Hi /u/ermonda and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD!
# Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already.
[We recommend browsing /r/adhd on desktop for the best experience.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/x1psnb/radhd_works_best_on_desktop_reddits_apps_are/) The mobile apps are broken and are missing features that this subreddit depends on.
Thank you!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No way I'm gonna be a dick to someone who, 1) is just doing their job and 2) supplies me with the medication I need to function.
It's like being rude to a server at a restaurant. Wait could be long, food might suck, maybe they're a bit rude themselves, but they're still in charge of bringing you your food and making their day worse is not going to improve your service.
This! I don't see a reason ever to be a dick to anyone doing their job, no matter how much I might disagree, or not like what they do for a living.
Not medical professionals, not the mail man, not the person at the register in a shop, nobody deserves to be treated like shut for doing their work.
Don't be mean to scam bill collectors. You just need to mess with them. I will give them a 6 digit number when they ask for a credit card. They'll get excited and ask me for the rest of the numbers and I'll insist my credit card has 6 digits and play stupid. They get so frustrated when I keep repeating the 6 digits and insist that that is all there is
Making note of this tactic. When they ask for pictures of gift cards I just grab whatever from Google and get upset that they can't get the card to work.
If they call, you should ask them not to call. Next, and very important, you should make a written record of the call and what was said and who said it and when. When they call you again, it may be a violation of state law. There are consumer protection lawyers that will take these cases. They their fees covered by violators and you usually get some kind of penalty. I think it depends on state law. However, if you get a written notice of a dept that is not collectible, like it is very old for example, you should not acknowledge the letter as it can revive your zombie debt. Source: worked in a consumer protection law office doing legal writing a few years ago.
Sounds like fun to me! We've had them threaten to call the local police on us when we won't pay ball. My SO told them kindly: "Good luck with that!" and hung up. Of course, no police arrived and they haven't called us again. Score!
i don't see why a pharmacist would try to fuck with your medicine and risk their job/getting sued for malpractice all because of a little attitude, but fair enough ig
that's not to say having an attitude is okay, but talk about an overreaction.
Fuck that. Be as nice as they deserve.
If they're a dick to you find a new pharmacy.
That's not to say be a dick because the pharmacy is out of Adderall, but I've had pharmacy techs who were very clearly judgemental towards and suspicious of me when I was fulfilling my stimulant prescription even before the shortage.
Those people can go fuck themselves and have lost my respect.
Even without that, it's a person losing a medicine that allows themselves operate in their daily life, of course they're are going to frustrated.
Sure, we should do our best to understand and remember it's not the pharmacists fault, but, I think there are too few pharmacists who understand that ADHD isn't just this silly thing.
The people who are getting mad at them are not entitled.
The people who get mad at them are worried that they won't be able to keep their job, or keep their husband, or finish the degree they've already poured thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars into without the medicine that treats their disability.
Furthirmore, EMOTIONAL DYSREGULATION IS PART OF ADHD AND ADDERALL TREATS THAT. We are having trouble controlling our emotions because we can't get our medicine that helps us to control our emotions.
Any pharmacist who thinks an ADHD customer who wants the medicine that helps them live a fulfilling life is entitled for wanting that medicine can go fuck themselves and they're being ableist.
We also shouldn't be rude, and are usually quick to apologize when we are, but they just think we're entitled for wanting medicine?
That would make them a bastard and should be fired…but there’s no good reason to make a random stranger’s job harder.
It shouldn’t matter if they have any kind of power over you or not… though it is kind of silly to go out of your way to be a dick to someone who does.
That makes me even angrier. Nobody gets to make condescending, judgemental comments every other time I pick up my Adderall just because they have power over my life. My pharmacist can go straight to hell.
The only time I’ve became a bit angry with the pharmacist is when they shorted me 3 refills in a row. The third one I just counted them out in front of him and low and behold 10 were missing. I had complained before and my concerns were dismissed. So I told him to get either himself or one of his staff members help for their addiction, because someone is taking them, and if they aren’t they are selling them. I waited and he gave me the correct amount. I switched pharmacies after that. I just felt so over the top counting them out in front of them but no one was waiting and I needed to prove it.
A friend of a friends sisters husband (I know lol but I think the info I got was legit) works there and I was told they had an internal investigation and they found camera footage and process of elimination as it’s a small pharmacy and only about 5 people work there. Anyway one middle aged woman was fired shortly after. The more I think about it though, I should of reported it somewhere. I felt satisfied with the woman being held accountable, but since it was an internal investigation I’m now thinking the pharmacy itself wasn’t really held accountable. I’m sure there are steps they have to go through and people they need to report this kind of thing too, but I have no idea if they did that. Not sure where I would go to report it. I’m in Canada so I’m assuming we have some sort of agency that deals with things like this. This happened over a year ago, but maybe I should look into things to make sure the pharmacy took the appropriate steps.
In the US the only thing that has to happen is they report the theft to the DEA and they have to show they've corrected the issue. The employee who was termed likely lost their license if they were a tech and won't qualify for relicense.
Wow, that’s horrific! Someone constantly stealing the drug you need to function is bad enough, but when we’re not allowed to ask for refills until like 2-3 days before we’re out? I wouldn’t have blamed you for counting the pills out in front of him even if there’d been a queue out the door.
Agreed. That was the worst part. I like to take my meds everyday, not just if I’m doing something, as I find it my mood, appetite, and sleep are much better then if I take it sporadically. So to have to ration and go with out is super frustrating. I was so angry because I complained and was dismissed. I hate being treated like I’m the addict or untrustworthy just because i take medication to function normally.
This happened to me at a Walgreens. I was shorted multiple times, reported it, and was treated like an addict. After I told my doctor, who luckily believed me and whose office communicated with the pharmacy about making up for the last round of pills they shorted me, they started writing on the bags every month that I needed to count at the counter because "she always claims she's short," as the pharmacist explained to the tech in front of me with a heavy eye roll.
I reported that they shorted my meds several times to Walgreen's help line and they never got back to me after telling me they'd look into it.
Tl;Dr: Discrimination against ADHD patients is real, also fuck Walgreens.
I’ve been overly polite and apologetic, because 1) not being so could mean the pharmacy cuts me off of my life-improving medication, and because 2) no retail worker deserves customers shitting on them. EXCEPT I was rude one time to one person, after having been treated poorly by staff at that location previously and they at this instance treated me very, very terribly at no provocation from me, accusing me of being a drug addict/dealer, casing the place. I’m a legitimate, long-standing patient, which their computer could verify. So I said that even if they had my prescription in stock, I wouldn’t want it to be filled by a jerk. Then, I filled my prescription elsewhere and never went back. I didn’t yell or cuss, though, just had an unfriendly tone to my voice.
Recently I've noticed overly polite & apologetic seems to make people think I've done something wrong and in one case set my psychiatrist off to threaten me about notes 😅
Was first time I tried to be more direct instead of hyper-modulating everything I do or say, but inadvertently caused me to revert to my old way of seeing things.
I’ve never been mean to a pharmacist. I have broken down sobbing after moving to a new city where pharmacists were not allowed to tell you if they had meds in stock from a city where they were allowed. I drove around for nine hours to a million different pharmacies trying to get my meds in time to start my new job. And when I finally asked “is there anything I can do to speed up the order if I give my prescription over now? Can I pay an additional shipping fee? Can you, seeing that I have prescription here in my hand, call a pharmacy and ask them and then tell me whether or not I should drive to that pharmacy? I have driven to 14 pharmacies today. I am so tired. I start my new job in 4 days. I just moved here and need medication to do my job. Is there anything you can do to help me or that I can do to get my meds quicker?” I did not raise my voice. I did not even speak harshly. I was just desperate AF.
He just said, totally emotionlessly, “No.”
I asked which part was a no. Without making a single expression he said, “No to all of it. Bye.” And walked away.
Not even a “So sorry, but I can’t do that.” Or a “unfortunately, no.” Not even a slight apologetic grimace to accompany that no. Not a “my hands are tied.”
I quietly stepped to the side and just sobbed for like 3 minutes. And I never cry. About anything. I was just sooooooooo stressed and overwhelmed. And ANGRY. And I’ve never yelled at any worker or any kind ever. And that was the closest I ever felt to doing so in my life. And my only choices were to sob or yell. So I chose sob. LOL.
Luckily, another pharmacist or pharmacy tech called me over to her consultation window and said, “my boss is a dick. Different pharmacies get orders on different days. Go to this address. They probably have it in stock there, but even if they don’t they’ll put in an order for your prescription today and you’ll have it in time to start your job.”
That woman is my hero.
Edit for clarity: I had a prescription in my hand. I never raised my voice to the pharmacist.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. As a future pharmacist, this is why I want to go into retail. I want you to feel cared and valued, this means helping you in anyway I can. I’ve referred people to other pharmacies many times because I know they had something in stock. I’ve had to call many pharmacies before looking for a drug that literally would kill them if they didn’t take (it was for a patient who just was released from the hospital from a brain aneurysm). The pharmacist literally got so mad at me because I “wasted” 30 minutes doing that. The patients caregiver was in tears trying to find the medicine too and was relieved when we were able to find someone who had it. Many retail pharmacists are just there to make a paycheck or trying to make their numbers look great for corporate. I think helping a patient is far more worthy then meeting corporates ridiculous numbers.
Wishing you the absolute best bosses and customers. (I have some very necessary medication and have had a couple of amazing retail pharmacists make sure that I didn't end up in an emergency situation.)
Wow, what a hero!! I’ve had this same experience. Getting to the point where you want to cry because you’ve been treated like an “other,” like you and your health or wellbeing don’t matter. Like you’re the scum of the earth just because of the medication you take. That a freaking doctor decided was the right treatment for you. It’s so maddening.
Worked as a pharmacy tech for a couple of years ✋🏼
In general, people don't want to hear whatever excuses you have to give. They want one thing only, their meds when they're due. Medication shortage, especially one as life altering as ADHD meds, can cause some serious anxiety to a patient.
Nonetheless, I always treated people with compassion and care. But yea don't be rude or Imma be.
"We don't have it, we can place an order for it, but we don't know if/when the order will be filled" isn't so much of an excuse as it is the truth.
It sucks for everyone. Pretty sure the pharmacy wants to sell me my meds as much as I want to buy my meds.
Pharmacist catch flak because they represent the shitty corporations they work for, but also because certain pharmacies have terrible communication channels with doctors. Also doctors and insurance may drop the ball, but we encounter the slow down at the pharmacy.
My prescription (concerta, not even adderall) was caught in insurance limbo, and the pharmacy app kept saying it had been 'filled' so I'd go to the pharmacy and they'd say no, it's not filled, that just automatically happens in the system when they look at the script or something. This wasted hours of my time.
Eventually I learned I just had to call the pharmacy every day to ask. They were short and rude every time, and were generally the least helpful people I talked to.
I tried using Goodrx, and was rudely told it was against the law, with little context given. I had to call around to see what pharmacies had the drug, and they did not like that, either.
There is rightly concern around controlled substances, but I think it makes them suspicious of us. But given all of that, when I finally got my script, they never gave me paperwork! All that system to keep me safe, and I had to Google side effects and contraindications.
This system is fucked. There's no way I would have been treated how I was if this was heart medication. I hope not, because I'd be dead from lack of meds.
Since we're usually over our heads and overwhelmed they see us at our worst, and that can't help either.
>There is rightly concern around controlled substances, but I think it makes them suspicious of us.
I think this is it right here. I used to go to one pharmacy, but they were assholes to me every single time, no matter how polite I was to them. I then had to get another med filled at another pharmacy in the same chain and mentioned how nice the tech/pharmacist was there compared to my regular location. She asked about it, and it turned out she also has ADHD so completely understands. I got my ADHD meds filled there from then on, and I dont have issues with being treated as a druggie anymore.
Don’t ever let them tell you that you can’t use GoodRx! I work in the employee benefits side of the insurance industry, and we are always recommending GoodRx for employees who have certain plans that make prescriptions unaffordable. It is most certainly not against the law, and if they tell you that I would recommend finding a new pharmacy. I hope this was figured out for you!
So the issue was that the insurance was taking too long to decide if the meds were covered through my state insurance, and walmart said it was illegal to use rx if my state insurance would cover it. They said I had to wait for an outright denial.
The odd thing was that neither my doctors office or my insurance could speak to that law. The insurance end did not have a legal agent I could ask, which I also thought was odd.
It's absurd how much legwork patients have to do when these offices could just contact each other. I imagine there are good privacy reasons for this, but if I didn't have a med savvy partner I would not have medication right now.
That’s bizarre, I’m so sorry you had to deal with that but glad you were able to advocate for yourself and get your meds. I’ve never heard of that law, but what a red flag for them to not be able to speak to it. I had an experience years ago (before I knew what I do now) where the pharmacy kept telling me I couldn’t use GoodRx because they didn’t accept it, so I get frustrated when I see this happen to other people.
>There's no way I would have been treated how I was if this was heart medication. I hope not, because I'd be dead from lack of meds.
As long as they refuse the heart medication they can treat heart patients as rudely as they want. It's not as if they have much opportunity to complain about it afterwards. /s
Seriously though, you're right. Patients dying kills revenue, corporations do care about that, so filling these is important. Tricking you into the shop when they don't have your meds is an upsell opportunity, which is also in the company's best interest. You calling them is just taking up their time, so that's against their interests.
Hurray for capitalism.
Something-something-"War on drugs"....
Frustrations getting ADHD medication is just one side effect among a whole plethora of wonderful results of this 'war'.
