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Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

Hi all, sorry if this is the wrong place to post this - I don't know where it belongs.

I'm having trouble getting medication and I don't know what to do.
About 6 years ago I was with ADD. This was about 7 years in the making - my GP first suggested I might have it way back in 2013 and it took that long to get a diagnosis. I have since been perscribe medication for this from the psychiatrist who diagnosed me.

However, the problem is this: about 3 years ago that psychiatrist dissappeared. I was seeing him through a public hospital and I think the funding for that program just got cancelled. I just got a call from the hospital one day advising me not to come to the next appointment as he was no longer working there - there was no follow up advice on what to do next.

My GP was able to continue repeats of the medication, but is uncomfortable doing this without the support of a psyhciatrist. He has indicated he will no longer be continuing to perscrive me the medication. Furthermore, he feels uncomfortable when perscribing me other, unrelated medication because he is uncertain how it will react with the ADD meds. Fair enough, really.
So I've spent the last 3 years trying to get a new psychiatrist to take over the management of this medication. And so far all of them have rejected me, for the following reasons:

  • They are unable to get notes from my old psychiatrist - and they can't contact him
  • The notes my GP have are not enough

So, I suggested they re-diagnose me. However, that too has it's own complications:

  • They say they require my school records as supporting evidence for the diagnosis. These records are non-existant - I graduated over 25 years ago!
  • As ADD medication is a very controlled substance, they say they are uncomfortable perscribing on "weak evidence" as they might get into trouble and lose their licence, so they err on the side of caution and don't perscribe at all.

Recently the Federal Government allowed doctors to diagnose and perscribe ADD medication. I was hopeful and have looked into this. However, only some doctors can do this and they seem to share the same issues as the psychiatrists - lack of written evidence, risk avoidant, etc.

I've had both my regular GP and a Medicare Mental Health team try to assist me with finding someone to just keep repeating the script, but they too have run into the same issues.
So, I'm wondering if anyone here might have any ideas? Many thanks in advance.

5 replies

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In response to: Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

Re: Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

Hi @Jlol the new GP as diagnostician and prescriber for ADHD are for really stright-forward cases. With no comorbidies or extras making it a complex case. They'll only Dx very "Garden variety" or vanilla ADHD. And refer complex cases to psychiatrists

In response to: Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

Re: Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

All health professionals to my knowledge are required to keep all records for 7 years after last consultation with a patient. You could apply through FOI to get your records. The laws are different for children and records can be kept for a longer period under certain circumstances

In response to: Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

Re: Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

Hi there,

Sorry to hear that no one is helping. I recently called the mental healthline in NSW as i was not great, getting constant panic attacks. They said they would advocate for me to see a public one, but that didn't happen. So instead they contacted my GP and recommended an online place that has psychiatrists you can see online. It's called Dokotela. Depending if you are on a concession it can be pricey but you end up getting a lot of it back about $300 out of pocket. https://www.dokotela.com.au/

Dokotela does have psych's that deal with with your condition.

If you feel like your GP is not helping get another one and request your files be sent to the new one.

Hope it helps

.

In response to: Re: Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

Re: Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

@Jlol

hi again just wanted to say that i saw a psychiatrist through Dokotela today. They were patient and listened to my concerns v ery professional and are sending a report with their recommendations to my doctor. They have put me on a new medication and have made other recommendations if that didn't work. They asked a lot of questions and not once did they brush me off.

In response to: Re: Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

Re: Trouble getting medication - looking for advice

Thanks @Misty7,

But I have to say $730-$955 for a 1 hour session is insane!

I mean the avergae lawyer gets about $80/hour. The average surgeon makes about $180/hour. The Prime Minister makes $277/hour.

It seems so crazy that these guys think they deserve 3 times as much as the PM just to diagnose me with something I already have been diagnosed with.

I mean I'll have to do it because my hands are kind of forced at this point, but this just seems so evil to take advantage of sick people to this degree. I know we live in a capitalist society, and I'd be the first to say 'capitlism is the worst form of economics except for all the others', but how can you trust these people who are obviously so money driven to do the right thing?

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