Adderall: Pharmacy Problem

[afkreuger]

I'm 28 and attending a graduate program. During my undergrad studies, I was on adderall (60mg a day), then went off it once I left school. I just moved to the Denver area for my program and realized that I should get back on adderall because it helps me in so many ways....I have ADHD and it helps my focus and organization skills incredibly . A month ago, I went to a psychiatrist and he prescribed me adderall.... (30) 10mg. I filled the script at Walgreens. I followed up with him and he really didn’t seem to know much about ADHD....I had plenty of questions about going back on adderall and he really didnt care much. He pretty much asked me a couple questions and that was it. I decided to go see another psychiatrist a couple weeks later that specialized in ADHD and he wrote me a script for (30) 20mg of adderall. I filled it at Walgreens again. I’ve seen this new psychiatrist 4 times since our first visit for psychotherapy, which he also does. I saw him again yesterday and we discussed my dosage of adderall and determined that for me, 60mg a day is perfect....no more, no less, so he prescribed me a new script for adderall (90) 20mg....It'll be a month until I get to see him again. My issue is, when I went to Walgreens to fill this new script, it must have raised a red flag because they said they couldn’t pill the prescription and apparently had to talk to both doctors that prescribed me adderall, even though I had already filled a script weeks prior from the psychiatrist i'm seeing now. Basically, 2 doctors have prescribed me adderall in the last month so to the pharmacist this must look like I’m doctor shopping, which I’m not. In my experience, when I blindly search for a psychiatrist or therapist, I will get along with some, but others not so good. What’s the deal here with Walgreens: I know there’s a drug monitoring program in place in nearly 30 states, and I’m not shopping for Adderall. I feel great about my life and I’m a guy that pretty much has things put together nicely, except for the ADHD. I know adderall is a schedule 2 drug, so I understand that aspect, but to have a pharmacist look at me like I’m a druggie is definitely something I’m never had, nor would I ever assume to have. I was very respectful to the pharmacist but he barely gave me the time of day, so i'm very confused. I realize pharmacists have to deal with a lot of stress....pain pill addicts, etc....but I guess I'd like to know why this would happen in my situation. Thanks in advance.

[CalmTheChaos]

Hello,

Welcome to the forums!

The situation you describe is quite common. The pharmacy will always give you problems (and usually refuse to fill) when you bring in two scrips for a Schedule II within the span of a month, even if it is from the same doctor.

Different doctors prescribing the same drug at the same time looks especially suspicious and always raise a red flag (for pretty much any med), since it appears that you are being treated by different doctors who may not be aware of each other.

Had you waited until there was a month between filling the scrips, you probably wouldn't have had any issues at all.

Don't take it personally. It's the pharmacy's obligation to look into these situations. Since you did nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about other than a slight inconvenience.

Good luck!




P.S.

You will find that many people in online forums will avoid posts like yours, which contain a large "wall of text", because they are very hard to read.

But, if you put a little extra time (and paragraphs) into the formatting, people will be more apt to read (and consequently reply to) your posts.

[afkreuger]

Thanks for the reply Calm. I figured my rambling would drive people away, but thanks for the advice....I appreciate it.

[kalimba]

I was worried that I would have that problem too. My doctor titrated me up from 5 mg to 10 mg to 15 mg, but that left me with the slight problem that after 2 weeks, I was out because my doctor didn't think about the quantity of the pills, and didn't write the script for enough.

So after 2 weeks, I had to get a refill - the pharmacist didn't even bring it up. I was all prepared with my doctor's number and telling the pharmacist that he upped the dosage, but nothing happened.

The first script I got filled at CVS and the pharmacist did treat me like a junkie looking for a fix, but then I found it was almost 40% cheaper to buy the script at sam's club, so I got my new script filled at sam's.

I don't know if I avoided the whole 2 week fill thing by going to a new pharmacy - or that I was paying cash or what. I'm sorry you're having that problem.

[emack17]

It's a little late, but I just noticed this post and thought I'd add:

It's usually not the pharmacy that raises the red flag...it's the insurance company. Due to privacy laws, pharmacies dont have one giant database where all the prescription orders go. Walgreens pharmacy doesn't know what you did at Rite Aid, ect...

But when they submit the claim to your insurance company for payment, and your insurance company notices the pattern, they will suspend the claim until the situation is verified.

If you're worried about this happening, call the insurance company ahead of time and let them know. This will save you the future embarassment.