I’m in US. Every year it gets harder and harder to get my meds. Since my doc is in another state, I have to drive 80 miles to get ADHD, anxiety, and sleep meds. However, I can just get my other meds near my current house.
Also, instead of have refills on my sleep meds, they have to be prescribed by the month. It’s really annoying because I drive to get them and pharmacy doesn’t have them due to a mistake while interfacing with my doc. It’s happened a few times now. All the docs here are insurance billing farms so I never switched any doctors when I moved.
ADHD and all comorbidities seem to create a need for meds that are harder and harder to get. Drug tests, drug shortages, sleepless nights… At this point I want to sue the DEA. (Drug enforcement agency - Sorry for American defaultism) Anyone else have these issues?
Absolutely. Just the fact that I have to call my doctor every month to get my prescription renewed, rather than it just being a normal refillable prescription feels like it’s intended to make me forget, and go of my meds.
My partner’s doctor actually told her that they probably wouldn’t continue prescribing her stimulant if she were to become unemployed. Because everyone knows you don’t need executive function for your life! Just for work.
It’s a cruel situation where you need a lot of executive function to get meds to treat your lack of executive function.
That said, I don’t have to drive more than ten minutes for my meds. But I’m also in the suburbs. If you’re in a rural area, your medical access possibly sucks.
It’s not rural exactly. Just a shitty town where docs seem to be monopolized by shitty corps. My GP has a private practice.
Not the need to drive far but the shortages are bullshit. And the fact you can’t get more than a month at a time on some drugs makes running out, and missing doses because of a shortage more and more likely.
Yeah, manufacturing company consolidation and a flood created a big shortage of Adderall a few years ago and that filtered to the other ADHD meds because the DEA limits the number of them that can be produced because they consider them “Schedule II”, the same amount of danger as fentanyl, which is crazy. And they never allowed them to make additional to make up for the lost stock while the factory was flooded much less taken into account the better diagnosis of ADHD these days meaning more people on them. I have a lot of issues getting mine due to the shortages, so I often have to ration. I got a milligram scale that’s mostly accurate, though not exactly, so I can split the capsules evenly and take lower dosages on my days off. Which sucks not being able to function outside of work, but survival requires work…
As for getting monthly prescriptions, that’s likely up to your insurance, doctor, pharmacy, and/or state regulations on “controlled substances”. I get 3 month supplies on my Adderall from my insurance sponsored mail-order pharmacy. They also allow you to have refills on the prescription, though my doctor prefers to write a new one each time. I also take Ativan, but it’s only a schedule 4 controlled substance and I dont take it regularly. None of my other meds are “controlled substances”, so not sure about others.
I second the 3 month supply trick – sometimes referred to as a “travel amount”. Sounds like OP is more deserving than most of that accommodation as they are actually traveling a significant distance to and from the pharmacy.
No thankfully I don’t because that is frankly inhumane and I’m sorry you have to deal with that.
I have only to leave a message for my doctor requesting a refill every 90 days. Then a few days later I get a text with a code. I use the code to pick up the meds from a pharmacy vending machine (open 24/7) a 5 min walk from my home.
Nice! That sounds way easier than what happens in my state.
According to my doctors the government doesn’t allow this.
Yes, absolutely. My doctor refuses to prescribe more than a month at any time. So I literally have to go to the doctor physically every month and be drug tested like a fucking felon on parole. Not only that but the state limits how much can be distributed to me. So, even if I got a 3 month subscription the pharmacy can’t fill it.
Not only that, but the office refuses to schedule a reoccurring appointment. Why does that matter? Because the doctor is booked for at least 3 months. So, now my choice is to either stop taking my meds or get them for one month and spend 2 months waiting to get a new prescription.
It’s a bunch of complete bullshit designed to squeeze more money out of me and my insurance company. Unfortunately, there is no way around it.
“Healthcare” in the US is a joke. It’s not healthy or anything resembling care. It’s about stealing as much of patient’s paycheck as possible while trying to avoid malpractice lawsuits. I know this because I work in Healthcare and I have heard the conversations.
Have you tried telehealth?
I’m experiencing this. Shortages, and constantly adding hoops to jump through. Drug testing that I have to pay for out of pocket, missing doses because I can’t get meds filled anywhere, when I had insurance it would constantly switch from requiring name brand, to not covering name brand. It feels bad to be treated like I’m on fucking parole.
That’s how I feel. It’s typically illegal to discriminate against people who have medical conditions. It just seems like there should be some recourse. We already have lower life expectancies.
Once you get the script it honestly gets even more Kafkaesque. You can only fill the prescription every 28 days, which virtually guarantees that you will slowly lose a day or two every month just because everything doesn’t align properly between your appointments, the pharmacy filling the script, and you picking it up. Be the timer actually starts when you pick it up. God forbid you are out of town the week you need to refill, because it means you are just going to be down a whole week of meds.
not for adhd but for many others. we have had a few times where my wife might not get the thyroid she needs.
Yes
Yes! And I’m losing insurance this month! Joy!
