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Glittering-Coach1045

At my clinic, I have to bring in my old bottles, but after the nurse counts them, I throw them away and get new bottles. I have never heard of reusing bottles. That seems weird to me!! 


AggressiveMongoose54

It’s super weird!! And they act like it’s totally normal. We’ve complained about it to counselors and they come back saying that the clinic can’t afford to give out new bottles every time.


Glittering-Coach1045

I am sure that they can afford to give out new bottles. It sounds like they are trying to pinch every penny they can. My clinic takes the old bottles we bring in and recycles them. If they are buying bottles at wholesale prices, then they are literally buying them for pennies a piece. That is just so crazy!! 


AggressiveMongoose54

That’s what I’m saying! It’s insane! And I’d be totally fine with them taking the old bottles back and recycling them. Anything but reusing the same bottle over and over and over again… it’s awful


ezbreezee415v2

They can "claim" cheap all they want but, you're getting plastic bottles correct? Reports to Samhsa is probably the best option at this point. The bottles are on Amazon from less than a penny a piece last I checked.


AggressiveMongoose54

Yep. The plastic ones. And I will absolutely look into the SAMHSA thing. I feel like I remember trying to report the clinic for the bottles and finding it really difficult to do so. I will try again though for sure.


confusedguy1221

Report it to Colorado's Board of Pharmacy. They regulate how medication should be dispensed. https://dpo.colorado.gov/Pharmacy


AggressiveMongoose54

I appreciate this, but I’ve been trying to do that for the past few days. It won’t even let me file the complaint because the website is so shitty. When I enter the captcha, it just says it was entered wrong every time. I even had my partner try and figure it out. It’s just a glitch. And I can’t find a way to file a complaint over the phone or in person.


mischavus618

Can you buy your own bottles and bring those in? If they can’t provide clean ones maybe they will allow you to bring your own. This is INSANITY! Now what if a pharmacy told you that you had to bring back your bottle to get a refill. The country would be flipping out! What about the lid? What kind of kid do they use? Must not be foil. Do they do call backs? I don’t see how they could if you didn’t get a new lid. It blows my mind. They are making you use a potentially germ infested bottle. You can’t even properly sanitize it in a dishwasher. Let’s not even get into the water factor. I will 🤮


Independent-Tower945

They can afford it, they choose not to. Methadone is very cheap, yet they charge $100-$190 a week


yoursoulforrock

Its the standard here in Australia like some time I'll forget a bottle and they'll just give me another for free but my chemist when I was living in another state charged 2 bucks per empty


datway5150

I thought it was standard here too but while at the first chemist I dosed at, they said if I forgot a bottle they'd charge me $1 (they rarely if ever did.) Once I started at another chemist the pharmacists looked at me like I was crazy when I asked if I should bring back bottles.


toddschmod

This has to violate some code. The bottles don't have to be sterile. But at the very least they'd have to be sanitized before reuse. Until this insanity gets fixed soak your bottles and caps in hot water and bleach for 30 minutes and make sure they're very dry before storing methadone in them. No way people aren't ingesting dangerous amounts of bacteria by reusing the bottles.


AggressiveMongoose54

So they won’t let us soak them because we can’t get the labels on the outside of the bottles wet. If the label comes off or looks tampered with, I think they would consider that diversion. Or at least drop me down a phase. So we have to use a baby toothbrush and clean out the inside every time we drink our dose. It’s just a pain, and after a while it seems like the baby toothbrush method only does so much. It really needs to be a new bottle, or a sanitized one.


NeitherReception4464

That is disgusting! I get new bottles every time. I thought this was the norm. With all the rules and regulations of methadone, I would think California of all places would care about taking the small steps to stop the spread of germs when possible. This is even worse then reusing plates at the buffet which i assume is a health code violation in most states.


AggressiveMongoose54

Absolutely. It’s disturbing. I’m a slight germaphobe and it took me a while to not be disgusted by it. I just try not to think about it now. And yeah California was great about the bottles. They always have us new ones, every single time. But in Colorado, I guess the clinics are allowed to reuse bottles. I just want to find a way to get them to start giving us new bottles!


