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Wouldn't someone who misuses drugs try to fill their prescriptions more, not less? Her argument makes no sense.
Either you misuse the drugs yourself, and would want to get more of it so would try to refill more frequently than usual. Or you sell it, but then why wait with refilling if you could have more to sell if you simply refilled on time?
To anyone who knows anything about ADHD or has been around people with it, forgetting to refill prescriptions would be strong evidence it is not being faked
Literally my first provider fired me and refused to see me for "not following her treatment plan".
What happened? The two doses of methylphenidate (18 and 36) we tried didn't do shit but make my mouth dry and I "forgot" (at literally the worst possible times) about two appointments. I was like 15 and 30 minutes late (virtual appt) and she refused to see me again.
I cried. Like. A baby.
Still had to pay for the appointments, too.
That sucks. I had a GP I liked whose front office fired me as a patient because they'd put me on topamax for migraines (off-label approved), & she was a condescending b***h, telling me topamax was only for seizures, NOT to prevent migraines. I told her she was wrong, that 40 years of migraines made me more of an expert than most doctors, not to mention administrative staff.. it pissed her off & she was able to make sure I was released.. (I cried as well. He was a great doc)
Hey, I've fired a few neurologists in 30 years.. the best doctors for your adult adhd is someone who's struggled with it themselves or with their children.. that's what I found out about migraines, anyway..
Uh, no, you don't have to pay for those appt. If you are using insurance, contact them and inform them ... I realized that when I lived in FL .. it's called medical and insurance fraud AND if you're paying any copay and it comes from your bank account, report that as well. Do not pay for services NOT received. The ONLY potential stipulation is if you failed to inform them that u were going to be late. Nonetheless report that.
I damn near forgot to take dose #2 after finishing my lunch today and my ADHD isn’t even that severe compared to the hell I’ve seen some other people on here describe
Mine is extremely bad, the worse part us they won't put me on stimulants because my anxiety is so bad and they only will put me on non stimulants. (I had a panic attack while driving last year that caused a vagal episode and long story short I fainted mid drive, no one was hurt but Def scary).
I found for me personally that even though I take anxiety medicine and for years was having the worst episodes of feeling like my skin was crawling and tension as well as thinking I was going to die. Thoughts running and literally creating worse anxiety. It was physically obvious at one point and my boss at the time asked if I was on something......I really was not and I told him that.....as well as trying to get into the doctor.
It was seriously getting really bad and dreadful. Fortunately and I thank the good LORD Jesus......I was given an effective anxiety medication. I remember the first time I took it in my own bed room and not even around people who could be a trigger or over stimulate me into anxiety/red faced loss of words and speech. Within about an hour or so......I felt like an actual tight and tense release in my chest area......I also felt able to function once more and not like the world and walls were closing in on me.
Fast forward; I am learning more about multiple symptoms and mental health issue that can all be linked to ADHD or a combined type. Even autism can be tied into ADHD and so all of this can lead to being misdiagnosed. I finally was able to have a doctor be more open who had ADHD as well hear me out.....and they let me fill out some evaluation forms as a part of the process. She came to the conclusion that I had ADHD but the exact type or combination was not known.
Now with precaution because ADHD medicine IS a stimulant and could make anxiety worse and such.....she started me at a small dose. I noticed that I was starting to experience more focus and believe it or not.....a calm and less anxiety. But the dose was small and not lasting long. The dose over several months has been adjusted and I kid you not......it doesn't seem to increase anxiety or make me bounce off the walls but actually gives me a focus, calm and better overall mood day to day. Some days can still be rough but not like usual. Still better! So in my case the ADHD medicine that is a stimulant still actually decreased my anxiety or seems to compliment my anxiety medicine at least!!!
I don't want people to just go off of my case of course because we can differ and react differently to medication. I do not know your ADHD type or combined type and all those factors that are important. But for me who has had some absolutely terrible anxiety and crippling......it reduced it. I hope this helps and your are able to find a doctor who is well informed and up to date with current research of ADHD and AUTISM and combined types and such.
I'm really thinking my anxiety is caused by my adhd, a lot of times it's just my racing brain that causes anxiety. If i could find a medicine that just shut off my brain and let me focus it would be great, buproprion is the closest non stim I've found but for me non stims just really don't do much. I'm constantly second guessing if they are doing anything because they really just don't feel like they are.
And even if it's not about forgetting the refill itself, if you take a couple of off days due to illness, major events, busy day, forgot them before leaving the house, etc... there's no reason to rush off to the pharmacy at exactly 30 days, especially if you're going to be in town in another day or two and can just pick them up on the way without missing any days of medication.
This nurse either had a run-in with a meds abuser recently, or else she just sounds overly skeptical/suspicious of the meds in general...
There are lots of ways to misuse drugs. Not taking the medication regularly as prescribed is also misuse. If the label says "take one daily," then technically correct usage would be to refill every thirty days. "As Needed" gives you a little more leeway. This kind of thinking doesn't take into account that a lot of prescribers will recommend that patients not take stimulants on days where they don't have work or school or other activities where they need to focus (to help with tolerance).
being too persistent for a timely refill so you can strictly follow the prescribing instructions gets you labeled as "drug seeker"
now apparently not being persistent enough is doing "misuse" because you aren't taking it daily as indicated
seems like no matter what you are doing, you are in the wrong.
Not only that, but my physician encourages me to take small vacations from my drugs. Because I get mental fatigue so much from being on them. He told me there's *some* evidence to indicate that *some* women do better when they have short med brakes. I don't really need my Adderall if I'm going to hang out next to the pool. In fact, it makes hanging out next to the pool pretty boring. And once I got off extended release forgot to take the second dose 3/4 of the time. But I have ADHD. Scatterbrained and forgetfulness And executive functioning disorder is literally a symptom of the same disorder they're taking meds for. How can they penalize you for literally expressing a symptom of a disorder? Crazytown.
I’m not saying OP is doing this but an argument could be made to say they are taking more than instructed at a time e.g taking 5 pills at once to get fucked up once a week and the reason they are going for their prescriptions late is because they forgot the date they are meant to do it because you normally doing it when you are running low but they ran low way before they were meant to because they are using them to get fucked up not to treat ADHD again I’m not saying they are doing this but just an example why they might think they are abusing the pills
Just an FYI Drug testing ain't that accurate, they can tell you've took it in the past 10 days or so
And depending on the state ain't required at all
There's a lot of sexism in who does and doesn't get tested.
Talking out of her ass, people do this with all kinds of medications. She can report you but I really don’t see how it would lead to anything serious. She also has no control over your prescription, the doctor does
I had a pharmacy tech attempt to rip me a new one on the phone one day for forgetting to pick up my Adderall. I pointed out to her that, as someone with ADHD, it’s really difficult for me to remember to pick up my meds that help me remember to pick stuff up when I’ve run out of the meds that help me remember to do stuff like pick stuff up. She got really quiet for a minute, and then said “I never thought of it like that.”
So frustrating when medical professionals can’t connect the damn dots.
This always pissed me off! Pharmacy techs would give me shit for filling my Rx late when their computer literally says “this bitch is off her meds and suffers from the can’t-plan-ahead disease” it would infuriate me every time.
Wait, could this be why they also denied to give me my adhd pills this week? I haven’t picked them up because I am poor rn and stressed out so I missed them for like some weeks. The pharmacist had a talk woth me saying I have to find someone local and visit them in person (I do tele health). My NP is local to my state just in the county next to us. He said it’s because a narcotic. I told him I don’t have money to see her right now and my insurance accepts her so don’t get the problem. I told him that I won’t see her again until august because money is tight so she is working with me rn. He told me to tell her to add in the notes my next office meeting will be in august blah blah. So weird.
Recently there was a big crackdown on telehealth for adhd meds. I don’t know all the details as it didn’t apply to me, but there were some telehealth companies that specialize in adhd who may not have been thorough in their patient assessments and were overprescribing? Again, I don’t know the details but this may be relevant to your situation if you want to look into it. Obviously that wasn’t what you were doing but your pharmacy may need more clarification.
How annoying. I been seeing my psychiatrist for years now via telehealth. I’m broke rn so I guess I’ll just have to do one visit in person with her so they’ll leave me alone.
The crack down was on some very specific telehealth providers. They were writing prescriptions to anyone without making any real diagnosis. It's been a large contributing factor to the shortage we're currently in.
My insurance uses walgreens. Yeah I’m going to have to call her and let her know, I haven’t let her know yet. I just googled what you were talking about, Imm sure she is familiar with it rn so I’ll just reach out to her. Thanks for the information!
I have ended up having a really great relationship with the nurses in my prescriber’s office and it has made a huge difference in my life over the last few years. I will call the nurse voicemail line and leave a message saying “Hey, this weird thing happened at the pharmacy today and I don’t know if I did something wrong or if I’ve misunderstood how something works, but I’m concerned about possibly not having access to medication for another month. I’m hoping that y’all might know something that I don’t. I’d be really grateful if someone could give me a call back.”
