Why can't a school trust my kid to take meds on her own during the day?

[Anonymous]

Does she exercise? is she overweight? These are key in terms of reducing monthly pain. Much more important than taking drugs.

[Anonymous]

Op here. PP, you're not very good at staying on topic, are you?

I can't believe I have to answer this but no, not overweight, she plays sports after school every day. She has endometriosis and has extremely painful periods. Please don't lecture me about exercise when we have found what works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she exercise? is she overweight? These are key in terms of reducing monthly pain. Much more important than taking drugs.

Ridiculous. I was/am a marathon runner, martial arts instructor, and personal trainer. My periods were horrendous in high school and college. My daughter is the same. She is 24, 5'8 and 120 pounds. Very athletic. She has terrible cramps and very heavy bleeding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she exercise? is she overweight? These are key in terms of reducing monthly pain. Much more important than taking drugs.

Congrats, this might be the dumbest thing ever posted on DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she exercise? is she overweight? These are key in terms of reducing monthly pain. Much more important than taking drugs.

You're kidding right? I was extremely thin in high school and fit and still had horrible cramps. Every month since I started I get horrible cramping for two days. Without drugs, I don't know what I'd do and even then it just takes the edge off of it.

[Anonymous]

OP, send a bottle to school with a doctor's note and then also send it with your daughter and tell her to be very discrete about taking it.

[Anonymous]

I agree it's dumb but as a PP said, it's CYA for the school.

OP, you can be outraged (and I agree with you) but however much you want to buck this policy, be aware that .if your child is reported by other kids as being seen with any kind of pills, she could end up suspended, at least if you're in FCPS. The fact the pills are OTC may not matter one bit. She could lose classroom time that as a senior she really needs. See this:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/fairfax-schools-discipline-under-scrutiny-after-teens-suspension-for-medication/2011/03/08/ABZBiZQ_story.html

A few years back, a girl in an FCPS middle school was suspended for seven weeks because she left a bottle of antibiotics in her locker and other kids reported that they'd seen pills there. They were right to report what they saw--they couldn't have known what it was and it wasn't their job to ask--and she was wrong to have left the meds there, BUT there was absolutely NO consideration by FCPS of the type of medication involved or the fact this was merely an antibiotic for acne, not anything that could give anyone a buzz. She was suspended, period, and last I read about it, she was going to transfer to a different school, it had all been so distressing. It's a stupid, stupid way to handle a middle schooler's mistake, but it's how the school handled it.

So if your kid is seen taking a pill and gets reported, do not expect a pass when you step in and say, "It's just Aleve!" While an OTC is not a "controlled substance" (which is how FCPS reportedly considered the antibiotics), you might end up with a kid who at best ends up missing some school while it gets sorted out.

Going along with this policy sticks in the craw, but I'd go ahead and get a letter from the doctor about the endometriosis and the Aleve, and see if you can appeal over the school nurse's head for permission for your daughter to take the Aleve on her own; if not, leave it with the nurse and ensure she takes Aleve as she's going out the door on any day she even thinks she might have pain. Not ideal, not fair, but -- It's her last year of high school, and this isn't, as the saying goes, a "hill to die on" to prove a point. Not worth the risk, based on the track record of FCPS at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she exercise? is she overweight? These are key in terms of reducing monthly pain. Much more important than taking drugs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does she exercise? is she overweight? These are key in terms of reducing monthly pain. Much more important than taking drugs.

Congrats, this might be the dumbest thing ever posted on DCUM.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. PP, you're not very good at staying on topic, are you?

I can't believe I have to answer this but no, not overweight, she plays sports after school every day. She has endometriosis and has extremely painful periods. Please don't lecture me about exercise when we have found what works.

Thanks for answering OP and sincere apologies for offending you. I am European and I find the US over-prescribes medication in comparison to the rest of the world, treating often the symptoms rather than the causes. This was interesting to me, not meant as a slight to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. PP, you're not very good at staying on topic, are you?

I can't believe I have to answer this but no, not overweight, she plays sports after school every day. She has endometriosis and has extremely painful periods. Please don't lecture me about exercise when we have found what works.

Thanks for answering OP and sincere apologies for offending you. I am European and I find the US over-prescribes medication in comparison to the rest of the world, treating often the symptoms rather than the causes. This was interesting to me, not meant as a slight to you.

Aleve is OTC (over the counter) which means it is not prescription medication that you need doctor-involvement for.

[Anonymous]

Your daughter is learning about legal liability and deniability. She can certainly be discreet.

[Anonymous]

Ridiculous. I was debating on whether to send my 7 yo in with cough medicine today. I was thinking of putting it in her lunch box since it only lasts 4 hours. But I didn't.

These rules are ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. PP, you're not very good at staying on topic, are you?

I can't believe I have to answer this but no, not overweight, she plays sports after school every day. She has endometriosis and has extremely painful periods. Please don't lecture me about exercise when we have found what works.

Thanks for answering OP and sincere apologies for offending you. I am European and I find the US over-prescribes medication in comparison to the rest of the world, treating often the symptoms rather than the causes. This was interesting to me, not meant as a slight to you.

Aleve is OTC (over the counter) which means it is not prescription medication that you need doctor-involvement for.

making strong medications available without a script is part of the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. PP, you're not very good at staying on topic, are you?

I can't believe I have to answer this but no, not overweight, she plays sports after school every day. She has endometriosis and has extremely painful periods. Please don't lecture me about exercise when we have found what works.

Thanks for answering OP and sincere apologies for offending you. I am European and I find the US over-prescribes medication in comparison to the rest of the world, treating often the symptoms rather than the causes. This was interesting to me, not meant as a slight to you.

Aleve is OTC (over the counter) which means it is not prescription medication that you need doctor-involvement for.

making strong medications available without a script is part of the problem.

Readily available OTC NSAIDS (which are not "strong" or dangerous medications) are not a source of societal problems. You continue to show you have no idea what you are talking about.