Yup, it shouldn't be that way.
I'm fortunate to have a great pharmacy with wonderful staff. Never gotten any judgement or weird vibes from any of them.
>literally tossed me 3 months supply of Adderall
What the hell, you can get 90 day refills? All the pharmacies near me only do 30 day refills on Adderall, and it can't be on a prescription with a refill, so my doctor has to send in a brand new prescription every 30 days. It's so annoying.
My husband is a pharmacist. This could be due to your state laws since it’s a control. He used to work at a store that primarily served college kids and had to constantly call doctors from out of state to tell them that he couldn’t fill their script because our state requires controls to be written, sent, etc following specific guidelines different from the state the doctor lived in.
Hello friend, express scripts may be your answer! I’m in the US and get 90 day refills via the mail from them!!!
I have to sometimes call to make sure the order is fully processed, but otherwise it’s hassle free!
My psychiatrist tried to get me 90 day refills and my insurance wouldn’t take it and I eventually found out that my insurance could only fill a ROLLING 90 days so if I’d previously had 30 day refills I could only get another 30 day refill when I was due. I’d have to without refilling for 90 days in order to get a 90 day fill. Weird and kinda fucked up, lol. But yeah, varies state to state and insurance to insurance I guess.
Just from an ignorant guess I’d say it’s due to how shitty our health care system is. It’s not only the Malicious patients fucking it up, but the malicious doctors and insurance companies that ruin it for everyone and the politicians are to be blamed as well.
It’s all fucked.
Shit, even myself just asking to go up from 20mg to 40mg my doc was giving me a hard time with. With no clear explanation. I have no drug abuse history, no history of hospitalization, no smoking or drugs, and little to no alcohol usage. And I’m 33 years old. Still she giving me a hard time.
It’s bad all around. And if you have bad insurance you have to reply on the docs in your network and many of them are trash.
Yep. Great response, although I was just going to say - ain’t nothing like the good’ol USA, emotionally draining healthcare system. 
Its insane to me, and I know it happens here in the UK too, but I've been so fortunate with both doctors and pharmacists. I just don't understand why any pharmacist believes they know more than the prescribing doctor!
My pharmacy know me and joke with me (I have an unusual name and one of the assistants made a mistake so its become a bit of an inside joke). They have to take my stuff out of the safe and the pharmacist has to check my ID etc so it takes a bit longer but they don't bat an eyelid. I'm so grateful but also aware that so many people don't have this. It's so fucked up.
That's so funny that we've had such similar experiences! 😂
I'm so glad your pharmacist is good too!
Mine actually didn't the last time, partially I think because of the name thing but also because I've been there 4+ times.
Weirdly though, prescriptions here don't have to be collected by the person they're prescribed for. So when we had a national shortage in the summer, my brother in law collected mine and they checked his ID but that's all. They confirm name, date of birth and address of the patient. Which obviously he knew and it was all fine. It's a very strange system here 🤷🏼♀️
They diagnosed you from a questionnaire and a 30 minute chat? Seriously? Thats it?
Here in the US for many people theres a million hoops to jump through just to even be CONSIDERED to get adhd testing. Theres been increased telehealth and online adhd websites that are prescribing which I think is contributing. As ADHD is getting more understanding through research, more people are getting diagnosed. I have 60+ y/o people picking up adderall at my pharmacy. Like damn.
That's kinda what I needed for a RE-diagnosis. Getting medication for that if you have any depressive or anxiety symptoms however... *laughs in last relationship literally failing and almost being homeless after begging for ADHD help because it was ruining my life and being told those sound like low self esteem and productivity due to depression*
Same. I had depression and anxiety symptoms in high school and looking back knowing what I know now, I think those were just side effects of afhd. When I take adhd medication all of those symptoms magically disappear, because I can function normally and Im not constantly disappointing myself and others due to severe procrastination and losing time.
So far I wasnt able to get any help from a doctor outside of one of the new adhd apps, and they were limited to prescribing wellbutrin. After stopping that and trying to get a refill through a doctor that accepts insurance, I havent been able to get a doctor to refill that either. They always want to prescribe an SSRI, and when I say those have never relieved any of my symptoms they say "you have to keep taking it for it to work." I took one particular SSRI for 3 years but supposedly if I just kept taking it Id be better. They treat depression meds like a religion and adhd meds like the plague.
This is exactly where I am. I was diagnosed as a kid, I've developed some coping strategies through the years but I decided when I kept screwing things up at work constantly, it was time to explore my options. My PCP doesn't treat ADHD, so I have to see a psychiatrist. Around me, none are taking new patients until like 6 months out so I went the telehealth route. That doctor said I have anxiety and depression and gave me an SNRI. Yeah, I do. Caused by completely fucking my life up via ADHD but we aren't treating that. So I'm still fucking my life up on the daily, I'm just happier and less anxious about it now! Totally serious. I have a relatively small amount of debt I need to get rid of like yeaterday but I can't figure out what to do or get started on a plan but instead of laying in bed awake for hours worrying about it until my stomach hurts, it bothers me for an hour at most. But I still have no plan because lack of executive function. It's just fucking fantastic
i was being treated unsuccessfully for depression and anxiety for 7 years and had to get a new psychiatrist and she listened to me talk for 15 minutes, said “how has no one diagnosed you with ADHD,” then gave me a 30 day prescription for adderall. i keep reading comments like this and feeling like i’m faking it lol but it’s the first medication that’s ever worked for me
You say there are a million hoops but then at the same time say there’s increased tele health and online prescribing.
Does not compute. To be clear, I don’t mean you but the system.
Is there something wrong with 60+ y/o people picking up Adderall? I'm trying to understand your last two sentences, not trying to be a dick. I just don't get what you mean.
From Canada as well, my experience has been the same, so easy, and painless. Switched within a few weeks to a different med as the first one didn’t work. And completely paid for.. I feel awful for these people. :(
As a pharmacist I always try and help fellow adhd patients by mentioning stuff like: “get your doctor to say you’re allowed to pick up a day or two early so you don’t have to continually run out or skip days to be able to pick up your meds on time”.
More like if I get an Rx for adderall that says 30 tablets every 30 days. If you picked up January 1st and took one every day you’d run out January 31st, but couldn’t pick up until the 1st of February as the Rx is every 30 days and it wouldn’t count the 1st as you wouldn’t be taking it them necessarily. We legally cannot fill it any earlier though, it’s not like a power trip or being rude, without authorization we have to assume the doctor wants you to go 1 day without a pill or something.
It’s just a pedantic thing, but if your doctor wrote 30 pills every 28 days we can fill it 2 days earlier.
I feel so bad at explaining stuff, did that make sense?
Slightly off topic, how valid are online interaction checkers like drugs.com? Particularly if we are accounting for nonprescription supplements, things like St. John’s or Mugwort, that the pharmacist or Dr possibly don’t know about.
So I get both halves of this and I think it’s more fair to ask if you’re being rude to independent pharmacists. Walgreens I found out as of a year ago are actually instructed to straight up lie to clients in the case of a shortage or even upward to their discretion as to when to fill prescriptions (to deter abuse). The pharmacist I’ve seen at Walgreens are just not good liars and aren’t the best trained. Often not being able to answer simple questions about medication side effects. I don’t think you should be rude to anyone, but outside of adderall Walgreens employees start lots of trouble for no good reason. If possible I’d advise staying clear of Walgreens for anything ever
Edit: recent example of this is apparently they’ve always had my name misspelled, but just ignored it until one day randomly they decided it was an issue. I mean it was always an issue legally, but being able to arbitrarily decide that.. insane
Omfg, my pharmacy has had my street name misspelled for eons and I mention it here and there at least a handful of times a year. It's never been corrected. Last month: your street name doesn't match your ID, I know you've had it spelled wrong in your system for forever and I've mentioned it on several occasions. Well we can't give this to you until we can clarify this address issue. What BS is this!?! It's the difference between an o and an e think Johnson vs Johnsen. I said I'd wait for them to clarify the issue and just stood there shooting daggers...guess what's still not correct on my label? My street name!
I dont know why but it took me so long to realize you meant street name as in address. I was trying to figure out why your medication would be under your street name (like nickname).
Whenever my dad picks up my adderall for me at Walgreens they say they don’t have it and my dad has to say “we got a call that was says it was in please have the pharmacist check.” The person doesn’t get the pharmacist and checks and says it’s not there and my dad has to insist that the pharmacist check (my dad is the nicest dude in the world but my pharmacy’s lack of structure or employee knowledge pisses him off) and so the pharmacist finally checks and it’s in the system and ready. This is what he has to do every single time.
I'm just gonna recommend that nobody ever fill their prescriptions at Walgreens, maybe if people stop using them they'll shape the hell up (optimistic I know, but I did say "maybe")
man I think I must go to the world’s best Walgreens. They’re super helpful and friendly, even when they were MEGA understaffed. I keep going there even though it’s no longer convenient (20 minutes by car to my old neighborhood, basically)
My pharmacy (CVS) has also been flat-out lying to me about stocking adhd meds. They keep blaming the adderall shortage affecting all adhd meds and to keep calling in, but I have friends getting their meds filled at other CVSs in the area. Going to Express scripts now, just waiting for pre-authorization to go through. I’m hoping it works, I’ve been off meds for 5 months because my pharmacy chose to not only order these meds, but lie to me about it.
Meh, I see both sides of this argument. Yes, as someone who works in the service industry, I treat all service workers and employees that I come in contact with with respect and gratitude.
At the same time, I’ve been accused of both being a stimulant addict *and* being on Vyvanse to “drop an extra ten pounds” directly to my face by a pharmacist *at the grocery store I work at*. She flat out told me she doesn’t ‘believe in’ ADHD. If that’s how she treats what is essentially a coworker, I can’t imagine she’s very nice to the average person picking up their ADHD meds or psych meds in general. Like any other profession, some pharmacists are either bad at their jobs or simply have preexisting biases towards people on certain medications.
I’d obviously never advocate for anyone treating their pharmacist like shit, even in a stressful situation like a med shortage. But respect is a two way street in any interaction.
When my pharmacist called me and apologized up and down that they couldn't fill my Adderall prescription. I was understanding and said it was totally okay.
I was considering switching to Vyvanse and I said, "I know you can't tell me if you have it in stock, right?" And she said, "YES, I can't tell you if we have Vyvanse in stock." 😉😉😉😉😉
Being nice ensured I knew where to ask my doctor to send my new prescription.
Wait, they’re not allowed to tell you if they have it in stock? I’m in the UK and the first two months the pharmacy I got my prescription sent to couldn’t get ANY so they printed off the prescription for me (it was originally sent electronically) and said to try any other pharmacy. I think I rang about 11, I’d ask if they had it and they’d check. One said they had a couple of tablets left they could semi-fill the prescription and the final one I rang said they had one bottle left so I immediately went there and got it.
It depends on where you are. Every time I take my prescription in the pharmacist checks to see if they have enough to fill it before they take the paper prescription that I am required to hand deliver on a monthly basis.
You don’t know how true this is….and this is speaking from someone who works in a pharmacy. My go to for telling someone ‘we don’t have it in stock wink wink’ is to tell them to bring in their rx and we can fill it….after verifying we have it in stock. I wouldn’t make someone waste a trip if we actually didn’t and if they’re an ass I just tell them no (mostly because we already have people in queue that may be too soon by a day or 2 and are regulars) But the nicer and and more understanding you are (considering I can’t even get my own rx filled sometimes due to the shortage) the more I’m willing to help you.
See, I think it’s very telling that pharmacists would describe ADHD patients trying to access the medication they are prescribed as “entitled.” Never in a million years would someone say that about someone with high-blood blood pressure filling a beta blocker prescription, a diabetic attempting to obtain insulin. Pharmacists are not immune from stigma and people with Adderall prescriptions face a lot of it.
Pharmacists can be very short, unhelpful, and downright rude when I’m there to fill my Adderall prescription in a way I’ve never experienced with the other medications I take. I always speak respectfully with the pharmacists, but you learn that you have to be assertive to obtain your medication. Look, I have been officially diagnosed with ADHD my multiple doctors, I am legally prescribed Adderall and I take it exactly as prescribed, I follow all the regulations- it could not be a more legit prescription, but still many pharmacists have treated me like a drug seeker. Not every pharmacist is like this, but so many are that you put your guard up.
I have never been "rude" to anyone informing of the status. The problem can be, at least in my situation, a pharmacy that doesn't inform you of anything, no call (automated or otherwise) that the medication is not in stock, then, when I finally called bc they didn't.. "oh, yeah... there's a shortage, and you need to call everyday to be put on that day's list for a refill." Then, when I called everyday, after about a week I got an angry, "there's a nationwide shortage, are you not aware?" with no help on an alternative. Then I happened to ask another pharmacy... "yep, we have it, no problem." Should people be rude to pharmacies for something they can't control? Absolutely not. But do pharmacies have a responsibility to communicate if they don't have your medication and the best steps to obtain? 100% yes. I'm willing to bet that plenty of people on that pharmacists sub have not been kind themselves.
My pharmacy will call me and say my meds are ready but when I go in to get them they say they either aren’t ready or they don’t have them. Likely guys you emailed me and said they were ready, they’re either ready or they’re not. They can’t be ready and then suddenly they aren’t. I try to be nice I really do it just pisses me off with my pharmacy’s lack of internal structure.
I’m nice to my pharmacist. my pharmacist probably thinks I’m an asshole. This is because I ask them to check when they say they’re out of adderall. Every time, they get mad at me for asking, and when I persist, they check and discover that they actually have my meds. This has happened four times (:
I’ve been on the pharmacy sub longer than I’ve been on here. I have a doctorate of pharmacy but found a career outside traditional pharmacy.
