Be aware of the school medication rule

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You also have to hand carry Adderall as a parent (kid needs an early afternoon booster). Which is a PITA because it is so tightly regulated, you never have extras. So you pick it up from the pharmacy, and have to go to the school the next day to drop off. Every month. Rather than sending it in with your HS kid. I get that these are abused drugs, but I don’t always have an hour in the day to take it the next day for a kid who self administers because college next year. The crazy thing is he turns 18 soon, and I will still have to take it myself.

Adderall is not an emergency med so there is no reason for the kid to hand carry it at school, especially since it is so easily abused.

I wasn’t clear. I get why they can’t carry it in their purse and it has to stay locked in the clinic. It’s hard to have a prescription that will not refill until Saturday, which must be delivered to the school before 1 pm Monday when my kid needs it. When I work and the school is 1/2 hour each way. Every month. I wishI could tell the nurse my 16-18 year old is bringing in 15 pills, and my kid could carry them to the clinic instead of me.

If the pharmacies only allow you to pick up one week of pills at a time, then that is a medicine that most certainly should only be delivered to the clinic by a parent.

???? It’s a standard 30 day dose. They just don’t refill until you are down to 1-2 pills. So ther is not at lot of room for error. It must be picked up the day it refills, even if I have a lot of other things to do after work, with kids. And my kid never has extra, so I must take it school the day after I pick it up at the pharmacy. It would be great if I could hand it to my HS junior to drop off at the clinic before class, rather than having to go myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You also have to hand carry Adderall as a parent (kid needs an early afternoon booster). Which is a PITA because it is so tightly regulated, you never have extras. So you pick it up from the pharmacy, and have to go to the school the next day to drop off. Every month. Rather than sending it in with your HS kid. I get that these are abused drugs, but I don’t always have an hour in the day to take it the next day for a kid who self administers because college next year. The crazy thing is he turns 18 soon, and I will still have to take it myself.

My son takes Vyvanse which lasts for 12 hours. Try it.

My kid actually takes Vyvanse at 6 am. Needs a short acting Adderall Boster around 2, which is when the clinic stops dispensing. For him, it starts to fade as school is ending at 3:00. But he needs to get through ECs, get home at 7, so homework. It would be best if he could self administer after school before ECs. But we win’t Risk him being caught with the pill.

My kid takes Adderall XR at 7 am and takes regular Adderall as a booster at 2:45 pm at the clinic. We get 90 day supplies of the booster med (by mail order) and drop off the prescription at the open house before the first day of school and then once again towards the end of 2nd quarter. Can you check with your kid's doctor to see if a 90 day supply might be possible to order?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An epipen can be lifesaving--but it is not without risks. It needs to be used carefully.

That said, I do think that it is ridiculous what the cost is considering that they expire and it does seem reasonable to think that a lot of money could be saved by allowing schools to stock them with copies of the child's prescriptions.

I don't know too much about them. Are the doses in them always the same? In other words, is it a special dosage for each child according to size or is it standard?

Above 35kg (75lb give or take), it's the adult dose. Smaller than that, it's the pediatric dose. So there is no dosing needed- just say if a child looks under age 8 or over age 8, ballpark. Yes there is a risk of shooting someone up with epi by mistake but if you give it and call 911 (which is what you should ALWAYS DO), there is truly such a negligeable risk that I hate when I see parents come into the ER with a clearly struggling child saying they didn't know if they should give their epipen or not. Quick answer- ALWAYS GIVE IT, AND CALL 911. Give it if you THINK there is a severe allergic reaction and ask questions later. If your kid gets it and didn't need it they are going to be fine. Other way around- not so much.

My 13 year old looks age ten and is under 70 lbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You also have to hand carry Adderall as a parent (kid needs an early afternoon booster). Which is a PITA because it is so tightly regulated, you never have extras. So you pick it up from the pharmacy, and have to go to the school the next day to drop off. Every month. Rather than sending it in with your HS kid. I get that these are abused drugs, but I don’t always have an hour in the day to take it the next day for a kid who self administers because college next year. The crazy thing is he turns 18 soon, and I will still have to take it myself.

Adderall is not an emergency med so there is no reason for the kid to hand carry it at school, especially since it is so easily abused.

I wasn’t clear. I get why they can’t carry it in their purse and it has to stay locked in the clinic. It’s hard to have a prescription that will not refill until Saturday, which must be delivered to the school before 1 pm Monday when my kid needs it. When I work and the school is 1/2 hour each way. Every month. I wishI could tell the nurse my 16-18 year old is bringing in 15 pills, and my kid could carry them to the clinic instead of me.

If the pharmacies only allow you to pick up one week of pills at a time, then that is a medicine that most certainly should only be delivered to the clinic by a parent.

