Okay now I have a question that needs an answer….I take my son back to the doctors Tuesday for a follow up on his meds. Right now we are using a 21 days free sample the doctor gave us. When he writes the perscription, I was told you only have 3 days to fill it, is this true, and also how many refills will we get before Jeremy goes back for another check-up?
Please bare with me on this we are new to the program, and meds. But it is working wonderful for the 3 of us.
Re: perscriptions?
I am in the military health care system, usually I go straight to the pharmacy from our dr. appt. At least ritalin I know is a controlled drug (DEA) so cannot be refilled by phone, it has to be a new rx each time. I always have to sign forms when I pick up my guys’ meds. I’d be pretty certain the other stimulant meds are also controlled. I don’t know about the 3 days thing though, maybe a phone call to the doc’s office or the pharmacy to confirm?
Re: perscriptions?
The 3 day thing is the same in NJ. We also cannot get refills, I have to call the Doc with 48 hours notice and pick up the prescription. This cannot be less than 30 days since the last one or the insurance company will not pay for it. Refills can (legally) be called in, however the written prescription must be in the hands of the pharmacist within 48 hours or the physician can be fined. Most physicians do not trust their patients enough to risk their livelihood. My son must see his Doc every 6 months, the in between visit being a weight and height check. If this visit is not kept, he does not get his prescription. The insurance company does cover the extra visit due to the diagnosis of ADHD.
My understanding is that the rules in PA are the same-my father is an MD who parctices in NJ but lives in PA. This same rule applies to certain other narcotics that are in the same class, such as Xanax.
When my son is home sick with anything that requires use of a decongestant, he cannot take his meds. He had perfect attendance in 1st, 2nd and 3rd grades but in 4th he missed 4 days so I have an extra 4 pills “just in case” I ever forget to call the Doc in time. You get good at this very quickly!!
Re: perscriptions?
When my son was on Ritalin (2 years ago) I had to get a new prescription from the doctor every month because in NJ it can’t be refilled. I never took him for extra doctor visits; I just called the doctor’s office and asked for the prescription and they had it ready for me to take to the pharmacy.
Re: perscriptions?
Interesting. We are currently overseas from mid-August to mid-June. I can get a year’s supply of Ritalin or Adderall at a time with no problems in Virginia.
Re: perscriptions?
I took Jeremy back for his follow-up today (2 weeks) The doctor was very please to hear he is doing so well with the Adderall XR. I did inquire about the perscription time limit. Right now we have 9 pills left of the free sample, the nurse said to wait until we are down to at least 4 before getting new perscription filled. There is NO time limit. I do have to call in each month to get a new perscription which I can pick up at the office, Jeremy has to go in for follow-up every 3 months.
Thank you all so much for all your help since I found this site. So far Jeremy is doing wonderful, he is eating ( gained 1/2 lb. in 2 weeks) Now he started back to school today, he LOVED IT!!!!! His first words tonight when I picked him up from daycare was ” mom I like my teacher, she is really nice, and I like our classroom” This is the first time in 2 years he every said anything positive about school.
Merlene,
I think the 3 days may vary from state to state. I’m in Alabama and the Dr. wrote the prescription on the 20th and I got it filled with no problem yesterday the 24th. Here in Alabama, there are NO refills, and the Dr. CAN’T call it in to the pharmacy. Each month I have to stop by the Dr’s and pick up a prescription to take. Lucky for me I drive by the office 6 times a day to take/pick up kids from school.
We are started with a 15 day supply of Adderall XR 10mg and I just had that refilled again. This will give us 3 weeks of school on meds so we can have a better idea on if we need to adjust. I figured the first week of school would not be enought time for the teacher or Kyle to tell if it’s helping. We might have to go up to the 15mg, but I don’t think so. You should hear him at night now!! He still makes mistakes, but rather than get angry at his errors or our correcting him, he just pushes on through until he gets the word right!! He is finally starting to ENJOY reading, we’re so proud of him! Anyway,once we are sure of the dose, I will get 30 day supplies.