Security for ADD meds in dorm?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I've heard that students taking ADD meds and other drugs that fellow students might find to be "of interest" should be really careful with them in the dorm. Son will share a bathroom with his roommate and the room next door. I'll tell him not to leave them in the bathroom. But should I really expect him to do more? His dorm room has mostly open shelving - there is a narrow desk drawer and the two roommates share a chest of drawers. I guess I could tell him to try to get into the habit of keeping them out of sight in a drawer. </p>

<p>Has anyone felt is necessary to go to more extreme measures?</p>

2

<p>I don’t have any experience with this in college dorms, but my husband’s Ritalin was stolen from a suitcase at a hotel we were staying at. He (we) learned an expensive lesson.</p>

3

<p>DS kept all meds (prescription and OTC) in a drawer (desk, I think, not even dresser) and really that was sufficient.</p>

4

<p>after some meds “disappeared”, my D put the extra months meds in a small safe she kept high up in her closet. She tended to keep the current bottle in her purse, which was generally with her.</p>

5

<p>missy–just my opinion, but he should definitely keep them out of sight. With ADD meds, etc. I might feel the need for a dorm safe that could be kept in the dresser drawer. One thing to consider is how long it would take him to get the prescription refilled if they were stolen. You should also remind him that it’s not a great idea to mention his meds in public places. Obviously his roommates will know about them, but my feeling is the fewer people that know he has the drugs, the less chance for them to be stolen.</p>

6

<p>ADD meds are highly desired and will be stolen in a heartbeat. They should be locked up and if I were your son, I wouldn’t tell anyone he takes the meds.</p>

7

<p>I agree that he should not tell others about the meds and that they should be locked in a secure place. My son’s dorm provides a safe in the closet for the students. Not a bad idea for storage of important papers and meds.</p>

8

<p>A safe or small lock box is a good idea in this case. Could also keep wallet/cash in it.
I advised a relative to not make mention of the fact that he takes ADD medication. He just finished his freshman year.
I don’t know what he did for safekeeping, but I think he adhered to the “less people know about my medication, the better”.</p>

9

<p>Definitely tell your S not to let any kids know he has ADD meds. S’s doctor impressed upon us that it doesn’t matter if you’re attending an ivy or a reform school, if kids know you have it someone will try to steal it. </p>

<p>S uses a weekly pill dispenser that he keeps with his toiletries (brush teeth, take meds & vitamins), and then stores the remaining meds in a lock box which stays in his locked footlocker. Some schools have a drawer in the dresser that locks. This was suggested to us by the health center as a way to make it easier for S to remember to take meds daily (no out of sight, out of mind :wink: ), without keeping large quantities exposed. The system worked very well. It’s also nice and easy for him to just throw the dispenser in his backpack if he is going away overnight. We also had him keep a list of meds, including dosage, in his wallet for doctor visits and emergencies.</p>

10

<p>Freshman year he kept them in the drawer that was right next to the head of the bed. He also did not tell anyone he had them. (this on advice from his Dr) If Mom had told him that he would have told me I was micromanaging him. Soph year he did not have a roommate so I don’t know where he kept them. He did end up having a problem when he was headed to a study group at an off campus apartment and he was rushed and grabbed the bottle. When he returned back to his dorm the bottle was not in his backpack nor in the drivers car. He told the driver that he wanted the bottle returned. He suspected that one of the drivers friends had taken the meds.
My son does not enjoy taking the meds so only uses them when he feels he absolutely has to. The Dr writes the prescription as if they are taken daily. When I pick up at the pharmacy I ask for it to be put in two bottles. I keep a portion at home. That way if a theft occurs we have backup.
Also my son found with his class and study schedule he wanted to have on hand two types of meds. Long acting and short. This year he is just taking the short acting. For night classes or late night studying my son did not like taking the long acting. If your son has morning classes and evening classes 1 dose in the am will not last.</p>

11

<p>There was a lengthy article in the New Yorker about 6 weeks ago about the massive use of these drugs (not prescribed) as study aids at elite universities. They bring a nice buck on the market, even if you don’t want to use them yourself. Students were quoted as saying that you were at a disadvantage if you did NOT use these meds.</p>

