IMSUSCOT1
Threadhead
Reged: 10/23/02
Posts: 884
Loc: usa
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Oh my, my age is showing...exactly what came to mind when I saw this....oldest trick in the book, but hey, maybe for the uninitiated, huh?
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IMSUSCOT1
Threadhead
Reged: 10/23/02
Posts: 884
Loc: usa
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When I'm staying in a hotel I NEVER leave my meds ANYWHERE in my room, once I thought I had disguised them well in a clean pair of undies(rolled the bottle up in them)...can you believe a maid would actually TOUCH someone elses underwear???????????? SICK I take them with me whereever I go (I have a big bag cuz I have BIG bottles, ha!)
I have actually FOUND meds I had previously hidden and then forgotten where I put htem...Age I guess
Edited by IMSUSCOT1 (08/11/04 07:24 PM)
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therhino
Enthusiast
Reged: 06/06/04
Posts: 224
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correct, no place is safe except your own pocket, but some of the better hotels have in-room safes....
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spellcheckers are like wearing ties, I just say no :-)
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Daycamp72
Enthusiast
Reged: 06/29/02
Posts: 284
Loc: Tara
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Curiousdee: Ahhh, the Fan district. We must be around the same age.
Have you seen it lately? Some quite pretty restorations.
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suzi
Journeyman
Reged: 03/08/03
Posts: 65
Loc: florida
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Hi Rhino,
I got a chuckle out of your post. With the reality show craze on tv going on now wouldn't it be funny if there was one just like this thread about hiding meds?
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HAVE A GREAT DAY :-)
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sassysal
Newbie
Reged: 07/29/04
Posts: 44
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I definitely agree, Rhino, that is one reality show I would never miss. It would be hilarious.
sassy
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IMSUSCOT1
Threadhead
Reged: 10/23/02
Posts: 884
Loc: usa
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are they combination safes or keyS?
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FightIgnunce
Stranger
Reged: 11/06/03
Posts: 8
Loc: Los Angeles, CA
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I used to need to hide my meds from a crazy, abusive roommate who would steal them and then use them to blackmail me - either charging me for them or forcing me to do some humiliating thing to get them back. Thank God I'm outta there now. Before anyone asks - this person seemed normal and i had no idea they would go psycho on me until we were already sharing an apartment. Sometimes you get into bad situations and it's truly not your fault. I didn't call the cops because this person scared me and he was a good lier and manipulator (as well as an illegal drug user) and he always had a scheme to lie and to make me into the bad guy (when his psycho temper wasn't giving him away.)
Anyway - I therefore had good reason to hide meds (and to move out!) and i found great value in the old axiom "Divide and conquer." Numerous times I hid my meds in a certain room and then when I was in great pain I couldn't reach them because the psycho was within eyesight, up all night on his illegal drugs and furiously cruising the internet for sex. So I started using a couple different spots, guaranteeing that I could always get to my meds when I needed them - in spite of his unpredictable behavior. Another cliche in support of this technique might be "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." I always figured that if he found one of the hiding places, at least it wouldn't be a total loss.
Someone mentioned that they would leave only a few pills in their bottle so that it looked like they were almost out or needed a refill. This could be a bad idea because anyone brazen enough to rifle through your house would certainly be willing to call the number on the bottle and say, "I'd like a refill." They could use up all your refills and you wouldn't even know it. Most pharmacies will give your Rx to anyone who knows your name and what they're picking up. Even if the pharmacist knows the person the rx is for, the thief can just say they are sick and this is a believable excuse most of the time. And if you don't have refills left, the pharmacy would probably say "We'll have to call the doctor for you" and they will either get you a new refill or else get your doctor worried about you if it's too soon. and that would be even worse because, well, good luck explaining this to your doctor. They might give you the benefit of the doubt, but it would be a mental knock against you. If this happened and you did explain it to your doctor, they might require you to fill out a police report to get a replacement - or they might report it to the police themselves - and that could create a lot of stress if you didn't want to press charges against the perpetrator.
I have a question:
I have to carry meds with me to follow my schedule, but I don't like to carry my entire bottles with me. I take numerous meds, so I would need a lunch sack! plus it's not safe to carry them around since they could get lost or stolen. But I read a thread a while back about someone who had been taken to jail for carrying meds without the original rx bottle - apparently it's not legal. Is there any way to discreetly carry only what you need, legally, without the risk of a legal misunderstanding?
