i lost three months of prescriptions a few days ago, shrink refuses to rewrite. i been on this (60mg XR) for three years. i was so upset i stopped taking the meds after that. not sure as to what im going to do, if anything. anyone have suggestions/experiences?

Report it as missing to the police so you have a report, it is possible that a good person could find them and turn them in and report the incident to the pharmacy, it could get turned into them too(you know tell them to be on the lookout) and report it to the doctor (show him a copy of the police report and tell him you called the pharmacy). Worst case scenario after that would be that insurance could refuse to cover it.

already dunnit. shrink still refused. financial coverage isn't an issue im concerned about, as i dont have insurance.

how did you accumulate 3 months worth? Were you upset and stopped taking the meds 3 months ago, or did this loss cause the upset and you stopped taking them?

I assume that sees if referring to three months worth of prescriptions in the form of written prescriptions and not a supply of pills equivalent to three months of prescriptions.

I assume that sees if referring to three months worth of prescriptions in the form of written prescriptions and not a supply of pills equivalent to three months of prescriptions.

ahhhh. that would make more sense. isn't there something that tells a pharmacist if you've filled a script even if it's no insurance and/or other pharmacy?

I recall being in the pharmacy one day and overheard the pharmacist telling a woman he couldn't fill her script because "the system was showing that the script was filled a few days earlier..."?

If so, the doctor could check to see you hadn't filled them, and write a new one. I guess. That's a tough one. I guess reporting it is also a good idea.

The doctor is doing this because except for use in ADHD and Narcolepsy, Adderall is an illicit drug called 'amphetamine'. On the street it is called 'speed'.

If you're on 60mg XR, I'm guessing that's per day. That equates to about 4 to 5 grams of speed in total on a 3 month prescription; enough for the average person to get high on more than 100 times.

So your next option is to maybe try and get a second opinion - it's not hard to find a shrink that prescribes, so search around and see if you can get onto one.

Next option: caffeine is a stimulant like Adderall. If I had to guess, I'd say it's half as strong. Anyway, you can buy caffeine tablets without a prescription in your local pharmacy or supermarket. Perhaps try these and see how you go? Many people use these as a form of self-medication both knowingly and unknowingly before they receive their actual ADHD meds.

How did you lose them?

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My pharmacist actually is required by law to retain my prescription and not to give it back to me. That's what I get for taking LA Ritalin in a high dose.

Perhaps you could ask your pharmacist to do the same for you next time, even if they're not obligated? They may have to do for other customers anyway. Or maybe your doc's office can keep it for you?

the psych writes three individual scripts for each month, and happens to give me three months in advance (i guess since they think a 45 minute drive each way is far)
i have no idea where or when i lost them. i dont think they made it into the car the day of the appointment. i dont have a set pharmacy, incase im not in town or something.
haha i feel high off of the meds (at least at the moment). i was considering caffeine.

Caffeine might help, so might nicotine, though I don't recommend the latter. My friend lost her script once, but her doctor gave her another...so I guess it varies from doctor to doctor. How long is this doctor of yours going to deprive you of medicine?

Next time have him FAX THE PRESCRIPTIONS directly to your pharmacy...

Next time have him FAX THE PRESCRIPTIONS directly to your pharmacy...
Where I'm from you have to hand deliver it -- fax won't do unfortunately, maybe it's different where you are.

I definately wouldn't recommend the nicotine. Both nicotine and caffeine reduce the flow of blood to the brain which can make ADD worse in the long run and are both very addictive (and nicotine of course can give you cancer, etc., etc., etc.).