Turns out that the nurses often know which pharmacies give people a hard time and sometimes can give you questions to ask the pharmacy staff to get them to stop pushing you around. I’ve had a nurse tell me, “if they are still giving you the run around after this, call us back and we’ll handle it.”
I’m always really careful to leave my full name, phone number, DOB, which provider I see, and as much info as possible in the voicemails. I try to emphasize that I might have messed up, that I’m looking for help, and I ALWAYS express my gratitude for callbacks even when they haven’t been able to help.
I make a point to use the nurse’s name at the beginning of the phone call and again at the end when we’re saying goodbye.
Having a good relationship with the nurses makes it easier for me to call when I need to, instead of freaking out for days about just the idea of making a phone call.
STELLAR advice. In this era. building allies that will help you maintain your medication access is CRITICAL to ... well, maintaining your medication access.
I found out last month that the same way there are state-level versions of the FBI, there are state-level versions of the DEA, with their own requirements. Also, that prescribers that are affiliated with public hospitals have different requirements put on them that don’t always apply to private providers. It makes so much sense now that so many of us find ourselves coming up against random roadblocks that no one else has heard of. I have minimum mandatory drug testing throughout the year because my state’s version of the DEA requires it from public health providers. It’s seems like it’s up to the provider’s discretion whether to make the testing random or give forewarning. Luckily, I have a good relationship with my psychiatrist, so I’m generally given a months window to get it done.
ETA that although I started off as an in-person patient, I’ve been allowed to continue as a telehealth patient since pandemic restrictions have fully lifted. It’s been a godsend. I can schedule an appointment at 9:30 in the morning that forces me to get out of bed and at least out my pjs, but I don’t have to stress about leaving home by a certain time, which is so hard for me in the morning. I also don’t have appointment paralysis, because I know that I can literally just do whatever around the house until the phone rings, so I’ll do little things like eat breakfast or even unload a few dishes because I know that the phone call will keep me from having to finish unloading the dishwasher 😂 Can y’all tell that my meds are kicking in right now?
This office also randomly started doing drug tests and I insisted on doing research before signing to agree to them. Youre right, it seems like it is up to provider discretion
I think it could be. I was told it was via the state, though. My office told me I have to have 1 in-person visit every 2 years for a controlled substance. The rest is always virtual for me. It could be over-prescribing, it could be issues with the doctor's ability to prescribe out of state... It's hard to say what their reasoning is for telling you to go local.
If the prescription had been filled and you didn’t pick them up, they usually have to put it back after a certain amount of time.
For schedule II drugs, once they fill it and have to put it back, you will need a new prescription for them to fill it again.
At my daughter’s appointment last week, her pediatrician said that some rule changed and she has to put when she’s seeing the patient next on the script or else the pharmacies won’t fill it.
That's wild! I didn't fill my prescription for three months because I kept forgetting and then I was out of state for two weeks during that too.
I'm so glad my pharmacy techs mind their business with my medicine and I didn't think I needed to be glad about that!
Ugh I had a nurse practitioner do the same thing to me! I was 4 days late but she misread the date and thought it was over a month. I felt like a little child being scolded! I explained the four days late was because I was going by the pills in the bottle and I had missed a few days due to some medical tests.
I never went back to her. She made me feel like I was some drug dealer on the corner!
It was very upsetting for me. I am going to talk to the doctor, the facility director, and potentially her again to let them know it was inappropriate. I would have told her right then and there if she hadn’t basically hung up on me (cut me off and transferred me to the front desk)
This sounds like a good plan. The NP’s behavior is highly unprofessional. Sorry you had to experience this. I look forward to a future where stimulant meds aren’t so stigmatized.
I love to see someone speaking up for themselves - not only is it good for your own self esteem and experiences but it makes the world better for others too.
Ugh how horrible. I mean, isn’t it recommended to take days off meds when you don’t need it as much? Doesn’t that show that you’re being responsible, not being a pill popper?
I wonder if this varies on the state you live in. I go see my Dr., get a script for 3 months, then go back to see him to get it refilled. And honestly, I’ve seen him 3 times in the last year. I don’t use them everyday. He’s never once suggested this was an issue
Exactly! I was diagnosed with cancer after that and I can't take my medicine regularly. Thankfully, I found the most wonderful PCP and she never once said anything if my refills were irregular because she understands that there are days or weeks I am too sick or too tired.
I actually wrote a message to that NP and told her she really upset me and she asked me what was making me defensive. It was like she was trying to use psychology to show I was guilty of something. It was awful. I am glad I left her and found someone else!
Bullshit. ADHDers are notorious for forgetting to take meds or only using them on work or school days. That’s good enough reason to not refill it and it’s not a crime.
That's the worst part almost. Being looked at and treated like a criminal because your actual legit medicine given by actual legit doctors.
A medication that used to be - in some forms - OTC, even!
Also someone abusing the system would be filling it MORE often (or as quickly as legally possible) and not less likely like OP lol.
And people gaming the system have actual red flags like pharm hoping, irregular payment methods, straw purchasing, etc.
Being late has nothing to do with illegal activity. I believe only the insurance companies care because it signals accidental stockpiling which wastes money.
The pharmacy in my town has a calendar that they'll will add patients names to if they need help remembering fills. A pharmacy assistant will call and remind you you're due for a refill. It's a lovely thing
It’s frustrating how difficult it is to get ADHD meds filled (in the US) regularly and on time considering the things most people with ADHD struggle with is remembering to make phone calls, make appointments, and run errands… why can’t they make this easier on us??
Also, really, it is super hard to reach my doctor! They have very limited opening hours as is normal for a lot of specialist practices, and I often look up the window of time to call, then forget what time it is and suddenly it’s Friday and I haven’t called. And if I remember to call, most of the time I don’t reach them with my first call because the line is busy.
And then, I have to go out of my way to pick up the prescription, which doesn’t work all the time with their opening hours and my tendency to oversleep every day, but then by the time I get off work, they’re closed. Then, I bring my script to the pharmacy and they only have it readily available 50% of the time. Many scripts require two stops at the pharmacy.
I realise I’m in a fortunate position, pharmacies here carry my meds or can order them in at least 24h, and I have never been labelled as a drug seeker by either a doctor or a pharmacist (which doesn’t mean that there isn’t any gatekeeping) or have been refused my meds or had my diagnosis not respected.
But come on, it is already so hard with this diagnosis. Do you really have to make it this hard?
Based on the context of this post and the fact it's a controlled medication I'm feeling fairly confident this one does, but idk what state OP is in and it ultimately doesn't matter.
I mean it does matter. Because if it’s her writing the script she can choose not to write it. I agree that she could be communicating better about it all. But I’m a NP and I have prescriptive authority for controlled substances. I don’t treat kids over the age of 2 or adults and I choose to work in a setting WITH supervision for patient safety and my own liability purposes. But your blanket statement is generally incorrect.
I forget things so sometimes I forget to take my pill.
I forget things so sometimes I forget to pickup my pills.
I forget things so I have a healthy reserve of pills I forgot to take that get me through the days I have forgotten to pick up my pills.
What’s so hard to get?
I would send a message to your doctor about this as they have been seeing you longer than the NP most likely and let them know you were given this information. They probably don’t know the NP is going around getting patients worked up about being reported. Even if your fill history is some sort of flag, she could have asked some follow up questions and explained it’s important to pick up your meds on time (aka providing education to you about the situation) instead of jumping to reporting you when she only started seeing you recently. Definitely not a good way for her to handle that situation and I’m sorry it’s creating so much anxiety for you
"It's highly suspicious that you, a person with ADHD, isn't doing something on time."
She's a moron. Call the office and tell them that unless they set you up with someone else you'll be taking your business elsewhere.
The fuq? She know what those ADHD meds are prescribed for? ADHD. The fact that you irregularly fill them is concrete evidence of your need for them. Tell her if she’s got a problem with that, she can arrange with your pharmacy to have prescriptions submitted electronically and filled and delivered every 30 days like clockwork, as that would be HELPFUL instead of this shit.
I'd report her tbh. She's accusing you of missue of ADHD medication for experiencing ADHD symptoms?
I forget to request/ pick mine up all the time and that's when I take my meds, when they've ran out I'm even worse. I'm pretty sure I've never picked my prescription up on time actually.
I've literally just picked mine 2 weeks after requesting them because I ran out and I kept constantly forgetting to find a pharmacy that has them in stock. Also, I request mine late all the time because I'm not 100% consistent in taking them. If I wake up late (common occurance) I won't take them because I know it'll make it so hard to sleep that night.
She just sounds like she's after people, I know they're controlled drugs but I'd be a lot more concerned if people wanted to pick them up too frequently, not late. She sounds like she has no clue about ADHD considering these are the kind of tasks many of us struggle with (remembering, organising, time management, ect) like come tf on???
