Bottle Count for Take Homes

There is nothing in the Federal Guidelines in regards to bottle checks. When you get a call back from the clinic you should have 24 hours to report in. Is it possible for you to go when the clinic first opens up in the morning and get to work on time.
I know it's a hassle.
I don't see where having bottle checks should really be necessary for patients who have been completely compliant in their treatment.
If your thinking about switching clinics, call the clinic that you want to switch to and ask them any questions beforehand. You may find out the your clinic isn't as bad as some of the others out there.
How are you treated otherwise?

I'm sorry...this may sound a little dumb but what the hell are they looking to accomplish by counting your bottles??? are they looking to see that you are not taking more than you are supposed to??? in that case, anyone can take from another bottle and do whatever they have to do to make it seem as tho they have what they are supposed to...and dee, what you say about other clinics is true...i thought mine was a big pain in the butt until i tried going to a new one...once i heard "pre" intake and crazy stuff like that i went running back to my old clinic and begged them to take me back...i do know that you cannot get your take homes unless you bring all your bottles with you but as for bottle count i am not sure what they hope to solve...if they are having problems with certain people they should deal with those people directly (i know i shouldn't say "they should do this and they should do that" but this lady is in danger of losing a great job and let me tell you something jobs are not easy to come by...my husband has a bachelor's degree and owes $75,000 on his student loans and he is washing dishes part time because there is just no work where we are...maybe they could make an exception if you explain the job thing especially if you are compliant in all other areas...if you lose your job, chances are the expense of the clinic will be too much so you could be in jeopardy of losing everything...you can look into other clinics but like dee said, make sure you ask all the questions you need to before switching...there are some out there that really are worse than others...i, myself, am on disability and don't work BUT i also don't drive so my husband has to take me every morning (my 5th time back to MMT and i'm in my first 90 days)and he has to be to work by 6:30am 6 days a week...we get there at 5am every morning but i have to see my counselor every day for the first 30 days so getting him to work on time gets scary as we live 37 miles from the clinic...my counselor bitched at me the other day...she said that by my being at the door when she drives up makes her feel like i am sweating her...hey, the clinic opens at 5 she starts at 5 and i am there at 5 so what is her problem??? i am going to request another counselor because i really feel that she has a problem with me because i have been in and out so much...she told me when i came back last week that i will not have take homes until she feels that i deserve them...what the hell is up with that??? if i come every day, come up clean on my UA's and follow all the rules, where does she get off thinking she can hold me back on her say so and feelings alone...whatever...i digress...i WILL be getting a new counselor so i can truely start fresh not with someone with a cross to bear...anyway...good luck on your new job and i really hope everything works out for you...i have been around long enuf to know that when you do the right thing...right things happen...all the best...peace out!!!

Mrs. Penguin,
I agree with you completely and if someone is lucky enough to be able to land a job then the clinic should do everything within its power to help that person so they do not lose that job.

Your counselor has some major control issues. It is not up to her to hold your treatment over your head. So what if you get their early? Like you said, they open at 5 and there is no reason for you not to be there at 5.
Why do you have to see her everyday for the first 30 days? Again, control issues?



Frigginpeachy, anything that affects your treatment is your business, you .
Counselors in the clinic system come and go. The clinic I attended had so many it was hard to keep up at times. In one year I had 6 different counselors.
Can you try talking to the Director about this? I don’t want you to anger your counselor by going over his head but you have to do something.
Keep us posted, please.
Dee

Here is the policy statement on bottle recalls from the National Alliance of Methadone Advocates: http://methadone.org/namadocuments/ps10bottle_recall.html

Is there any federal or state guidelines for this? Otherwise what guidelines are they going by to enforce the practice of med checks/bottle counts? At my clinic we have a computer system set up. depending on the number of take outs you get determines the day of the week the client has to call in to the system to see if they are scheduled for a "call back". We don't use liquid methadone so we have to bring back out empty medication packets as well as our remaining doses to be counted. It's random when the computer has you come but it is about every 3 months. I drive 88 miles one way to my clinic. Thankfully I get 27 takeouts & have a job with a flexible schedule but it can be a pain.
Frigginpeachy I was wondering, do you get to work on time for your regular clinic visits?
I would speak to your counselor and/or clinic director and explain your situation. Maybe then they will try and get you in ASAP in med count days? If not, and/or they don't seem to want to work with you them maybe when you fill out your satisfaction surveys you may want to mention it then? If you've gone to the same clinic the two yrs you've been in treatment then I would think they would know you well enough by now to understand your situation and try to work something out for you, even if it is only trying to get you in and out ASAP for med checks.

The federal regulations don't really address it, but some state regulations do... In Tennessee, for example, the state regs require bottle recalls every quarter for patients who receive 6+ takehomes... so it can vary from state to state.

zt

Hmmm..... I live in Louisiana but go to a clinic in Tx so will have to see if I can find any state regs on it. :-)

If you want to email me I can put you in touch with a superb certified methadone advocate in Texas that might be able to help you. State regs can be difficult to find, as they are often buried at the bottom of some administrative website.... If you can't find them I advise patients to shoot an email to the SOTA of the state in question and ask him/her to respond with them as a pdf attachment. That tends to work if all else fails.

Good luck.