You might try really boosting your exercise regime for the next three months. I had to get off Concerta a couple of years ago and my doctor wouldn't try any other medication, but I found with lots of exercise and Omega III fatty acids I did pretty well (that's definately how I got through college with A's long before I ever took medication). The trick is you have to exercise multiple times a day and it acts kind of like short acting Ritalin (1 -4 good hours). Even 10 minutes of exercise that gets you breathing a bit hard will do the trick (run up and down stairs, jog to next appointment, brisk walk, jumping jacks, etc.). Dr. John Ratey (co author of Driven to Distraction and Harvard Professor with ADD) writes about this in his new book Spark. I took his class and he said that exercise raises both the levels of dopamine and serotonin in your blood stream. Omega III fatty acids gives your body the building blocks necessary to build the neurotransmitters (Delivered from Distraction).

Exercise that is combines specific movements is especially helpful for ADD -- like Karate, dance steps, etc.

Good luck!

My doctor mails them there for me because it has happened to me before and the old doctor I had was investigated over it because it was a period when I needed a dose increase and I kept losing them.

Next time have him FAX THE PRESCRIPTIONS directly to your pharmacy...

I'm pretty sure the rule goes across the entire United States (or at least the majority): Faxing of CII scripts is NOT allowed, unless it's some kind of special situation (i.e. cancer patient in a long term care facility, hospice care, things like that).

Wow. That sucks. In NY, schedule II substances have to be written on a special prescription pad. I thought that if you filed a police report, doctors had to give you a new prescription. I had a problem a while ago with my fiance taking my adderall without me knowing. I called my psychiatrist & told him what happened, he told me tough luck & then proceeded to treat me like a drug addict after that even though I did nothing wrong. He sucked for a number of other reasons so I switched psychiatrists.

I guess you have two choices a) suck it up for 3 months with no meds b) find another psychiatrist

My pharmacist actually is required by law to retain my prescription and not to give it back to me. That's what I get for taking LA Ritalin in a high dose.

Perhaps you could ask your pharmacist to do the same for you next time, even if they're not obligated? They may have to do for other customers anyway. Or maybe your doc's office can keep it for you?


Yeah I think that's a good law we have here in Australia. Means I can't lose my script :)

In Australia there's a computer network setup for schedule 6,8,9 and it shows up if the script gets filled or not and they can cancel it if someone loses it.

That's really bad luck about losing those prescriptions :( there's not much you can do. Maybe take the three months to try out some other techniques to help manage your ADD? Exercise works almost as well as meds for me but the relief doesn't last long enough.

If someone says they lost their prescription the doctor would usually think the patient has used it up and wants a new one. I'm not saying this is the right thing for the doctor to think but they often assume the worst, it's better safe than sorry in their mind.

I definately wouldn't recommend the nicotine. Both nicotine and caffeine reduce the flow of blood to the brain which can make ADD worse in the long run and are both very addictive (and nicotine of course can give you cancer, etc., etc., etc.).

Caffeine reduces brain blood flow by about 20% in both high and low coffee drinkers. Still, I've not seen any evidence this harms either normal people, or those with ADHD... and I think that after a few hundred years of chronic use and abuse by much a large amount of the world's population, such studies would have emerged. Further, this decrease in blood flow is not permanent, and those who stop drinking coffee actually have increased blood flow compared to before they started.

Caffeine has been shown to improve attention and short-term memory, not to mention it is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor (like amphetamine and methylphenidate).

I doubt that if it is just for a 3 month period it would cause any significant problems.

i just started kicking *** today. i called in the place and they gave me their BS, and i ended up having to start asking for the persons name i can complain to, and they tried dodging giving me names by playing phone games, trying to put me off till 4 or whenever they leave, so i calling back and finally they moved my appointment from april first to march fourth. this kind of **** should not happen. i know the florida statutes. the system should be bulletproof. i have responsibilities that depend on an organized, functional brain.
i filed a police report, i havent any drug charges or history.

i exercise almost every day for the past couple years, jogging at least several miles daily.

Caffeine reduces brain blood flow by about 20% in both high and low coffee drinkers. Still, I've not seen any evidence this harms either normal people, or those with ADHD... and I think that after a few hundred years of chronic use and abuse by much a large amount of the world's population, such studies would have emerged. Further, this decrease in blood flow is not permanent, and those who stop drinking coffee actually have increased blood flow compared to before they started.

