mavh2005

Member
I just got off the phone with difficult child's Bio-Mom. We're having issues with copays and authorizations on Vyvanse. I asked Mom if she had any Vyvanse left to get difficult child thru til Tuesday when we go back to the doctor. She said she had plenty of the 50mg pills left. This is her current prescription.. The reason she has so many left, is because on the weekends difficult child is with her, she's been giving her 30mg pills that were prescribed back in October. Could this be part of the reason difficult child has been "so horrible" at her place???

I'm waiting for a call back from the doctor now.

Thanks,
 

JJJ

Active Member
It could be part of the reason she struggles more over there. But it is not uncommon for kids to take a lower dose on the weekends. Eeyore now takes 40mg Adderall on school days and 30mg Adderall on non-school days. Piglet takes anywhere from 20mg Adderall + 20 mg Ritalin to nothing depending on her activities that day.
 

mavh2005

Member
It could be part of the reason she struggles more over there. But it is not uncommon for kids to take a lower dose on the weekends. Eeyore now takes 40mg Adderall on school days and 30mg Adderall on non-school days. Piglet takes anywhere from 20mg Adderall + 20 mg Ritalin to nothing depending on her activities that day.


Thanks, JJJ. I am concerned because this dosage change has never been addressed with either doctor difficult child has seen. The only thing that was ever considered about her medications was getting her off them completley in the summer when school is done.

What is PRN?

Thanks!!
 

JJJ

Active Member
PRN = pro re nata meaning "as needed"

For Piglet, her behavior is excellent and she only needs the stims to focus and be alert. So we look at what activities she has, homework, etc. and determine if she needs to focus and we give her up to 20mg of short acting Ritalin to help her during her afterschool/evening activities. On a day like today, when she does not have school due to a snow day but does have a cello lesson, we skip the Adderall and just do a 10mg Ritalin about an hour before her lesson. It allows her to focus when needed without overwhelming her body with the stims.

If we wanted full ADHD symptom control, she'd likely be on 40mg Adderall and 30mg Ritalin every day but she is so tiny and last year she lost 17 pounds in 6 weeks when the doctor upped her medications to help her as she started junior high. So we have to find that balance. We've been with this doctor since we adopted her so there is a large trust factor between us.
 

susiestar

Roll With It
As vyvanse is a stimulant, skipping the medication on the weekends will mean more problems those days but not more on days she has the regular dose. Stims are fast in and fast out, meaning that they don't build up in your system the way other medications do. If/when difficult child is on other medications, this can NOT happen. Mom NEEDS to give her the medications the way the doctor prescribed them. There have been quite a few kids at our schools who have had some real troubles because they were put on strattera (SSRI medication that works for adhd for some people) and continued skipping weekends and other days the way they did with stims.

Do you know WHY mom isn't giving her the medications? My fear would be that mom or someone in her home is saving them to take herself or to sell. Around here you MUST sign a medication contract with your doctor if you are going to be rx'd a stimulant or pain medications or a benzo. It says that you will ONLY use the medication as the doctor rx'd it and you will only get the medication from that one doctor and you will only use one pharmacy. You also agree to not get rx's for that kind of medication from any other doctor for any reason. Finding that a parent wasn't giving the medications every day is grounds for refusing to treat a patient again and most docs here follow this esp strictly when they have pediatric patients on stimulants.

Do you go to the psychiatrist wtih biomom? Or is it your husband and biomom or just biomom or just you or husband? If you don't attend the appointment, fax a letter to the doctor with your concerns, including wanting guidelines for weekend medication adjustments. Also say that you know the mom is giving less medicine on the weekends and could this be causing some or all of the behavior problmes that she is having? It will likly open up discussion between the psychiatrist and biomom, if nothing else.
 
P

PatriotsGirl

Guest
My son doesn't have behavior problems, either, and doesn't take it on the weekends. But if he doesn't have it at school, is a night and day difference.
 

mavh2005

Member
As vyvanse is a stimulant, skipping the medication on the weekends will mean more problems those days but not more on days she has the regular dose. Stims are fast in and fast out, meaning that they don't build up in your system the way other medications do. If/when difficult child is on other medications, this can NOT happen. Mom NEEDS to give her the medications the way the doctor prescribed them. There have been quite a few kids at our schools who have had some real troubles because they were put on strattera (SSRI medication that works for adhd for some people) and continued skipping weekends and other days the way they did with stims.

Do you know WHY mom isn't giving her the medications? My fear would be that mom or someone in her home is saving them to take herself or to sell. Around here you MUST sign a medication contract with your doctor if you are going to be rx'd a stimulant or pain medications or a benzo. It says that you will ONLY use the medication as the doctor rx'd it and you will only get the medication from that one doctor and you will only use one pharmacy. You also agree to not get rx's for that kind of medication from any other doctor for any reason. Finding that a parent wasn't giving the medications every day is grounds for refusing to treat a patient again and most docs here follow this esp strictly when they have pediatric patients on stimulants.

Do you go to the psychiatrist wtih biomom? Or is it your husband and biomom or just biomom or just you or husband? If you don't attend the appointment, fax a letter to the doctor with your concerns, including wanting guidelines for weekend medication adjustments. Also say that you know the mom is giving less medicine on the weekends and could this be causing some or all of the behavior problmes that she is having? It will likly open up discussion between the psychiatrist and biomom, if nothing else.

Susie,

I have no clue why Mom is doing this. She gave me the reason as "they don't do anything on the weekend, so she feels she doesn't need the higher dose". I don't trust Mom at all. It would not surprise me if she is using difficult child's drugs for herself. I am definitly bringing this to the doctor's attention at the next appointment.

I always go to all the doctor appointments. Usually, Mom is there (always wants the script for difficult child's medications) and sometimes husband goes as well. That depends on his work schedule. doctor did say he HAS to come to Tuesday's appointment. That led me to believe she's going to do something against Mom's wishes and wants Dad and I both there to give her the ok. Mom is forcing Intuniv big time and we don't agree.
 
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