???? It’s a standard 30 day dose. They just don’t refill until you are down to 1-2 pills. So ther is not at lot of room for error. It must be picked up the day it refills, even if I have a lot of other things to do after work, with kids. And my kid never has extra, so I must take it school the day after I pick it up at the pharmacy. It would be great if I could hand it to my HS junior to drop off at the clinic before class, rather than having to go myself.

Your post was worded as if you had to pick up the prescription on Sundays, then deliver it to school on Mondays.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You also have to hand carry Adderall as a parent (kid needs an early afternoon booster). Which is a PITA because it is so tightly regulated, you never have extras. So you pick it up from the pharmacy, and have to go to the school the next day to drop off. Every month. Rather than sending it in with your HS kid. I get that these are abused drugs, but I don’t always have an hour in the day to take it the next day for a kid who self administers because college next year. The crazy thing is he turns 18 soon, and I will still have to take it myself.

My son takes Vyvanse which lasts for 12 hours. Try it.

My kid actually takes Vyvanse at 6 am. Needs a short acting Adderall Boster around 2, which is when the clinic stops dispensing. For him, it starts to fade as school is ending at 3:00. But he needs to get through ECs, get home at 7, so homework. It would be best if he could self administer after school before ECs. But we win’t Risk him being caught with the pill.

My kid takes Adderall XR at 7 am and takes regular Adderall as a booster at 2:45 pm at the clinic. We get 90 day supplies of the booster med (by mail order) and drop off the prescription at the open house before the first day of school and then once againt towards the end of 2nd quarter. Can you check with your kid's doctor to see if a 90 day supply might be possible to order?

Yep. We are actually working on this. Kid has shot up and put on weight, and we are trying to get the dosing right. But I hope in a couple months we can do 90 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You also have to hand carry Adderall as a parent (kid needs an early afternoon booster). Which is a PITA because it is so tightly regulated, you never have extras. So you pick it up from the pharmacy, and have to go to the school the next day to drop off. Every month. Rather than sending it in with your HS kid. I get that these are abused drugs, but I don’t always have an hour in the day to take it the next day for a kid who self administers because college next year. The crazy thing is he turns 18 soon, and I will still have to take it myself.

Adderall is not an emergency med so there is no reason for the kid to hand carry it at school, especially since it is so easily abused.

I wasn’t clear. I get why they can’t carry it in their purse and it has to stay locked in the clinic. It’s hard to have a prescription that will not refill until Saturday, which must be delivered to the school before 1 pm Monday when my kid needs it. When I work and the school is 1/2 hour each way. Every month. I wishI could tell the nurse my 16-18 year old is bringing in 15 pills, and my kid could carry them to the clinic instead of me.

If the pharmacies only allow you to pick up one week of pills at a time, then that is a medicine that most certainly should only be delivered to the clinic by a parent.

???? It’s a standard 30 day dose. They just don’t refill until you are down to 1-2 pills. So ther is not at lot of room for error. It must be picked up the day it refills, even if I have a lot of other things to do after work, with kids. And my kid never has extra, so I must take it school the day after I pick it up at the pharmacy. It would be great if I could hand it to my HS junior to drop off at the clinic before class, rather than having to go myself.

Your post was worded as if you had to pick up the prescription on Sundays, then deliver it to school on Mondays.

They won’t refill until you are down to 1-2 pills. If this happens on a Saturday, then I have to take the refill to school Monday or he runs out. If it refills on Wednesday, I have to take it to the school Thursday or maybe Friday. I must pick it up at the pharmacy the day it comes due. I much st deliver it within 1-2 days to the school. I can’t head from work to a kid’s band concert at 7, and not get home with the kid until 9:30, because I must pick up the Adderall at the pharmacy the day it is due. It’s crazymaking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The doctor put all the info on the form. The med, the dose, the diagnosis. So now I bring in a cardboard box. But there is still no way to really prove the item in the box actually came in said box.

Yes, bring in the box.

It's better for the school to be too cautious about medicine than not cautious enough, right?

For things like epipens or albuterol I absolutely disagree. I think epipens should be stocked everywhere the way AEDs are or the way Narcan is starting to be. Lifesaving medication, must be given IMMEDIATELY to work best, and zero potential for abuse. Just hand them out for free, everywhere, to everyone.

Albuterol can cause problems if given to the wrong person in the wrong dosage, including asthmatics.

So can Narcan, but there are strong pushes to try to get laypeople to easily access it, carry it around and administer it to people who might be (or might not be!) having a drug overdose. At the very least, we should be able to have easier access to drugs that can save the life of an asthmatic having a severe attack or an allergic child having an anaphylactic reaction.... like with the same ease that we can have access to narcan to save the 30 year old drug addict/ criminal who passes out on the bus.

