Cub pharmacy admits to giving woman wrong prescription dosage for months

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (KMSP) - A woman in Bloomington has a warning for others after she was given the wrong prescription dosage for months.

“I feel like I’m a 75, 80-year-old woman and I’m a 24-year-old single mom just trying to live,” said Megan Morales.

After years of trying to get a handle on her epilepsy, Morales says the majority of her daily pain stems from an overdose of Briviak. 

Last June, her doctor added the anti-epileptic prescription to her daily routine, specifically 10 milligrams twice a day. Instead, a Cub pharmacist filled the scrip for 100 milligrams. Morales refilled the prescription three times before catching the mistake.

“My trust is completely gone from them,” said Morales.

Because of the large dosage, Morales had to be weaned off the drug and suffer through withdrawal. Her conversations with those representing Cub have been going on for months while she continues to battle through pain. 

“I get people make mistakes, we all make do,” said Tammy Morales, Megan’s mom.

In a statement from Supervalu, which owns Cub, a spokesperson admits this was a human error, saying, "Since this matter was brought to our attention last fall, our team has reviewed our processes and coached our pharmacists in our commitment to reduce the potential for a future pharmacy error.”

Executive Director of the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy Cody Wiberg points out human error everywhere, including pharmacies, does happen. Wiberg believes these mistakes happen fewer times in Minnesota because of two-step process pharmacists are legally required to take. He says he would like see a rule in place mandating records of mistakes and what is done about them. 

“The board would then have the authority to go in and review those records and more importantly, make sure they are taking action to prevent future errors,” said Wiberg.

The future and not knowing how long her current pain will last is what Morales worries about most.  

“If [my son] asks questions like ‘Momma why are you twitching?’” said Morales. “I can’t explain that to my three-year-old. How can you explain to your three-year-old that? I’m scared.”

Morales hasn't filed a lawsuit yet because her main goal is to prevent this from happening to others.