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I have been seeing a nurse practitioner for about 7 months. She diagnosed my ADHD and prescribed 40mg of Vyvanse each morning with 10mg of addrall in the afternoon. She also told me to take "drug holiday'shttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png". Telling me that when I had a few days of down time in a row not to take the meds due to dependency risk. When I went in for my monthly visit, they asked for a urine sample. I said sure, thinking nothing of it. She asked me how things were going with my medication and I said fine. The difference they have made in my concentration and attention span is remarkable. I explained that I was following her direction of the drug holidayshttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png. I hadn't taken my medication in three days, due to a long weekend off work. She said that's good.
Well, when she came backhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png she said my urine was clean of all my medications and she would no longer prescribe them or treat me. I was dumbfounded. I said but I haven't taken them for 3 days, like I told you. She said they should still be present in my urine. She did let me submit another urine sample, that was sent out to a lab, and said they would call me within 48 hours. After a week herhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png nurse finally called me. Her exact words were, "your drug screen came back inconsistent with the medications you were prescribed. You will not receive any prescriptions for controlled substances from this office". I was shocked. I said this can't be right. She never said another word, except goodbye, and hung up. I do not abuse my medications nor share them or anything wrong.
Will I be able to get another doctor to prescribe these to me? Will I have to explain what happened?
I findhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png this all so unbelievable and extremely embarrassing. Any help would be appreciated.

What's with all the links in your post? Are they necessary to describe your situation?

Also, why is a nurse prescribing medication?

I don't know why those words are highlighted. And it is a nurse practitioner prescribing the medication, not a nurse.

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Originally Posted by Alty

What's with all the links in your post? Are they necessary to describe your situation?

Also, why is a nurse prescribing medication?

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Nurse practitioners​ can prescribe meds Alty. ;)

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Originally Posted by J_9

Nurse practitioners​ can prescribe meds Alty. ;)

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Yikes! Not here! Here you have to be a doctor to prescribe meds. Scary!

No, it's not scary. Nurse practitioners have much more schooling than Registered nurses, they also operate under the license of a doctor. They have many more years of school than a Registered Nurse, but fewer than a doctor.

Often you seldom see the doctor, all you see is the practitioners.

I've not once ever seen a nurse practitioner, and I can honestly say, with no disrespect to anyone, that if I did see a nurse practitioner instead of a doctor, and I was given a prescription from that nurse, I would leave and seek the advice of a doctor.

They may be trained more than a regular nurse, but they're still not a doctor. I wouldn't put my health at risk taking medication prescribed by someone that imo isn't qualified to diagnose or treat.

Just my opinion. But then I don't really trust most doctors either, but they at least have the education needed to treat. Nurses, love them, they do so much, God love them, no matter how many extra classes they take, they're not doctors. If they were, they'd be called doctors, not nurses! To have a nurse diagnose you and prescribe meds... that's insane to me!

It is very common for a nurse practitioner to be the only person you see. Anyway, can anyone help me with the actual question?

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Originally Posted by Alty

They may be trained more than a regular nurse, but they're still not a doctor. I wouldn't put my health at risk taking medication prescribed by someone that imo isn't qualified to diagnose or treat.

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Alty, they ARE qualified to diagnose and treat. Alty, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants go to school to earn to diagnosed prescribe. Most of them work in doctor's offices and urgent care centers. They practice under the license of a physician.

I know now you meant no disrespect, but your post was rather disrespectful considering you know nothing about the profession and, as a nurse I am offended.

Now ow to the OP. To try to answer your question. I cannot explain why your test came out negative. However, it is common practice for a doctor to release a patient from their practice. These particular controlled substances are very popular on the streets and people sell these meds. When these drugs do not show in your urine it appears that the patient is not taking the meds, but rather selling them. I'm not saying this is the case with you. Doctors/nurse practitioners/physicians assistants who continue to prescribe for patients who test negative risk losing their licenses.

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Originally Posted by J_9

Alty, they ARE qualified to diagnose and treat. Alty, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants go to school to earn to diagnosed prescribe. Most of them work in doctor's offices and urgent care centers. They practice under the license of a physician.

I know now you meant no disrespect, but your post was rather disrespectful considering you know nothing about the profession and, as a nurse I am offended.

Now ow to the OP. To try to answer your question. I cannot explain why your test came out negative. However, it is common practice for a doctor to release a patient from their practice. These particular controlled substances are very popular on the streets and people sell these meds. When these drugs do not show in your urine it appears that the patient is not taking the meds, but rather selling them. I'm not saying this is the case with you. Doctors/nurse practitioners/physicians assistants who continue to prescribe for patients who test negative risk losing their licenses.

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Thank you for your response. This is all new to me. I've struggled for as long as I can remember with concentration and attention problems. I am 35. When she put me on these medications the difference changed my life. I've never participated in anything illegal when it comes to this stuff and it made me feel like a criminal. Will I have a problem finding a new doctor? And will I have to explain all this when I do?

Will you have a problem finding a new doctor? That isn't something I can answer. This is a global website and I don't know the culture of medicine in your specific location. Having to explain it will be individual as well. Some doctors might want an explanation, while others may not. You are just going to have to call and make an appointment and see what happens.

Ok. Thank you for your help.

A non conclusive urine test is generally followed up by a blood test for confirmation. Maybe its best you seek another physician to treat you.

Yes I agree. There was no blood sample taken. I've never been prescribed a controlled substance before, so when this happened I didn't know how to react. I didn't know if now that she has refused treatment if I would be put on some kind of list and labeled a drug seeker or anything else. The whole thing made me feel like I had done something wrong. When I knew I hadn't. The kicker for me is still the fact that she was the one who told me to skip several days of taking it when I could. And she knew I hadn't had it in 3 days. Thanks for your response.

I even have it printed on my visit summary where she told me that.

Some physicians have better policies, and procedures than others, but at least now you know what to ask about on the first visit. Your last one practiced defensive medicine, covering his own arse without any benefit to you.

Unfortunately, in these times of prescription drug sales, you will find many practices that have adopted these policies as many of these policies have been created by the AMA. This really is not uncommon these days. Truth told, offices that don't have these policies are rare and it would set them up for license revocation should something like this happen to a certain percentage of their patient base.

I do feel bad for the OP as she(?) is one that is being honest and these policies punish the honest as well as the dishonest. I've actually had something similar happen to me and I'm a nurse! I work the night shift, so sleeping days is rough. At one time I had a script for some sleeping pills (years ago) and I ran out of my prescription and was going out of town. I called my doctor's office asking if they could call me in 3 pills to get me through the weekend and I would come to the office on Monday for a refill appointment. I was labeled as a seeker and was told they would no longer treat me. I was able to find a new doctor who understood my situation and took me in as a patient.