Yes but a side effect from giving narcan to a heroin junky shooting up in the street is very different than a side effect from a teacher giving someone else's albuterol or the wrong inhaler to a 6 year old in front of a bunch of other 6 year olds.

You would think so but actually, 99% of rescue inhalers are albuterol. The dosage is the same for babies up to adults, 99% of the time- 2 puffs. It's really hard to do it wrong or give too much to the point that you cause damage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An epipen can be lifesaving--but it is not without risks. It needs to be used carefully.

That said, I do think that it is ridiculous what the cost is considering that they expire and it does seem reasonable to think that a lot of money could be saved by allowing schools to stock them with copies of the child's prescriptions.

I don't know too much about them. Are the doses in them always the same? In other words, is it a special dosage for each child according to size or is it standard?

Above 35kg (75lb give or take), it's the adult dose. Smaller than that, it's the pediatric dose. So there is no dosing needed- just say if a child looks under age 8 or over age 8, ballpark. Yes there is a risk of shooting someone up with epi by mistake but if you give it and call 911 (which is what you should ALWAYS DO), there is truly such a negligeable risk that I hate when I see parents come into the ER with a clearly struggling child saying they didn't know if they should give their epipen or not. Quick answer- ALWAYS GIVE IT, AND CALL 911. Give it if you THINK there is a severe allergic reaction and ask questions later. If your kid gets it and didn't need it they are going to be fine. Other way around- not so much.

My 13 year old looks age ten and is under 70 lbs.

Then there is a chance he'd get the adult dose instead, and still no harm would come to him if you call 911 afterwords and send him for monitoring as you always should. I know it sounds like scary medicine but truly, i think it's a travesty that it's not more widely available. For kids having true cardiac arrest, we dose epi every 3 minutes, sometimes for an hour. That's SO MANY DOSES! Clearly a kid having an allergic reaction isn't having the same problem as the cardiac arrest kid, but I just wish people would be less afraid to just GIVE THE EPI, knowing that if you give it too low of a dose or too high of a dose or in the arm instead of the leg or whatever- it will really be fine, it is way better than hesitating and waiting for a child to get too far into their allergic response to where the epi pen doesn't save them anymore. If in doubt, give it and call 911!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes just follow the rules. I use to be a school nurse. Parents would give me loose pills and expect that I would administer them to their child. The rules are a pain but are the state regulations and is another check that your child is getting the right medication. Would you be comfortable giving a child that you may or may not really know a medication that wasn’t properly labeled.

This is an inhaler we are talking about that my kid carries ON her person. Of course I agree random, unlabeled pills can’t be left in the nurses office.

Today my kid is taking her new $25 cardboard box to the nurse’s office so she can have permission to carry her inhaler.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An epipen can be lifesaving--but it is not without risks. It needs to be used carefully.

That said, I do think that it is ridiculous what the cost is considering that they expire and it does seem reasonable to think that a lot of money could be saved by allowing schools to stock them with copies of the child's prescriptions.

I don't know too much about them. Are the doses in them always the same? In other words, is it a special dosage for each child according to size or is it standard?

Epipens have a child and adult dosage based off weight.

The expiration dates are very short now, since the makers ended up with a virtual monopoly. They jacked up the prices significantly, many hundreds of times above costs, while shortening the expiration dates by almost half to less than one year.

It was done during the previous administration and is, in my opinion, criminal. Those who allowed this should be put in jail.

My kid has a life threatening allergy (several) and has carried an epipen for over 12 years. The epipens used to be good for much longer, around 2 years. Now you are lucky if your new epipen lasts a school year.

This does not help for school pens, but we have been told by multiple allergists that in a pinch, an expired epipen will be acceptable as long as the fluids are clear. But that is a decision that an individual parent would need to make in an emergency, because the drug companies can cover their asses with the early expiration date.

Too bad auviQ had that recall. They were a superior product by a much better company, invented by twin brothers with anaphylactic allergies.

Tricare used to carry Auvi Qs. Now they only carry epipens or the new knock offs. I feel for anyone whose insurance does not cover them. They cost a tiny fraction to make compared to what the drug companies are charging for them.

In case you didn't know, PP, Auvi Q is back! It used to be available mail-order pharmacy-only- your allergist would write the script and then it would get filled (for free) by a mail-order pharmacy. I just read that Walgreens is now participating in the program, also free (obviously with the coupon the manufacturer provides). Looks just the same as the old ones.

Also, the FDA is extending the expiration dates of some Epi Pen lots by 4 months. I don't know what information a school would need, though, in order to accept these new expiration dates.

[Anonymous]

Also, for the parents who don't know about it already: https://www.epipen.com/paying-for-epipen-and-generic

The box thing is what they require in preschools and daycares too. I think it's to make sure the meds haven't been tampered with which makes me laugh.