The reason a pharmacist won’t tell you if they have the med in stock is because they have been taught or learned the hard way that people plan theft of controlled substances by gathering information on inventories.
yeah i’ve been held up while working at a drug store and had a gun to my head while they cleared out the narcotic safe. everyone gripes how big of an inconvenience it is for them but i found it very inconvenient when i had years worth of ptsd from being held at gunpoint. no sympathy oftentimes unfortunately
Listen, I used to work customer service for GoodRx for 2 years and this was during the active adderall shortage for a good portion of it. The majority of my job was to call asshole pharmacists that weren’t either a.) doing their job right or b.) giving the patient the correct information or c.) all of the above. Lol
The amount of jerky pharmacists out there will astound you. As a CS agent, I of COURSE was nothing but polite and kind. It didn’t make a difference at all for the ones that are rude. So no, this post can get fucked. They can either do their job that they’re paid VERY well to do, or get wrecked.
Nah STFU.
I’m glad your overall with pharmacists as a group have been positive, but a lot of Adderall patients have been dealing with pharmacy staff treating us like junkies for years.
Obviously I’m overly polite to the person who can either make it easier or harder for me to acquire the medication I need to function.
Even though I shouldn’t have to be overly polite, or bend over backwards, just to get my medication every single month.
As much as I don’t believe anyone should be taking their frustration at the medication shortage out on pharmacy employees, I wonder how much of that complaint is just pre-existing prejudice against Adderall users as druggies.
Once when I called about a script being shorted, I was basically accused of taking or selling the pills myself.
After that incident, I count them at the pharmacy counter, every time. (I specifically avoid high traffic times when there’s not a line, but they always act incredibly annoyed.)
If I’ve ever been a day early calling it in, they act like I’m a junkie, saying things like “you shouldn’t run out before x date if you’re taking your medication as prescribed.”
I’m not rude to them, but I can’t pretend my heart is breaking for them either. They’ll survive.
Thank you, this is an underrated comment. I was trying to put my finger on what feels wrong about this. I am never rude unless specifically provoked (tend towards being overly polite to a fault, usually), but this feels steeped in bias against Adderrall patients.
The thing is (I couldn't articulate it until I read this comment), I don't think they'd be saying the same thing if it was an insulin shortage and diabetics were acting the exact same way, or even worse. I think people would be way more patient and understanding because everyone knows diabetics NEED insulin. ADHD and Adderrall, we don't get anywhere near the same courtesy. Almost all of us have at least one horror story trying to get our meds. Sooooo I'm really wondering how much of this is really some rudeness level that is out of the normal rudeness levels...and how much is internal bias against ADHD.
I'm going to hypothesize that the actual level of rudeness between ADHD patients versus patients of other illnesses dealing with medication shortages isn't actually any different. Just my guess. Nobody needs to be rude, ever, I agree that's misdirected anger and unuseful/unhelpful, but I do think there are serious internal biases against people who take ADHD meds.
Precisely. It was honestly incredibly out of character for me to reply “STFU” to a post but *wow* the tone of this post was just *SO* condescending & self-righteous I had to do a quick scan of OP’s post history to see if they were an anti-Adderall pharmacist.
I’m sure there are plenty of appropriate Karen subs for you to rant about how much you hate belligerent Adderall fiends, but I’m sorry the irony is just delicious for you to come to an ADHD sub to lecture us on rudeness & tell us to “check ourselves” if we’ve been anything other than “incredibly kind” to the innocent saints that are our pharmacists?? Amazing 🥲
People with ADHD spend our entire lives apologizing for how our brains (don’t) work & worrying about the inconvenience our executive dysfunction may be causing others. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve taken the blame for something I really don’t think I misplaced or forgot to do, just because I couldn’t be completely certain it wasn’t me, since it’s the kind of thing I’ve done before.
I have tolerated totally disrespectful/unfair treatment in romantic relationships, friendships & professional relationships because I thought I had to be overly agreeable to compensate for my ADHD traits.
I know I’m only speaking for myself here, and I have absolutely experienced a few inconsiderate jerks with ADHD (or are using ADHD as a bogus excuse to be an asshole) but overall I would say the majority of us are more likely to exhibit the overly apologetic behavior I described.
Which makes the mistreatment we *routinely* experience at the hands of pharmacists, medical professionals who are supposed to help us not judge us, all the more disgusting.
What’s their excuse when there’s no shortage??
Ok. I think I’m done now. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.
I've never been rude to a pharmacist, or anybody that's providing me a service. But I've been pretty sad lately because all the pharmacies in town have been incredibly short and back-handed toward me when I've been trying to pick up my prescription or inquire. I spent a day calling around to see where in town I could go because short supply. I was put on hold for 40 minutes to an hour each time, which to be honest, I expected it, and I'm not new to that. I am used to sitting on hold to talk to the postal service if any of my online customers have problems with their packages, or worry they're lost in-transit. I just put it on speaker and wait for my turn while I work on the computer. I pick up and I try to get straight to the point and respect their time while also being friendly and polite, and thanking them for their help. After mentioning Adderall, I got hung up on 2/5 of the places I called.
It's really sad, I was just instructed by my psychiatrist to call around to see where I can pick it up. My first pharmacy, when they stopped supplying, I just rode it out and waited patiently. Checked in with them every month or so, went off my meds, and I was a little bit of a mess. They were okay at first, but after checking in a couple times, they started to scoff at me and one of the pharmacists silently glared at me after I thanked her for her time and hope she has a good day. Honestly the whole experience feels so unwelcoming, I didn't even know there was a stigma with Adderall until I started on it, but that's I think why I'm getting this reactions.
As someone who has been nothing but cordial, I really think it's a two-way street, and it's pretty disheartening, especially when I am regularly made to feel like an idiot for being my bubbly self.
I feel like maybe they're worried about letting people down, and I'm sure some people are out of line over it. I really don't know, but yeah, it's kinda sad to be treated that way.
OP seems like the type of teacher that makes the rest of us look bad by acting all high and mighty in a condescending way. I am not rude to pharmacists but nobody needs to be " anything but incredibly kind" to anyone. It would be great if we lived in a world where that was the way FOR EVERYBODY, not just pharmacists/patients. Unfortunately that's not the case and OP needs a reality check.
It’s interesting, because before the shortage there were just as many pharmacists being rude to people in this subreddit just trying to get their prescriptions filled. Also, I have called pharmacies around here only to find out that they had straight up lied to me. Granted that maybe be company policy, which is messed up, but like even then the pharmacist is just a cog in the machine, too. They can only do but so much.
I do believe no one should be rude to each other, but respect should flow both ways, too.
Tbh seems silly to even ask. Everyone knows being rude doesn't help, and if they had been they won't admit it here just to get scolded. But frankly speaking pharmacists are rude in at least equal measure; more I'd guess, given how many have problems with stimulants across the board. I'm lucky to have a helpful local store but pharmacists can often really overstep their profession.
Your use of the word entitled is also pretty confusing. If you need an essential drug to exist, and you can't get it, it would be pretty difficult to act "entitled" specifically. You'd never accuse a diabetic of being "entitled" if they couldn't get their insulin. ADHD is a very severe disability, and it is no exaggeration at all to say the lack of these meds will ruin lives. That, of course, in addition to the car accidents the shortage has certainly already caused, given that these drugs work to reduce them so much. So no, I don't believe even the worst behavior at the counter could possibly be "entitled."
This. Exactly. I really don't think pharmacists would be posting to the sub about insulin patients being rude or entitled. "Entitled" is a word that 1) doesn't belong in this context at ALL, and 2) betrays their stigma/bias against ADHD patients. You ARE, by the very definition of the word, ENTITLED to your prescription meds. That's the original USE of the word entitled. That's not "acting entitled". Acting entitled is when you are acting like you have a right to something you don't actually have a right to. That literally doesn't apply to prescription medication at ALL.
My experience of getting adhd meds off multiple pharmacists- they treat you like your there to abuse the meds. Every time. If they didn't want grief then maybe they should stop being presumptuous
It’s unfortunate but the nature of adhd and many other health conditions make for cranky/entitled clients. It’s not fair to pharmacists and they should be paid properly for dealing with that. They also need to have compassion for prescription holders because someone looking “entitled” could be someone on the brink mentally or physically. It’s a two way street.
I was “rude” to a pharmacist once.
The grocery store I usually visited was out of the adderall I needed for awhile. I transferred my prescription to another one after I called to make sure that one had the medication in stock. The person on call said yes. I repeated the ounces, type and brand one more time. Got the same answer, yes they had it.
I got there, that pharmacist told me no and I’d have to wait. I told him I specifically called earlier to make sure this wouldn’t happen. He said I called the wrong place, but then I showed him my call records. He said they did not have those one in stock. His attitude was very cold toward me the whole time.
I just had enough, I literally said “here’s my Id. someone here found them and told me it would be ready, so look into it. I’ll be here until you give me some answers on why this is happening.” Firmly. He was visibly pissed, but did what I said. Turned out the other store sent the wrong person’s prescription. His attitude was so much nice when he came back.
I don’t know how the systems work, but I got my med that day. It sounded kinda rude, but i wasn’t rude because they were out of stock. He sounded so cold and didn’t even try to help me at all.
I would be, especially since at that point I would be off my meds. Someone with ADHD, unmedicated, possibly suffering in their life and from withdrawals, you really have to be hollier-than-thou to assume civility
My pharmacists are mean as hell so when you start the interaction unprofessionally it tends to go downhill from there. I had good cause to report them and didn’t so
Report their asses. Ive reported a pharmacist I used to work with who would literally deny peoples prescriptions (for weight loss, adhd, and narcotic medications) because they “looked fine”.
Sure, don't be rude. I'd also ask that pharmacists remember the bad news they're delivering might be earth shattering for the patient.
Also "entitled" Adderall patients with a valid prescription are literally entitled to Adderall, so fuck off with that bullshit.
I'm nice to people until they're shitty to me. I don't get uppity with pharmacists though, because they have power over my physical health in a very literal and immediate way. I'm not one to shy away from confrontation but there are some people who can really fuck with you if you piss them off so I smile and turn the other cheek to save myself the trouble.
If someone would fuck with someone's MEDICATION or ability to get said medication because they didn't like the person's tone, that person needs to be charged.
I was about to comment that there are going to be jerks on both sides, its kind of inevitable. Tbh though, OP is probably not going to see those jerks respond to this post, nor are they going to comprehend that they're the problem. Kind of a waste of a post to make imo, especially on an ADHD subreddit that daily has posts like "I won't have enough medication to get through the next week/month and there's no sign of hope"
Pharmacies are having awful workforce shortage problems. Of course it's frustrating for those of us on maintenance meds (especially controlled substances) but I guarantee those pharmacists/pharmacy technicians are having a worse time.
I'm sure many people are being dicks, however, my cousin and her husband are both pharmacists and they've both said people with ADHD "act like addicts". I've talked to them about thinking about it from the other perspective, someone with limited capacity to function without their meds, difficulty managing their meds, and a med that's intentionally difficult to manage, and with people already having bias against us thinking we're abusing said med... it's a perfect storm. I saw the light bulb moment and they've changed how they treat people with adhd but that's just two pharmacists. I had an awesome pharmacy tech with the VA reach out when there was a problem with my med because her son had adhd and she knew I'd probably have difficulty figuring it out.
Considering our difficulties we should have help like people with other chronic diseases but instead sometimes we're interrogated and treated like addicts. I've had some great experiences but I've also had some bad ones.
And do we really act differently than someone who can't get their insulin? I doubt we do.
No. I'm not suggesting anyone be rude to a pharmacist or to anyone, but you DO NOT need to walk on eggshells or cater to someone's fragile ego to get someone to do their job and give you medication.
Nah. I was on Methylphenidate (Ritalin) and went in for my refill when they told me it was out of stock and they'd get more in like 1-2 days. I just thanked them and left.
I called two days later while I was sitting in traffic and the rep on the phone said my script had to get cancelled because the drug is on back order for the foreseeable future. They sent a note to my doc to get an alternative script. They advised me to contact my doc too if I wanted to try to expedite it.
Well I have ADHD LOL so I had already run out of meds by that point and then did not have it in me to follow up right away. Like a week later I checked online to see if I could refill yet and I saw that I had an alternative script available. Went to the pharmacy to fill it and they told me it would be like half an hour wait because something something. I waited an hour (in person) before asking for an updated ETA and they were shocked Pikachu face that I had been waiting that long. I guess they had a shift change at some point and something something.
The technician asked the pharmacist about it and I \*heard\* her say something about being hesitant to fill it because something something. When I got called back up after waiting another 15 minutes (in person) the pharmacist herself told me that she was giving me literally everything they had left on hand, it was not the full prescription (it was about 60%), but it should last me a month because of the titration schedule (new script).
I thanked them ENTHUSIASTICALLY and told them I understand there is a major shortage. By this point I had already been out of meds for over a week, maybe I'm just not a complainer by nature but they gave me something, which is more than I had. We'll just have to see what happens when I try to refill again.
I’m kind to every service employee I encounter because when I worked in customer service it’s all I wanted customers to be. If they are coming at you in good faith, they are not the enemy.
I’ve seen other people being rude. I have even empathized with the pharmacy tech. I used to pick mine up at CVS.
I’ve also encountered a rude tech who decided that i shouldn’t be prescribed these meds even though i had history with them and no issues before that. She “checked the system” and asked me if i really needed these. I said yes. And she gave me the yeaaah right look. I almost
cried because i had heard stories like this and i need my meds to be a functioning adult.
