Cramps, medication, school

[Anonymous]

What does your DD do with the Midol or Tylenol she may need to take when at school given that "self-carry" is against school policy?
Do you tell your DD just to put it in her backpack and take the medication discreetly?

[Anonymous]

Of course.

[Anonymous]

Yup.

[Anonymous]

Yes. No reason to suffer all day. I also discourage sharing of things like Advil - not bc I don't think they shouldn’t help out someone in pain but bc I think it becomes too easy for it to get around – oh Larla carries Advil, go ask her and then your kid is suddenly in trouble bc they were trying to be nice.

[Anonymous]

I know a teen who had an OTC pain med in her locker and was reported by someone as having "pills" there. It turned into a mess of meetings and she narrowly escaped being suspended. A few years back, a student with prescription acne meds at one FCPS school did end up suspended for many weeks and forced to transfer to another school (a typical FCPS policy for any kid disciplined for "drugs" was forced transfer). You can Google that latter story--the Post covered it.

You'll get lots of "just tell DD to take her Midol with her, all the girls do it" replies here but I wouldn't risk it. Advil is a six-hour dose; if my DD needs it or is likely to because she's having her period, she takes it before school. If she felt bad during the day she'd call me. If she had bad cramps as a regular thing I would send a letter to the school nurse and office staff and leave her meds in the nurse's office.

All it takes for a problem to start is for one other student to mention (maybe with good intentions) in a teacher's hearing that someone had pills. I know it defies simple common sense which says this shouldn't be an issue but if you followed the coverage of draconian FCPS disciplinary policies--well, it's not worth the risk.

[Anonymous]

My DD used to just put a tablet or two in a pocket to take discreetly if she felt she wouldn't get through the whole day - no sharing. (She did always know a couple of girls who usually had some, but no reason to get them in trouble for "distribution").

I know you can send in a bottle with a medication form, but at this particular HS, there was rarely anyone in the "clinic" and it seemed ridiculous to have a 17 or 18 year old miss a large chunk of class because there was no one available to give them their own Advil.

[Anonymous]

This is when we were prescribed a horse pill of ibuprophen. DD took it in the AM before school and it lasted 12 hours. She was able to stay in class and go to sports.

[Anonymous]

We left a bottle of Advil in the school's clinic office and she takes the meds as needed. We completed the medication authorization form before school started, when she received her schedule and her locker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We left a bottle of Advil in the school's clinic office and she takes the meds as needed. We completed the medication authorization form before school started, when she received her schedule and her locker.

We did this too. Initially, we did it in 7th grade because she would get headaches from her braces. But then she got the braces off and got her period, so she still needed to have it there for cramps. I would much rather send her with a couple of pills in her pocket, to take if needed, but as PPs have said, they'll get suspended if they are caught. It defies common sense, it really does. At any rate, she knows to go to the clinic if she needs Advil.

[Anonymous]

The irony is that the Churchill student caught selling actual drugs on a Friday was back in school on Monday. He graduated but didn't walk. I'm a SAHM and I've always just driven to school, called them out and given them the meds in the lobby.

[Anonymous]

800mg of Advil lasts 8 hours. Take tylenol (or Midol) when she gets up, and Advil as she's heading out the door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know a teen who had an OTC pain med in her locker and was reported by someone as having "pills" there. It turned into a mess of meetings and she narrowly escaped being suspended. A few years back, a student with prescription acne meds at one FCPS school did end up suspended for many weeks and forced to transfer to another school (a typical FCPS policy for any kid disciplined for "drugs" was forced transfer). You can Google that latter story--the Post covered it.

You'll get lots of "just tell DD to take her Midol with her, all the girls do it" replies here but I wouldn't risk it. Advil is a six-hour dose; if my DD needs it or is likely to because she's having her period, she takes it before school. If she felt bad during the day she'd call me. If she had bad cramps as a regular thing I would send a letter to the school nurse and office staff and leave her meds in the nurse's office.

All it takes for a problem to start is for one other student to mention (maybe with good intentions) in a teacher's hearing that someone had pills. I know it defies simple common sense which says this shouldn't be an issue but if you followed the coverage of draconian FCPS disciplinary policies--well, it's not worth the risk.

The school can help her get an abortion without her parents knowledge or permission.

If they can do that, then they shoukd not have any control over any other medical issue, including midol and tylenol.

[Anonymous]

Can she take an Aleve before she leaves for school? They last 12'hours. That's what I did in middle/high school.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for all your suggestions!

[Anonymous]

I have a kid who take Adderall at lunch every day at the clinic. It is NBD-- except that a parent has to hand carry the meds in every month, because they are prescription. My kid says in and out in 3 minutes. In FCPS, kids can carry non prescription meds and the authorization form to the clinic themselves.

FCPS takes the meds policy incredibly seriously. I get it for Adderall. I do not get it for Tylenol. But the penalty for carrying and self administering both meds is the same. Likely because kids can put Adderall or Opiates in a Tylenol bottle and most people can't tell the difference.

Just have your kid leave Tylenol in the clinic and go during lunch to get one. Or between classes and get a late pass. It's a hassle. But so is fighting a suspension for possession of Tylenol the week after the UVA acceptance letter arrives in the mail. The downside is just too great.