How to navigate a new doctor refusing medication?

[Zeus734]

Hey, I am new here, but I have been diagnosed with ADHD for 22 years and managing it very well with medication and other therapies. Recently, my doctor of 10 years left his practice and so I needed to "re-establish" with a new provider.

To make a very long story short- he is clearly anti-ADHD, and is refusing to refill my prescriptions that I have been on for over 20 years.

I have about 2 weeks of meds left, and live in a rural area with limited resources- any advice? Does anyone know if I have legal recourse?

Any help would be appreciated.

[jonghee]

Depending on your state, telepsychiatry might be an option. Sometimes inter-state is allowed, other times not. It can get complicated, but there are legit websites and providers out there. Check out helloahead.com you might have some luck there. Generally you have to pay out of pocket, but a lot of insurances reimburse, at least up to a certain amount. Good luck and stay safe!!

[Hidden in reply to jonghee]

Maybe his old doctor is practicing elsewhere and has virtual telepsychiatry office capabilities also! That would save a ton of hassle.

[jonghee in reply to Hidden]

mcmayhem!! What's up?! 😁

[Hidden]

Hi Zeus,

I'm wondering if your old doc's retired or moved elsewhere to begin a new practice; if the latter, maybe you could contact him if you haven't already to see about e-prescribing chadd.org/adhd-weekly/epres... and possibly speaking to your new doctor on your behalf. Maybe longshots, both, but the squeaky wheel and all. I'm in an area like yours with practitioners like yours so I feel your frustration. It seems to me like whenever I told anyone medication made me nervous, they wanted to push it on me; now that I know I need it and say so, it's crickets or, worse, "this can be construed as drug-seeking behavior." Maybe don't ask for what you need, be coy and see if you can finesse him into doing his (deep breath, rage abated) job.

[jonghee]

Zeus,

You could also try getting an independent ADHD evaluation and diagnosis by a psychologist to further substantiate your diagnosis. That you can definitely get online.

[PJTJ]

Either online as mentioned above- lots of providers are now switching to telemedicine appointments for the time being- or try your primary care physician to see if they are willing to continue medication since you’ve been on it and stable for some time (or at least if they are willing to prescribe medication short term while you find a new provider).