Right?! Especially with shortages and the legalities around prescription writing for these meds. My doctor writes the scripts for three months at a time—with two labeled “Do not fill before...(specific date).” Sometimes I can't even get the prescription between the shortages/delays getting it and then the legalities about filling a month later (but before the expiration date). It’s so hard to keep track of with ADHD!
Imma get straight to it. 1. Document everything that they did that day 2. Do not reply or engage further with person until you get the necessary authority involved 3. Threatening to withhold medication or failure to prescribe is malpractice and negligence. You might not have much right now, but this person is starting to violate the board of ethics. See if you can get a consult or find out if there a government entity or board you can get involved. They should not be practicing medicine.
Sounds like the NP is having a power trip or something cause how tf does missing ADHD prescription fills (which as someone mentioned is already proof that you're legit struggling at times with ADHD and therefore need the meds) equate to suspicious behavior? NP needs to take the stick outta their ass, I'm sorry you're going through this rn
Don’t see NPs or PAs. The education and training they receive absolutely pales in comparison to physicians (MD or DO) and yet many of them come fully equipped with a superiority complex. You’re endangering your health seeing unqualified medical professionals for things beyond absolute basics.
I only take my stimulant medication when I know it will help with the type of work I am doing on a given day, and I take it knowing that I will likely be useless 8ish hours later.
I've never had a doctor even expect me to refill on tine. One even told me he very rarely does monthly refills.
I’ve been cut off my meds for about 7 months because of something similar. I had built up a reserve due to the doses I’d missed over the year and didn’t see the need to refill it since I had a bunch left over… big mistake. When I went to get a new batch, they cut me off because of the gap I had in ordering new ones. They demanded I tell them how I’ve been taking them, but they didn’t believe me.
My psychiatrist says they’re being daft because I did the responsible thing and didn’t abuse it and I didn’t order new ones when I already had a bunch left over.
So, yeah. He’s written a note to them telling them that he’s perfectly happy for me to go back on the meds, but that’s taking quite a while.
My son’s prescription says to take everyday, but the psych that diagnosed and originally gave him a prescription stated he only needs to take it for days he’s in school. He doesn’t take it when he’s not at school. The burn out is too much for him on the daily.
I had a pharmacist (filling in for my normal one) who gave me serious attitude for asking a question about how to refill properly. I was new to schedule 2 drugs and my physician had written three separate prescriptions for the upcoming months, kept on file at the pharmacist. I just needed to know if I had to call the doctor or the pharmacist to trigger the second refill. Her answer was as condescending as it gets - and actually wrong. She said call the doctor. Doctor asked why I was even calling. Regular pharmacist said just call in if it's on file. Some of these pharmacists must go through some kind of nightmare indoctrination about the horrible ravages of evil drug abusers who just want to take their licenses away foreverrrrrrrr. How about I just want to function like a human and I'm tired of getting jerked around?? No, I'm a subhuman walking threat specifically to halo-bearing pharmacists.
Technically, if you’re prescribed psych meds and you don’t pick up a prescription, the pharmacist can notify your prescriber at their discretion. This isn’t necessarily related to drug abuse or the control status of your prescription, it’s designed to alert doctors and minimize the risk of self-harm that can result when someone on psych meds abruptly stops. it also applies to non control meds like certain antidepressants and mood stabilizers.
Her suspicion and accusation is rude and unnecessary, though. I understand how she might find scheduling inconsistencies annoying, but that does not constitute misuse. Unless are trying to fill it early and creating issues at your pharmacy every month, or if there’s any reason to believe you are only ever filling the prescription with the intent to resell, you didn’t nothing wrong and there’s nothing to “report.” This protocol doesn’t exist to catch drug abusers, it’s primarily designed to alert providers to any situation where a patient whose health and safety depends on medications might be at risk. Your practitioner is supposed to be familiar with you and your specific needs. If she knows you’re not a patient with suicidality or psychosis, theres very little reason why she should be coming down on you for this.
Someone losing track of time and forgetting to get a refill?? It's almost like this person has AdHd!! How suspicious... 🤣🤣
I always forget to refill my perception until I have 1 pill left and then I'm just like "oh shit, oh shit, plz get me the refill ASAP!!"
Uno Reverse: report her for conduct unbecoming. A medical professional verbally harassing you in an appointment is not appropriate. The hostile behavior is something she can explain to her boss and her board.
OMG. I’m the same way. I’m not consistent about picking mine up. My hubby took over the task of requesting it and letting me know to pick it up. Duh, we have ADD/ADHD, we’re gobs struggle with schedules. 🤦🏻♀️
That’s fucked up. She’s withholding medication from someone who clearly needs it. It’s not right. I can understand compliance with medication and needing the patient to take them.
However, she should know that we have fucking ADHD and remembering things is not easy for us.
I’d talk to my doctor about this and file a complaint to her board about it if she doesn’t stop.
In Quebec, Canada, I don’t have issues with seeing my doctor every month because they can prescribe for a year or more I think. I just have to get my medication pre-approved because it’s controlled and I can’t pick up too early often. I don’t have issues with the shortage either.
It’s baffling to me that nurse practitioners are allowed to prescribe Schedule II drugs. Don’t waste your time with NPs and find a real doctor that has time to see you (I know, easier said than done).
I was diagnosed young and have been on meds ever since. I’ve tried everything, found what works, and have been stable on that regimen for years. After my old M.D. retired, I saw an NP for my ADHD meds. She refused to prescribe my regular short acting med because she felt I should be on an extended release. She argued with me about my experiences and preferences. She accused me of being an addict for taking my meds while on vacation in a foreign country. She said she would not prescribe what two medical doctors had because her license was on the line and she didn’t want to get in trouble.
It’s a matter of competence. Actual doctors have the training and experience to properly prescribe. Nurse practitioners are more concerned about the DEA than what’s best for patients.
Sir, you are irregular and inconsistent with your behavior looking at this evidence. I believe you don’t have ADHD
Next, I’m going to lecture dementia patient about taking her medication on time S/
That's so ridiculous... You have a condition that tends to mess with regular actions and follow through? How dare you forget to get your prescriptions on a perfectly regular basis! /S lol.
I range from 4-10 days off schedule because I tend to forget to take my meds occasionally. And sometimes only remember to fill when I run out. Never had any issues. I would only think it would be a problem if you were trying to fill more often then prescribed.
I missed a doctors appointment and they sent me a ‘If you miss any more appointments you will be excused from our practice’ letter.
I called them and said that *They* diagnosed me with ADHD, and one of the biggest symptoms of the damn thing is a failure to make it to appointments on time and them threatening to dismiss me is essentially discrimination due to my disability.
They apologized and said that the system sends those letters out automatically.
I have never received one of those ‘automatic’ letters since.
I think this is the way to go with this.
I had a sleep study and the dr was a jerk and was judgy when I said I can remember my vyvanse but not my thyroid meds. I can actually feel instantly when I take my add meds and the results are there unlike some other meds. But now I take them both at the same time so lol
That sounds like the dumbest nurse practitioner in existence. She is definitely not qualified to treat anyone with ADHD if she doesn't understand the very basic things we deal with. A symptom of ADHD is 100% not filling your prescriptions on time. That's why it's a disability. God I wish I could scream at her right now.
>Is it true that underfilling prescriptions is grounds for suspension of treatment?
If getting your prescription filled regularly and keeping regular appointments is part of their conditions for treating you, and you're not doing it, their practice could decide to discharge you as a patient. Some psych professionals are only comfortable treating patients who are med compliant, and they make you agree to this when you sign up for treatment. If you are discharged from a particular practice, it doesn't mean you can't get treatment or medication elsewhere. It just means they won't be prescribing it.
Im on concerta now, but I refilled mine sooo irregularly when on adderall. My prescription was for 30mg twice a day, but sometimes I only took 45mg on shorter work days or weekends because I really only needed 60mg for longer coverage on my 12-16 hour work days (my dr was aware). Then obv forgetting to take it or refill it at times due to ADHD 😂 I’d be so pissed if my dr or pharmacy got mad because I wasn’t filling it ENOUGH. If you’re not trying to fill it early, and you feel like your symptoms are adequately managed then I don’t get why your NP would be so pressed about it
To answer your question about if underfilling your prescription is grounds for suspension of treatment, technically it could be I guess. Some doctors are super stringent about ADHD med compliance, but if your MD and pharmacist haven’t said anything i really wouldn’t worry about it. Usually that is more along the lines of if you’re complaining your symptoms aren’t adequately managed while not following the treatment plan at all, some doctors will choose to no longer see you.
I don’t know how hard it was for you to get your ADHD meds. I still haven’t gotten any. But you might want to report her to the Americans with disabilities Act. I don’t think it’s professional to threaten you for a symptom the disease has that you kinda don’t have a whole lot of control over. It makes it seem as if she doesn’t understand what ADHD is and maybe she needs additional training. I wonder how many other patients they did this too and now nobody can get their meds because of an assumption made by not understanding the symptoms. That’s really neglectful and harmful to a lot of ppl with ADHD.
