting the refill to go thru. a full week early is a red flag. they allow sometimes 5 days early for convenience.

well, thanks for your post, I am taking too many, I hurt! somehow I need to make it through the weekend, any other ideas?

try Kratom or Tramadol to get you thru the last days.

That is true about CVS. If you need a refill sooner they have to call your Dr. The only other option maybe is that they called your insurance company for an early refill because of vacation plans. That is the only way I was able to get mine refilled early, but I was going on vacation. Good Luck!!

thanks kevin I do have Tramadol but it is not as effective as norco for pain. I seem to have alot of stomach cramping when I run out of norco does anyone know if this is normal?

I think that that will depend on your insurance company, a lot will let you refill up to 5 days in advance. If you don't have insurance and CVS has a policy to not fill until the date due, I would call some other pharmacy's in the area and find out what there policy is on refills.
Then when you find the one that suits your situation, have the script transfered to that pharmacy.

If you are comfortable with your doctor, you can call Her,(him) otherwise Calling your doctor is taking a chance with the original script, and possibly raising flags as to why you ran out early.
Good luck!

Yes...it's part of withdraws.

You have to decide while you have them, if you want to avoid the pain, now or later. Try and take them with motrin or something similar to help with the pain while you have them.
If I took all my meds everytime I hurt, I'd run out in a week...they are a tool, not a magic bullet.
Not trying to sound harsh, but just trying to help you avoid getting sick down the road.
If you have never asked for an early fill, you may get lucky asking, if this is a pattern, I'd be very careful.
Good Luck!

It can't hurt to ask right? I've filled scripts up to 5 days early before. Six or seven is probably pushing it though. Good luck!

thanks it is kinda a pattern with me so I dont want to raise any flags, my stomach hurts! just wish I knew a pharmacist that would fill my re-fill!

It would also depend on how many days the script is for.

Is it a 30 day script and Feb 6 is the 30th day?
Or is it the earliest day you can get it refilled in your state?

We are all assuming it is a 30 day script, but say if it is a 14 day or less, that would also affect when it can be filled.

How is it written? So many a day, so many every 4 to 6 hours, so many every 6 hours, so many every 6 to 8 hours?

All that changes when you can refill it also.


In my state, MS, you can legally refill a script when 80% of it should be taken. That would vary as to how it was written and for how long.
If I have a script for 30 pills taken every 4 to 6 hours, I can get it refilled on the 5th day. If a script is written for 120 pills, 4 a day (or every 6 hours), I can get it refilled on the 24th day. Of course pharmacists can over rule that, as can individual stores make policies that are stricter. The pharmacist can also fill earlier if they feel it is in the best interest of the patient, but they will usually require documentation and/or doctor approval.



If you are unsure as to what date you can actually fill a script that is at CVS, you can call the automated refill number. If it is too early it will tell you that your script will not be submitted for refill because it is too early.

Loperamide may help this, and is OTC is the US I think.

It is just hard to believe that there isn't a pharmacy anywhere that will go ahead and fill a little early.

Have you tried taking it to a smaller independently owned pahrmacy as opposed to a big chain like CVS or Walgreens? The big chains tend to much stricter. CVS wouldn't refill my script one day early once..they are super strict.

Best of luck...if all else fails, try hot baths and google that Thomas recipe for viatmins and minerals..may help with the cramping and such.

In NY you can refill 7 days early per script. That means if you fill your 1st refill 5 days early the earliest you can refill your second refill is 2 days early. If you filled your 1st refill 7 days early your 2nd refill can not be early at all.

Blue is very right about the dosage. If the scrip says take 1 every 4-6 hours and doesn't note a maximum dosage (like up to 4 pills maximum on the bottle) you can legitimately take 6 pills a day. That would mean a bottle of 120 pills would be good for 20 days so you could get away with refilling early. My doc always write 1-2 pills every 4-6 hours as needed for pain. If I wanted to I could refill earlier than the month.

Every state has different regs on this but I don't think any make you wait until you are totally up to refill. They always give a few days. Also in NY we can't transfer any controlled meds. It used to be you could transfer 1 refill and then lose the rest but now you can't even do that.

What I do is use a pill cutter and use what I feel will take the edge off of the pain. Sometimes it's 3/4 of a tablet and sometimes 1 & 1/4. On a good month I didn't use my whole 20 tablets. My doctor's office has a strict policy. teresa43, if you have any dental pain, see your dentist and if they do any oral surgery, you might receive a small script for a few days. Me personally I would never refill more than one day eerily. CVS and Wallgreens do keep a record of activity.

I feel bad saying this but the only way to avoid running short on your meds is to follow the instructions on the label of whichever medication you take.

If you don't follow the label instructions and you admit that to your Doctor he might not like that very much. I'd hate to see you get in trouble.

