ADHD Meds Holiday Supply

[Summer26]

Just looking for some perspective I guess. I had ADHD & get my medication via Psychiatry UK as my GP surgery have a policy that blanket bans prescribing these meds. I was so worried, but my psychiatrist said no problem we Psychiatry UK will allocate you a prescriber.

Initially she seemed ok, am not sure what she even is like an advanced nurse or similar, she was a bit OTT about interactions, insisting I have a blood test when I had not long had one & had been on the ADHD mrds a good while. My GP thought it unnecessary but did it.

I am going away on Friday for 3 weeks I have been telling her about this for months, offering to provide proof. She never really acknowledged this looking back on the messages. Just over a week ago I requested a new prescription stating I required it early due to going overseas for 3 weeks. She has refused telling me to skip doses to stretch it out.

As far as I was aware this was not a drug you are meant to miss doses. I am 5 days short. I had to titrate over months to get to my current dose of 70mg from 20mg. The drug is Vyanase. When I tried to message the psychiatrist on the app, (you can either contact prescriber (her) or psychiatrist). She intercepted and replied to the message refusing to prescribe me 5 extra capsules.

Has anyone else had an experience like this? Is she correct I just have to miss doses, as I going on holiday? My GP was happy to prescibe my monthly meds early whivh include opiate based painkillers.

Is there anyone who could help me, she blocks my messages to the psychiatrist and my GP is not involved. I am really worried about those 5 days with no meds. Any advice gratefully received. Thank you

You’ve managed up til your diagnosis, I’m sure you’ll be fine for three weeks. Not like it’s insulin or anything.

My son is on the same med and dose. He doesn't take every day, easily skipping at least one or two days a week with the knowledge of the prescriber.

How many capsules do you have?

5 capsules. I just wish she hsd told me at the start that she wasn't allowed to prescribe early. I could have planned for it a bit better then.

I know it is not life threatening @dancehysterical22. Thanks for your helpful comment, neither are lots of things migraines, period pain, hayfever, dental pain, colds etc Still bloody annoying though. Well I know now & hopefully someone else does too. I will he realy pissed if I have to start titration again. I wouldnt have gone if I'd known it was going to cause such an issue. Do no harm hey!

Seems very strange behaviour on her part, surely this comes up quite a lot when people go on holiday? If she has concerns about it, she could easily ask you to provide proof of your travel booking.

But if you can’t get anywhere, then pick some days when you might not need it as much and skip it on those days. For instance, I know some kids only take their ADHD medication on school days to help their focus at school and then take a break at weekends. You might even find its more effective on the days you do take it as your body has had a break from it.

Considering the condition being treated, it is a shame that you weren't sufficiently advised of prescribing restrictions. It's not easy to stay organised with ADHD as it is!

I don't know if you have to titrate again after a period without taking it. This is not medical advice, but Google suggests that titrating might not be needed after a break of up to a week.

As the prescriber suggested stretching out the pills, you could maybe take 1 every 4 or 5 days, so long as the side effects are not too extreme.

FWIW, my 16yr old DS titrated at 30, 50, 70 with 3 or 4 weeks between each step up. He takes the capsules 5 or 6 days per week.

(60mg were out of stock, so the prescriber suggested we went straight to 70mg as 2x30 was almost twice the price, which is a lot paying privately. He also told us how to open the capsules and dilute the meds with water to achieve a smaller dose if 70mg was too much.)

You’re welcome xx

I know @confusedlotsthat is the thing I dont get. I told her numerous times and asked if she wanted proof. She never answered that question, instead asking me to get bloods as she was worried about an interaction even though I had been taking both meds for 8 months. Odd. Yes that is a good idea to plan which days to skip. I wasn't expecting this at all so was very thrown by her refusal. I often go away for 3 weeks plus in the summer and take strong painkillers, my GP has never minded giving me one prescription early, the first time they did ask for proof. When I think about it I need to choose days which I will need to be organised and use it then, it is a holiday so not like normal work where I need to be productive. Thank you for your reply. I think I was just a bit overwhelmed at first as I had been telling & telling her & I thought she would just do as the GP does - maybe ask to see tickets. I still am a bit annoyed she didnt just say months ago, sorry can't do this.

Thank you @Twasasurprise very apt username. I wish she had told me earlier so I could have planned it a bit, got used to the idea. I have been told about dividing the capsules as well so I may very well do that the first time I have to miss it, go down to like a third so my body doesn’t miss them too much. Thank you for reminding me about it. I think now I have a bit of a plan I feel a lot more in control. It was just such a shock, you know loads of people take these meds is that what happens to everyone. I think had I been able to ask the psychiatrist she may have been a bit more flexible.

That does sounds stressful OP and I’m sorry you’ve had an unhelpful reply.

My DS takes his medication on and off but then he is on a low dose and I appreciate you’ve had to titrate up to a higher dose.

Yes rather than just missing 5 days I would maybe half the dose or do one day on one day off. And plan the missed days for when you don’t have much on and can relax a bit?

You don’t diagnosed with ADHD if you have been managing. OP would have been struggling. Also, ADHD ‘symptoms’ are not set in stone. They become worse with the menopause because estrogen impacts on dopamine activity in the brain. Apart from that, there are many environmental factors that impact on ADHD.

I am surprised to hear this OP. I have never had any trouble getting a prescription slightly early for a holiday.

I would not be happy in your shoesz However, I will say that it is not a disaster if you miss a few doses. I take the same medication at breakfast and lunch a regularly forget the lunch dose.

Also, I’d like to say that you must check the rules for bringing in Vyanse into the country you are going to. At the very minimum you will need everything in all its original packaging with the pharmacy labels in place. You should also have the prescription printed out or a letter from your doctor confirming that it is prescribed medication for ADHD. Also take only what you actually need.

I went to Singapore - they require you to fill out an online form and they reply a few days later confirming that you have permission. You can get onto big trouble if you don’t follow the rules.

I'm on 60mg of Elvanse, and don't take them on weekends or work days off, unless it's a day where I need to be productive. This was recommended to me by my prescriber. No further titration needed.

You're being treated very shoddily here - it's totally normal to ask for an earlier prescription to tide you over for holiday, even with controlled drugs. I've had no problem doing this for my child in the past.

This is a medication that you've been validly prescribed, with good reason, like any other type of prescription. I am absolutely certain the GP wouldn't do this with other types of prescription.

The most recent evidence also points to more risk of side effects and rebound effects of medication is skipped. If you've worked hard to titrate effectively, worth thinking about.

I'm sure you'll be fine skipping some days, but you ABSOLUTELY should not have to do so. I would strongly advise a complaint to the surgery (and also add if you feel like it that this feels like a discriminatory approach that doesn't take ADHD seriously).

Most importantly - have a good holiday!

My prescriber is ADHD360 and they prescribed 5.5 weeks of meds to get me over Christmas as they were shut. Raising this in case you get the 'we can only prescribe 28 days at a time' b/s

If you can't get what you need, similar to pp, I recommend staggering / deciding when you need the meds. I can't travel (airports) without them so always make sure I have enough for that. I've had to skip days occasionally when they've been messing around issuing my prescription, so usually choose to miss a day on a weekend, I find more than 2 days in a row has a knock on effect when I start again (similar to when you first started meds)

Also flagging that if you're going somewhere hot, you might want to choose not to take them. I find I don't react well to v hot places when on meds, and it's a thing that our body temperatures are higher when taking them. Advice is to pre load with a lot of fluid and electrolytes etc

I would be seeking a different prescriber moving forward.