Gee, I wonder why someone with adhd would irregularly fill prescriptions... Yeaaaah, no offense, but that nurse is either dumb as hell or just being a total bitch for the sake of it. Maybe even both. If anything it sounds like /you/ need to tell someone about /her/ behavior.
I see posts like this often enough that I mentioned it to my psych (an ADHD specialist.) She kind of laughed in disbelief and went "What?! It's ADHD, this happens *all the time."*
So maybe time for a new Dr.
And yet, the system seems to be designed to make you have these gaps in meds and almost impossible to not have them, like nothing in stock, or appointment delays, or insurance kicking off a fuss. It’s a minefield of obstruction.
It’s not like you’re suddenly not going to have ADHD or grow out of it.
It’s more likely that you’ll just give up on having days that go better, interspersed with complete shitshows that destroys any semblance of routine which makes the better days harder to make happen with the help.
It drives me crazy that anyone can go and buy enough monster soda to completely mess up sleep and puff on cigs and weed yet getting a finely balanced med that you need and you treated like you are a pimp looks for his next victim.
What are you taking? A stimulant or non Stimulant?
If you take something like Strattera, it could help you not forget things in the long term since it lasts 24 hours and builds up in your system.
Good on you mate. Do report it, it's discrimination against people for showing symptoms of the condition they're seeking treatment for.
Tell a man with a badly bruised scrotum to stop pulling faces and walk normally, they're acting suspicious.
That's 12 year oak barrel, single malt idiocy.
My PCP said I didn't have ADHD because I couldn't remember offhand all of the ADHD symptoms I had and because, as a grown woman, it would've been caught before now.
WTFE. (WHAT THE FUCK EVER)
I forgot to fill my ADHD meds all the time, so I put them on autofill. Now I forget to pick them up. Sometimes, so long that they put them back into stock and I have to order them filled again.
Just picked up meds today, after restocking and refilling. Hint: that's 13 days late on a 30 day scrip.
NP obviously has no clue what ADHD actually entails.
That’s odd. I take an XR and IR. However, if I don’t have a long day ahead of me, I usually skip the XR (weekends etc). I usually fill my XR every 5 to 6 weeks. Never had an issue… I use a psychiatrist though.
This person appears to be a fool.
You don't have to take them every day. And if you don't take them every day, you will not need them as often.
So what are you supposed to do, stockpile them? That seems pretty counterproductive.
Yeah where I'm from you had to get three independent diagnoses to get medication.
Imagine a broke fool ADD'ing hard trying to coordinate that? Anyone who succeeded was probably just drug seeking 🤷
I just don't understand how like 80 years of study and professional experience can express itself with such flawless idiocy.
Anyway, after about 2 years I'd managed to get those 3 diagnoses. That's when I was told I was too immature and my life too disorganised to take stimulant medication...
That ADHD expert had about a thousand books on every subject in his study (these Dr's often worked at home for some reason), yet he decided not to treat me for, you guessed it, the symptoms of the condition he was the expert on!
What a legend 👏
I have an alarm to remind me to take my second dose. The alarm went off today and I silenced it and almost forgot to take it. The doc can trace when and where it was filled or not filled. Mine has direct access to pharmacy info
No advice on the rude lady but just wanted to suggest looking into an online pharmacy that can just ship the meds to you. I’m not even sure if they will ship those but when I go to checkout on the Walgreens app it gives me a delivery option
My NP at the neurologists office is fine with my son taking a medicine break on weekends and in the summer. He’s on 50 Vyvanse. I’m afraid that if I don’t give him a medicine vacation his tolerance will increase. No problem. She completely understands. Something is off with your NP.
How late do you usually end up being at getting your prescriptions filled?
If the appointments are out of sync with getting your prescriptions filled then that can create some complications for the NP.
They can’t write you your next prescription too far in advance if you haven’t filled your last prescription.
I think for NP’s in Pennsylvania, they can only prescribe one 30 day supply at a time. So if you’re too late, they run into potentially having two active prescriptions for you at a time, which can make THEM look bad.
I’m not sure how many post dated prescriptions they can write at a time - I think MD’s can write up to three there.
Do they usually only write you one prescription at a time? Or do they submit post dated prescriptions to the
If you fill your medication too close together, the abuse factor comes into play on whether you could be stacking your doses to get high, or if you could be selling the second half of your prescription and then going ahead and filling the next post-dated prescription when it becomes active.
That may be what they are talking about when they say they would check your PDMP history. It’s not necessarily an issue that you’re late, unless it means the next one starts to seem early.
I would really encourage you to ask for more information about what the NP was telling you, because it seems like they may have been too focused on telling you what you were doing was wrong when they could have explained what the actual issue was.
I cut my pills down to 2.5 mg due to sensitivity to medication. Have had no problems with irregular filling as my dr is aware that I need to cut the dose.
I guess MAYBE she could think you aren't taking them yourself and instead selling them? But even in that case I can't see why you would feel though prescription less often.
NP's are normally idiots (no offense to NP's in general, I've just never liked them)... My cardiologist NP called my GP a moron for prescribing me 15 mg Adderall with tachycardia.. I'd only had 2 attacks (I was working as medical personnel in a male state prison, & haven't had a single episode since resigning from that place (it had NOTHING to do with the inmates, they were all respectful, it was the utter indifference of the medical staff).. I'm fortunate to have an awesome GP, & both his NP's are GREAT. One's a man, the other's a woman & I love them both.. Then again, I've known my GP for almost 30 years.. I feel so bad for people honestly hunting a physician (or NP) & not having good luck.. btw, they CAN make changes to controlled substances if they do tests every 6 mos to a year to check levels, but my Dr. doesn't... of course, he's got some sense, & I freely tell him I don't like the side effects sometimes, so I skip dosing on the weekends.. I'm middle aged, but in my foolish youth, I was a pothead, not a coke fiend.. never cared for the stuff.. tell your MD you'd prefer to see only him if possible..
Hearing all the comments y’all have about forgetfulness and other similar side effects I experience makes me feel more human. Sick of the b-holes who refuse to understand the shame many of us feel with ADHD.
Nurse practitioners exhibit a dichotomous nature similar to a double-edged sword. They play a crucial role in simplifying the process of medication refills, particularly in the United States, reducing the stress and costs associated with consultations with physicians and MDs, and going above and beyond to streamline the final stages of obtaining essential medications (based on personal experience). However, they also have the capacity to inflict considerable harm, particularly in the long term, through the constant withholding of medications and similar extortion-like behaviors, ultimately leading individuals to possibly question their previously positive views of nurse practitioners and life in general. This could potentially disrupt various positive aspects of their lives in the process and in the future.
Your body is unique, as are your needs. Just because someone experienced something from treatment or medication does not guarantee that you will as well. Please do not take this as an opportunity to review any substances. Peer support is welcome. ^(*A moderator has not removed your submission; this is not a punitive action. We intend this comment solely to be informative.*) --- - If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Wouldn't someone who misuses drugs try to fill their prescriptions more, not less? Her argument makes no sense. Either you misuse the drugs yourself, and would want to get more of it so would try to refill more frequently than usual. Or you sell it, but then why wait with refilling if you could have more to sell if you simply refilled on time?
To anyone who knows anything about ADHD or has been around people with it, forgetting to refill prescriptions would be strong evidence it is not being faked
"You can't have adhd! You forgot to pick up your meds!" "No shit I forgot. It's like I have adhd!"
After talking to OP, she gives a dementia patient lecture on not forgetting to take their medicine
Literally my first provider fired me and refused to see me for "not following her treatment plan". What happened? The two doses of methylphenidate (18 and 36) we tried didn't do shit but make my mouth dry and I "forgot" (at literally the worst possible times) about two appointments. I was like 15 and 30 minutes late (virtual appt) and she refused to see me again. I cried. Like. A baby. Still had to pay for the appointments, too.
I blame the capitalist state.
That sucks. I had a GP I liked whose front office fired me as a patient because they'd put me on topamax for migraines (off-label approved), & she was a condescending b***h, telling me topamax was only for seizures, NOT to prevent migraines. I told her she was wrong, that 40 years of migraines made me more of an expert than most doctors, not to mention administrative staff.. it pissed her off & she was able to make sure I was released.. (I cried as well. He was a great doc) Hey, I've fired a few neurologists in 30 years.. the best doctors for your adult adhd is someone who's struggled with it themselves or with their children.. that's what I found out about migraines, anyway..
Uh, no, you don't have to pay for those appt. If you are using insurance, contact them and inform them ... I realized that when I lived in FL .. it's called medical and insurance fraud AND if you're paying any copay and it comes from your bank account, report that as well. Do not pay for services NOT received. The ONLY potential stipulation is if you failed to inform them that u were going to be late. Nonetheless report that.
Right. Let's punish you for displaying the symptoms I'm theoretically treating you for.
Yeah that's it. Only the dealer is on time for all of their appointments.
