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.

Interesting. I spoke to our gp about dc and mentioned that her school had suggested seeking an asd diagnosis and I also mentioned adhd in passing and going private and she spent five minutes saying she wouldn’t prescribe medicine that a private doctor had recommended.
I haven’t had that with other types of medicine originally prescribed privately but she seemed very insistent about it

Both myself and a family member have recently had this experience. I’m also on a local FB group for the East Midlands and participants are having no issues with shared care bar the odd practice.

Id move practices, however, this webpage explains how to approach your current GP if you want to peruse this further

https://www.adhdadult.uk/shared-care/#:~:text=%27Shared%20Care%27%3F-,A%20%27Shared%20Care%20Agreement%27%20or%20SCA%20is%20an%20agreement%20between,your%20ADHD%20medication%20is%20stable.

Unfortunately this is the real cost of healthcare. We are shielded from it by the NHS, which we collectively pay much less for and then wonder why it is slow and sometimes shit
£290 is well inside what you would pay a mechanic or a plumber for their time and expertise, we are so spolit with free healthcare any cost feels an affront
your best bet is asking the psychiatrist if, as you are now stable, you can have less frequent reviews and longer prescriptions. It seems unlikely you would be able to get an alternative prescriber eg from a private online GP for this kind of special prescription, so I can't think of any alternative. Your GP is within the letter of what is contracted via the NHS to decline to take on the prescriptions.

*CroccyWoccy · Today 00:29

Between this and shortages I’ve been hesitant to medicate my ADHD but I’d pay that and more to “turn my life around”…can I ask how medication has helped you?

(sorry I can’t help with your question, I don’t know what scope their is to challenge on shared care*

Why wouldn’t you medicate if you have ADHD. Yes their are shortages and it is taking me days to track which pharmacy has what combination of meds and trying to get the prescriptions emailed over to the pharmacy in time, I have 3 family members diagnosed and medicated. Plus I have had to reduce my meds as can no longer get 70mg and I can feel the difference even with just 10mg less

If you are taking amphetamines and you don’t notice any real difference or you find you think more clearly then it goes without saying you have ADHD
For a non ADHD Neuro typical person taking these meds you would be off your head

*SoapyBubblesLittleTroubles · Today 02:15

I hate to tell you this but £95 is cheap for meds, im £350 for meds alone (not including prescribing/ reviews etc), £220 for 6 monthly review. Cant afford it any more and I'm watching my whole life crumble round about me while my GP says that I need to be reviewed by mental health before they will prescribe. GP surgery up the road will prescribe before private diagnosis is reviewed so I've spent about £10k while others pay nothing at all, despite being diagnosed at the same time by the same private clinic. GP rolls his eyes every time its mentioned and they've managed to miss I've been anemic for at least a year because every time I try and get help for the symptoms its blamed on the adhd meds*

Serious question

Is your doctor actually qualified?
If he is and he really thinks that signs of anaemia and the effects of ADHD meds are the same then I think someone needs to advise him to hang up his stethoscope

The nHS isn’t fit for purpose when it comes to mental health, most of the practitioners are incapable of dealing with any mental health conditions (I’ve reached the conclusion they cannot be trained on it at all). You’re basically alone.

I have ADHD and PTSD (somewhat ironically caused by nhs negligence) I’ve not received any help whatsoever from them. I’ve privately funded all my treatment, from psychiatrists to psychologists to counsellors to somatic treatments to hypnotists to books etc. luckily I’ve been in a position to do this. I’m not a fan of medication unless all other options have failed. I’ve learned to see my adhd as a blessing (although it makes life very difficult that’s society’s fault).

But there’s a lot of arrogance and God complex in the NHS. It continues to fund some things that should be private, it wastes money left right and centre. To survive it needs a much better system of working with private health providers - this idea of only an NHS diagnosis will do is utter bollocks. The NHS is so unfit for purpose it might as well stand No Help, Scumbag which is a more accurate description.

Mu advise is to look for alternatives to medication and other coping strategies

For a non ADHD Neuro typical person taking these meds you would be off your head

Don’t know where this info comes from but it’s not correct, or maybe just outdated. Amphetamines have the same chemical affect on the brain regardless. Some people may find those effects negative regardless of having ADHD, most positive ( think that’s safe to assume given the prior uses of amphetamines and street value). It’s another thing that makes me suspicious of private sector as they are giving out drugs that have well known effects and somehow claiming that this proves diagnosis is correct. It’s like saying if you feel relaxed when I prescribe opioids it proves you had anxiety. ADHD meds have been abused for years as study aids after all.

I suspect this is NHS doctor God syndrome. Denies mental health problems exist. Doesn’t think anyone else can know better than him. Thinks his patients are stupid and pathetic and should just be grateful to be blessed with his presence.

I work in an independent school and many of the children have been fast tracked into ADHD diagnosis and then special exam arrangements because parents have paid doctors to do it -never known a case where v the private doc has refused on the face of insistent paying parents.

For a condition like this yes. My son was diagnosed by a private doctor with juvenile arthritis. The GP cannot prescribe, we had to be seen on the NHS. It wasn’t a big drama as no wait lists.

This is all pretty standard and in reality the consequence of people not researching properly. If you research this comes up very quickly.

That’s ridiculous and not true. Private doctors have to work for the NHS as well as a starting point.

The issue is the type of drug has to be titrated. GP’s are not qualified to do this. It must always be overseen by someone who is. This means that if you pay to go privately you’ve got an issue that is of your own making. Because paying privately for a diagnosis cannot be a queue jumping exercise for access to NHS doctors.

The private doctor should write a letter to your GP with the medication recommended.

I have never heard of a doctor refusing to prescribe because you didn't pay for a follow up.

Sounds dodgy

NHS doctors who do private on the side are doing that primarily to make money.

Remember that.

The amount of people being botched in turkey after having plastic surgery and then go to the nhs to get it fixed is insane at the moment.

I saw a post that said new legislation has been passed that private turkey patients should be told to seek help from private healthcare in the uk if it goes tits up

I haven't read the full thread. I have an idea though. Ask your gp to put you on the waiting list for NHS assessment. No idea how long the waiting list is for adults as it varies enormously around the country. But it will be a step in the right direction. (When I saw the title of your post I did think it might be to do with hrt. Similar probs with meds esp testosterone.) I'm about to start my private ADHD assessment journey, having paid for 2 of my kids. With the hrt, and now with the ADHD, I'm feeling like I need to put myself first and find the money to spend on myself. Like an investment in myself. I totally understand why you don't want to stop the meds.

This happened to my friend. She paid for a private assessment for adhd. When it was confirmed positive, she tool that to her gp. They issued the meds under the NHS, there was no need for private anymore. The wait time for an nhs assessment was a crazy 2 years! So she paid privately and was seen in a month! It was a couple of hundred. I advise you to book a private assessment.

Not read all PP but could you get a job that has private medical care costs included in package? I have relative with this advantage and his children seem to have had continual counselling paid by his job for years as well as all other family health care needs paid for privately. (nothing really wrong with children though it seems but mother has also been on years of counselling too).

I agreed shared care with my my GP practice before diagnosis. Unfortunately, after two years of meds, the practice rules were changed and they were longer able to prescribe.
This information was given with no prior warning - just ‘we won’t be prescribing for you anymore’.
I had just made the decision to stop the meds, for various reasons, so was unaffected. I don’t know how I would have coped had this happened the year before.

My son was diagnosed through Psych Uk - nhs psychiatrist who also does private work. He has now been titrated for 4 months and we have the GP appt about moving to shared care today. We have been paying £80 per month titration, £25 prescriptions and then about £30 for a month of xaggitol (sp?) . I'm really hoping the GP agrees as this is a lot for us. But even if he does we will have to have a psych follow up £180 every 6 months. They won't even put us on the NHS waiting list

What does your NHS GP say when you explain the situation?

I think they saw you coming! Private diagnosis of SEN is the latest money making scam!

Suggest you watch the panorama episode on this.

@Stopsnowing as per my previous post, it’s to do with rules regarding shared care drugs. There is no SCA (shared care agreement) with private psychiatric clinics and GPs. If I prescribed an ADHD drug on the say-so of a private clinician, without a SCA, I could get into a lot of trouble.
It’s different with drugs that don’t require a SCA. They can be prescribed easily.

That's why I wait ages and went through NHS for diagnosis
I thought that was common knowledge if you went private

@Guavafish1 read the posts about SCAs.