Caffeine has been shown to improve attention and short-term memory, not to mention it is a dopamine reuptake inhibitor (like amphetamine and methylphenidate).

I doubt that if it is just for a 3 month period it would cause any significant problems.
Don't get me wrong, Fuse. I use caffeine too -- a lot before I started meds and a little bit even on them. I'm just passing on some information from experts whom I assume know a lot more than I do -- specially Edward Hallowell and John Ratey who wrote Driven to Distraction and Delivered from Distraction. I don't expect any dire consequences either (at least not from the caffeine -- it was mostly the nicotine use I was questioning).

i just started kicking *** today. i called in the place and they gave me their BS, and i ended up having to start asking for the persons name i can complain to, and they tried dodging giving me names by playing phone games, trying to put me off till 4 or whenever they leave, so i calling back and finally they moved my appointment from april first to march fourth. this kind of **** should not happen. i know the florida statutes. the system should be bulletproof. i have responsibilities that depend on an organized, functional brain.
i filed a police report, i havent any drug charges or history.

i exercise almost every day for the past couple years, jogging at least several miles daily.Good for you sees with the exercise. I hope you can work out the medication thing -- you definately shouldn't be treated like a criminal. I've often worried about losing my meds or my script and having everyone suspicious of me -- I'm mean we're ADD after all -- losing things is one of the things we do best!

i know the florida statutes. the system should be bulletproof.


Sorry you lost your scripts, and I apologize that I can't offer any advice because to be honest I am not even able to get more than 30 days at a time for XR but..

Just a question since this kind of relates to an earlier post I replied to, but were you able to get a 90 day script (or 3 30 day) because that is what Florida allows for Class II? Is that where my confusion lies with the XR, that different states have different restrictions so when I see these 60-90 day scripts that I simply cannot get where I live?

florida statutes are not very strict. its at the prescriber's discretion as to how much, how often, etc. when i had insurance, i received 3 months supply of pills/180 pills.
what state are you in?

i have exercised my brain to the point that im organized like a math procedure. lately ive been mentally exhausted, and i had an ill animal, which i was thinking about instead of handling of my scripts.
the past three years ive kept scripts in a binder. i took them north on trip to michigan, which filling one was a bit of a fiasco which i had to goto indiana to fill (since michigan only fills out michigan scripts, and scripts of bordering states).

statutes are not very strict. its really at the prescriber's discretion.

i have exercised my brain to the point that im organized like a math procedure. lately ive been mentally exhausted, and i had an ill animal, which i was thinking about instead of handling of my scripts. the past three years ive kept them in a binder. i took them up north on trip to michigan, which filling one was a bit of a fiasco which i had to goto indiana to fill (since michigan only fills out michigan scripts, and scripts of boardering states).

Exactly what do you mean that they are not that strict? Its at the prescriber's discretion if Michigan, or is it across the board? I've asked a couple pharmacists this and they have all said the same thing, because I did initially question my doc's knowledge about the law..

in fl laws are not strict. within practical non-abusive practice, the prescriber may write the script as they desire.
i donno mi laws, but they do state florida script cannot be filled in mi.
what state are you in?

Sees, you hangin' in there okay, sweetpea?

It's actually extremely easy for the shrink to find out if you had one or any of those scripts filled.. Every prescriber has a federal ID number that is put into a database that all pharmacies must use.. All the doctor has to do is call and input her Federal ID number, time frame, and she'll get a listing of every script that has been filled. She can also put a hold on a scripts that she has written if they have no been filled yet (not sure about how widespred this is..)

Good luck man..

If you're on 60mg XR, I'm guessing that's per day. That equates to about 4 to 5 grams of speed in total on a 3 month prescription; enough for the average person to get high on more than 100 times.

100 times... 90 days of meds. Does not compute. :confused: