For Women with ADHD ADD Who Want to Connect
Hi :) I was recently diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive) in September and started on
Concerta 18 mg. Everything was going great, the meds made such a positive
difference in my life. Then the week before I had to go in for my 30 day eval
my primary care provider pcs’d (she’s an officer in the Air Force and was
reassigned to a different base). I was pretty disappointed because I’d always
gotten along with her so well and now that the clinic was short-handed it was
going to be 3 weeks before I could be seen. Less than a week later my husband
was told he had to deploy to Iraq for 6 months. So now I was out of meds, struggling
with school AND dealing with the fact that my husband was deploying in less
than 7 days. They finally got me an appointment today with an available PA and
get this-she tells me she will NOT refill my Concerta OR consider any sort of
treatment until my husband returns from Iraq. Her reasoning is that she doesn’t
want to risk me having side effects while he’s gone since I have a young child
to care for. Instead, she insisted upon prescribing me Valium and told me if I
had a problem with her decision that I should see another healthcare provider.
Needless to say, I was in tears all day-I just can’t grasp her logic. I tried
to explain my side of things but she wouldn’t listen and treated me really
rather horribly. I want to try to get an appointment with a different PA on the
base but they are booked as far out as they schedule :( Have any military wives ever
dealt with a situation like this before?
Tags: Deployment, MTF
Permalink Reply by Luci on 
Permalink Reply by KDizne on 
Permalink Reply by Marr on 
Permalink Reply by Sarah Christine Gogstetter on Permalink Reply by USAF_Wife on Permalink Reply by Marr on Sorry it's taken me so long to reply-the past few days have been a whirlwind! I want to start by thanking everyone for all of the support-it really helped a lot and means the world to me! After the "episode" with the PA I contacted mental health on base because there was a psychologist there that knows about my treatment plan and health history. We talked and concluded that the PA I'd seen may very well be the type who doesn't believe in treating ADHD at all. I have another appointment with a different PA soon and the psychologist is going to discuss my situation and recommend continuing treatment (Concerta) with him before I go in. Whew! I'm not in the clear yet, because obviously, the final decision will be made at my appointment but it feels good to know that I have people on my side! I feel like I do need to point out that I've always had a prescription for Valium but rarely used it because I don't like the way it makes me feel. I was just shocked that the PA I'd seen had encouraged a refill and then D/C'd the Concerta when the Concerta was making such an improvement and the Valium wasn't even really necessary. I definitely agree with your comments about the Valium being much more detrimental to me caring for my daughter!
Luci-I'm sorry to hear about your husband's deployment :( Thank you for the advice and if you ever want to chat feel free to message me on here!
Kelly D-I also want to thank you for your advice, kind words and prayers! I will send you my location in a message :)
Marr-Sorry to hear about your husband :( It seems like some military medical personnel need a serious refresher in bedside manner and to learn to actually listen to what patients are saying...Thank you so very much, I really can't express how reassuring it was to have such positive feedback!
Sarah-None of my professors are aware of my ADHD. I know from lectures that at least one is "anti-stimulant therapy" so I'd be afraid to even bring it up. I do think my college has a dept. that helps though and I'm going to look into that when I get a chance. My options Dr. wise are going to be almost trial and error because there are no ADHD specialists near by :( BUT, I'm hopeful about my next appointment, wish me luck! :)
Permalink Reply by USAF_Wife on USAF Wife, Thanks for the feedback. It's sounds hopeful that you have an already established relationship with a military Psychologist. Excellent. I do hope that this sitution will get ironed out more quickly for you under these circumstances. I think that was the best possible direction to take. Do let us know how if you do get to have your medication renewed and how you and your little one are doing. Hugs. ~ Marr
USAF_Wife said:Sorry it's taken me so long to reply-the past few days have been a whirlwind! I want to start by thanking everyone for all of the support-it really helped a lot and means the world to me! After the "episode" with the PA I contacted mental health on base because there was a psychologist there that knows about my treatment plan and health history. We talked and concluded that the PA I'd seen may very well be the type who doesn't believe in treating ADHD at all. I have another appointment with a different PA soon and the psychologist is going to discuss my situation and recommend continuing treatment (Concerta) with him before I go in. Whew! I'm not in the clear yet, because obviously, the final decision will be made at my appointment but it feels good to know that I have people on my side! I feel like I do need to point out that I've always had a prescription for Valium but rarely used it because I don't like the way it makes me feel. I was just shocked that the PA I'd seen had encouraged a refill and then D/C'd the Concerta when the Concerta was making such an improvement and the Valium wasn't even really necessary. I definitely agree with your comments about the Valium being much more detrimental to me caring for my daughter!
Luci-I'm sorry to hear about your husband's deployment :( Thank you for the advice and if you ever want to chat feel free to message me on here!