I think the best hiding paces are the ones that are totally hidden or inaccessible. Hide-in-plain-sight and the tricks involving putting things in a container and resealing it to look unopened can backfire because a person who is stealing meds is doing something irrational already. it wouldn't take much for them to totally disregard consequences and just rip open containers, telling themselves that they'd find a way to deal with it later or else replace the package they had opened.
On the history channel there was a show about spies and hiding places. One of the best hiding places discussed was in an office. the spy discovered that if he lifted up the lighting panel next to a wall (false ceiling) - which required standing on a chair - he could see that there was actually a hollow space between wood beams, behind the drywall. he took his hidden object (a tiny camera) and tied a long string to it (longer than the wall's height.) at the end of the string he tied a piece of metal. (camera one end, metal the other.) he then lowered the camera gently down into the space behind the wall via the opened ceiling panel, dropping it onto the floor in the inner space as close to the drywall as possible. once in place, he dropped the string and the metal down as well. all gone! after replacing the ceiling panel, it was totally hidden. even if someone had seen the panel askew, they would have found nothing up there. and even if they'd gotten a flashlight and shined it down there, the angle was such that they wouldn't see anything. how many people would tear apart a wall just because a ceiling panel was askew? to most people, it would seem impossible for anything to be hidden down there since it would be 'unretreivable'. Whenever the spy wanted his camera he just locked his office door and then put his chair next to the wall. Next he got on the floor with a strong magnet. The piece of metal would "snap" onto the drywall where he was holding the magnet. He would then slide the magnet up the wall, pulling the almost weightless string, until it was the the top (climbing on the chair when neccessary.) When the metal was at the top, he moved the ceiling panel, grabbed the piece of metal, and then pulled the camera up by the attached string. Brilliant, eh?
This thread was really entertaining and interesting and helped me to forget my own problems for a few minutes. now that's some good medicine. thanks!
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lolajones
Newbie
Reged: 02/04/03
Posts: 39
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This post is a hoot! Back when I had them to hide, I used to move them around every 2 days so my step-daughter and boyfriend wouldn't get into them. I got careless and hid them in my panty drawer one time and half the bottle was gone the next day! So I would be more inventive now as long as it is in a low humidity place, even the garage behind some stinky old tires.
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lvsfan
Stranger
Reged: 02/10/04
Posts: 23
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In hotels, or even sometimes as a houseguest, I just always lock up my suitcase, with a heavy, combination lock...the kind you can't use for checked luggage anymore. I leave everything I'd worry about losing inside the suitcase. Have also locked a dopp kit, inside the bag, with the cable ties I now use to lock up checked bags when flying.
And re hiding in clothing, I discovered by accident that a hole in the pocket of a lined coat (where the lining is attached all around the bottom), is handy 
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Pocahontas
Enthusiast

Reged: 01/28/03
Posts: 214
Loc: North
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Just wondering if this thread is still on people's minds...In conversations lately with friends and in the hospital (as it is no secret that i just detoxed off hydro and xanax), the stories are still up and coming!!
Do you know where your medicine is and who is trying to take it??
I have a "friend" who looks in all her friends home for meds when they are away...are you my "friend" and am i YOUR "friend"???
Always always gotta ask!!
Have you ever kept generic meds or vits in your pockets for the BIG chance that you might encounter a stray bottle somewhere and don't want to be caught with the actual bottle?
Hm? Have You??
This addictive mind and drug-seeking behavior DRIVES ME NUTS sometimes!!!
But so true....
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~Princess Pocahontas
Aim for the moon, for if you miss you will always land amongst the stars ...
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Opie_Yates
Old Hand
Reged: 08/11/03
Posts: 473
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I keep a good supply on hand just in case my doctor decides to quit prescribing, or in case hydro is scheduled up some day. Well, my wife was trying to find ants and opened my medicine chest and came upon my supply. Needless to say, we were talking that one through for two nights. She is loathe to take asprin for a headache, and she said that to her, finding my hydro was like finding a corpse. She said she saw five different prescriptions from five different doctors, which is not true...I think people see things they don't want to see when they come upon a startling situtation.