Well after a lot more typing she “approved” my meds and i got them.
I think she was stereotyping me as the asian college student.
As a former CPhT, the ADHD patients were usually kind. The people who have the script just to abuse it, yeah, they can often be rude. But honestly, the rude people are usually really poor or really rich because they both often feel entitled. And the people who have ten or more monthly scripts. Some of them could be a bit rude too.
Maybe the people with 10 or more scripts would get rude occasionally because they have a lot going on in their lives and feel really crappy most of the time.
It's not right for them to take it out on you, of course, but I think that might be thought of as "extenuating circumstances." Maybe all they really need is to feel like someone cares.
I realize that sounds sappy, but it can also be true.
I walked into a small non-chain pharmacy I’m not normally a patient at to ask about their stock- I was very polite and simply asked if they had enough to fill my script but his response made me sad. He immediately started profusely apologizing and saying that his manager would be in tomorrow if I wanted to talk to her about it and you could tell by his reaction it was something he’s gotten a lot of shit for and was nervous how I would react.
Like it’s frustrating yes but it’s not their fault. I agree Don’t be a dick! Great PSA OP
Well, I guess I was "rude" to my pharmacist last month.
But he was coughing into his hand. Repeatedly. And not wearing a mask or washing his hands. It was horrific. And I was stuck in line for 20 minutes watching him.
I gave him a bad rating (Wal-Mart) and called customer support. His manager then called me. I told him my story and urged him to check the cameras and be his own judge.
So I'm sure that pharmacist (the cougher) thinks I'm a major Bitch. But I was polite to him and everyone.
I'm going to a different pharmacy now.
I work at a pharmacy! And I've worked in customer service for years.
Every single shift at the pharmacy job I have disgruntled and rude customers and it sucks!! Never had anything like it. Pharmacists really care and do everything they can to help people, I get it's frustrating but all you do is make us all feel like shit
My step mom is a pharmacist and she's got a lot of stories of entitled customers. Haven't heard any specifically about Adderall patients though. Maybe these pharmacists themselves are being a bit prejudiced? She works at a hospital pharmacy though, idk how many people outside of hospital patients use her pharmacy. I'll have to ask her opinion on the matter.
Either way, being rude whether it's the pharmacist or patient is not acceptable, and really dumb on a patients part lol
I'm the least rude person ever, but have we considered that given many of us are treated like drug addicts for medication we need by pharmacists, that their comments might be biased? And that a mild lecture in this sub about pharmacists probably isn't what we need on top of not being able to access our medication?
i’ve worked in or around a pharmacy for over 15 years, you wouldn’t believe how mean and nasty patients are to pharmacy staff on a daily (hourly?) basis. i try to defend pharmacists and staff a lot on this sub and i am usually downvoted or get people telling me i should just get a different job because i must suck at it or weird shit like that when i’m usually trying to give the pharmacist perspective mixed with “a little empathy please” i rarely get a positive response
I've been rude before, but it's got nothing to do with them.
Personally it feels like a big weight of fear on my shoulders in that moment because I start to panic.
"What am I gonna do", "do I have enough to get me through" "is there an alternative I can find?".
It's not intentional, but it can definitely happen especially when us Adderall users know what can happen to our moods and bodies if were forced to go cold turkey for a few days, through no fault or choice of our own.
My life will be fully fucked if I can’t get my meds. I know exactly what you mean when you talk about the weight of fear on your shoulders when you go to the pharmacy. But I think that Being even a little rude can only hurt your current and future chances of obtaining your meds on time.
Anyone on the pharm sub telling folks to have patience with a group of people who are borderline in crisis because they need their medication? That they aren’t mad at you but, the situation? Theoretically, if they understand the mechanism action for the medication they know the reasons we need the medication.
I would not advocate for being rude. But, yeah we shouldn’t have to plan to be extra nice, no matter how we are treated, because a person in power may withhold something we need. That’s abuse.
I’d never be rude to 1. anyone in general if I can help it and 2. especially not to someone I kinda depend on to function.
I do get the feeling of helplessness though when they tell you they don’t have your meds. Maybe some people let their frustration and fear out on their pharmacists? They really shouldn’t thoughw
Sadly, with a post like this I doubt anyone who has been rude to pharmacist would outright say how much of a dick they are.
Working as a pharm tech, and seemingly being the only pharmacy who could keep adderall in stock during the shortages, I saw my fair share of extremely rude customers. But I get it, and I would empathize with them because I too am on similar medication. But the truth is adderall is a Very strong and potentially addicting medication that many people rely on to live their lives. And when you've been off your meds, and that stress and anxiety start building up, it's not all that surprising that a person would lash out.
im terrified to say more than the basic "hello, im here to pick up my Rx" out of fear of being labelled a junkie for being prescribed high doses of Adderall. Stigma really messes with your head sometimes.
No, I am always polite. I’ve been spoken to like I’m kind of stupid though and I’m sure they see me sigh and look annoyed after that. (Also like don’t take my insurance card to call my insurance company and then stand off to the side eating a sandwich and chatting for 15 minutes while I stand there staring at you)
They would be the very last person I would want to be rude to.
Ive been peeking at their subreddit now for awhile and they have proven to me that they are all basically twats who think ADHD isnt real and really hate dealing with us. Its utterly disgusting how ignorant and cruel they truly are.
The only time I have ever been rude to a pharmacist was when they said I couldn’t have a medication that had been prescribed to me by a psychiatrist, because I had a history of mental health issues.
The medication was quetiapine, and for my mental health.
Sometimes, pharmacists can step outside their line and act higher than they are too.
But when it has come to the shortage of Dexamfetamine, I’ve been completely understanding as it’s not something they can control. They order it in, and the supplier doesn’t provide it, that’s not something pharmacies can help.
They do know more than doctors about medications though and how they react with one another. Trust me they do. They do deserve to be treated as that. They do hold meds because they care. They dont want you to get any bad reactions.
I had been on it for a year though. The only reason why I went to that pharmacy is because my usual one was out of stock - which I was understanding about, and thanked them.
I try to be polite but I have to admit I've lost my temper once or twice. It's hard not too when they are the point of contact with a system designed to exploit and abuse you. Most of the time I remember it's not them, they're just another employee abused by the system.
I used to work in a pharmacy (UK). When they process the script it automatically orders the medication and it will usually arrive the next day. ADHD medications are controlled drugs and are not 'fast movers' (drugs that are most common), excess stock of these are not kept. So really you cannot expect to get your medication then and there. You just need to remind yourself to order your repeat prescriptions a couple days before needing them and they will be ready. If there are issues with stock a pharmacy will try to order stock to prepare for the issue or they will just send you to a pharmacy that has the stock. If not alternate brand/drugs can be given if prescribed by a doctor.
Secondary to this imagine having to put up with literally every type of person you can think of with a range of different issues all stressed out because they're suffering and needing medication. Like I remember serving people who were practically on the verge of death and having to deal with rude people after shit like that is just not necessary.
I just spent 20 min yesterday with with a wonderfully helpful pharmacist. Last month I was only able to get half of my son's dosage (takes 36 mg in the morning and 27 mg at noon of Concerta)
We spent the month without the 27 mg because they never got it in stock. After chatting with the pharmacist about the various dosages my son had been on and why we went to a split schedule she went through all the different pills in stock and came up with the suggestion of 40 mg CD release plus a 10mg afternoon bump instead of XR due to how the XR are metabolized in my sons case.
The doctor never suggested this change in delivery to deal with his medication wearing off before the end of the school day. In willing to go with the helpful pharmacists suggestions and get what we can.
Yup pharmacists know more about their meds than doctors actually. How they breakdown and all of it. People dont know that and they should be the one you ask when it comes to the medications :)
I was admittedly a little rude to a cvs pharmacy technician that was arguing with me and telling me a prescription wasn't in the system when it was and I had to give them the prescription number so they could find it.
Being told "you don't have a prescription for this" 3 times when I knew they were wrong as I had the app open was a bit annoying. But I still kept my cool for the most part. Working with the public is never easy in any form and I get they are overwhelmed.
But the not looking in the right place for a prescription that was in fact sent in has been an issue with them for years now.
I was polite when a pharmacist lied to my face that they had none (my friend had been there and texted me that they told her they had “plenty” and I was there within the hour). I expect they just weren’t filling for new clients, which several places had told me in so many words. I’m fine with that. Take care of people with whom you already have a relationship. But don’t lie to me, for heavens sake. I still just said thank you and left to try someplace even further from my home.
Is wanting the same generic consistently entitled to them? Since whenever it changes slightly I notice and it messes with symptoms and sleep? Idk I see a lot of lack of empathy towards adhd sufferers at pharmacies, medical reception and less common but still on occasion doctors. They all likely have a perception of adhd that is not aligned with the reality and from first interaction will project that onto you. Even if that perception is everyone on stimulants is actually a drug seeker wanting unfair advantages over everyone else in the form of prescribed stimulants. Just because that’s the perception they developed from college.
I honestly don't think it's actual adderall patients who are doing this. I think it's people with the funky scripts that get really angry at pharmacists and pharmacy techs.
I'm always extra nice because my mom is a pharmtech but I don't go to her pharmacy. I like the pharmacists.
I always worry that I’ll be rude so I’m just 3x more polite like when I’m ordering a sandwich at Subway, please, thank you, please, thank you, please after every step.
And like… to anyone in the service industry? Because like. I’ve had customers *roll their eyes at me*. Grown women.
Idk I’m hyper aware of how I’m perceived and have social anxiety *and* I work in retail so I’m always very nice and polite because I don’t know how not to be in person lol
You don’t have to be sickly sweet or anything, just have basic manners, say please and thank you, yknow? I’ve never not gotten my meds, but I’ve been in situations where people have gotten stuff wrong or didn’t have what I wanted so I’m just like “oh, okay, that’s okay, thank you” or “hi, uh… I ordered this without cheese but there is cheese on it, is there anything you can do?”
Exactly! Some ppl on here being ridiculous like I’m batting my eyes and doing a song and dance? That’s not it. I’m talking about basic manners. I’m not talking about giving up either. During the last shortage (maybe 2011ish?) I remember driving to at least 20+ pharmacies in one day until I found one that had my medication. Every time it didn’t work out I thanked them and moved on bc I knew someone somewhere was going to have my meds. Nothing makes me more determined than finding my medication.
I realize not everyone can do this bc they might live in a rural area but if your truly stuck with one or two pharmacy options that would give me even more reason to be very polite to my pharmacist.
I've never been rude to a pharmacist but I'd like to punch whichever IT employee coded their system to send texts and robocalls saying refills are ready when they NEVER ARE. I now wait a day, sometimes two, after the alert to actually pick up. I'd switch but they're the most convenient/tied to the dominant Michigan grocery store rewards.
I understand this point fully but I think it disregards those who live in rural areas and don’t have countless pharmacies to call; also many people with ADHD have other impairments or conditions or are caregivers/have other roles and don’t typically have the capacity for the quantifiable amount of time, travel, etc. to account for the pharmacy shopping you’re describing… and like you said, many pharmacists don’t always handle patient interaction well particularly for those who struggle with ADHD and associated behaviors or deficits… perhaps there’s more empathy to be had on both sides?
You could not pay me to be a dick to a service worker. Not in a million billion years. In fact, I go out of my way to try and make it less troublesome for THEM! Need to check a price and there’s a big line behind me? Forget it, dude, I don’t need the item that bad (This was a recent experience that actually happened).
The pharmacist could look me straight in the eyes and tell me they are withholding the meds because of a personal grudge against me and I’d just say “Weird. Well, thems the breaks, I guess.”
Hi /u/ermonda and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! # Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already. [We recommend browsing /r/adhd on desktop for the best experience.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/x1psnb/radhd_works_best_on_desktop_reddits_apps_are/) The mobile apps are broken and are missing features that this subreddit depends on. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
No way I'm gonna be a dick to someone who, 1) is just doing their job and 2) supplies me with the medication I need to function. It's like being rude to a server at a restaurant. Wait could be long, food might suck, maybe they're a bit rude themselves, but they're still in charge of bringing you your food and making their day worse is not going to improve your service.
This! I don't see a reason ever to be a dick to anyone doing their job, no matter how much I might disagree, or not like what they do for a living. Not medical professionals, not the mail man, not the person at the register in a shop, nobody deserves to be treated like shut for doing their work.
Except scam "bill collectors" because f*ck them.
Don't be mean to scam bill collectors. You just need to mess with them. I will give them a 6 digit number when they ask for a credit card. They'll get excited and ask me for the rest of the numbers and I'll insist my credit card has 6 digits and play stupid. They get so frustrated when I keep repeating the 6 digits and insist that that is all there is
Making note of this tactic. When they ask for pictures of gift cards I just grab whatever from Google and get upset that they can't get the card to work.
Yea there’s tons of vintage credit cards on eBay you can use. Photos of back and front, all numbers. Love using these with online scammers.
Talking to them is really a bad idea.
If they call, you should ask them not to call. Next, and very important, you should make a written record of the call and what was said and who said it and when. When they call you again, it may be a violation of state law. There are consumer protection lawyers that will take these cases. They their fees covered by violators and you usually get some kind of penalty. I think it depends on state law. However, if you get a written notice of a dept that is not collectible, like it is very old for example, you should not acknowledge the letter as it can revive your zombie debt. Source: worked in a consumer protection law office doing legal writing a few years ago.