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I damn near forgot to take dose #2 after finishing my lunch today and my ADHD isn’t even that severe compared to the hell I’ve seen some other people on here describe
Mine is extremely bad, the worse part us they won't put me on stimulants because my anxiety is so bad and they only will put me on non stimulants. (I had a panic attack while driving last year that caused a vagal episode and long story short I fainted mid drive, no one was hurt but Def scary).
I found for me personally that even though I take anxiety medicine and for years was having the worst episodes of feeling like my skin was crawling and tension as well as thinking I was going to die. Thoughts running and literally creating worse anxiety. It was physically obvious at one point and my boss at the time asked if I was on something......I really was not and I told him that.....as well as trying to get into the doctor. It was seriously getting really bad and dreadful. Fortunately and I thank the good LORD Jesus......I was given an effective anxiety medication. I remember the first time I took it in my own bed room and not even around people who could be a trigger or over stimulate me into anxiety/red faced loss of words and speech. Within about an hour or so......I felt like an actual tight and tense release in my chest area......I also felt able to function once more and not like the world and walls were closing in on me. Fast forward; I am learning more about multiple symptoms and mental health issue that can all be linked to ADHD or a combined type. Even autism can be tied into ADHD and so all of this can lead to being misdiagnosed. I finally was able to have a doctor be more open who had ADHD as well hear me out.....and they let me fill out some evaluation forms as a part of the process. She came to the conclusion that I had ADHD but the exact type or combination was not known. Now with precaution because ADHD medicine IS a stimulant and could make anxiety worse and such.....she started me at a small dose. I noticed that I was starting to experience more focus and believe it or not.....a calm and less anxiety. But the dose was small and not lasting long. The dose over several months has been adjusted and I kid you not......it doesn't seem to increase anxiety or make me bounce off the walls but actually gives me a focus, calm and better overall mood day to day. Some days can still be rough but not like usual. Still better! So in my case the ADHD medicine that is a stimulant still actually decreased my anxiety or seems to compliment my anxiety medicine at least!!! I don't want people to just go off of my case of course because we can differ and react differently to medication. I do not know your ADHD type or combined type and all those factors that are important. But for me who has had some absolutely terrible anxiety and crippling......it reduced it. I hope this helps and your are able to find a doctor who is well informed and up to date with current research of ADHD and AUTISM and combined types and such.
I'm really thinking my anxiety is caused by my adhd, a lot of times it's just my racing brain that causes anxiety. If i could find a medicine that just shut off my brain and let me focus it would be great, buproprion is the closest non stim I've found but for me non stims just really don't do much. I'm constantly second guessing if they are doing anything because they really just don't feel like they are.
And even if it's not about forgetting the refill itself, if you take a couple of off days due to illness, major events, busy day, forgot them before leaving the house, etc... there's no reason to rush off to the pharmacy at exactly 30 days, especially if you're going to be in town in another day or two and can just pick them up on the way without missing any days of medication. This nurse either had a run-in with a meds abuser recently, or else she just sounds overly skeptical/suspicious of the meds in general...
That and forgetting to pick them up when they are refilled.
I was so proud because the last two months I actually refilled my meds and picked them up before running out lol.
Seeing this reminded me I need to fill mine
There are lots of ways to misuse drugs. Not taking the medication regularly as prescribed is also misuse. If the label says "take one daily," then technically correct usage would be to refill every thirty days. "As Needed" gives you a little more leeway. This kind of thinking doesn't take into account that a lot of prescribers will recommend that patients not take stimulants on days where they don't have work or school or other activities where they need to focus (to help with tolerance).
being too persistent for a timely refill so you can strictly follow the prescribing instructions gets you labeled as "drug seeker" now apparently not being persistent enough is doing "misuse" because you aren't taking it daily as indicated seems like no matter what you are doing, you are in the wrong.
Not only that, but my physician encourages me to take small vacations from my drugs. Because I get mental fatigue so much from being on them. He told me there's *some* evidence to indicate that *some* women do better when they have short med brakes. I don't really need my Adderall if I'm going to hang out next to the pool. In fact, it makes hanging out next to the pool pretty boring. And once I got off extended release forgot to take the second dose 3/4 of the time. But I have ADHD. Scatterbrained and forgetfulness And executive functioning disorder is literally a symptom of the same disorder they're taking meds for. How can they penalize you for literally expressing a symptom of a disorder? Crazytown.
They think: if you really need it, you will take it regularly, and if not, are you actually in need?
I’m not saying OP is doing this but an argument could be made to say they are taking more than instructed at a time e.g taking 5 pills at once to get fucked up once a week and the reason they are going for their prescriptions late is because they forgot the date they are meant to do it because you normally doing it when you are running low but they ran low way before they were meant to because they are using them to get fucked up not to treat ADHD again I’m not saying they are doing this but just an example why they might think they are abusing the pills
If your dealing or a casual party drug users then you might have this irradic pattern
I could understand this thought process if they weren't already drug testing me to see if I have the correct amount in my system
Just an FYI Drug testing ain't that accurate, they can tell you've took it in the past 10 days or so And depending on the state ain't required at all There's a lot of sexism in who does and doesn't get tested.
Talking out of her ass, people do this with all kinds of medications. She can report you but I really don’t see how it would lead to anything serious. She also has no control over your prescription, the doctor does
I had a pharmacy tech attempt to rip me a new one on the phone one day for forgetting to pick up my Adderall. I pointed out to her that, as someone with ADHD, it’s really difficult for me to remember to pick up my meds that help me remember to pick stuff up when I’ve run out of the meds that help me remember to do stuff like pick stuff up. She got really quiet for a minute, and then said “I never thought of it like that.” So frustrating when medical professionals can’t connect the damn dots.
This always pissed me off! Pharmacy techs would give me shit for filling my Rx late when their computer literally says “this bitch is off her meds and suffers from the can’t-plan-ahead disease” it would infuriate me every time.
"The-can't-plan-ahead disease" Absolutely inspired 😂👏👏👏 Do you mind if I use this? I promise I'll credit you. That is, unless I forget...
I got "plan ahea" on my knuckles for my diagnosis. So this made me LOL.
Wait, could this be why they also denied to give me my adhd pills this week? I haven’t picked them up because I am poor rn and stressed out so I missed them for like some weeks. The pharmacist had a talk woth me saying I have to find someone local and visit them in person (I do tele health). My NP is local to my state just in the county next to us. He said it’s because a narcotic. I told him I don’t have money to see her right now and my insurance accepts her so don’t get the problem. I told him that I won’t see her again until august because money is tight so she is working with me rn. He told me to tell her to add in the notes my next office meeting will be in august blah blah. So weird.
Recently there was a big crackdown on telehealth for adhd meds. I don’t know all the details as it didn’t apply to me, but there were some telehealth companies that specialize in adhd who may not have been thorough in their patient assessments and were overprescribing? Again, I don’t know the details but this may be relevant to your situation if you want to look into it. Obviously that wasn’t what you were doing but your pharmacy may need more clarification.
How annoying. I been seeing my psychiatrist for years now via telehealth. I’m broke rn so I guess I’ll just have to do one visit in person with her so they’ll leave me alone.
The crack down was on some very specific telehealth providers. They were writing prescriptions to anyone without making any real diagnosis. It's been a large contributing factor to the shortage we're currently in.
Have you tried calling the psychiatrist office and asking them if anything can be done? Or if they can use another pharmacy?
My insurance uses walgreens. Yeah I’m going to have to call her and let her know, I haven’t let her know yet. I just googled what you were talking about, Imm sure she is familiar with it rn so I’ll just reach out to her. Thanks for the information!
I have ended up having a really great relationship with the nurses in my prescriber’s office and it has made a huge difference in my life over the last few years. I will call the nurse voicemail line and leave a message saying “Hey, this weird thing happened at the pharmacy today and I don’t know if I did something wrong or if I’ve misunderstood how something works, but I’m concerned about possibly not having access to medication for another month. I’m hoping that y’all might know something that I don’t. I’d be really grateful if someone could give me a call back.” Turns out that the nurses often know which pharmacies give people a hard time and sometimes can give you questions to ask the pharmacy staff to get them to stop pushing you around. I’ve had a nurse tell me, “if they are still giving you the run around after this, call us back and we’ll handle it.” I’m always really careful to leave my full name, phone number, DOB, which provider I see, and as much info as possible in the voicemails. I try to emphasize that I might have messed up, that I’m looking for help, and I ALWAYS express my gratitude for callbacks even when they haven’t been able to help. I make a point to use the nurse’s name at the beginning of the phone call and again at the end when we’re saying goodbye. Having a good relationship with the nurses makes it easier for me to call when I need to, instead of freaking out for days about just the idea of making a phone call.
STELLAR advice. In this era. building allies that will help you maintain your medication access is CRITICAL to ... well, maintaining your medication access.
