<p>missypie, I would assume whatever your current doc has on the need for medications, dosage, how long he’s been taking them, etc. I’d contact the new doc and ask what he/she wants as far as records go, or if a letter sent from the current doc’s office will suffice.</p>
<p>My concern would be that a new doc would be concerned your S is shopping for meds when he hasn’t used them previously/wants an extra supply.</p>
<p>We have kept our local doc as primary on prescribing, evaluations, etc. He knows the whole story, I trust him implicitly and he would be glad to consult w/local docs if needed.</p>
<p>If one saves an extra (properly labeled) bottle, it is useful for when a student goes away for the weekend, uses that on a daily basis and keeps the 90-day supply even more securely hidden, etc. It’s important that if students travel (esp on a plane or internationally) that labels be in proper containers vs. daily pill dispensers. (call me paranoid…)</p>
<p>We bought a small, inexpensive lockable box for meds.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t put duct tape over the prescription, because it is conceivable your son may need to prove that they belong to him. In fact, having a letter from the MD or a copy of the RX is not a bad idea.</p>
<p>Having a small supply out, and the rest locked away, is a great idea and we will follow that advice for a different, but also desirable, med.</p>
<p>Good idea also not to mention the meds to anyone or to avoid naming them.</p>
<p>Check with the doctor who will follow your kid’s condition at college to find out how many weeks supply they put on a script and how often they want to do med checks where kid comes in for an appointment. Practice standards can vary (monthly, semi-monthly, or more frequently) from place to place and kid to kid. If your kid heads to a different state, or their Rx insurance is changing, the amount of med they are allowed in each refill might also change. For example, some states allow 30 days, some allow 60 days supply on a refill of controlled substances like ADD meds. Also find out from the pharmacy what happens if pills are lost or stolen. They probably can’t or won’t be replaced, which could leave your kid in a bad way. This is a convincing reason for many kids to keep meds locked up. Imagine having a 2-month supply stolen!</p>
<p>A major issue is that they are C-2s. In some states, you only have 72 hours to get it filled. You cannot give the prescription to a pharmacy which uses a common database, i.e. Walgreens, and have it picked up at another store which shares the database. There are some pharmacists who will not fill out of state C-2 prescriptions.</p>
<p>The federal government does not put a max on number of days a C-2 prescription can be for. Some states and insurance companies have laws on it. I have heard of people getting a year’s worth of Adderall on one prescription.</p>
<p>After reading the recent article in Scientific American MIND about short term memory and Adderall, and seeing that younger D has just been switched to same dose I have been on for a few years ( and my short term memory is non existent), I am researching other meds.</p>
<p>My3Sons and Paying3Tuitions have a great system down to a tee. Just finished first year with two kids with ADD meds and maintaining D’s confidentiality became a HUGE issue. So parents- follow the advice you have read in these 2 pages-coach your S or D to take meds, when possible, out of sight of roommate. If not possible, I would probably ( given the benefit of hindsight, go ahead and tell the proverbial I have allergies or this is my “acne medicine” story. D’s roommate from first year shared our D’s medication patterns with her mother ( wife of M.D.) and next day I received a call from roommate’s mom wanting to know very personal info. about our D. things went downhill from there. So…forewarned is forearmed. Ditto the importance of NOT sharing with other students the fact that child is diagnosed with ADD= license to snoop, and try to take things.</p>
<p>All these ideas are great and my student would agree that they are good ideas. But when it comes down to actually putting into action the ideas it is another story. For my son who has ADD,LD and poor memory skills I doubt he would follow through. For a safe he would have to remember to put the meds inside, he would also have to remember the combination and to remember to put the bottle back in after taking the meds and closing the safe door. He son also has poor time management skills and would not give himself the few extra minutes it would take to open the safe, take the pill and put the bottle away. I would say 80% off the time he forgets to even take the meds.</p>
<p>Not to mention my son is not one to remember to tell me he is about out of meds. (I pick up the prescription at Dr and fill it and mail to son) All of which takes time. Telling me that you have no more meds and finals start in 3 days is not sufficient notice in my book.</p>
<p>Telling me that you have no more meds and finals start in 3 days is not sufficient notice in my book.
Which is one reason why I am looking into medication that is not a controlled substance.</p>
<p>emeraldkity- son’s very first try at meds for his ADD was with Strattera. It was not the right med for him. We had to fight hard to get him to try another med after that. But if Strattera works for you it is an easy to deal with alternative.</p>