The fact of the matter is, I have never had any prescriptions run concurrently (there were two prescriptions from two doctors and two pharmacies, all consecutive), I never hid my hydro from her, as the medicine chest is hardly a secret, and I proved to her that once the prescription ran out from one doctor, I went to another, who wrote me for a ton more than I need. She asked a good question when she asked when I still had hydro left, why did I feel the need to get a new prescription? I explained that it is very difficult to find doctors to properly treat pain, and the trend is for the government to make these meds less available to patients who really need them...and that yes, maybe getting another script when I had hydro left was bad judgement from a moral stand point. She then said that if the government wants to make a drug less available, they are obviously doing it out of concern for the public. It was difficult to hold back on this one, and I told her that narcotic therapy is a proven, 700 year old remedy for intractable pain, and that COX-2 inhibitors skyrocket the chances for stroke and heart attack. With my family history, that is NOT an option. I said that I would rather have to taper off a dependency on hydro, than be fed daily drugs that are going to ruin my cardio system; and furthermore, the government didn't protect us from Vioxx!
Ultimately, she said that she understands that I really do need pain killers, and she knows that my problem is spinal in nature, but she doesn't understand my wanting to have a backup supply. I also have a teenage and early adult history of "wanting to party a bit too much", and that also concerns her as well. So as it stands, she said that as long as I can take the medication responsibly, she will get used to it, but that if I get hooked on hydro and it starts screwing up our life together, I am on my own. Can't say I'm too optimistic, and am frankly rather confused with the way we left it. I even offered to flush everything, flush the excess, or go into taper mode but she said no...that she knows I need them to continue to run our business and perform at a high level. Time will tell, indeed.
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I'm not a doctor, I just play one on a message forum!
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bmurphr1
Newbie
Reged: 04/07/04
Posts: 28
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I'm surprised at everyone, no one has even mentioned the number 1 place druggies like to hide their stuff...behind light switched and wall sockets! I've known people to remove the beige plates and have just enough room to stash a 3 month supply of valium and a few hydros...easily done.
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ele123
Journeyman

Reged: 09/20/03
Posts: 55
Loc: Southern MO
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When I was married I used to have to hide them from my husband. Even though I was taking them for a legitimate medical condition, when he found them he would say they were bad for me and throw them away. So, I had to come up with some pretty ingenious hiding places. The oven worked well since he never cooked anything, let alone baked! I used to duct tape them underneath the bathroom sink and one time when I had a lot, I buried some in a plastic bag in the garden (which worked well until I had to dig up half the garden to find them!) I'm so glad I'm rid of him!!!
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Opie_Yates
Old Hand
Reged: 08/11/03
Posts: 473
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Well...in my situation, I would give up my hydro before I gave up my wife.
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I'm not a doctor, I just play one on a message forum!
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deankeaton
Journeyman
Reged: 03/24/04
Posts: 53
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In college I kept things in the ceiling in my room (they were those drop tiles). Ahh... the memories. Does anyone else miss college?
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BamaChica
Newbie

Reged: 05/28/04
Posts: 25
Loc: AL by way of Cali..culture sho...
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I hide them in tampon boxes and have hidden them in the bottom of this huge stone urn I have filled with flowers, I have also hidden them in a cake mix box under the mix..lol.ummm lets see..I have hidden them in vitamin bottles and gosh numerous other places...the tampon box is the best for the girls...hehe
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ele123
Journeyman

Reged: 09/20/03
Posts: 55
Loc: Southern MO
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Opie,
I just wanted to clarify that I didn't leave my husband because he was throwing away my Hydro. I'm not that evil! We split up for a completely unrelated reason.
Ele
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Lablady2
Enthusiast
Reged: 05/05/04
Posts: 234
Loc: New York City
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Well don't have to hide them in my house - but what about flying - esp to another country when you have a controlled substance - ativan, valium, etc and NO bottle because you got them thru an IOP.
Since you guys are so creative - give me some suggestions as I sure don't want to wind up trying to explain to some customs agent........
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ele123
Journeyman

Reged: 09/20/03
Posts: 55
Loc: Southern MO
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I've never had to fly with meds that weren't in a prescription bottle before, but I do have an idea. With all the security at airports these days, it seems like a big risk to try and sneek something on a plane. So, why don't you FedEx it to yourself? I know that's a risk as well, but probably less so than airport security. Just ship it to the location your going.
Just an idea. 
