Yikes, Teppy, that's tough.

I haven't gotten COBRA info yet, and had to refill my rx. Annoyingly, although yesterday the website said it was $230 at the pharmacy, today lo and behold it was $270. (And that's for the generic!!!) But I couldn't wait to get the COBRA stuff, pay for it, and then wait for them to acknowledge that, before refilling.

I expect the Tim's doctor will quickly and easily understand what happened.

The processes that exist, including pre-authorizations every renewal, are causing people to have uneven medication schedules. My brother takes medications for his MS and at minimum a couple times a year he goes a month with no meds because of the hurdles. I hear the same thing from people who are dependent on medications for diabetes and hypertension. These obstacles to people getting their meds is very short sighted for the insurance companies since without meds the patients will cost them more!

I understand the testing for abuse, from both taking too much or too little, but so much of our system of getting medication to people who need it is totally screwed up.

Don't get me started on the price of medication! Knocks wood that I don't take anything except a few billion OTC supplements.

Tim's doctor appointment wasn't great. First, the doctor kind of yelled at Tim for waiting too long to refill his meds. (Uh, yeah, he has ADD? Forgetting to refill his meds is kind of a known thing.) (Although, honestly, the doctor has a point. But anyway.)

Turns out, Tim did take 2 or 3 doses of Ritalin the day of the pee test, and his doctor said that if that's true, his test result would have been positive. But it showed nothing.

Tim's test results are listed as "CNS Stimulants," but it doesn't say specifically what drugs were tested for. A little Googling has turned up a LOT of people who take Ritalin whose drug tests came back negative (when they should be positive). And the reason they came back negative is because the test only tested for amphetamines. Ritalin is methylphenidate, *not* methamphetamine or any amphetamine derivative.

I'm worried that's what happened with Tim. His doctor says he has to take another pee test before he can get a refill in August, but if it comes back negative, he can't keep prescribing Ritalin to Tim. I think he needs to ask his doctor to double-check and be 100% sure that the lab test specifically tests for methylphenidate. Because if it doesn't, then it's going to come back negative again, and that wouldn't be Tim's fault, but he would still be punished for it.

This is fucking ridiculous.

Oh no! I'm so sorry that's happening. Ugh.

Oh Steph. I am so sorry. Reason~ma for Tim's doctor, pronto.

I think he needs to ask his doctor to double-check and be 100% sure that the lab test specifically tests for methylphenidate

Absolutely!

Ugh, I hope the doctor listens to reason on this.

False reading are an absolute thing. Favorite horror story from a dear friend. One of the tests his wife took while pregnant showed a false positive for an STD. The doctor flat out said the only way she contracted this was that her husband got it elsewhere and gave it to her. Fortunately the wife's mother was an RN and knew that one of the meds her daughter took always gave a false positive for that STD. Poor dude, he said he really had to worry that his preggers wife in overly emotional state could have shot his ass.

Steph, what a pain in the ass. I hope the sitch gets resolved without further problems.

Tim thinks his doctor will get irritated with him for asking him to double-check what specific meds the drug screen tests for, but I told him it's worth the irritation, because if the screen isn't looking for his Ritalin, then of course the result will come back negative. Gah. So frustrating.

It's a valid point, though (that the test should be double-checked, I mean), especially since Tim knows damn well he took Ritalin before the test