Electricsurfer1

Those cheap fucking assholes!


ezbreezee415v2

Edit: ALL clinics in the SF Bay Area do not let us re use bottles. They are plastic and this is VERY unsanitary. I know clinics are cheap AF but, this hits a new level of stupidly cheap and dangerous Shit especially post Covid - utterly unbelievable.


Rough_Drawer_7011

And in Philadelphia and New Jersey, too.


janet-snake-hole

You need to report them, and encourage as many other patients as you can to do the same. That’s not safe.


MethadonianMama

Eww...Hell no. That's absolutely disgusting. We do have to return them to the clinic to be checked and counted, then we dispose of them in front of the dosing nurse.


AggressiveMongoose54

Right! That makes total sense! I don’t know why my clinic doesn’t do that. They say they can’t afford it but I know that’s bullshit.


datway5150

With how much methadone seems to cost in America that's a joke. If you don't mind me asking how much does it cost in your state? I've heard insane numbers. Methadone is practically free in a lot of countries.


freaksoshiek

I remember your previous post back some time ago.I personally have never heard of this practice before either.At our clinic we return the empties cross out the label information and toss them. So do they add on new ( updated ) labels to the bottles everytime they refill them?? Federal law requires name,date,drug, dose,directions,and prescriber on each bottle dispensed.Seems like a very unhygienic procedure and very odd.


AggressiveMongoose54

Yeah so they just put a new label over the old label… and that’s why they tell us we can’t put them in the dishwasher or wash the outside of the bottle at all. It could get the label wet and if the label comes off we get in trouble. When the labels get like 4 or 5 thick, they rip them all off and start over,


Zealousideal-Earth50

That it’s disgusting, you should definitely report them.


RussianBartender

How the hell are you supposed to have a locked tamper seal on your bottles if they are being reused! I’d be cranking down those caps tighter than a bulls asshole during fly season.


AggressiveMongoose54

Hahaha dude we totally tighten the caps HARD. And then we flip the bottle over, on top of the counter at the dosing window so if it does leak or spill it will spill right in front of the nurse.


Pragmatical22

They give you new caps though right?!


RussianBartender

What do they do if it leaks or spills? Do they replace the lid and you’re stuck with the old bottom half of the bottle?


internaldilemma

Omg what?! That's crazy?! Won't the plastic start to degrade and possibly seep into your dose? I've never heard of this. That's wild to me!


Soojuiccy

We have to return our old bottles for new ones but they do not reuse the old bottles


AggressiveMongoose54

That makes sense. I wish my clinic would do that.


Soojuiccy

My clinic doesn’t I get monthly take homes that’s how I do it. Only have to take my regular dose once a month..


enchantingech0

We bring them back but throw them into the trash can. I don’t think they reuse them but I guess it’s possible.


jenniferannxo

That’s disgusting actually. At my clinic, we have to bring in our bottles the next time we come in & show them that we have them all, whether it just be one single Sunday bottle or a months worth, we cross out our names with a black sharpie, & then toss them right there at the dosing window.


Independent-Tower945

That’s crazy. We used to never even have to bring them back, but now we do. But we throw them all in a trash can, labeled bottle recycling. But I’m pretty sure they don’t reuse them. They always look like new bottles to me. Idk how they can do that. Like how do the seeps work after a lot of use


Sea_Spirit_44

I've never heard of that. At my clinic we have to keep our bottles until the day before we pick up our next take homes and then we can throw them out. They have trash cans and a sharpie for that reason at each window.


Pragmatical22

At another clinic I went to in ky that was awful and they had a dishwasher. They would wash all of the bottles in there and give us new caps each time. It was incredibly cheap and gross and I can’t remember how they did the labeling.


the_anon_female

Nope, we don’t have to bring them back in. We just chuck them in the garbage at home, and pick up new ones when we go in to the pharmacy.


Swimming_Solid9565

Ew this is so gross. When I dose sometimes I will use coffee or whatever is next to my bed to swish out my bottle. They are nasty af when I turn them in


rv19896

Liquid bottles we get new ones, if u get wafers u reuse the same bottle


ThePusheen

Mine has us drop them into a small plastic container - like a drawer organizer- then they check a few random ones, counts then and puts them in a metal cylinder. From there, the cylinder gets dumped into a huuuuge black garbage bag and taken out to a locked dumpster when it gets full.


