Obtaining Medication

This process is insane.  I absolutely hate it, and I've managed to make it much easier for myself in the past year.  I still hate it.  Whoever screwed the process up for us law-abiding parents deserves to be drawn and quartered.

First of all, it has to be a hand-written prescription.  Focalin XR can't be called or faxed in.  So whenever we need the prescription, we have to call the pediatrician, wait for it to be written, then go over to the office and pick it up.  Hopefully the doctor feels comfortable writing the prescription; if its been too long since the child has been into the office, they'll ask you to bring the child in for a well-check before they'll write the script.  The pick-up process involves showing ID (thank goodness they'll take a temporary driver's license since I don't have a current one...) and signing for the script.  Then it has to be take to a pharmacy or mailed in for the three-month supply.

Taking a prescription to a pharmacy has its own issues.  Stock on these meds can get very low.  A previous medication we tried was only available at the Target pharmacy we were using about 50% of the time.  We have been very lucky that our CVS always has our current meds in stock.  Some local parents have to check with 3-8 locations to find one with enough of the right medication to fill the prescription.

Mail-in is crazy, too.  You have to be around to sign for the delivery and show an ID.  UPS/FedEx/USPS come during the day while my husband and I are at work.  We aren't around to sign for it!  So they take it back to the warehouse and my husband runs over at some point and picks it up.  Usually in a hurry because we have one pill left.

Now that we can get a three-month supply, life is much easier.  Unless the prescription gets brought home and sits around until someone gets around to mailing it.  Then you freak out because you realize you have three pills left and two weeks until the new prescription arrives.  In this case, you have to call the doctor's office and plead with them to write you a short-term prescription so that you don't end up on vacation without medicine.

For the first six months that we utilized ADHD medicine for G, it was prior to his fifth birthday.  Our insurance wouldn't cover it.  I was paying $178 for one month of medication.  Now we pay $75 a month.  The price can be a bitter pill to swallow, but it makes such a difference for G.  His kindergarten year, and some of Pre-K before that, would've been a disaster.

I really wish we could ease up this process.  Its a pain to deal with, especially when the whole thing feels like a punishment.  Anyone in cyberspace have horror stories and/or suggestions to share?