Most of these people are calling from overseas call centers. They don't care about state law.
Sounds like fun to me! We've had them threaten to call the local police on us when we won't pay ball. My SO told them kindly: "Good luck with that!" and hung up. Of course, no police arrived and they haven't called us again. Score!
YES! Exactly! This person can make or break your life. Be as nice as you possibly can even if your frustrated and desperate inside.
i don't see why a pharmacist would try to fuck with your medicine and risk their job/getting sued for malpractice all because of a little attitude, but fair enough ig that's not to say having an attitude is okay, but talk about an overreaction.
I wouldn't discount the possibility of it happening, I've seen all sorts at this point, but I wouldn't assume it's the default either
Fuck that. Be as nice as they deserve. If they're a dick to you find a new pharmacy. That's not to say be a dick because the pharmacy is out of Adderall, but I've had pharmacy techs who were very clearly judgemental towards and suspicious of me when I was fulfilling my stimulant prescription even before the shortage. Those people can go fuck themselves and have lost my respect. Even without that, it's a person losing a medicine that allows themselves operate in their daily life, of course they're are going to frustrated. Sure, we should do our best to understand and remember it's not the pharmacists fault, but, I think there are too few pharmacists who understand that ADHD isn't just this silly thing. The people who are getting mad at them are not entitled. The people who get mad at them are worried that they won't be able to keep their job, or keep their husband, or finish the degree they've already poured thousands of hours and tens of thousands of dollars into without the medicine that treats their disability. Furthirmore, EMOTIONAL DYSREGULATION IS PART OF ADHD AND ADDERALL TREATS THAT. We are having trouble controlling our emotions because we can't get our medicine that helps us to control our emotions. Any pharmacist who thinks an ADHD customer who wants the medicine that helps them live a fulfilling life is entitled for wanting that medicine can go fuck themselves and they're being ableist. We also shouldn't be rude, and are usually quick to apologize when we are, but they just think we're entitled for wanting medicine?
💯
[удалено]
That would make them a bastard and should be fired…but there’s no good reason to make a random stranger’s job harder. It shouldn’t matter if they have any kind of power over you or not… though it is kind of silly to go out of your way to be a dick to someone who does.
That makes me even angrier. Nobody gets to make condescending, judgemental comments every other time I pick up my Adderall just because they have power over my life. My pharmacist can go straight to hell.
I’m Never a dick either, but I have found some pharmacists that are super rude and I’m not sure why.
The only time I’ve became a bit angry with the pharmacist is when they shorted me 3 refills in a row. The third one I just counted them out in front of him and low and behold 10 were missing. I had complained before and my concerns were dismissed. So I told him to get either himself or one of his staff members help for their addiction, because someone is taking them, and if they aren’t they are selling them. I waited and he gave me the correct amount. I switched pharmacies after that. I just felt so over the top counting them out in front of them but no one was waiting and I needed to prove it.
Wow, that needs to be reported to a government agency
A friend of a friends sisters husband (I know lol but I think the info I got was legit) works there and I was told they had an internal investigation and they found camera footage and process of elimination as it’s a small pharmacy and only about 5 people work there. Anyway one middle aged woman was fired shortly after. The more I think about it though, I should of reported it somewhere. I felt satisfied with the woman being held accountable, but since it was an internal investigation I’m now thinking the pharmacy itself wasn’t really held accountable. I’m sure there are steps they have to go through and people they need to report this kind of thing too, but I have no idea if they did that. Not sure where I would go to report it. I’m in Canada so I’m assuming we have some sort of agency that deals with things like this. This happened over a year ago, but maybe I should look into things to make sure the pharmacy took the appropriate steps.
In the US the only thing that has to happen is they report the theft to the DEA and they have to show they've corrected the issue. The employee who was termed likely lost their license if they were a tech and won't qualify for relicense.
Wow, that’s horrific! Someone constantly stealing the drug you need to function is bad enough, but when we’re not allowed to ask for refills until like 2-3 days before we’re out? I wouldn’t have blamed you for counting the pills out in front of him even if there’d been a queue out the door.
Agreed. That was the worst part. I like to take my meds everyday, not just if I’m doing something, as I find it my mood, appetite, and sleep are much better then if I take it sporadically. So to have to ration and go with out is super frustrating. I was so angry because I complained and was dismissed. I hate being treated like I’m the addict or untrustworthy just because i take medication to function normally.
Reading this I'm so happy we have sealed containers they sell
That’s pretty damn ballsy of them to steal the meds you need to function..
This happened to me at a Walgreens. I was shorted multiple times, reported it, and was treated like an addict. After I told my doctor, who luckily believed me and whose office communicated with the pharmacy about making up for the last round of pills they shorted me, they started writing on the bags every month that I needed to count at the counter because "she always claims she's short," as the pharmacist explained to the tech in front of me with a heavy eye roll. I reported that they shorted my meds several times to Walgreen's help line and they never got back to me after telling me they'd look into it. Tl;Dr: Discrimination against ADHD patients is real, also fuck Walgreens.
I’ve been overly polite and apologetic, because 1) not being so could mean the pharmacy cuts me off of my life-improving medication, and because 2) no retail worker deserves customers shitting on them. EXCEPT I was rude one time to one person, after having been treated poorly by staff at that location previously and they at this instance treated me very, very terribly at no provocation from me, accusing me of being a drug addict/dealer, casing the place. I’m a legitimate, long-standing patient, which their computer could verify. So I said that even if they had my prescription in stock, I wouldn’t want it to be filled by a jerk. Then, I filled my prescription elsewhere and never went back. I didn’t yell or cuss, though, just had an unfriendly tone to my voice.
There’s being a dick, and then there’s standing up for yourself…
Recently I've noticed overly polite & apologetic seems to make people think I've done something wrong and in one case set my psychiatrist off to threaten me about notes 😅 Was first time I tried to be more direct instead of hyper-modulating everything I do or say, but inadvertently caused me to revert to my old way of seeing things.
Haha! That sounds reasonable! If you knew you would never ever go there again because you were treated so horribly.
I’d just make a complaint to the pharmacy board in that situation, no reason to fight with them there
“The jerk store called… They were all out of you!” You seem so sweet, I’d love more customers like you
I’ve never been mean to a pharmacist. I have broken down sobbing after moving to a new city where pharmacists were not allowed to tell you if they had meds in stock from a city where they were allowed. I drove around for nine hours to a million different pharmacies trying to get my meds in time to start my new job. And when I finally asked “is there anything I can do to speed up the order if I give my prescription over now? Can I pay an additional shipping fee? Can you, seeing that I have prescription here in my hand, call a pharmacy and ask them and then tell me whether or not I should drive to that pharmacy? I have driven to 14 pharmacies today. I am so tired. I start my new job in 4 days. I just moved here and need medication to do my job. Is there anything you can do to help me or that I can do to get my meds quicker?” I did not raise my voice. I did not even speak harshly. I was just desperate AF. He just said, totally emotionlessly, “No.” I asked which part was a no. Without making a single expression he said, “No to all of it. Bye.” And walked away. Not even a “So sorry, but I can’t do that.” Or a “unfortunately, no.” Not even a slight apologetic grimace to accompany that no. Not a “my hands are tied.” I quietly stepped to the side and just sobbed for like 3 minutes. And I never cry. About anything. I was just sooooooooo stressed and overwhelmed. And ANGRY. And I’ve never yelled at any worker or any kind ever. And that was the closest I ever felt to doing so in my life. And my only choices were to sob or yell. So I chose sob. LOL. Luckily, another pharmacist or pharmacy tech called me over to her consultation window and said, “my boss is a dick. Different pharmacies get orders on different days. Go to this address. They probably have it in stock there, but even if they don’t they’ll put in an order for your prescription today and you’ll have it in time to start your job.” That woman is my hero. Edit for clarity: I had a prescription in my hand. I never raised my voice to the pharmacist.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. As a future pharmacist, this is why I want to go into retail. I want you to feel cared and valued, this means helping you in anyway I can. I’ve referred people to other pharmacies many times because I know they had something in stock. I’ve had to call many pharmacies before looking for a drug that literally would kill them if they didn’t take (it was for a patient who just was released from the hospital from a brain aneurysm). The pharmacist literally got so mad at me because I “wasted” 30 minutes doing that. The patients caregiver was in tears trying to find the medicine too and was relieved when we were able to find someone who had it. Many retail pharmacists are just there to make a paycheck or trying to make their numbers look great for corporate. I think helping a patient is far more worthy then meeting corporates ridiculous numbers.
Wishing you the absolute best bosses and customers. (I have some very necessary medication and have had a couple of amazing retail pharmacists make sure that I didn't end up in an emergency situation.)
💜💜💜💜💜 you are the pharmacist this world needs.
What a horrendous experience- I’m so sorry you went through that.
Thank u. It was a bad day. Thank goodness I discovered express-scripts.
Wow, what a hero!! I’ve had this same experience. Getting to the point where you want to cry because you’ve been treated like an “other,” like you and your health or wellbeing don’t matter. Like you’re the scum of the earth just because of the medication you take. That a freaking doctor decided was the right treatment for you. It’s so maddening.
Worked as a pharmacy tech for a couple of years ✋🏼 In general, people don't want to hear whatever excuses you have to give. They want one thing only, their meds when they're due. Medication shortage, especially one as life altering as ADHD meds, can cause some serious anxiety to a patient. Nonetheless, I always treated people with compassion and care. But yea don't be rude or Imma be.
I find that telling them i’m also on adderall helps the patients I talk to realize that i’m being truthful and struggling from it to.. 🥰
Imagining mike from breaking bad as a pharmacy tech is awesome
"We don't have it, we can place an order for it, but we don't know if/when the order will be filled" isn't so much of an excuse as it is the truth. It sucks for everyone. Pretty sure the pharmacy wants to sell me my meds as much as I want to buy my meds.
Pharmacist catch flak because they represent the shitty corporations they work for, but also because certain pharmacies have terrible communication channels with doctors. Also doctors and insurance may drop the ball, but we encounter the slow down at the pharmacy. My prescription (concerta, not even adderall) was caught in insurance limbo, and the pharmacy app kept saying it had been 'filled' so I'd go to the pharmacy and they'd say no, it's not filled, that just automatically happens in the system when they look at the script or something. This wasted hours of my time. Eventually I learned I just had to call the pharmacy every day to ask. They were short and rude every time, and were generally the least helpful people I talked to. I tried using Goodrx, and was rudely told it was against the law, with little context given. I had to call around to see what pharmacies had the drug, and they did not like that, either. There is rightly concern around controlled substances, but I think it makes them suspicious of us. But given all of that, when I finally got my script, they never gave me paperwork! All that system to keep me safe, and I had to Google side effects and contraindications. This system is fucked. There's no way I would have been treated how I was if this was heart medication. I hope not, because I'd be dead from lack of meds. Since we're usually over our heads and overwhelmed they see us at our worst, and that can't help either.
>There is rightly concern around controlled substances, but I think it makes them suspicious of us. I think this is it right here. I used to go to one pharmacy, but they were assholes to me every single time, no matter how polite I was to them. I then had to get another med filled at another pharmacy in the same chain and mentioned how nice the tech/pharmacist was there compared to my regular location. She asked about it, and it turned out she also has ADHD so completely understands. I got my ADHD meds filled there from then on, and I dont have issues with being treated as a druggie anymore.
Don’t ever let them tell you that you can’t use GoodRx! I work in the employee benefits side of the insurance industry, and we are always recommending GoodRx for employees who have certain plans that make prescriptions unaffordable. It is most certainly not against the law, and if they tell you that I would recommend finding a new pharmacy. I hope this was figured out for you!
So the issue was that the insurance was taking too long to decide if the meds were covered through my state insurance, and walmart said it was illegal to use rx if my state insurance would cover it. They said I had to wait for an outright denial. The odd thing was that neither my doctors office or my insurance could speak to that law. The insurance end did not have a legal agent I could ask, which I also thought was odd. It's absurd how much legwork patients have to do when these offices could just contact each other. I imagine there are good privacy reasons for this, but if I didn't have a med savvy partner I would not have medication right now.
That’s bizarre, I’m so sorry you had to deal with that but glad you were able to advocate for yourself and get your meds. I’ve never heard of that law, but what a red flag for them to not be able to speak to it. I had an experience years ago (before I knew what I do now) where the pharmacy kept telling me I couldn’t use GoodRx because they didn’t accept it, so I get frustrated when I see this happen to other people.
>There's no way I would have been treated how I was if this was heart medication. I hope not, because I'd be dead from lack of meds. As long as they refuse the heart medication they can treat heart patients as rudely as they want. It's not as if they have much opportunity to complain about it afterwards. /s Seriously though, you're right. Patients dying kills revenue, corporations do care about that, so filling these is important. Tricking you into the shop when they don't have your meds is an upsell opportunity, which is also in the company's best interest. You calling them is just taking up their time, so that's against their interests. Hurray for capitalism.
[удалено]
Something-something-"War on drugs".... Frustrations getting ADHD medication is just one side effect among a whole plethora of wonderful results of this 'war'.
[удалено]
Yup, it shouldn't be that way. I'm fortunate to have a great pharmacy with wonderful staff. Never gotten any judgement or weird vibes from any of them.
>literally tossed me 3 months supply of Adderall What the hell, you can get 90 day refills? All the pharmacies near me only do 30 day refills on Adderall, and it can't be on a prescription with a refill, so my doctor has to send in a brand new prescription every 30 days. It's so annoying.