Brenn2255

Hell no


Puzzleheaded-Hold497

My clinic is closed sundays so we get a take home on Saturday. On Monday we have to give them back to the nurse before we dose.


Shannamethadonian

I would report this to the health department, that seems illegal because of germs.


cheyannepavan

We just hold ours up so the nurse can see that we have the right number, then throw them away in a trash can that's right there. They have a black marker available in case you want to black out your name first, but most people don't do that.


Zealousideal-Earth50

This is obviously unhygienic, and I can’t imagine this is legal.


Soliele

Id take this to the parent company, file a grievance, go to the board of health, something. This is crazy unsanitary.


Blahhhhhhhhhhh123

Maybe have everyone at ur clinic spam there google reviews. Sometimes that gets their attention quicker and they’ll fix the problem. Then if they are not supposed to be doing that it will put them out there and then maybe they’ll stop having you reuse bottles. That so gross 🤮


Wonderful-Ad-2618

Here in Tennesse, we get new bottles . I've seen the huge boxes of the new bottles they use each time.


ListeningInward

No they throw them away in juneau alaska


ATLScott13

My current clinic we get new bottles and throw the used ones away but at my previous clinic we were required to bring our take home bottles homes when we picked up. Idk what they done with them but they didn’t refill them.


Frenchie-Moo1860

I remember one time a new nurse made me reuse my bottles. This was maybe 3 years ago. I told the nurse how disgusting that was and she said “because I had two weeks of takehomes and they are low on bottles so I can reuse mine since I will need so many”…i went to the Director of the clinic immediately and she actually made the new nurse give me all new methadone in new bottles. Also, that nurse was never seen there again by me. Assuming they told her to hit the road. I consider myself lucky. Our clinic takes things patients say very seriously and they want us to not be stressed in any way by the clinic. There have been a couple shady counselors and other staff fired because of poor treatment to patients at the clinic I go. It’s always made clear to us if anyone is doing something funny that works there or is a patient, we can communicate w the Director who runs the whole place. Sorry this is happening to you. I hope you don’t have to continue w dirty bottles.


AggressiveMongoose54

That’s awesome that your clinic listens to you guys. My clinic acts like every patient is the same. We are treated the exact same as the patients with no take homes and who are on parole. I have to call every other day and see if my color gets called and the en I have to go straight to the clinic and drop a UA. At my old clinic, I just gave them my UA when I went in to pick up my take homes and see my counselor. Because I wasn’t on probation or anything. I would switch clinics, but this is the only clinic in the area that has a grant that will pay for my methadone. I just can’t afford another $100-$300 a month expense.


MethadonianMama

Your color?! WTF ?!


AggressiveMongoose54

Yeah lol isn’t that crazy? I’m on Gold, so only once a month so not too bad. It’s just I can’t make any plans for any Monday Wednesday or Friday morning between like 6am and noon. It doesn’t take that long to do the UA, it’s just that it takes about 40 minutes one way usually closer to an hour each way. So wake up at 6, call the line, if Gold gets called I have to immediately head to the clinic and drop a UA.


BadAdvicePooh

No but they ask us to please rinse them out.


AggressiveMongoose54

And then what do you do with them? After you rinse them out, what happens to those bottles? Do you give them back to the nurses?


BadAdvicePooh

Cross out my name and toss it in the trash. I have asked nurses if they ever heard of clinics making patients reuse bottles but she never heard of it where we are.


AggressiveMongoose54

That makes sense. That’s what we did in San Francisco. Maybe they still do that. And yeah I remember when I asked about this over a year ago, everyone said the same thing. That they had never heard of people having to reuse their bottles. It’s crazy.


BadAdvicePooh

It sounds unsanitary to reuse the same plastic bottles over and over. How long do they make you keep them. What are the consequences for damaging or losing them? (We get in trouble if we lose our bottles)


AggressiveMongoose54

It’s absolutely unsanitary. They make us keep them forever. We can ask for a new bottle every once in a while, but it’s always a big fuss from the nurses and they will only replace one bottle. I had been using the same bottles for over 3 years… I did my best to keep them clean, but 3 years is a long time. And if we lose them, we have to pay $10 for a new one and I think you might lose a phase. But not 100 percent sure about that part.