12

<p>One reason I also don’t like my son to have large amounts of the short acting meds on hand is I don’t want him to think it is okay to give a few to a friend or be tempted sell them.
For my younger D I keep 5 tablets in the kitchen. The rest I keep hidden in my room. This was after becoming concerned that 1 of my D’s friends was helping herself to a few ritalin for weight loss.</p>

13

<p>Good advice here! Thanks. How do your kids get refills? Can’t you only get one month at a time? Does the student health office write prescriptions?</p>

14

<p>I emailed back and forth with the nurse who is the head of the student health office. Son’s health office does not write ADD meds. It is a big pain for us to get the prescription, and we’d need lead time to mail either the drugs or the prescription. I asked the nurse at the school for some doctor recommendations. I made Son an appointment with a local doctor on move-in day. The office is fairly close to the school. Once he has seen the doctor and has the prescription, we will drive around and find a nearby pharmacy and take him through the process. I really want Son to take ownership of getting his meds refilled.</p>

<p>Note that when my husband called the health office, the person who answered the phone said that certainly they could write the prescription…then husband overheard the nurse in the background saying “no, it’s a controlled substance” then the person corrected himself. So make sure you talk to a medical type at the school.</p>

15

<p>your doctor can write a three month prescription, we do a mail order through our prescription coverage. I was initially thinking this was a good idea, to avoid having to deal with refills on her own, but then you do have the securing the meds issue. I think I’ll suggest my daughter take the three month supply and store the bulk of it in a locked safe, and keep a small amount for daily use in her purse.</p>

16

<p>Locked(combo or key) 2 drawer filing cabinet</p>

17

<p>Will echo others here on having a safe and keeping this info private (except for the academic advisor, special needs program, campus health, as appropriate).</p>

<p>missypie, be sure to bring prior med records to the local doc so that he/she can see there are legit reasons and history for prescribing.</p>

18

<p>

</p>

<p>What do I ask the current doctor for?</p>

19

<p>I’m going to download everything I know or have learned about this topic:</p>

<p>As others have said, he should clearly understand not to broadcast that he has these medicines. </p>

<p>If a roommate or even a new friend asks what they are for, either don’t answer or make up a boring answer, like: allergies, or thyroid. </p>

<p>Put duct tape over the label on the prescription bottle. (Then it’s there if he needs it but not available to anyone who sees it.)</p>

<p>Store it in a drawer or secure safe. ALWAYS. Never counter-top.</p>

<p>Use a daily Mon-Sun pill box, and only fill it up when alone in the room. Keep the pill-box in a drawer.</p>

<p>Count pills and know how many are left.</p>

<p>Keep a week or so spares, because sometimes the mailing of prescriptions isn’t perfect.</p>

<p>Have a serious talk with him about how others WILLl want these and offer to
trade (other pills, or various favors like a ride to the airport…) or outright buy his pills, especially at exam time. It will be tempting, because he’ll want to make friends. Emphasize the medical risks to others, and legal risk to himself, if he participates in any swap or sell. Be sure he understands that what regulates him has an entirely different effect on someone who has no diagnosis. </p>

<p>Empower him as a young adult to watch over himself on this; that it’s serious and now he’s in charge of it. </p>

<p>Don’t ask him constantly, but reassure him that you’ll ask him how it’s all working for him after Week One, Month One and Term One. Or if he needs to talk it out, he can call you to discuss it anytime; it’s that important.</p>

<p>It’s a very, very serious issue for kids who come to school with these meds, but you can give him confidence that he’s a young man who can handle this.</p>

20

<p>Missy-S’s school had very rigid requirements for them to write ADD med refills. They wanted all medical records and medication history, and results of specific testing which needed to be completed after age 15. They would then make their own evaluation. We just found it easier for our at home doc to continue to write the prescriptions. I pick it up and drop off at our local Walgreens and S picks up the meds at a Walgreens in the college town. We thought about the mail order but were concerned about the quantity on hand aspect.</p>

<p>I would probably call the new doc’s office and ask what records they will require.</p>