To think £290 for my prescription is insane?!

[Justintimeee]

Posting here for traffic

I was diagnosed with ADHD 18 months ago and have been receiving monthly medication since.

I have been having follow up zoom calls with my psychiatrist every 6 weeks at a cost of £170. On top of that, to actually have the prescription written is £25 and the meds themselves are £95 so it is a huge cost for me.

The meds have completely turned my life around so I really do not want to go back to life without them.

The issue is, I can no longer afford to pay for the £170 follow ups so regularly. I have asked for a prescription but it has been refused if I don't book a follow up so I am at a loss... I had no idea they were mandatory for me to get medication when I have been diagnosed.

Do I just find another doctor? Is it the same everywhere? I have been refused shared care due to some NHS rules against accepting patients from private ADHD doctors so I don't know what to do.

I am in Essex if it helps.

Great post. I’m one of the missed girls. I spent my life in a constant state of guilt and feelings of failure. Having a diagnosis has immeasurably improved my life.

The blind faith in the NHS is laughable. I wouldn’t trust them to diagnose a cold. They’re useless especially when it comes to mental health. Anyone trusting the NHS on this has clearly never experienced the NHS in this context.

I have a theory regarding the seemingly increased prevalence of ADHD. Firstly it’s the increased recognition of symptoms but secondly I think society is becoming increasingly more incompatible with neurodiversity. In the past you were probably the slightly oddball one who saw The Dress as aNot black and blue or white and gold but very light blue and dark gold, the one who was simultaneously reading 10 books, never finishing any of them, the one who got bored because everything was so ducking predictable. Got bored at school because the teachers went too slow and you ended up in a much better world in your head. But there was space to adapt, to be different. Now everything is regulated, no room to look at anything differently, everything is on a strict timetable, the world is full of meaningless fluff that is extremely boring to many with adhd. It’s much harder to mask without an eventual nervous breakdown. Society is broken not those with adhd. .

What makes you think the nhs will be any better at diagnosing- it’s generally shit when it comes to mental health.

Theres a huge distrust in the UK of private healthcare. Why? The NHS is like some kind of national fetish!

It’s amphetamines. Essentially speed (though I realise it not the same as street speed). It’s makes you feel great, have loads of energy, get shit done. Of course there are risks and downsides. And the risk that people relying on it function may not be able to come off (otherwise known as addiction) despite negative physical side effects. I predict there will eventually be lawsuits akin to the Perdue crisis (opioids). It’s exactly the same playbook. Make loads of people think an addictive and dangerous drug is a miracle cure for a condition thats diagnosed by dodgy private clinics based largely on self reporting. It’s no wonder the NHS won’t take on prescribing for private providers really.

Theres a huge distrust in the UK of private healthcare. Why? The NHS is like some kind of national fetish!

Because it’s there purely to make profit rather than do best for a patient. Look at the US, do we really want to emulate that? A whole nation hooked on opioids thanks to their ‘private healthcare’. Even good health care providers do lots of unnecessary tests/ procedures/ antibiotic treatments etc. The NHS is the absolute pinnacle for healthcare. A non profit system…if it were funded properly! I have a few medics in my family and some from overseas and they all want to work in the NHS for a time because overseas (at least in the country they’re from) it’s still considered the best training a doctor can do.

I couldn't disagree more.
I actually read this thinking you were making a joke.
Are you?

Are you against profit in any sense of the word?
In any organisation?

If the NHS had to run as a private company it would be one heck more efficient than it is now.

They still use fax machines FGS, they don't use data as much as they could, they don't email patients, there are layers of management on 6 figure incomes, all the staff get pensions superior to commercial companies, and the sheer waste of money is appalling.

The doctors are great but the management system is crap.

@DecoratingDiva that’s awful! Even with a diagnosis?! My DH had a private ADHD diagnosis a year ago and was able to access medication via the mental health team.

I completely agree with you. Like a large volume of public services in the UK, it’s wildly inefficient as an organisation, huge cultural problems.

Last year, both my DH and DS received ADHD diagnoses. One private (DH), one NHS (DS).

The paediatrician who agreed to give my DS a diagnosis barely spoke and looked at him, there was no assessment at all. I had filled in a questionnaire, his school had filled in a questionnaire. She actually said “you can try medication if you want, that will tell you if he has ADHD or not because if he doesn’t it won’t help”. What a joke! Thankfully my DS’ school has been supportive in us seeking a diagnosis, and he doesn’t mask so our questionnaires had similar “ticks”.

That's pretty much been our experience with DD. Her school which isn't always brilliant actually put a lot of time and effort into the paperwork for her diagnosis, as did we and her Camhs nurse. The powers that be refused to even see DD, we were told unofficially that she had "aged out" and diagnosis would be pointless as our HA won't deal with new adult patients. She'd waited years. But she doesn't want a private diagnosis because she feels it wouldn't be taken seriously and we can't afford the meds.

Are you actually saying that if you were given meds that would help you thrive and not just survive you wouldn't take them? Because you've always 'managed'?