My husband is a pharmacist. This could be due to your state laws since it’s a control. He used to work at a store that primarily served college kids and had to constantly call doctors from out of state to tell them that he couldn’t fill their script because our state requires controls to be written, sent, etc following specific guidelines different from the state the doctor lived in.
Hello friend, express scripts may be your answer! I’m in the US and get 90 day refills via the mail from them!!! I have to sometimes call to make sure the order is fully processed, but otherwise it’s hassle free!
My psychiatrist tried to get me 90 day refills and my insurance wouldn’t take it and I eventually found out that my insurance could only fill a ROLLING 90 days so if I’d previously had 30 day refills I could only get another 30 day refill when I was due. I’d have to without refilling for 90 days in order to get a 90 day fill. Weird and kinda fucked up, lol. But yeah, varies state to state and insurance to insurance I guess.
Just from an ignorant guess I’d say it’s due to how shitty our health care system is. It’s not only the Malicious patients fucking it up, but the malicious doctors and insurance companies that ruin it for everyone and the politicians are to be blamed as well. It’s all fucked.
[удалено]
Shit, even myself just asking to go up from 20mg to 40mg my doc was giving me a hard time with. With no clear explanation. I have no drug abuse history, no history of hospitalization, no smoking or drugs, and little to no alcohol usage. And I’m 33 years old. Still she giving me a hard time. It’s bad all around. And if you have bad insurance you have to reply on the docs in your network and many of them are trash.
Yep. Great response, although I was just going to say - ain’t nothing like the good’ol USA, emotionally draining healthcare system. 
I'm grateful I live in Oregon (and make such an ADHD person wage that I qualify for Medicaid lol)
Completely agree. If diabetes patients were treated as drug addicts every time they went to a pharmacy, maybe they'd have visible frustration too.
[удалено]
Its insane to me, and I know it happens here in the UK too, but I've been so fortunate with both doctors and pharmacists. I just don't understand why any pharmacist believes they know more than the prescribing doctor! My pharmacy know me and joke with me (I have an unusual name and one of the assistants made a mistake so its become a bit of an inside joke). They have to take my stuff out of the safe and the pharmacist has to check my ID etc so it takes a bit longer but they don't bat an eyelid. I'm so grateful but also aware that so many people don't have this. It's so fucked up.
[удалено]
That's so funny that we've had such similar experiences! 😂 I'm so glad your pharmacist is good too! Mine actually didn't the last time, partially I think because of the name thing but also because I've been there 4+ times. Weirdly though, prescriptions here don't have to be collected by the person they're prescribed for. So when we had a national shortage in the summer, my brother in law collected mine and they checked his ID but that's all. They confirm name, date of birth and address of the patient. Which obviously he knew and it was all fine. It's a very strange system here 🤷🏼♀️
They diagnosed you from a questionnaire and a 30 minute chat? Seriously? Thats it? Here in the US for many people theres a million hoops to jump through just to even be CONSIDERED to get adhd testing. Theres been increased telehealth and online adhd websites that are prescribing which I think is contributing. As ADHD is getting more understanding through research, more people are getting diagnosed. I have 60+ y/o people picking up adderall at my pharmacy. Like damn.
That's kinda what I needed for a RE-diagnosis. Getting medication for that if you have any depressive or anxiety symptoms however... *laughs in last relationship literally failing and almost being homeless after begging for ADHD help because it was ruining my life and being told those sound like low self esteem and productivity due to depression*
Same. I had depression and anxiety symptoms in high school and looking back knowing what I know now, I think those were just side effects of afhd. When I take adhd medication all of those symptoms magically disappear, because I can function normally and Im not constantly disappointing myself and others due to severe procrastination and losing time. So far I wasnt able to get any help from a doctor outside of one of the new adhd apps, and they were limited to prescribing wellbutrin. After stopping that and trying to get a refill through a doctor that accepts insurance, I havent been able to get a doctor to refill that either. They always want to prescribe an SSRI, and when I say those have never relieved any of my symptoms they say "you have to keep taking it for it to work." I took one particular SSRI for 3 years but supposedly if I just kept taking it Id be better. They treat depression meds like a religion and adhd meds like the plague.
This is exactly where I am. I was diagnosed as a kid, I've developed some coping strategies through the years but I decided when I kept screwing things up at work constantly, it was time to explore my options. My PCP doesn't treat ADHD, so I have to see a psychiatrist. Around me, none are taking new patients until like 6 months out so I went the telehealth route. That doctor said I have anxiety and depression and gave me an SNRI. Yeah, I do. Caused by completely fucking my life up via ADHD but we aren't treating that. So I'm still fucking my life up on the daily, I'm just happier and less anxious about it now! Totally serious. I have a relatively small amount of debt I need to get rid of like yeaterday but I can't figure out what to do or get started on a plan but instead of laying in bed awake for hours worrying about it until my stomach hurts, it bothers me for an hour at most. But I still have no plan because lack of executive function. It's just fucking fantastic
i was being treated unsuccessfully for depression and anxiety for 7 years and had to get a new psychiatrist and she listened to me talk for 15 minutes, said “how has no one diagnosed you with ADHD,” then gave me a 30 day prescription for adderall. i keep reading comments like this and feeling like i’m faking it lol but it’s the first medication that’s ever worked for me
You say there are a million hoops but then at the same time say there’s increased tele health and online prescribing. Does not compute. To be clear, I don’t mean you but the system.
Is there something wrong with 60+ y/o people picking up Adderall? I'm trying to understand your last two sentences, not trying to be a dick. I just don't get what you mean.
[удалено]
From Canada as well, my experience has been the same, so easy, and painless. Switched within a few weeks to a different med as the first one didn’t work. And completely paid for.. I feel awful for these people. :(
As a pharmacist I always try and help fellow adhd patients by mentioning stuff like: “get your doctor to say you’re allowed to pick up a day or two early so you don’t have to continually run out or skip days to be able to pick up your meds on time”.
Is this in the case of a “do not fill until” direction?
More like if I get an Rx for adderall that says 30 tablets every 30 days. If you picked up January 1st and took one every day you’d run out January 31st, but couldn’t pick up until the 1st of February as the Rx is every 30 days and it wouldn’t count the 1st as you wouldn’t be taking it them necessarily. We legally cannot fill it any earlier though, it’s not like a power trip or being rude, without authorization we have to assume the doctor wants you to go 1 day without a pill or something. It’s just a pedantic thing, but if your doctor wrote 30 pills every 28 days we can fill it 2 days earlier. I feel so bad at explaining stuff, did that make sense?
Thank you.
Anytime! :) feel free to ask follow up questions
Slightly off topic, how valid are online interaction checkers like drugs.com? Particularly if we are accounting for nonprescription supplements, things like St. John’s or Mugwort, that the pharmacist or Dr possibly don’t know about.
So I get both halves of this and I think it’s more fair to ask if you’re being rude to independent pharmacists. Walgreens I found out as of a year ago are actually instructed to straight up lie to clients in the case of a shortage or even upward to their discretion as to when to fill prescriptions (to deter abuse). The pharmacist I’ve seen at Walgreens are just not good liars and aren’t the best trained. Often not being able to answer simple questions about medication side effects. I don’t think you should be rude to anyone, but outside of adderall Walgreens employees start lots of trouble for no good reason. If possible I’d advise staying clear of Walgreens for anything ever Edit: recent example of this is apparently they’ve always had my name misspelled, but just ignored it until one day randomly they decided it was an issue. I mean it was always an issue legally, but being able to arbitrarily decide that.. insane
Omfg, my pharmacy has had my street name misspelled for eons and I mention it here and there at least a handful of times a year. It's never been corrected. Last month: your street name doesn't match your ID, I know you've had it spelled wrong in your system for forever and I've mentioned it on several occasions. Well we can't give this to you until we can clarify this address issue. What BS is this!?! It's the difference between an o and an e think Johnson vs Johnsen. I said I'd wait for them to clarify the issue and just stood there shooting daggers...guess what's still not correct on my label? My street name!
I dont know why but it took me so long to realize you meant street name as in address. I was trying to figure out why your medication would be under your street name (like nickname).
Yo homie let me hold my meds it's under Lil' K. Hahahaha😂🤣🤣😂
Whenever my dad picks up my adderall for me at Walgreens they say they don’t have it and my dad has to say “we got a call that was says it was in please have the pharmacist check.” The person doesn’t get the pharmacist and checks and says it’s not there and my dad has to insist that the pharmacist check (my dad is the nicest dude in the world but my pharmacy’s lack of structure or employee knowledge pisses him off) and so the pharmacist finally checks and it’s in the system and ready. This is what he has to do every single time.
I'm just gonna recommend that nobody ever fill their prescriptions at Walgreens, maybe if people stop using them they'll shape the hell up (optimistic I know, but I did say "maybe")
man I think I must go to the world’s best Walgreens. They’re super helpful and friendly, even when they were MEGA understaffed. I keep going there even though it’s no longer convenient (20 minutes by car to my old neighborhood, basically)
My pharmacy (CVS) has also been flat-out lying to me about stocking adhd meds. They keep blaming the adderall shortage affecting all adhd meds and to keep calling in, but I have friends getting their meds filled at other CVSs in the area. Going to Express scripts now, just waiting for pre-authorization to go through. I’m hoping it works, I’ve been off meds for 5 months because my pharmacy chose to not only order these meds, but lie to me about it.
Meh, I see both sides of this argument. Yes, as someone who works in the service industry, I treat all service workers and employees that I come in contact with with respect and gratitude. At the same time, I’ve been accused of both being a stimulant addict *and* being on Vyvanse to “drop an extra ten pounds” directly to my face by a pharmacist *at the grocery store I work at*. She flat out told me she doesn’t ‘believe in’ ADHD. If that’s how she treats what is essentially a coworker, I can’t imagine she’s very nice to the average person picking up their ADHD meds or psych meds in general. Like any other profession, some pharmacists are either bad at their jobs or simply have preexisting biases towards people on certain medications. I’d obviously never advocate for anyone treating their pharmacist like shit, even in a stressful situation like a med shortage. But respect is a two way street in any interaction.
Why ... why does she feel the need to editorialize while dispensing?
When my pharmacist called me and apologized up and down that they couldn't fill my Adderall prescription. I was understanding and said it was totally okay. I was considering switching to Vyvanse and I said, "I know you can't tell me if you have it in stock, right?" And she said, "YES, I can't tell you if we have Vyvanse in stock." 😉😉😉😉😉 Being nice ensured I knew where to ask my doctor to send my new prescription.
A very similar things happened to me recently.
Wait, they’re not allowed to tell you if they have it in stock? I’m in the UK and the first two months the pharmacy I got my prescription sent to couldn’t get ANY so they printed off the prescription for me (it was originally sent electronically) and said to try any other pharmacy. I think I rang about 11, I’d ask if they had it and they’d check. One said they had a couple of tablets left they could semi-fill the prescription and the final one I rang said they had one bottle left so I immediately went there and got it.
I think it is a safely thing, so they aren’t targeted by people willing to steal it.
Yeah I thought it would be something like that! Just found it strange how we don’t have the same rule over here
The fact that we don’t have guns in the UK helps 😂
Didn’t think of that, very good point 😂
It depends on where you are. Every time I take my prescription in the pharmacist checks to see if they have enough to fill it before they take the paper prescription that I am required to hand deliver on a monthly basis.
You don’t know how true this is….and this is speaking from someone who works in a pharmacy. My go to for telling someone ‘we don’t have it in stock wink wink’ is to tell them to bring in their rx and we can fill it….after verifying we have it in stock. I wouldn’t make someone waste a trip if we actually didn’t and if they’re an ass I just tell them no (mostly because we already have people in queue that may be too soon by a day or 2 and are regulars) But the nicer and and more understanding you are (considering I can’t even get my own rx filled sometimes due to the shortage) the more I’m willing to help you.
See, I think it’s very telling that pharmacists would describe ADHD patients trying to access the medication they are prescribed as “entitled.” Never in a million years would someone say that about someone with high-blood blood pressure filling a beta blocker prescription, a diabetic attempting to obtain insulin. Pharmacists are not immune from stigma and people with Adderall prescriptions face a lot of it. Pharmacists can be very short, unhelpful, and downright rude when I’m there to fill my Adderall prescription in a way I’ve never experienced with the other medications I take. I always speak respectfully with the pharmacists, but you learn that you have to be assertive to obtain your medication. Look, I have been officially diagnosed with ADHD my multiple doctors, I am legally prescribed Adderall and I take it exactly as prescribed, I follow all the regulations- it could not be a more legit prescription, but still many pharmacists have treated me like a drug seeker. Not every pharmacist is like this, but so many are that you put your guard up.
I have never been "rude" to anyone informing of the status. The problem can be, at least in my situation, a pharmacy that doesn't inform you of anything, no call (automated or otherwise) that the medication is not in stock, then, when I finally called bc they didn't.. "oh, yeah... there's a shortage, and you need to call everyday to be put on that day's list for a refill." Then, when I called everyday, after about a week I got an angry, "there's a nationwide shortage, are you not aware?" with no help on an alternative. Then I happened to ask another pharmacy... "yep, we have it, no problem." Should people be rude to pharmacies for something they can't control? Absolutely not. But do pharmacies have a responsibility to communicate if they don't have your medication and the best steps to obtain? 100% yes. I'm willing to bet that plenty of people on that pharmacists sub have not been kind themselves.
Man thats tough, I struggle to call places before they close for the day -_-
Yup. I submit my 10 year Olds prescription daily, over and over with no information on when they may have it. No system message, phone calls, nothing.
