Managing Meds at College

MommaJ · 12-02-2008, 01:58 AM

I'm a little ahead of myself here (D is a high school senior), but this subject is starting to worry me. D takes three medications daily, and it's important that no doses are skipped. For years, I've been the one making sure that refills are obtained before pills run out and that the doc is called for new prescriptions sufficiently in advance when there are no more refills left. I have no idea how this will be managed at college--whether D will have reasonable access to a pharmacy, whether she will stay on top of things and not run out. I'm reasonably comfortable that she will remember to take her meds each morning--they have been part of her life for so long that it is an ingrained habit--but monitoring her supplies requires attentiveness and foresight that I don't see in her. (Case in point--she has had responsibility for her own laundry for years now and still routinely runs out of clean underwear!) I've thought about dealing with the situation for her (tracking refill dates, pill counting and Fed Ex-ing meds), but that seems ridiculous. I know college is the time for her to grow up and take responsibility for her daily life, and I have no problem letting her sink or swim when it comes to most things, but it's hard to keep that stance when it comes to medication.

I'm sure many CC'ers have had to deal with the meds-at-school issue. Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

starbright · 12-02-2008, 02:49 AM

duplicate to the one below.

starbright · 12-02-2008, 02:51 AM

No great words of wisdom as we aren't there yet but both D and I absolutely require meds every day. I'll be curious to see others experiences. Just a few thoughts:

If now is not the time for her to learn to do it herself, when will be the time? If she managed to get herself into a college, I imagine she's ready to manage her own meds (as much as she ever will be).

Maybe use an in-between plan to transitioning her to be fully responsible? So you aren't pill counting and fed-exing but you are reminding a bit. You know her schedule and supply when she starts out, can you mark it in a calendar and send a reminder and follow up around replacement time (just to reassure yourself)?

Laundry lapses isn't perhaps a good comparison for how well she'll fare with life-sustaining medication. One doesn't die from dirty underwear. Can you see examples where she is responsible when it comes to stuff that is important to her? e.g. planning for projects or studying for exams?

Also, is such a time lag between order and refill necessary to worry about? Maybe all meds are different. For ours, when things are stable, they just call the doc for a refill and our refills last 6 mos-12mos. Moreover, we've been able get emergency coverage at a pharmacy when we can't get a script right away. Once locally, once while on vacation in Calif. when we lost some meds in luggage.

pugmadkate · 12-02-2008, 03:11 AM

When my cousin left for a college a few years ago, she was required by the university to have a local medical provider. This local doctor was able to help her come up with a plan to stay on top of her medications.

I worry about this as well. One of my son's medication is a controlled substance and so we must pick up the presciption in person each month and drive it to the phramacy. It's a pain in my arse, I can only imagine if I were a first year college student. But, I remind myself that others have done it, so our kids can too.

Best of luck to you.

Marian · 12-02-2008, 06:59 AM

When she has decided what college to attend, it wouldn't hurt for her to contact the student health center and find out whether their pharmacy carries the medication. If it doesn't, considering the importance of this medication, the health center may arrange to stock it just for her or may make arrangements for it to be delivered to the health center from another pharmacy.

For less important medications, college students often have to go to community pharmacies, which may or may not be a problem depending on where the nearest community pharmacy is located (at the college my son attended, it was right next to the campus; at my daughter's college, it's a 20-minute ride away on a public bus).

One of my kids had to rely on a community pharmacy (and an off-campus doctor) to get Accutane, which the student health center refused to have anything to do with. The other one, who has great difficulty swallowing pills, has to go to a community pharmacy to get anything that's prescribed for her in chewable or liquid form because the on-campus pharmacy doesn't carry those forms of medicines.

Singersmom07 · 12-02-2008, 07:56 AM

At DD's school there is no campus pharmacy so she has to use the community one close to campus. Her doctors gave her duplicate prescriptions so she has one set here and one set there. She uses a pharmacy that is a chain with one close to her there and here but you can use their electronic transfers. Even so it was a scramble one time to get her doctor to do a temp authorizaton until she could get home since she did not realize there were no refills. But she is learning with each step to manage.

She sets her cell phone alarm for when she has to take her meds (cell phone is always with her) and also with a reminder to reorder. That seems to work for her. She can adjust the alarm for class or rehearsal schedules if needed. It is a growing up process and one they must master. You might try to have her manage more herself before she leaves if you are concerned she won't get the hang of it soon enough.

my-3-sons · 12-02-2008, 08:29 AM

Have her take over complete management of the meds now, while you are still there to keep an eye on her. My S has one chronic med that we are able to fill via our insurance company's mail-order pharmacy and have shipped directly to school every 3 months. He lets me know when he's running out, but I do keep track to make sure he's on top of it.