Have you tried a heating pad? There are also lidocaine patches which some are OTC and some are 5% RX.

Try to relax as much as possible and try Aleve, they just might give you more relief than nothing.

I will say I feel badly for you because I know how easy it is to take more medications then prescribed. I don't ever do that with any of my scripts because I wouldn't want to ever run short.

I'm praying for you to not feel the pain and I'm sorry you have to suffer over such a seemingly little glitch in the Rules.

God bless you OP

Good advise given about Kratom..early fills ain't going to happen I'm sorry to break the sad news.As in my healthcare God forbid the pharmacy should give the Captain his pills after 24 days or even 29 days...it's like 3/4 of the way threw the 30th day I'll get my medication..Thats why as time goes by you get smart and cut yourself back a pill or two every other day looking ahead to the end of the month so as to make sure ya don't run out...I'll toss& wash down 2 tablespoons of Kratom with my morning coffie and get threw the long 30 days especially in the middle of winter when I hurt the most....Over and out~~~Capt~~

Now there's an interesting idea.
When you run out of pills early, give some thought to whether you have any dental pain and need some oral surgery.
I know several people who have done this rather than go through the suffering of withdrawal.
Of course, they are now in treatment for substance abuse.

Every state has different laws. Actually in my accident I lost a whole bottle of ambien. I had just picked it up so it was with me at the time. The pharmacist told me in NY you can get a month emergency advance fill and my insurance would even cover it but I had to provide very specific evidence as to why. The process would take a week so he actually gave me individual pills to get by which I paid for but once the approval went through they refunded me. It's so important to stick to the same pharmacist for just these reasons. Your records do tend to speak for themself I think. I don't feel badly refilling a few days early because I know it is legal. In the one or two times I miscalculated the pharmacist would just tell me it's too early. I have miscalculated with both controlled and non controlled meds. It happens with everyone and they don't flip out. Find out the law in your state (a quick google search) and you can find out when it is ok. You will just have to be more careful in the future. When I am in pain and feel like I need another pill early I just take a half. In my mind it kicks what is left in my system back in effect and I won't need another for 2 hours usually after the next would be due.

The Dentist advise is also very good too..I have called my dentist and said Doc,"I have a toothache so bad it had me up all night"His reply...which pharmacy do you use?Two hours later I picked up 20 -10/650 and an antibiotic..And always followed up and had him look at /Xray that tooth within the next day or two....only once in a blue moon that one I actually did....and then had that dreaded root canal on said tooth later on but my point is dental pain can be the worst so dentists have more compassion as a rule.

anks everyone for the posts! I love this site. I will have some restraint next month and not take too many.

IMHO you might want to watch what you ask a Dr for. Especially when it comes to pain meds. You don't want to be labeled as a drug seeker.

whats the problem? i do not understand. today is the 5th and script is due to refill on the 6th. call it in to the CVS. if some butthead pharm tech says it has to be 30 days, call that same script number in to the nearest other CVS. or transfer it ti wallygreens Somebody will fill it a few hrs early.
if CVS will not fill it for you send it to wallgreen or to walmart whoever . fire CVS for 1 stinkin day.

This thread was actually started on the 30th...

I will add my experience with CVS refills. The best way to check on your own prescriptions is to go to CVS.com and register. You can then pull up all the prescriptions you have and any refills available. You can also place a reminder on when the r/x is due for refill. This all depends on your insurance and state laws. They email you when it is time for a refill. This way you are not dealing with some "butthead".

I know here where I live my ins will allow me to fill 7 to 8 days early.But this is at walmart maybe if it was at a CVS or Walgreens it may not be able to be filled that early.I just know from when I was pregnant and had a script for percocet for my ruptured disc they did allow it.Now I am having the hardest time finding a doc to treat me now that Im not pregnant

Look at your paperwork with original presciption, it says least amount of days presciption is for.
Ex. If bottle us #120 1 to 2 every eight hours as needed for pain.
You can then take upto 6 per day!
So the 120 is only 20 days worth.
You could easily fill at day 17....

Alot of presciptions are written like this so the doctor does not
Have to deal with these issues.
Now, he will know when it's due for a new script.
If in 60 days or so you are looking for a new presciption after
Doctor wrote 1 with two refills.

I don't think I'm the only one that has this problem. My prescriptions were written as one ever 6 hours but they were supposed to last a month. Of course this doesn't work out correctly for the number of tablets. I think doctors do this to see how long a bottle will last for a month. Ask for more tablets and see just how quick you will be labeled a drug seeker by your doctor.

So that's #120
as an example, the Pharm will refill if refills
Are available, at day 22...

If your doctor says #90 at 4 per day should
Last you a month, just tell him you only take
As he instructed.
The info pamplet the pharm includes with
Meds often say 'take before pain gets bad, works
Better on the onset of pain'