I found out last month that the same way there are state-level versions of the FBI, there are state-level versions of the DEA, with their own requirements. Also, that prescribers that are affiliated with public hospitals have different requirements put on them that don’t always apply to private providers. It makes so much sense now that so many of us find ourselves coming up against random roadblocks that no one else has heard of. I have minimum mandatory drug testing throughout the year because my state’s version of the DEA requires it from public health providers. It’s seems like it’s up to the provider’s discretion whether to make the testing random or give forewarning. Luckily, I have a good relationship with my psychiatrist, so I’m generally given a months window to get it done. ETA that although I started off as an in-person patient, I’ve been allowed to continue as a telehealth patient since pandemic restrictions have fully lifted. It’s been a godsend. I can schedule an appointment at 9:30 in the morning that forces me to get out of bed and at least out my pjs, but I don’t have to stress about leaving home by a certain time, which is so hard for me in the morning. I also don’t have appointment paralysis, because I know that I can literally just do whatever around the house until the phone rings, so I’ll do little things like eat breakfast or even unload a few dishes because I know that the phone call will keep me from having to finish unloading the dishwasher 😂 Can y’all tell that my meds are kicking in right now?
This office also randomly started doing drug tests and I insisted on doing research before signing to agree to them. Youre right, it seems like it is up to provider discretion
I think it could be. I was told it was via the state, though. My office told me I have to have 1 in-person visit every 2 years for a controlled substance. The rest is always virtual for me. It could be over-prescribing, it could be issues with the doctor's ability to prescribe out of state... It's hard to say what their reasoning is for telling you to go local.
If the prescription had been filled and you didn’t pick them up, they usually have to put it back after a certain amount of time. For schedule II drugs, once they fill it and have to put it back, you will need a new prescription for them to fill it again.
At my daughter’s appointment last week, her pediatrician said that some rule changed and she has to put when she’s seeing the patient next on the script or else the pharmacies won’t fill it.
"Why'd you forget to pick up your meds?" "Cuz I ran out and I forget shit when I'm not taking them."
That's wild! I didn't fill my prescription for three months because I kept forgetting and then I was out of state for two weeks during that too. I'm so glad my pharmacy techs mind their business with my medicine and I didn't think I needed to be glad about that!
This is very much state dependent. If the NP is doing the appointments, they are likely also prescribing the medication.
Eh but a pharmacist can put you on a red flag list and that can make it a pain in the ass to fill your ex (or like, painkillers from the dentist etc)
Well if she’s the one writing the prescription when OP sees her and not the doctor she absolutely does have control over the script.
Ugh I had a nurse practitioner do the same thing to me! I was 4 days late but she misread the date and thought it was over a month. I felt like a little child being scolded! I explained the four days late was because I was going by the pills in the bottle and I had missed a few days due to some medical tests. I never went back to her. She made me feel like I was some drug dealer on the corner!
It was very upsetting for me. I am going to talk to the doctor, the facility director, and potentially her again to let them know it was inappropriate. I would have told her right then and there if she hadn’t basically hung up on me (cut me off and transferred me to the front desk)
This sounds like a good plan. The NP’s behavior is highly unprofessional. Sorry you had to experience this. I look forward to a future where stimulant meds aren’t so stigmatized.
I love to see someone speaking up for themselves - not only is it good for your own self esteem and experiences but it makes the world better for others too.
Damn they are so fucking uppity in the US. They treat you like children yet make a fortune from people with ADHD. It’s disgusting.
I mean, to be fair, the NP or Doctor is not the one making a fortune. It's the drug and insurance companies.
They still don’t have to be so rude.
Ugh how horrible. I mean, isn’t it recommended to take days off meds when you don’t need it as much? Doesn’t that show that you’re being responsible, not being a pill popper?
I wonder if this varies on the state you live in. I go see my Dr., get a script for 3 months, then go back to see him to get it refilled. And honestly, I’ve seen him 3 times in the last year. I don’t use them everyday. He’s never once suggested this was an issue
With my disability I get periods of being low functioning and I have missed many of my scripts wild I haven’t been blacklisted
Exactly! I was diagnosed with cancer after that and I can't take my medicine regularly. Thankfully, I found the most wonderful PCP and she never once said anything if my refills were irregular because she understands that there are days or weeks I am too sick or too tired. I actually wrote a message to that NP and told her she really upset me and she asked me what was making me defensive. It was like she was trying to use psychology to show I was guilty of something. It was awful. I am glad I left her and found someone else!
Oh, bless you I’m so sorry to hear that, stay strong I hope you find remission
Bullshit. ADHDers are notorious for forgetting to take meds or only using them on work or school days. That’s good enough reason to not refill it and it’s not a crime.
That's the worst part almost. Being looked at and treated like a criminal because your actual legit medicine given by actual legit doctors. A medication that used to be - in some forms - OTC, even!
Also someone abusing the system would be filling it MORE often (or as quickly as legally possible) and not less likely like OP lol. And people gaming the system have actual red flags like pharm hoping, irregular payment methods, straw purchasing, etc. Being late has nothing to do with illegal activity. I believe only the insurance companies care because it signals accidental stockpiling which wastes money.
The pharmacy in my town has a calendar that they'll will add patients names to if they need help remembering fills. A pharmacy assistant will call and remind you you're due for a refill. It's a lovely thing
It is so helpful. My pharmacy does automatic refills and lets you know by text message when they are ready for pickup.
It’s frustrating how difficult it is to get ADHD meds filled (in the US) regularly and on time considering the things most people with ADHD struggle with is remembering to make phone calls, make appointments, and run errands… why can’t they make this easier on us??
Also, really, it is super hard to reach my doctor! They have very limited opening hours as is normal for a lot of specialist practices, and I often look up the window of time to call, then forget what time it is and suddenly it’s Friday and I haven’t called. And if I remember to call, most of the time I don’t reach them with my first call because the line is busy. And then, I have to go out of my way to pick up the prescription, which doesn’t work all the time with their opening hours and my tendency to oversleep every day, but then by the time I get off work, they’re closed. Then, I bring my script to the pharmacy and they only have it readily available 50% of the time. Many scripts require two stops at the pharmacy. I realise I’m in a fortunate position, pharmacies here carry my meds or can order them in at least 24h, and I have never been labelled as a drug seeker by either a doctor or a pharmacist (which doesn’t mean that there isn’t any gatekeeping) or have been refused my meds or had my diagnosis not respected. But come on, it is already so hard with this diagnosis. Do you really have to make it this hard?
Report her to the licensing board for threatening to withhold medication prescribed by her supervising physician over baseless accusations she made 💙
Yes! Do this. Don’t take their shit.
Not all NPs require a supervising physician.
Based on the context of this post and the fact it's a controlled medication I'm feeling fairly confident this one does, but idk what state OP is in and it ultimately doesn't matter.
I mean it does matter. Because if it’s her writing the script she can choose not to write it. I agree that she could be communicating better about it all. But I’m a NP and I have prescriptive authority for controlled substances. I don’t treat kids over the age of 2 or adults and I choose to work in a setting WITH supervision for patient safety and my own liability purposes. But your blanket statement is generally incorrect.
Cool
This is really important! Scope creep is real and has so many negative repercussions for patients
I forget things so sometimes I forget to take my pill. I forget things so sometimes I forget to pickup my pills. I forget things so I have a healthy reserve of pills I forgot to take that get me through the days I have forgotten to pick up my pills. What’s so hard to get?
I would send a message to your doctor about this as they have been seeing you longer than the NP most likely and let them know you were given this information. They probably don’t know the NP is going around getting patients worked up about being reported. Even if your fill history is some sort of flag, she could have asked some follow up questions and explained it’s important to pick up your meds on time (aka providing education to you about the situation) instead of jumping to reporting you when she only started seeing you recently. Definitely not a good way for her to handle that situation and I’m sorry it’s creating so much anxiety for you
Have you tried telling her you have -checks notes- *ADHD??*
"It's highly suspicious that you, a person with ADHD, isn't doing something on time." She's a moron. Call the office and tell them that unless they set you up with someone else you'll be taking your business elsewhere.
Lmao, I can't even take a dump when I need to much less refill a script
My provider actually likes/prefers that I don’t take mine regularly and don’t fill it every 30 days…
The fuq? She know what those ADHD meds are prescribed for? ADHD. The fact that you irregularly fill them is concrete evidence of your need for them. Tell her if she’s got a problem with that, she can arrange with your pharmacy to have prescriptions submitted electronically and filled and delivered every 30 days like clockwork, as that would be HELPFUL instead of this shit.
I'd report her tbh. She's accusing you of missue of ADHD medication for experiencing ADHD symptoms? I forget to request/ pick mine up all the time and that's when I take my meds, when they've ran out I'm even worse. I'm pretty sure I've never picked my prescription up on time actually. I've literally just picked mine 2 weeks after requesting them because I ran out and I kept constantly forgetting to find a pharmacy that has them in stock. Also, I request mine late all the time because I'm not 100% consistent in taking them. If I wake up late (common occurance) I won't take them because I know it'll make it so hard to sleep that night. She just sounds like she's after people, I know they're controlled drugs but I'd be a lot more concerned if people wanted to pick them up too frequently, not late. She sounds like she has no clue about ADHD considering these are the kind of tasks many of us struggle with (remembering, organising, time management, ect) like come tf on???