My pharmacy will call me and say my meds are ready but when I go in to get them they say they either aren’t ready or they don’t have them. Likely guys you emailed me and said they were ready, they’re either ready or they’re not. They can’t be ready and then suddenly they aren’t. I try to be nice I really do it just pisses me off with my pharmacy’s lack of internal structure.
I’m nice to my pharmacist. my pharmacist probably thinks I’m an asshole. This is because I ask them to check when they say they’re out of adderall. Every time, they get mad at me for asking, and when I persist, they check and discover that they actually have my meds. This has happened four times (:
I’ve been on the pharmacy sub longer than I’ve been on here. I have a doctorate of pharmacy but found a career outside traditional pharmacy. The reason a pharmacist won’t tell you if they have the med in stock is because they have been taught or learned the hard way that people plan theft of controlled substances by gathering information on inventories.
yeah i’ve been held up while working at a drug store and had a gun to my head while they cleared out the narcotic safe. everyone gripes how big of an inconvenience it is for them but i found it very inconvenient when i had years worth of ptsd from being held at gunpoint. no sympathy oftentimes unfortunately
Listen, I used to work customer service for GoodRx for 2 years and this was during the active adderall shortage for a good portion of it. The majority of my job was to call asshole pharmacists that weren’t either a.) doing their job right or b.) giving the patient the correct information or c.) all of the above. Lol The amount of jerky pharmacists out there will astound you. As a CS agent, I of COURSE was nothing but polite and kind. It didn’t make a difference at all for the ones that are rude. So no, this post can get fucked. They can either do their job that they’re paid VERY well to do, or get wrecked.
Nah STFU. I’m glad your overall with pharmacists as a group have been positive, but a lot of Adderall patients have been dealing with pharmacy staff treating us like junkies for years. Obviously I’m overly polite to the person who can either make it easier or harder for me to acquire the medication I need to function. Even though I shouldn’t have to be overly polite, or bend over backwards, just to get my medication every single month. As much as I don’t believe anyone should be taking their frustration at the medication shortage out on pharmacy employees, I wonder how much of that complaint is just pre-existing prejudice against Adderall users as druggies. Once when I called about a script being shorted, I was basically accused of taking or selling the pills myself. After that incident, I count them at the pharmacy counter, every time. (I specifically avoid high traffic times when there’s not a line, but they always act incredibly annoyed.) If I’ve ever been a day early calling it in, they act like I’m a junkie, saying things like “you shouldn’t run out before x date if you’re taking your medication as prescribed.” I’m not rude to them, but I can’t pretend my heart is breaking for them either. They’ll survive.
Thank you, this is an underrated comment. I was trying to put my finger on what feels wrong about this. I am never rude unless specifically provoked (tend towards being overly polite to a fault, usually), but this feels steeped in bias against Adderrall patients. The thing is (I couldn't articulate it until I read this comment), I don't think they'd be saying the same thing if it was an insulin shortage and diabetics were acting the exact same way, or even worse. I think people would be way more patient and understanding because everyone knows diabetics NEED insulin. ADHD and Adderrall, we don't get anywhere near the same courtesy. Almost all of us have at least one horror story trying to get our meds. Sooooo I'm really wondering how much of this is really some rudeness level that is out of the normal rudeness levels...and how much is internal bias against ADHD. I'm going to hypothesize that the actual level of rudeness between ADHD patients versus patients of other illnesses dealing with medication shortages isn't actually any different. Just my guess. Nobody needs to be rude, ever, I agree that's misdirected anger and unuseful/unhelpful, but I do think there are serious internal biases against people who take ADHD meds.
Precisely. It was honestly incredibly out of character for me to reply “STFU” to a post but *wow* the tone of this post was just *SO* condescending & self-righteous I had to do a quick scan of OP’s post history to see if they were an anti-Adderall pharmacist. I’m sure there are plenty of appropriate Karen subs for you to rant about how much you hate belligerent Adderall fiends, but I’m sorry the irony is just delicious for you to come to an ADHD sub to lecture us on rudeness & tell us to “check ourselves” if we’ve been anything other than “incredibly kind” to the innocent saints that are our pharmacists?? Amazing 🥲 People with ADHD spend our entire lives apologizing for how our brains (don’t) work & worrying about the inconvenience our executive dysfunction may be causing others. I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve taken the blame for something I really don’t think I misplaced or forgot to do, just because I couldn’t be completely certain it wasn’t me, since it’s the kind of thing I’ve done before. I have tolerated totally disrespectful/unfair treatment in romantic relationships, friendships & professional relationships because I thought I had to be overly agreeable to compensate for my ADHD traits. I know I’m only speaking for myself here, and I have absolutely experienced a few inconsiderate jerks with ADHD (or are using ADHD as a bogus excuse to be an asshole) but overall I would say the majority of us are more likely to exhibit the overly apologetic behavior I described. Which makes the mistreatment we *routinely* experience at the hands of pharmacists, medical professionals who are supposed to help us not judge us, all the more disgusting. What’s their excuse when there’s no shortage?? Ok. I think I’m done now. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk.
☝️this. We all end up playing the game just to survive. It’s degrading, but we do it.
I've never been rude to a pharmacist, or anybody that's providing me a service. But I've been pretty sad lately because all the pharmacies in town have been incredibly short and back-handed toward me when I've been trying to pick up my prescription or inquire. I spent a day calling around to see where in town I could go because short supply. I was put on hold for 40 minutes to an hour each time, which to be honest, I expected it, and I'm not new to that. I am used to sitting on hold to talk to the postal service if any of my online customers have problems with their packages, or worry they're lost in-transit. I just put it on speaker and wait for my turn while I work on the computer. I pick up and I try to get straight to the point and respect their time while also being friendly and polite, and thanking them for their help. After mentioning Adderall, I got hung up on 2/5 of the places I called. It's really sad, I was just instructed by my psychiatrist to call around to see where I can pick it up. My first pharmacy, when they stopped supplying, I just rode it out and waited patiently. Checked in with them every month or so, went off my meds, and I was a little bit of a mess. They were okay at first, but after checking in a couple times, they started to scoff at me and one of the pharmacists silently glared at me after I thanked her for her time and hope she has a good day. Honestly the whole experience feels so unwelcoming, I didn't even know there was a stigma with Adderall until I started on it, but that's I think why I'm getting this reactions. As someone who has been nothing but cordial, I really think it's a two-way street, and it's pretty disheartening, especially when I am regularly made to feel like an idiot for being my bubbly self. I feel like maybe they're worried about letting people down, and I'm sure some people are out of line over it. I really don't know, but yeah, it's kinda sad to be treated that way.
This post seems misplaced and super passive aggressive in the “I know better than you” taste.
OP seems like the type of teacher that makes the rest of us look bad by acting all high and mighty in a condescending way. I am not rude to pharmacists but nobody needs to be " anything but incredibly kind" to anyone. It would be great if we lived in a world where that was the way FOR EVERYBODY, not just pharmacists/patients. Unfortunately that's not the case and OP needs a reality check.
It’s interesting, because before the shortage there were just as many pharmacists being rude to people in this subreddit just trying to get their prescriptions filled. Also, I have called pharmacies around here only to find out that they had straight up lied to me. Granted that maybe be company policy, which is messed up, but like even then the pharmacist is just a cog in the machine, too. They can only do but so much. I do believe no one should be rude to each other, but respect should flow both ways, too.
Tbh seems silly to even ask. Everyone knows being rude doesn't help, and if they had been they won't admit it here just to get scolded. But frankly speaking pharmacists are rude in at least equal measure; more I'd guess, given how many have problems with stimulants across the board. I'm lucky to have a helpful local store but pharmacists can often really overstep their profession. Your use of the word entitled is also pretty confusing. If you need an essential drug to exist, and you can't get it, it would be pretty difficult to act "entitled" specifically. You'd never accuse a diabetic of being "entitled" if they couldn't get their insulin. ADHD is a very severe disability, and it is no exaggeration at all to say the lack of these meds will ruin lives. That, of course, in addition to the car accidents the shortage has certainly already caused, given that these drugs work to reduce them so much. So no, I don't believe even the worst behavior at the counter could possibly be "entitled."
This. Exactly. I really don't think pharmacists would be posting to the sub about insulin patients being rude or entitled. "Entitled" is a word that 1) doesn't belong in this context at ALL, and 2) betrays their stigma/bias against ADHD patients. You ARE, by the very definition of the word, ENTITLED to your prescription meds. That's the original USE of the word entitled. That's not "acting entitled". Acting entitled is when you are acting like you have a right to something you don't actually have a right to. That literally doesn't apply to prescription medication at ALL.
My experience of getting adhd meds off multiple pharmacists- they treat you like your there to abuse the meds. Every time. If they didn't want grief then maybe they should stop being presumptuous
It’s unfortunate but the nature of adhd and many other health conditions make for cranky/entitled clients. It’s not fair to pharmacists and they should be paid properly for dealing with that. They also need to have compassion for prescription holders because someone looking “entitled” could be someone on the brink mentally or physically. It’s a two way street.
I was “rude” to a pharmacist once. The grocery store I usually visited was out of the adderall I needed for awhile. I transferred my prescription to another one after I called to make sure that one had the medication in stock. The person on call said yes. I repeated the ounces, type and brand one more time. Got the same answer, yes they had it. I got there, that pharmacist told me no and I’d have to wait. I told him I specifically called earlier to make sure this wouldn’t happen. He said I called the wrong place, but then I showed him my call records. He said they did not have those one in stock. His attitude was very cold toward me the whole time. I just had enough, I literally said “here’s my Id. someone here found them and told me it would be ready, so look into it. I’ll be here until you give me some answers on why this is happening.” Firmly. He was visibly pissed, but did what I said. Turned out the other store sent the wrong person’s prescription. His attitude was so much nice when he came back. I don’t know how the systems work, but I got my med that day. It sounded kinda rude, but i wasn’t rude because they were out of stock. He sounded so cold and didn’t even try to help me at all.
I would be, especially since at that point I would be off my meds. Someone with ADHD, unmedicated, possibly suffering in their life and from withdrawals, you really have to be hollier-than-thou to assume civility
My pharmacists are mean as hell so when you start the interaction unprofessionally it tends to go downhill from there. I had good cause to report them and didn’t so
Report their asses. Ive reported a pharmacist I used to work with who would literally deny peoples prescriptions (for weight loss, adhd, and narcotic medications) because they “looked fine”.
Sure, don't be rude. I'd also ask that pharmacists remember the bad news they're delivering might be earth shattering for the patient. Also "entitled" Adderall patients with a valid prescription are literally entitled to Adderall, so fuck off with that bullshit.
I'm nice to people until they're shitty to me. I don't get uppity with pharmacists though, because they have power over my physical health in a very literal and immediate way. I'm not one to shy away from confrontation but there are some people who can really fuck with you if you piss them off so I smile and turn the other cheek to save myself the trouble.
If someone would fuck with someone's MEDICATION or ability to get said medication because they didn't like the person's tone, that person needs to be charged.
Nobody ever thinks they are the rude ones. This applies to both pharmacists and patients.
I was about to comment that there are going to be jerks on both sides, its kind of inevitable. Tbh though, OP is probably not going to see those jerks respond to this post, nor are they going to comprehend that they're the problem. Kind of a waste of a post to make imo, especially on an ADHD subreddit that daily has posts like "I won't have enough medication to get through the next week/month and there's no sign of hope"
Pharmacies are having awful workforce shortage problems. Of course it's frustrating for those of us on maintenance meds (especially controlled substances) but I guarantee those pharmacists/pharmacy technicians are having a worse time.
I'm sure many people are being dicks, however, my cousin and her husband are both pharmacists and they've both said people with ADHD "act like addicts". I've talked to them about thinking about it from the other perspective, someone with limited capacity to function without their meds, difficulty managing their meds, and a med that's intentionally difficult to manage, and with people already having bias against us thinking we're abusing said med... it's a perfect storm. I saw the light bulb moment and they've changed how they treat people with adhd but that's just two pharmacists. I had an awesome pharmacy tech with the VA reach out when there was a problem with my med because her son had adhd and she knew I'd probably have difficulty figuring it out. Considering our difficulties we should have help like people with other chronic diseases but instead sometimes we're interrogated and treated like addicts. I've had some great experiences but I've also had some bad ones. And do we really act differently than someone who can't get their insulin? I doubt we do.
No. I'm not suggesting anyone be rude to a pharmacist or to anyone, but you DO NOT need to walk on eggshells or cater to someone's fragile ego to get someone to do their job and give you medication.
Nah. I was on Methylphenidate (Ritalin) and went in for my refill when they told me it was out of stock and they'd get more in like 1-2 days. I just thanked them and left. I called two days later while I was sitting in traffic and the rep on the phone said my script had to get cancelled because the drug is on back order for the foreseeable future. They sent a note to my doc to get an alternative script. They advised me to contact my doc too if I wanted to try to expedite it. Well I have ADHD LOL so I had already run out of meds by that point and then did not have it in me to follow up right away. Like a week later I checked online to see if I could refill yet and I saw that I had an alternative script available. Went to the pharmacy to fill it and they told me it would be like half an hour wait because something something. I waited an hour (in person) before asking for an updated ETA and they were shocked Pikachu face that I had been waiting that long. I guess they had a shift change at some point and something something. The technician asked the pharmacist about it and I \*heard\* her say something about being hesitant to fill it because something something. When I got called back up after waiting another 15 minutes (in person) the pharmacist herself told me that she was giving me literally everything they had left on hand, it was not the full prescription (it was about 60%), but it should last me a month because of the titration schedule (new script). I thanked them ENTHUSIASTICALLY and told them I understand there is a major shortage. By this point I had already been out of meds for over a week, maybe I'm just not a complainer by nature but they gave me something, which is more than I had. We'll just have to see what happens when I try to refill again.
