I am an almost 35 year old female and my PCP has been treating me for ADD for the past 10+ years with 30 mg of XR Adderall/day. I did not undergo any testing other than detailed conversations with PCP. I have an excellent job, two healthy, young (1 and almost 3) children, own a home, etc. I am healthy, exercise regularly, eat well, etc.
My PCP recently sold his practice and the new doctor will not fill my full prescription (only willing to prescribe 20mg IR/day) and this dosage is not working at all. She said if I “want” more I need to be referred to “psych.” Apparently PCP’s are not supposed to prescribe anything over 20mg/day?
I am extremely anxious about the whole situation; I never imagined myself needing to see a psychiatrist and have no idea what to expect. Will they take the fact that my prescription has had an extremely positive impact on my life for 10 years at face value and continue treatment? Will I need to undergo additional testing? Is there a chance they will not continue my prescription (in which case I have no idea how I will function- I literally feel like a shell without it)? I don’t have the luxury of dealing with not being treated as I don’t have a spare minute in my day between work and kids.
Any insight as to what I might expect will be very helpful!
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Ldubs83
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My experience in case this is helpful to you: I was diagnosed as an adult, after law school. I did go through significant testing, which might be something you can do. I went to a special practice in Washington, DC that specializes in ADD / ADHD for diagnosis. I didn't go on medication for several years after that. When I did decide to try meds, I had to see a psychiatrist even with the previous testing results. He asked quite a few questions. However it wasn't anything scary or difficult. I am currently off medication. However when I was on it, I did need to see the psychiatrist every six months to check in. Probably a CYA type of thing since the drugs we take are, I believe, controlled substances. It has never been any problem for me to get medication. Best of luck to you.
My struggle here and is going through testing to see if I have a condition I’ve been treated for successfully for over 10 years. I know I’m not the only busy person on the planet but I rarely have a minute to spare and taking time off work for testing is not ideal. My PCP also saw me every six months for what I agree were CYA appointments. Thanks again...
IMO doctors who change prescriptions when they are working are clearly not acting in the best interest of their patient. I would find another doctor. Over the years I have run across many medical professionals who simply are not aware of the most current research on ADHD. In many cases the newer metrics for determining ADHD have been lowered as many individuals were missed, specifically if they were older or had ADHD - inattentive type.
Thank you for sharing this! Much appreciated and I am in 100% agreement that suddenly changing my prescription (without even telling me - didn’t think to check it and only found out when I picked up from pharmacy) was not in my best interest at all. Will definitely look for another doctor once this is squared away.
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