For his ADD (controlled sub) med, the health center writes the monthly prescription and S has it filled at a local pharmacy as the OOS school pharmacy does not accept our insurance (sigh). The health center had our local physician send documentation of the need for the ADD meds before they would write the scripts. Fortunately, the pharmacy is close by.

S uses a weekly pill dispenser and then keeps the remaining meds in a lock box which stays in his locked footlocker. This was suggested to us by the health center as a way to make it easier for S to take meds daily without keeping large quantities of meds exposed. It's also very easy for him to just throw the dispenser in his backpack if he is going away overnight.

corranged · 12-02-2008, 09:51 AM

I would suggest getting your daughter in charge of her meds now. That way she can get some experience with it before college, but you're still there to help out as needed.

missypie · 12-02-2008, 11:23 AM

Son also takes a "controlled substance." He applied to 8 schools; has been accepted at 6, waiting for the other two. Four have made merit aid offers. I know that there are HS seniors who have not even completed a single application yet (some probably haven't even taken the SAT), but we have so many details to consider in making the college choice - such as the ease of getting the prescription filled! - that I am so anxious for Son to hear from all of his schools.

CountingDown · 12-02-2008, 11:35 AM

The cost structure on our Rx plan is such that mail-order is essential for daily meds. Medco will not allow us to have meds shipped directly to S while still having my regular long-term medications shipped home. Also, because one is controlled, there must be a physical prescription sent and we can't re-order online. For the moment, I am dealing with refills and shipping to school until we find a better way.

S did discuss ongoing meds and logistics with his local doc before he left for school, and they are happy to continue seeing him while he is in college, so at least we don't have to switch practices and go through lots of new hoops.

Soph year in HS I got out of the nagging-about-meds business. Only took one or two times of forgetting to get THAT habit established!

S keeps his meds in a safe at school. Even remembered to save his old bottles and bring just a weekend's supply home for the holidays. His school did not require any info or local docs for med management, though he did disclose on health forms.

If he gets sick at school and needs antibiotics, etc., he has a Rx card and can get them filled locally. We walked through that process before he left, along with how to complete medical forms, knowing his medical history, etc. We did a lot of "real world" stuff in the last year or two before college -- banking, writing checks, online transactions, basic cooking, etc. (Laundry and cleaning toilets were in the middle school Home Curriculum.

)

tango14 · 12-02-2008, 11:57 AM

Suggest that she set her calender (phone/laptop) to remind her automatically. You might also suggest that she put aside 3 or 4 days worth of meds (whatever it takes to get a refill). That way when she "runs out," she will know to get a refill but she will still have several days worth of meds set aside.

starbright · 12-02-2008, 11:59 AM

^ I think learning all these pragmatic things are soo valuable; and the earlier you start the better. A 13 yo. can learn to book their own medical appointments, speak for themselves in med exams, or go to get their own blood work done. Our D can't drive yet so I'm still a chauffeur if public transit doesn't go there, but by and large I have passed to her everything that she can take on and you'd be surprised what they are capable of (though like the OP, you'd not believe it if you saw her room or laundry situation!).

CountingDown · 12-02-2008, 12:07 PM

I think the part of the brain that says "clean your room" is the last part that develops! This from the parent of a S who set up the frame to a bookcase on move-in day and has STILL not installed the shelves so he can unload the emormous box of books he insisted on packing....

jasmom · 12-02-2008, 12:57 PM

I just saw that our pharmacy (Rite Aid) allows us to sign up for a program whereby the pharmacist refills the meds automatically. I don't know the ends and outs of this, but it's possible that your student can sign up for something similar.

HImom · 12-02-2008, 01:59 PM

Some pharmacies even deliver meds, which MIGHT be an option to explore, particularly once your child has settled on a campus. Mail order meds can also be a handy option--that's how I get my maintenance meds.

My S also has some meds that he takes on an as-needed basis for his chronic health condition. We did arrive at campus a week before he started school (at the U's suggestion) & had him visit with 3 different docs at the med school's family practice clinic so that when he has health issues that are beyond the needs of what the school health center can provide he has already established relationships with them. That was very reassuring to us parents & S, & made the U very happy as well.