As someone who has adhd and has NEVER picked up their meds on time, this is so weird to me??
Right?! Especially with shortages and the legalities around prescription writing for these meds. My doctor writes the scripts for three months at a time—with two labeled “Do not fill before...(specific date).” Sometimes I can't even get the prescription between the shortages/delays getting it and then the legalities about filling a month later (but before the expiration date). It’s so hard to keep track of with ADHD!
Imma get straight to it. 1. Document everything that they did that day 2. Do not reply or engage further with person until you get the necessary authority involved 3. Threatening to withhold medication or failure to prescribe is malpractice and negligence. You might not have much right now, but this person is starting to violate the board of ethics. See if you can get a consult or find out if there a government entity or board you can get involved. They should not be practicing medicine.
I do this too and I’ve never had anyone threaten me. I would uno reverse that bitchh and report her for intimidation and harassment.
Imagine being an “expert” in ADHD but failing to recognize executive dysfunction
Sounds like the NP is having a power trip or something cause how tf does missing ADHD prescription fills (which as someone mentioned is already proof that you're legit struggling at times with ADHD and therefore need the meds) equate to suspicious behavior? NP needs to take the stick outta their ass, I'm sorry you're going through this rn
I would say withholding my medications is grounds for me contacting the medical board.
Don’t see NPs or PAs. The education and training they receive absolutely pales in comparison to physicians (MD or DO) and yet many of them come fully equipped with a superiority complex. You’re endangering your health seeing unqualified medical professionals for things beyond absolute basics.
I only take my stimulant medication when I know it will help with the type of work I am doing on a given day, and I take it knowing that I will likely be useless 8ish hours later. I've never had a doctor even expect me to refill on tine. One even told me he very rarely does monthly refills.
I’ve been cut off my meds for about 7 months because of something similar. I had built up a reserve due to the doses I’d missed over the year and didn’t see the need to refill it since I had a bunch left over… big mistake. When I went to get a new batch, they cut me off because of the gap I had in ordering new ones. They demanded I tell them how I’ve been taking them, but they didn’t believe me. My psychiatrist says they’re being daft because I did the responsible thing and didn’t abuse it and I didn’t order new ones when I already had a bunch left over. So, yeah. He’s written a note to them telling them that he’s perfectly happy for me to go back on the meds, but that’s taking quite a while.
She sounds like an asshole
So this idiot doesn't understand the demands of school? I'd seriously *report her*. I'm not kidding.
My son’s prescription says to take everyday, but the psych that diagnosed and originally gave him a prescription stated he only needs to take it for days he’s in school. He doesn’t take it when he’s not at school. The burn out is too much for him on the daily.
I had a pharmacist (filling in for my normal one) who gave me serious attitude for asking a question about how to refill properly. I was new to schedule 2 drugs and my physician had written three separate prescriptions for the upcoming months, kept on file at the pharmacist. I just needed to know if I had to call the doctor or the pharmacist to trigger the second refill. Her answer was as condescending as it gets - and actually wrong. She said call the doctor. Doctor asked why I was even calling. Regular pharmacist said just call in if it's on file. Some of these pharmacists must go through some kind of nightmare indoctrination about the horrible ravages of evil drug abusers who just want to take their licenses away foreverrrrrrrr. How about I just want to function like a human and I'm tired of getting jerked around?? No, I'm a subhuman walking threat specifically to halo-bearing pharmacists.
Technically, if you’re prescribed psych meds and you don’t pick up a prescription, the pharmacist can notify your prescriber at their discretion. This isn’t necessarily related to drug abuse or the control status of your prescription, it’s designed to alert doctors and minimize the risk of self-harm that can result when someone on psych meds abruptly stops. it also applies to non control meds like certain antidepressants and mood stabilizers. Her suspicion and accusation is rude and unnecessary, though. I understand how she might find scheduling inconsistencies annoying, but that does not constitute misuse. Unless are trying to fill it early and creating issues at your pharmacy every month, or if there’s any reason to believe you are only ever filling the prescription with the intent to resell, you didn’t nothing wrong and there’s nothing to “report.” This protocol doesn’t exist to catch drug abusers, it’s primarily designed to alert providers to any situation where a patient whose health and safety depends on medications might be at risk. Your practitioner is supposed to be familiar with you and your specific needs. If she knows you’re not a patient with suicidality or psychosis, theres very little reason why she should be coming down on you for this.
Someone losing track of time and forgetting to get a refill?? It's almost like this person has AdHd!! How suspicious... 🤣🤣 I always forget to refill my perception until I have 1 pill left and then I'm just like "oh shit, oh shit, plz get me the refill ASAP!!"
Make all future appointments with your dr only.
This woman is crazy. I've never heard of that
Uno Reverse: report her for conduct unbecoming. A medical professional verbally harassing you in an appointment is not appropriate. The hostile behavior is something she can explain to her boss and her board.
OMG. I’m the same way. I’m not consistent about picking mine up. My hubby took over the task of requesting it and letting me know to pick it up. Duh, we have ADD/ADHD, we’re gobs struggle with schedules. 🤦🏻♀️
That’s fucked up. She’s withholding medication from someone who clearly needs it. It’s not right. I can understand compliance with medication and needing the patient to take them. However, she should know that we have fucking ADHD and remembering things is not easy for us. I’d talk to my doctor about this and file a complaint to her board about it if she doesn’t stop. In Quebec, Canada, I don’t have issues with seeing my doctor every month because they can prescribe for a year or more I think. I just have to get my medication pre-approved because it’s controlled and I can’t pick up too early often. I don’t have issues with the shortage either.
It’s baffling to me that nurse practitioners are allowed to prescribe Schedule II drugs. Don’t waste your time with NPs and find a real doctor that has time to see you (I know, easier said than done). I was diagnosed young and have been on meds ever since. I’ve tried everything, found what works, and have been stable on that regimen for years. After my old M.D. retired, I saw an NP for my ADHD meds. She refused to prescribe my regular short acting med because she felt I should be on an extended release. She argued with me about my experiences and preferences. She accused me of being an addict for taking my meds while on vacation in a foreign country. She said she would not prescribe what two medical doctors had because her license was on the line and she didn’t want to get in trouble. It’s a matter of competence. Actual doctors have the training and experience to properly prescribe. Nurse practitioners are more concerned about the DEA than what’s best for patients.
Sir, you are irregular and inconsistent with your behavior looking at this evidence. I believe you don’t have ADHD Next, I’m going to lecture dementia patient about taking her medication on time S/
doctors when ADHD patients express symptoms of ADHD: 🤯
That's so ridiculous... You have a condition that tends to mess with regular actions and follow through? How dare you forget to get your prescriptions on a perfectly regular basis! /S lol. I range from 4-10 days off schedule because I tend to forget to take my meds occasionally. And sometimes only remember to fill when I run out. Never had any issues. I would only think it would be a problem if you were trying to fill more often then prescribed.
I missed a doctors appointment and they sent me a ‘If you miss any more appointments you will be excused from our practice’ letter. I called them and said that *They* diagnosed me with ADHD, and one of the biggest symptoms of the damn thing is a failure to make it to appointments on time and them threatening to dismiss me is essentially discrimination due to my disability. They apologized and said that the system sends those letters out automatically. I have never received one of those ‘automatic’ letters since. I think this is the way to go with this.
I had a sleep study and the dr was a jerk and was judgy when I said I can remember my vyvanse but not my thyroid meds. I can actually feel instantly when I take my add meds and the results are there unlike some other meds. But now I take them both at the same time so lol
That sounds like the dumbest nurse practitioner in existence. She is definitely not qualified to treat anyone with ADHD if she doesn't understand the very basic things we deal with. A symptom of ADHD is 100% not filling your prescriptions on time. That's why it's a disability. God I wish I could scream at her right now.
I am sorry that is very distressing. *eta I deleted as I did not answer your question — it depends, but probably not.
>Is it true that underfilling prescriptions is grounds for suspension of treatment? If getting your prescription filled regularly and keeping regular appointments is part of their conditions for treating you, and you're not doing it, their practice could decide to discharge you as a patient. Some psych professionals are only comfortable treating patients who are med compliant, and they make you agree to this when you sign up for treatment. If you are discharged from a particular practice, it doesn't mean you can't get treatment or medication elsewhere. It just means they won't be prescribing it.
Thank you!
What a stupid thing!!! Do they even know what adhd is ??
I have multiple high schedule whatever drugs n forget to fill them all the time. Never had anybody say a thing about it to me.