It is a bit ridiculous- but remember that most policies are reactive and not proactive. So probably something happened with a script that could have been prevented with a box and now that is the policy.

Regardless of how stupid it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An epipen can be lifesaving--but it is not without risks. It needs to be used carefully.

That said, I do think that it is ridiculous what the cost is considering that they expire and it does seem reasonable to think that a lot of money could be saved by allowing schools to stock them with copies of the child's prescriptions.

I don't know too much about them. Are the doses in them always the same? In other words, is it a special dosage for each child according to size or is it standard?

Epipens have a child and adult dosage based off weight.

The expiration dates are very short now, since the makers ended up with a virtual monopoly. They jacked up the prices significantly, many hundreds of times above costs, while shortening the expiration dates by almost half to less than one year.

It was done during the previous administration and is, in my opinion, criminal. Those who allowed this should be put in jail.

My kid has a life threatening allergy (several) and has carried an epipen for over 12 years. The epipens used to be good for much longer, around 2 years. Now you are lucky if your new epipen lasts a school year.

This does not help for school pens, but we have been told by multiple allergists that in a pinch, an expired epipen will be acceptable as long as the fluids are clear. But that is a decision that an individual parent would need to make in an emergency, because the drug companies can cover their asses with the early expiration date.

Too bad auviQ had that recall. They were a superior product by a much better company, invented by twin brothers with anaphylactic allergies.

Tricare used to carry Auvi Qs. Now they only carry epipens or the new knock offs. I feel for anyone whose insurance does not cover them. They cost a tiny fraction to make compared to what the drug companies are charging for them.

In case you didn't know, PP, Auvi Q is back! It used to be available mail-order pharmacy-only- your allergist would write the script and then it would get filled (for free) by a mail-order pharmacy. I just read that Walgreens is now participating in the program, also free (obviously with the coupon the manufacturer provides). Looks just the same as the old ones.

Also, the FDA is extending the expiration dates of some Epi Pen lots by 4 months. I don't know what information a school would need, though, in order to accept these new expiration dates.

That is awesome to know about the AuviQ.

We tried to get one when they came back on the market. Our military doc was happy to write the prescription, but Tricare would not cover it so we would have to pay for it out of pocket.

I will check again to see if it is covered.

For a teen, just having epinephrine that is small enough to stay in his jeans pocket without falling out is a very good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also, for the parents who don't know about it already: https://www.epipen.com/paying-for-epipen-and-generic

The box thing is what they require in preschools and daycares too. I think it's to make sure the meds haven't been tampered with which makes me laugh.

It is a bit ridiculous- but remember that most policies are reactive and not proactive. So probably something happened with a script that could have been prevented with a box and now that is the policy.

Regardless of how stupid it is.

True.

I wonder if fcps or even that specific pyramid had an issue with a kid using a family member's medicine or losing their unlabeled inhaler at school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you know that for things like inhalers and even diabetic insulin shots, if you don't have the cardboard box the scrip came in, the nurse's office confiscates the med? Apparently even though the doctor's form provides the details of the med, the dose, the child's name, etc, this info also has to appear on the label (box) and since inhalers don't have labels, the nurse took it from my child.

So calling in yet another scrip from the doc and picking up at the pharmacy so we can have a cardboard box. Yay.

Of course you need the original box with the dosing and pharmacy information. You should send the medication in the original box for your child's protection. If your child becomes ill or has an emergency, the EMTs and doctors will ask what medication they took, how much, etc. Being able to provide them the original prescription box will be invaluable to getting them the correct information quickly. You could ask the pharmacy if they are willing to also put the same labels directly on the inhaler. I remember kids in school when I was young had them labeled by the pharmacy but not sure if they still do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you know that for things like inhalers and even diabetic insulin shots, if you don't have the cardboard box the scrip came in, the nurse's office confiscates the med? Apparently even though the doctor's form provides the details of the med, the dose, the child's name, etc, this info also has to appear on the label (box) and since inhalers don't have labels, the nurse took it from my child.

So calling in yet another scrip from the doc and picking up at the pharmacy so we can have a cardboard box. Yay.

Of course you need the original box with the dosing and pharmacy information. You should send the medication in the original box for your child's protection. If your child becomes ill or has an emergency, the EMTs and doctors will ask what medication they took, how much, etc. Being able to provide them the original prescription box will be invaluable to getting them the correct information quickly. You could ask the pharmacy if they are willing to also put the same labels directly on the inhaler. I remember kids in school when I was young had them labeled by the pharmacy but not sure if they still do that.

What do they do if there is an emergency and there is no prescription on hand? I'm assuming the nurse then administers it?