Kelly D-I also want to thank you for your advice, kind words and prayers! I will send you my location in a message :)
Marr-Sorry to hear about your husband :( It seems like some military medical personnel need a serious refresher in bedside manner and to learn to actually listen to what patients are saying...Thank you so very much, I really can't express how reassuring it was to have such positive feedback!
Sarah-None of my professors are aware of my ADHD. I know from lectures that at least one is "anti-stimulant therapy" so I'd be afraid to even bring it up. I do think my college has a dept. that helps though and I'm going to look into that when I get a chance. My options Dr. wise are going to be almost trial and error because there are no ADHD specialists near by :( BUT, I'm hopeful about my next appointment, wish me luck! :)
Permalink Reply by Marr on I saw the new PA today and he was amazing! He was so kind and compassionate, it really made my day. He did renew my Concerta prescription and d/c'd everything else, which was perfect. We're doing ok, just counting down the weeks until my husband comes home :) Again, thank you everyone for your support!
Marr said:USAF Wife, Thanks for the feedback. It's sounds hopeful that you have an already established relationship with a military Psychologist. Excellent. I do hope that this sitution will get ironed out more quickly for you under these circumstances. I think that was the best possible direction to take. Do let us know how if you do get to have your medication renewed and how you and your little one are doing. Hugs. ~ Marr
USAF_Wife said:Sorry it's taken me so long to reply-the past few days have been a whirlwind! I want to start by thanking everyone for all of the support-it really helped a lot and means the world to me! After the "episode" with the PA I contacted mental health on base because there was a psychologist there that knows about my treatment plan and health history. We talked and concluded that the PA I'd seen may very well be the type who doesn't believe in treating ADHD at all. I have another appointment with a different PA soon and the psychologist is going to discuss my situation and recommend continuing treatment (Concerta) with him before I go in. Whew! I'm not in the clear yet, because obviously, the final decision will be made at my appointment but it feels good to know that I have people on my side! I feel like I do need to point out that I've always had a prescription for Valium but rarely used it because I don't like the way it makes me feel. I was just shocked that the PA I'd seen had encouraged a refill and then D/C'd the Concerta when the Concerta was making such an improvement and the Valium wasn't even really necessary. I definitely agree with your comments about the Valium being much more detrimental to me caring for my daughter!
Luci-I'm sorry to hear about your husband's deployment :( Thank you for the advice and if you ever want to chat feel free to message me on here!
Kelly D-I also want to thank you for your advice, kind words and prayers! I will send you my location in a message :)
Marr-Sorry to hear about your husband :( It seems like some military medical personnel need a serious refresher in bedside manner and to learn to actually listen to what patients are saying...Thank you so very much, I really can't express how reassuring it was to have such positive feedback!
Sarah-None of my professors are aware of my ADHD. I know from lectures that at least one is "anti-stimulant therapy" so I'd be afraid to even bring it up. I do think my college has a dept. that helps though and I'm going to look into that when I get a chance. My options Dr. wise are going to be almost trial and error because there are no ADHD specialists near by :( BUT, I'm hopeful about my next appointment, wish me luck! :)
Permalink Reply by Cherlene Sutter on WOW, I wish I would have seen your original post when you first went through this! I too am a military wife. My husband has been deployed many, many times! We just recently PCS'd to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. My husband is in the medical field and he would be furious! Especially since we are now stationed at the heart of the military medical training center. He is now an instructor here. I have been on meds for about 6 years now. When we first got here I was very low on meds and was going to soon run out. I called my new PCM and they got me in immediately. They said because these are "stimulant medications" we CANNOT be off them for any length of time. One reason is because the body will actual go through a withdraw process. It can be horrible and not necessary. My provider said if you are to actually stop these type of meds you need to be weaned off of them, not stop them abruptly. My provider said if you are ever in this situation call the MTF that you are assigned to and tell them that you are "critically low on your ADD/ADHD meds and you need to schedule an "Urgent Care Appointment". Also tell them you need a provider that understands the condition. Most do but there are those few......I know all too well because I have had a few military providers like that. We were stationed at Fort Bragg before here for 6 years and I always dreaded calling about my refill or asking about dosage increases. It's sad because we shouldn't have to worry about that stuff on top of everything else. I get to ask about an increase again my next appointment because I have been on 30mg of Adderall (amphetamine salts) for about 3 years of the 6 years since I was diagnosed. Now it seems like it is starting to level off again and may need another increase.....uuuggghhh!!! Oh well we have great providers here now. We also have kids with ADD/ADHD so we have been dealing with the military docs and the condition for a very long time now. If you ever have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. If I don't know I can find out....especially since hubby is medical and works where they train them all....lol.
*HUGS*
Cher :0)
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