Totally agree the NHS is inefficient. Lots of bloated middle management, underfunding, time wasters, not set up to deal with the variety of long term conditions we have and size of population, postcode lottery. But the actual medical care can be the best in the world (if you can access it of course). We have many great specialists in the NHS. And the ethos of not for profit care can’t really be beaten. Private care can lead to some awful unnecessary ‘treatments and false diagnosis of certain things. Plus drug pushing by pharma reps can lead to big disasters.

Charging for time wasters and missed appointments would be a start. Our surgery publishes how many appointments are wasted per month and it’s quite disgusting.

I commented on the numbers of people acquiring this kind of private diagnosis on MNet weeks ago and people reported my post and it was removed.

It is so common now for people to acquire diagnosis and treatment this way and find themselves in difficulty. There are ways round it but they are at the initial stages bit and the selection of the practitioners rather than now.

There are well-known providers of this diagnosis who are easily available, not thorough and do not have the qualifications/status/rigour the NHS requires. They diagnose hundreds of people, often young people and then families. The people diagnosed are then upset when the diagnosis is not recognised by the NHS. The government need to close some of these routes down. I meet/am notified about families every week in this situation.

There is a shortage of medication because much of it comes from the EU and it is part of the 'deal' that has not been properly negotiated following Brexit- according to our local pharmacist. It is affecting many medications.

Does anybody know if Grandmasswag’s post is correct. V worried about my dc.

I'm not against profit. I am against greed. Any kind of corporate business is about greed for continually increasing profit- energy companies, water companies, adult social care, transport, Royal Mail, BT- all examples of privatised national provision that has become shambolic, low-quality and the owners have made billions by stripping out services at the cost if quality and the customer.
To simplify- if the government spend £1000,000 in the NHS, I want it to be spent on NHS provision, not 50% creamed off for profit and the rest spent on provision.
I agree the NHS needs to undergo significant change but not privatisation.

What that the drugs for adhd are for the amphetamine family? Yes absolutely and this is freely available info plus that should be made clear to those taking them really. If your DC is a child or if they have an NHS diagnosis or a private diagnosis by consultants who work within the NhS (ie. Legit private company) I would assume they are being well cared for. If they were diagnosed on a 30 min zoom call I’d look into it more.

And anyone taking them should be having regular physical check ups, the same with most long term medications.

Lots of differing things are simultaneously true:

The NHS is badly run in many instances.

Getting diagnosed on the NHS is a v difficult system that varies based on where you are and luck, and which has always been difficult for systematic reasons including lack of appropriate staff.

An assessment on the NHS is on average more rigorous than one done privately.

Private companies and practitioners on the whole diagnose too early and too readily; it’s in their interest to put you on meds because that generates £ for them.

Obviously some private psychs are ethical.

There had been a huge uptick in people taking ADHD meds, mostly through private drs, that has contributed to a bad meds shortage.

Charging for time wasters and missed appointments would be a start. Our surgery publishes how many appointments are wasted per month and it’s quite disgusting.

I'd take that with a pinch of salt. My Mum tears her hair out trying to manage my Dad's health and appointments. So many times they don't recieve letters for appointments, or they cancel yet the message never gets through to the relevant dept. She's the community nurse turns up when her appointment has been cancelled as dad is in hospital. The NHS is constantly moving his appointments too, sometimes they ring and Dad is deaf with dementia, so doesn't take in the info, they know this. Sometimes they say he's not turned up to an appointment when the relevant dept was the one to cancel. Imagine this times however many service users.

I've had similiar to a lesser extent with my DS too.

Grandmasswag

Addiction, just a miracle cure..

Is that better than self medication?

Thank god I'm Scottish
! Poor you OP - horrendous

Missing the point - if you go private, you pay private prices if the NHS won't take over your prescription. This is the case in Scotland just as with anywhere else.

@Bargello not always so. My daughter was diagnosed privately (huge waiting list) gp accepted diagnosis and she gets nhs free prescriptions.

So not actually missing the point after all.

you seem to think I am delighted my adult child has been diagnosed with adhd and is taking medication. Believe me I have done massive amounts of research and investigation on the matter as well as discussions with people who have had training in spotting adhd in children. The main issues with ADHD are lack of concentration and hyperactivity but some people will have 90% issue with concentration issues and 10% hyperactivity and vice vers- it is a sliding scale, everyone is different. What I was trying to say is a smart child can mask well - but when things go wrong, ex illness or they actually have to sit and think, then things can go wrong. That is why a lot of adults are diagnosed around exam and university time- they can no longer mask. The stimulants which my son takes calms his mind as he is no longer chasing dopamine- without it he cannot concentrate for longer than 15 mins. With it, he’ll work for hours. I can tell when it has worn off as his mannerism become more fidgety. Believe me I’d rather he was not on any medication but we have researched it hugely. He is also has blood pressure and weight checked every 4 weeks, and consultation with a practitioner before a new script is released. On a side note, someone without adhd taking adhd meds will have totally a totally experience to someone who has adhd., their dopamine levels are totally different.

I've been diagnosed through Right to Choose with Psych UK, which is a private org that also takes NHS, and I've gone through the NHS route, if that makes sense.

Does anyone know if this means I'm guaranteed shared care, as I was referred through the NHS, or not??

^ie was referred by my GP