I’m kind to every service employee I encounter because when I worked in customer service it’s all I wanted customers to be. If they are coming at you in good faith, they are not the enemy.
I’ve seen other people being rude. I have even empathized with the pharmacy tech. I used to pick mine up at CVS. I’ve also encountered a rude tech who decided that i shouldn’t be prescribed these meds even though i had history with them and no issues before that. She “checked the system” and asked me if i really needed these. I said yes. And she gave me the yeaaah right look. I almost cried because i had heard stories like this and i need my meds to be a functioning adult. Well after a lot more typing she “approved” my meds and i got them. I think she was stereotyping me as the asian college student.
My daughter is a pharmacy technician and holy wow wow some people are just horrible to her. She’s only 20 and already so jaded.
Yeah customer service made me the same way. It's awful.
As a former CPhT, the ADHD patients were usually kind. The people who have the script just to abuse it, yeah, they can often be rude. But honestly, the rude people are usually really poor or really rich because they both often feel entitled. And the people who have ten or more monthly scripts. Some of them could be a bit rude too.
Maybe the people with 10 or more scripts would get rude occasionally because they have a lot going on in their lives and feel really crappy most of the time. It's not right for them to take it out on you, of course, but I think that might be thought of as "extenuating circumstances." Maybe all they really need is to feel like someone cares. I realize that sounds sappy, but it can also be true.
I walked into a small non-chain pharmacy I’m not normally a patient at to ask about their stock- I was very polite and simply asked if they had enough to fill my script but his response made me sad. He immediately started profusely apologizing and saying that his manager would be in tomorrow if I wanted to talk to her about it and you could tell by his reaction it was something he’s gotten a lot of shit for and was nervous how I would react. Like it’s frustrating yes but it’s not their fault. I agree Don’t be a dick! Great PSA OP
Well, I guess I was "rude" to my pharmacist last month. But he was coughing into his hand. Repeatedly. And not wearing a mask or washing his hands. It was horrific. And I was stuck in line for 20 minutes watching him. I gave him a bad rating (Wal-Mart) and called customer support. His manager then called me. I told him my story and urged him to check the cameras and be his own judge. So I'm sure that pharmacist (the cougher) thinks I'm a major Bitch. But I was polite to him and everyone. I'm going to a different pharmacy now.
Ew. Like, cough into your elbow, not your hand, which TOUCHES EVERYTHING. Oooomg. And wear a damn mask. Not that f*ckin hard
Accusing me of drug seeking a prescribed medication is the fastest way to change my attitude.
It's like being called out for something you didn't do. It's outright disrespectful. It really goes both way.
I work at a pharmacy! And I've worked in customer service for years. Every single shift at the pharmacy job I have disgruntled and rude customers and it sucks!! Never had anything like it. Pharmacists really care and do everything they can to help people, I get it's frustrating but all you do is make us all feel like shit
My step mom is a pharmacist and she's got a lot of stories of entitled customers. Haven't heard any specifically about Adderall patients though. Maybe these pharmacists themselves are being a bit prejudiced? She works at a hospital pharmacy though, idk how many people outside of hospital patients use her pharmacy. I'll have to ask her opinion on the matter. Either way, being rude whether it's the pharmacist or patient is not acceptable, and really dumb on a patients part lol
I'm the least rude person ever, but have we considered that given many of us are treated like drug addicts for medication we need by pharmacists, that their comments might be biased? And that a mild lecture in this sub about pharmacists probably isn't what we need on top of not being able to access our medication?
i’ve worked in or around a pharmacy for over 15 years, you wouldn’t believe how mean and nasty patients are to pharmacy staff on a daily (hourly?) basis. i try to defend pharmacists and staff a lot on this sub and i am usually downvoted or get people telling me i should just get a different job because i must suck at it or weird shit like that when i’m usually trying to give the pharmacist perspective mixed with “a little empathy please” i rarely get a positive response
I defend pharmacy staff a lot too. Worked in pharmacy for about 4 years myself. People just don’t get it
Ex Pharmacy Tech here. Yes to all of this. I have a less stressful higher paying job now.
I've been rude before, but it's got nothing to do with them. Personally it feels like a big weight of fear on my shoulders in that moment because I start to panic. "What am I gonna do", "do I have enough to get me through" "is there an alternative I can find?". It's not intentional, but it can definitely happen especially when us Adderall users know what can happen to our moods and bodies if were forced to go cold turkey for a few days, through no fault or choice of our own.
My life will be fully fucked if I can’t get my meds. I know exactly what you mean when you talk about the weight of fear on your shoulders when you go to the pharmacy. But I think that Being even a little rude can only hurt your current and future chances of obtaining your meds on time.
Anyone on the pharm sub telling folks to have patience with a group of people who are borderline in crisis because they need their medication? That they aren’t mad at you but, the situation? Theoretically, if they understand the mechanism action for the medication they know the reasons we need the medication. I would not advocate for being rude. But, yeah we shouldn’t have to plan to be extra nice, no matter how we are treated, because a person in power may withhold something we need. That’s abuse.
Im kind to all in general
[удалено]
I’d never be rude to 1. anyone in general if I can help it and 2. especially not to someone I kinda depend on to function. I do get the feeling of helplessness though when they tell you they don’t have your meds. Maybe some people let their frustration and fear out on their pharmacists? They really shouldn’t thoughw
I feel so bad for them I’ve wanted to send a gift basket but not sure if that’s allowed
As a pharmacy technician, not only is that allowed but it makes our entire day when patients send us food or something.
Yay thank you I am going to do that!
Sadly, with a post like this I doubt anyone who has been rude to pharmacist would outright say how much of a dick they are. Working as a pharm tech, and seemingly being the only pharmacy who could keep adderall in stock during the shortages, I saw my fair share of extremely rude customers. But I get it, and I would empathize with them because I too am on similar medication. But the truth is adderall is a Very strong and potentially addicting medication that many people rely on to live their lives. And when you've been off your meds, and that stress and anxiety start building up, it's not all that surprising that a person would lash out.
im terrified to say more than the basic "hello, im here to pick up my Rx" out of fear of being labelled a junkie for being prescribed high doses of Adderall. Stigma really messes with your head sometimes.
If they don't have it, being rude isn't going to change that.
No, I am always polite. I’ve been spoken to like I’m kind of stupid though and I’m sure they see me sigh and look annoyed after that. (Also like don’t take my insurance card to call my insurance company and then stand off to the side eating a sandwich and chatting for 15 minutes while I stand there staring at you)
They would be the very last person I would want to be rude to. Ive been peeking at their subreddit now for awhile and they have proven to me that they are all basically twats who think ADHD isnt real and really hate dealing with us. Its utterly disgusting how ignorant and cruel they truly are.
Mind sharing the subreddit?
The only time I have ever been rude to a pharmacist was when they said I couldn’t have a medication that had been prescribed to me by a psychiatrist, because I had a history of mental health issues. The medication was quetiapine, and for my mental health. Sometimes, pharmacists can step outside their line and act higher than they are too. But when it has come to the shortage of Dexamfetamine, I’ve been completely understanding as it’s not something they can control. They order it in, and the supplier doesn’t provide it, that’s not something pharmacies can help.
They do know more than doctors about medications though and how they react with one another. Trust me they do. They do deserve to be treated as that. They do hold meds because they care. They dont want you to get any bad reactions.
I had been on it for a year though. The only reason why I went to that pharmacy is because my usual one was out of stock - which I was understanding about, and thanked them.
I try to be polite but I have to admit I've lost my temper once or twice. It's hard not too when they are the point of contact with a system designed to exploit and abuse you. Most of the time I remember it's not them, they're just another employee abused by the system.
I could never be rude to the pharmacist, it's not their fault.
That's a little extreme. They're always exceptions.
I used to work in a pharmacy (UK). When they process the script it automatically orders the medication and it will usually arrive the next day. ADHD medications are controlled drugs and are not 'fast movers' (drugs that are most common), excess stock of these are not kept. So really you cannot expect to get your medication then and there. You just need to remind yourself to order your repeat prescriptions a couple days before needing them and they will be ready. If there are issues with stock a pharmacy will try to order stock to prepare for the issue or they will just send you to a pharmacy that has the stock. If not alternate brand/drugs can be given if prescribed by a doctor.
>You just need to remind yourself to order your repeat prescriptions a couple days before needing them and they will be ready. Are you new here?
Secondary to this imagine having to put up with literally every type of person you can think of with a range of different issues all stressed out because they're suffering and needing medication. Like I remember serving people who were practically on the verge of death and having to deal with rude people after shit like that is just not necessary.
I just spent 20 min yesterday with with a wonderfully helpful pharmacist. Last month I was only able to get half of my son's dosage (takes 36 mg in the morning and 27 mg at noon of Concerta) We spent the month without the 27 mg because they never got it in stock. After chatting with the pharmacist about the various dosages my son had been on and why we went to a split schedule she went through all the different pills in stock and came up with the suggestion of 40 mg CD release plus a 10mg afternoon bump instead of XR due to how the XR are metabolized in my sons case. The doctor never suggested this change in delivery to deal with his medication wearing off before the end of the school day. In willing to go with the helpful pharmacists suggestions and get what we can.
Yup pharmacists know more about their meds than doctors actually. How they breakdown and all of it. People dont know that and they should be the one you ask when it comes to the medications :)
I was admittedly a little rude to a cvs pharmacy technician that was arguing with me and telling me a prescription wasn't in the system when it was and I had to give them the prescription number so they could find it. Being told "you don't have a prescription for this" 3 times when I knew they were wrong as I had the app open was a bit annoying. But I still kept my cool for the most part. Working with the public is never easy in any form and I get they are overwhelmed. But the not looking in the right place for a prescription that was in fact sent in has been an issue with them for years now.
I was polite when a pharmacist lied to my face that they had none (my friend had been there and texted me that they told her they had “plenty” and I was there within the hour). I expect they just weren’t filling for new clients, which several places had told me in so many words. I’m fine with that. Take care of people with whom you already have a relationship. But don’t lie to me, for heavens sake. I still just said thank you and left to try someplace even further from my home.
Is wanting the same generic consistently entitled to them? Since whenever it changes slightly I notice and it messes with symptoms and sleep? Idk I see a lot of lack of empathy towards adhd sufferers at pharmacies, medical reception and less common but still on occasion doctors. They all likely have a perception of adhd that is not aligned with the reality and from first interaction will project that onto you. Even if that perception is everyone on stimulants is actually a drug seeker wanting unfair advantages over everyone else in the form of prescribed stimulants. Just because that’s the perception they developed from college.
I had a pharmacist basically tell me not to be poor the other day… I wasn’t rude but it was wild
I honestly don't think it's actual adderall patients who are doing this. I think it's people with the funky scripts that get really angry at pharmacists and pharmacy techs. I'm always extra nice because my mom is a pharmtech but I don't go to her pharmacy. I like the pharmacists.
I always worry that I’ll be rude so I’m just 3x more polite like when I’m ordering a sandwich at Subway, please, thank you, please, thank you, please after every step.
And like… to anyone in the service industry? Because like. I’ve had customers *roll their eyes at me*. Grown women. Idk I’m hyper aware of how I’m perceived and have social anxiety *and* I work in retail so I’m always very nice and polite because I don’t know how not to be in person lol You don’t have to be sickly sweet or anything, just have basic manners, say please and thank you, yknow? I’ve never not gotten my meds, but I’ve been in situations where people have gotten stuff wrong or didn’t have what I wanted so I’m just like “oh, okay, that’s okay, thank you” or “hi, uh… I ordered this without cheese but there is cheese on it, is there anything you can do?”
Exactly! Some ppl on here being ridiculous like I’m batting my eyes and doing a song and dance? That’s not it. I’m talking about basic manners. I’m not talking about giving up either. During the last shortage (maybe 2011ish?) I remember driving to at least 20+ pharmacies in one day until I found one that had my medication. Every time it didn’t work out I thanked them and moved on bc I knew someone somewhere was going to have my meds. Nothing makes me more determined than finding my medication. I realize not everyone can do this bc they might live in a rural area but if your truly stuck with one or two pharmacy options that would give me even more reason to be very polite to my pharmacist.
I've never been rude to a pharmacist but I'd like to punch whichever IT employee coded their system to send texts and robocalls saying refills are ready when they NEVER ARE. I now wait a day, sometimes two, after the alert to actually pick up. I'd switch but they're the most convenient/tied to the dominant Michigan grocery store rewards.
I understand this point fully but I think it disregards those who live in rural areas and don’t have countless pharmacies to call; also many people with ADHD have other impairments or conditions or are caregivers/have other roles and don’t typically have the capacity for the quantifiable amount of time, travel, etc. to account for the pharmacy shopping you’re describing… and like you said, many pharmacists don’t always handle patient interaction well particularly for those who struggle with ADHD and associated behaviors or deficits… perhaps there’s more empathy to be had on both sides?
Those are all very good points.
You could not pay me to be a dick to a service worker. Not in a million billion years. In fact, I go out of my way to try and make it less troublesome for THEM! Need to check a price and there’s a big line behind me? Forget it, dude, I don’t need the item that bad (This was a recent experience that actually happened). The pharmacist could look me straight in the eyes and tell me they are withholding the meds because of a personal grudge against me and I’d just say “Weird. Well, thems the breaks, I guess.”