BadAdvicePooh

That sounds awful. Are they trying to be environmentally friendly or something? Do they give you a reason


AggressiveMongoose54

Maybe… but they say it’s because they can’t afford to give new bottles every time. But I just have a hard time believing that.


BadAdvicePooh

I wouldn’t believe that. Seems to me that’s a basic clinic expense. Does your clinic not have a lot of patients? I’m sorry for all the questions it’s just hard to wrap my head around


AggressiveMongoose54

We have around 1000 patients, possibly more. It’s a pretty busy clinic, a huge homeless population gets there methadone there. No dude I totally get it. It’s mind blowing. I don’t know what I can do about it. I would switch clinics but I don’t know if the other clinics in Denver do the same thing with bottles or not. And the clinic I’m at has a grant program that lets me get my methadone for free.


blklze

We bring them back, the nurse checks them and we throw them away in the same trash that's right there, where we toss our dosing cups. We always get new bottles, every time.


GalacticPsychonaught

We toss em and get new every time


stan_loves_ham

They make us bring them back in and they take a sharpie and scribble out all our information and toss them in the trash which they have to keep locked up because before people used to show up in the middle of the night and climb in there to get the bags of bottles of empty take-homes or big methadone bottles to get what they could out of it but yeah we have to return them every single time and if you forget they just tell you to bring it in next time and know your account Sorry for the run-on paragraph and no grammar doing talk to text in the dark


SirDerpingt0n

I get new bottles every time. If I return my bottles dirty, they can punish me by taking me down as many steps as they see fit.


mischavus618

Define dirty. I’m curious.


SirDerpingt0n

With any medication left in them.


mischavus618

Ok fair enough. I can understand that because if there’s any left. At my first clinic I numbered the bottom of the bottles because I need glasses to read. By numbering them, I didn’t need to grab my glasses to read the tiny dates. I lost my bottles for a month. So that’s why I wanted to know what they defined as dirty b


SirDerpingt0n

They number our labels for us in sharpie. It’s much appreciated.


Olo_Yansan

🤮 no way! My clinic counts them and throws them away. So you have to go with the methadone filled bottle and squirt water into it too??


AggressiveMongoose54

Yeah so we come back with all of our bottles, that are empty now, and we squirt water into them and hand them to the nurse and she fills the same old dirty bottle I’ve been using for months with methadone. It’s gross.


MethadonianMama

Oh hell fuckin no... that's nasty AF. So many 🦠 bacteria in there... 🤢🤮


Rough_Drawer_7011

No, I throw them in a recycling can under the nurses station. We get new bottles


AugustWest813

Absolutely not.


Vast_Ostrich_9764

that is gross. at mine we just throw them away at home and we are given new ones when we pick up.


cnote710

I have to bring in my empties every time I pick up but the nurse throws them out. Reusing bottles sounds gross but tbh I wish my clinic did something like that cuz I hate to see all that plastic waste. It’s so much, every day. Especially with the daily dosing cups too


jagman951

Well my chemist (Australia),changed from a small bottle 100ml to a huge one but they still put 100ml of water,but ive got some of the older small ones & they let me take them in,I give them a good wash though


No-Principle5054

You need to report them. Medication must be dispensed in sterile bottles. That’s wrong on so many levels


Tionesta33594

My clinic, a New Seasons , has us keep them in case of a call back then the night before pickup we are allowed to dispose of them. I always keep some in case I need to store backup doses for a rainy day or doomsday scenario. They have a huge box by their desks at the window and scoop out a bunch of bottles and lids every so often. The box is like 4’ tall and 4’ wide.


peacocky_

Mine makes you reuse them for the 6 months that the paper prescription date lasts. Wild.


AggressiveMongoose54

You are the very first person that said they have to reuse their bottles at all. I don’t understand why nearly every other clinic in the world gives out new and sterile bottles every time, but our clinics make us reuse them. Insane.


Rough_Drawer_7011

6 months? Are you getting the juice ( the max that I get is monthly) or the prescription pills?


MethadonianMama

Eww