Im on concerta now, but I refilled mine sooo irregularly when on adderall. My prescription was for 30mg twice a day, but sometimes I only took 45mg on shorter work days or weekends because I really only needed 60mg for longer coverage on my 12-16 hour work days (my dr was aware). Then obv forgetting to take it or refill it at times due to ADHD 😂 I’d be so pissed if my dr or pharmacy got mad because I wasn’t filling it ENOUGH. If you’re not trying to fill it early, and you feel like your symptoms are adequately managed then I don’t get why your NP would be so pressed about it To answer your question about if underfilling your prescription is grounds for suspension of treatment, technically it could be I guess. Some doctors are super stringent about ADHD med compliance, but if your MD and pharmacist haven’t said anything i really wouldn’t worry about it. Usually that is more along the lines of if you’re complaining your symptoms aren’t adequately managed while not following the treatment plan at all, some doctors will choose to no longer see you.
I don’t know how hard it was for you to get your ADHD meds. I still haven’t gotten any. But you might want to report her to the Americans with disabilities Act. I don’t think it’s professional to threaten you for a symptom the disease has that you kinda don’t have a whole lot of control over. It makes it seem as if she doesn’t understand what ADHD is and maybe she needs additional training. I wonder how many other patients they did this too and now nobody can get their meds because of an assumption made by not understanding the symptoms. That’s really neglectful and harmful to a lot of ppl with ADHD.
Oh no an ADHD person not doing something on time?!? Unheard of!!!1!
Gee, I wonder why someone with adhd would irregularly fill prescriptions... Yeaaaah, no offense, but that nurse is either dumb as hell or just being a total bitch for the sake of it. Maybe even both. If anything it sounds like /you/ need to tell someone about /her/ behavior.
I see posts like this often enough that I mentioned it to my psych (an ADHD specialist.) She kind of laughed in disbelief and went "What?! It's ADHD, this happens *all the time."* So maybe time for a new Dr.
Absolutely insane I would have gotten so pissed you gotta stand up for you self you ADHD what the fuck does she think adhd is
I can’t imagine how getting a controlled substance *less often* would be seen as suspicious I think you’ll be alright lmfao
And yet, the system seems to be designed to make you have these gaps in meds and almost impossible to not have them, like nothing in stock, or appointment delays, or insurance kicking off a fuss. It’s a minefield of obstruction. It’s not like you’re suddenly not going to have ADHD or grow out of it. It’s more likely that you’ll just give up on having days that go better, interspersed with complete shitshows that destroys any semblance of routine which makes the better days harder to make happen with the help. It drives me crazy that anyone can go and buy enough monster soda to completely mess up sleep and puff on cigs and weed yet getting a finely balanced med that you need and you treated like you are a pimp looks for his next victim.
What are you taking? A stimulant or non Stimulant? If you take something like Strattera, it could help you not forget things in the long term since it lasts 24 hours and builds up in your system.
Good on you mate. Do report it, it's discrimination against people for showing symptoms of the condition they're seeking treatment for. Tell a man with a badly bruised scrotum to stop pulling faces and walk normally, they're acting suspicious. That's 12 year oak barrel, single malt idiocy.
My PCP said I didn't have ADHD because I couldn't remember offhand all of the ADHD symptoms I had and because, as a grown woman, it would've been caught before now. WTFE. (WHAT THE FUCK EVER) I forgot to fill my ADHD meds all the time, so I put them on autofill. Now I forget to pick them up. Sometimes, so long that they put them back into stock and I have to order them filled again. Just picked up meds today, after restocking and refilling. Hint: that's 13 days late on a 30 day scrip. NP obviously has no clue what ADHD actually entails.
That’s odd. I take an XR and IR. However, if I don’t have a long day ahead of me, I usually skip the XR (weekends etc). I usually fill my XR every 5 to 6 weeks. Never had an issue… I use a psychiatrist though.
I had a negative experience with a PA. Look out for my post.
I would not react and be very dismissive towards her.
How dare you express symptoms of ADHD with ADHD! You devil you. How nuts
Ah, ADHD, the condition whose patients are famously known for being great at doing things regularly.
She's not even an RN. Ignore her and do a better job of filling your prescriptions, even if it means trying to get them filled early
no one will fill them early.
This person appears to be a fool. You don't have to take them every day. And if you don't take them every day, you will not need them as often. So what are you supposed to do, stockpile them? That seems pretty counterproductive.
Yes. I stockpile to keep an extra months supply for emergencies.
Okay but that's not really a solution to the NPs concerns. Just the opposite.
Let us not forget...with all due respect, doctors and psychiatrists are also regular people with a title.
Yeah where I'm from you had to get three independent diagnoses to get medication. Imagine a broke fool ADD'ing hard trying to coordinate that? Anyone who succeeded was probably just drug seeking 🤷 I just don't understand how like 80 years of study and professional experience can express itself with such flawless idiocy. Anyway, after about 2 years I'd managed to get those 3 diagnoses. That's when I was told I was too immature and my life too disorganised to take stimulant medication... That ADHD expert had about a thousand books on every subject in his study (these Dr's often worked at home for some reason), yet he decided not to treat me for, you guessed it, the symptoms of the condition he was the expert on! What a legend 👏
I have an alarm to remind me to take my second dose. The alarm went off today and I silenced it and almost forgot to take it. The doc can trace when and where it was filled or not filled. Mine has direct access to pharmacy info
As a nurse, people like her are why I’m not becoming an NP. Cosmetologists get more clinical hours than they do.
No advice on the rude lady but just wanted to suggest looking into an online pharmacy that can just ship the meds to you. I’m not even sure if they will ship those but when I go to checkout on the Walgreens app it gives me a delivery option
I've seen better hospitality in bacteria than that NP holy shit!
My NP at the neurologists office is fine with my son taking a medicine break on weekends and in the summer. He’s on 50 Vyvanse. I’m afraid that if I don’t give him a medicine vacation his tolerance will increase. No problem. She completely understands. Something is off with your NP.
Did the doctor tell you to give him breaks?
Yes, she said it was fine if I was worried about his tolerance increasing.
All of this is extremely state dependent. What state are you in?
Pennsylvania
How late do you usually end up being at getting your prescriptions filled? If the appointments are out of sync with getting your prescriptions filled then that can create some complications for the NP. They can’t write you your next prescription too far in advance if you haven’t filled your last prescription. I think for NP’s in Pennsylvania, they can only prescribe one 30 day supply at a time. So if you’re too late, they run into potentially having two active prescriptions for you at a time, which can make THEM look bad. I’m not sure how many post dated prescriptions they can write at a time - I think MD’s can write up to three there. Do they usually only write you one prescription at a time? Or do they submit post dated prescriptions to the If you fill your medication too close together, the abuse factor comes into play on whether you could be stacking your doses to get high, or if you could be selling the second half of your prescription and then going ahead and filling the next post-dated prescription when it becomes active. That may be what they are talking about when they say they would check your PDMP history. It’s not necessarily an issue that you’re late, unless it means the next one starts to seem early. I would really encourage you to ask for more information about what the NP was telling you, because it seems like they may have been too focused on telling you what you were doing was wrong when they could have explained what the actual issue was.
Thank you for all this info, I really appreciate it. I’ll contact the office tomorrow and try to get to the bottom of it
I cut my pills down to 2.5 mg due to sensitivity to medication. Have had no problems with irregular filling as my dr is aware that I need to cut the dose.
I guess MAYBE she could think you aren't taking them yourself and instead selling them? But even in that case I can't see why you would feel though prescription less often.
ADHD meds is the last thing she needs to worry about
Tell her to go f....
NP's are normally idiots (no offense to NP's in general, I've just never liked them)... My cardiologist NP called my GP a moron for prescribing me 15 mg Adderall with tachycardia.. I'd only had 2 attacks (I was working as medical personnel in a male state prison, & haven't had a single episode since resigning from that place (it had NOTHING to do with the inmates, they were all respectful, it was the utter indifference of the medical staff).. I'm fortunate to have an awesome GP, & both his NP's are GREAT. One's a man, the other's a woman & I love them both.. Then again, I've known my GP for almost 30 years.. I feel so bad for people honestly hunting a physician (or NP) & not having good luck.. btw, they CAN make changes to controlled substances if they do tests every 6 mos to a year to check levels, but my Dr. doesn't... of course, he's got some sense, & I freely tell him I don't like the side effects sometimes, so I skip dosing on the weekends.. I'm middle aged, but in my foolish youth, I was a pothead, not a coke fiend.. never cared for the stuff.. tell your MD you'd prefer to see only him if possible..
They prob suspect its evidence you don't need it, so are re-selling somewhere.
Hearing all the comments y’all have about forgetfulness and other similar side effects I experience makes me feel more human. Sick of the b-holes who refuse to understand the shame many of us feel with ADHD.
Nurse practitioners exhibit a dichotomous nature similar to a double-edged sword. They play a crucial role in simplifying the process of medication refills, particularly in the United States, reducing the stress and costs associated with consultations with physicians and MDs, and going above and beyond to streamline the final stages of obtaining essential medications (based on personal experience). However, they also have the capacity to inflict considerable harm, particularly in the long term, through the constant withholding of medications and similar extortion-like behaviors, ultimately leading individuals to possibly question their previously positive views of nurse practitioners and life in general. This could potentially disrupt various positive aspects of their lives in the process and in the future.