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deankeaton
Journeyman
Reged: 03/24/04
Posts: 53
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Intriguing question... I figure you could go two routes. First, hide in plain sight. Just empty a vitamin, laxative, aspirin, or non controlled script bottle and put them in there. Or you could put them at the bottom of a bottle and fill it up again. My experience with flying and customs is that they are looking for bigger issues (not prescriptions). Things like weapons, illegal drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, etc.
That said if you're really paranoid, you can always cut a tiny slit in the waist band of a pair of whitey tighties (on the inside). You can slide the pills in there and then close with a single white stitch. The same can be done with a padded bra I suppose. Or any article of clothing with layers of fabric. That said, if for some unknown reason this is discovered the mere fact you've gone to great lengths to hide it would raise a lot of red flags. By keeping them out in the open the worst thing that will happen is that you play dumb and say you only brought enough for the trip and that you left the original at home. You can't be sent away for that.
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deankeaton
Journeyman
Reged: 03/24/04
Posts: 53
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Ok- I thought I was pretty creative but ele stole the show on this one. Awesome idea 
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Opie_Yates
Old Hand
Reged: 08/11/03
Posts: 473
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Quote:
Opie,
I just wanted to clarify that I didn't leave my husband because he was throwing away my Hydro. I'm not that evil! We split up for a completely unrelated reason.
Ele
I'm sorry, Ele. I didn't mean to insinuate that was the case. I apologize for the misunderstanding, and can see how you would misconstrue my response.
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I'm not a doctor, I just play one on a message forum!
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ele123
Journeyman

Reged: 09/20/03
Posts: 55
Loc: Southern MO
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That's OK, I just wanted to clarify. Thank you for being considerate, though 
Ele
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Xavior
Stranger
Reged: 11/20/04
Posts: 16
Loc: USA
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I've a bit of a headache at the moment so I can't read through all the posts to see if this was suggested already, but when I have a need for extra stealth - I use an Oral-B Ultrafloss container...http://www.oralb.com/products/product.asp?tid=products&sub=flossinterdental&cid=flossinterdental&pid=ultrafloss
...long link.
It comes apart very easily and you take the large roll of floss out (very good floss too, btw ) put it aside for now. Put your meds in the bottom of the container (not too many to make it too heavy) and pack on top with some cotton balls. Take the floss youve put aside and wrap ~2 ft around something like a pencil or finger...etc. Slide it off and put inside the container, then feed it into the hole. If you do it right - you can pull on the floss and it works just like normal 
Might be too much for some - but I was quite proud of myself when I first thought of it.
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.:a little bit goes a long way:.
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Angellove
Newbie
Reged: 10/25/04
Posts: 42
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I hide my meds in my trunk, under that carpet that lifts up, none getting in there or would even think to look there....
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armywife
Journeyman
Reged: 11/01/04
Posts: 55
Loc: mid-atlantic region
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I am very happy to have found this topic. I am new to this board and glad to know that I am not the only one who needs to hide meds. Thank you to everyone who posted. I now many new places to try, that I never would have thought of my self. Thank you
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Daycamp72
Enthusiast
Reged: 06/29/02
Posts: 284
Loc: Tara
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This turned out to be a fun thread.
I've started hiding my meds from The Sticky Fingered Step Son (who comes occasionally) in the cornice board of my dining room draperies. I put them in a small Zip Lock and safety pin them into the corner of the padded cornice.
The bum hasn't found them yet.
Several years ago, he came to visit and I hid some Valium in an old tennis sock in a basket with lots of OTHER socks and I'll be darned if he didn't find them.
It's a shame to have to do this....The idiot.
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Stephie43
Stranger
Reged: 11/29/04
Posts: 20
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Hi,
I keep mine in an old pair of slippers, in a shoe box on the top shelf of my closet. I do this mainly for the protection of my young children.
Stephie
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Stephie43
Stranger
Reged: 11/29/04
Posts: 20
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PS,
I cannot believe how many people will steal your meds. Over the years, I have have meds stolen from my purse, in a church, at my sister's wedding rehearsal. It was her future mother in law who did it.
I have also had them stolen out of a desk drawer in my office from employees, from housekeeper's, etc... This is another reason I hide them.
I keep a few in my change purse inside my regular purse, for when I travel. If I fly somewhere, I put them in the original bottles, in a plastic bag, with my carry-on luggage - very important!
When I arrive at my destination, I keep a few in my purse, and put the rest in the hotel safe.
Stephie
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