Tired of it | ADHD Information
My 8 year old has pretty bad tics w stims so his pdoc wanted him to try provigil. This was back in october. Insurance company denied it because adhd isnt an approved dx for it and its 0 a month. His pdoc and I appealed 3 times and finally a doc from insurance company said if he tries stratterra and it doesnt work, we will ok provigil. So at xmas time he started stratterra. He had some good behavior results, but still absolutely no focus, so pdoc sent another appeal along with detailed letters from my sons reg and special ed teachers. They friggin denied it again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so sick and tired of fighting these nimrods. So my son had to go back to ritalin(low dose) and u all know what has been happening. Ds AND Fs, figgity, still ticking, behavior issues. His pdoc is amazing. She went out of her way to DRIVE a scrip for ritalin to pharmacy knowing he had been out of it. She also staryed him back on a low dose of stratterra hoping to get some of the behavior benefits back. His regular ed teacher is not a big help, so now I am trying to get him more special ed class time....Im also having issues with my daughters doctor too.
Do you know what provigil WOULD be approved for?
I'm just wondering if you took your son to a specialist, maybe a neuro or a psych or smething, and they prescribed it for the tics or something else, if it would then be covered.
Out of curiousity I just looked it up & found this (as well as some other similar sites):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modafinil
I think this is the most important part:
"Although modafinil is thought to be effective in the treatment of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), in 2006 it was specifically rejected by the FDA for use by children for that purpose after Cephalon was rebuffed in its effort to introduce modafinil as a children's drug under the trade name, Sparlon. Cephalon's own label for Provigil now discourages its use by children for any purpose."
I am sorry you are having to go through this. I hope you can get the provigil approved eventually.
But to give you some hope, I believe there have been several people on these boards in the past who have had success with a strattera/ritalin combo- the strattera enabling them to go on a lower ritalin dosage and this avoiding some of the worst side affects- try searching dianev- I believe her daughter had terrible trouble with ticks on stimulants but had good results this way. You might get better results with the strattera/ritalin combo then you did with either one of them alone.
I actually wanted to try this combo with my son not because of tics but because of total lack of appetite- it didn't work for us because even on the strattera alone he didn't eat enough- it didn't affect his appetite as much as stims, but it also was in his system all the time so he didn't have that big snack before bed that he did with stims. He also had a lot of stomach aches on strattera- but for many people this goes away after a while.
Hang in there. Trying to get the right meds is maddening.
Bubbles39883.5306134259 He tried Stratterra before and didnt have any trouble, except maybe sleepiness, which didnt bother him too much. Like I said, I like the help with behavior. I will keep on trucking because it is my son. We have been at it for several years now, so I know even when we get this settled, it wont be the last time!I have done extensive research on provigil, talked to pharmacist and doctors, so we know what we are getting into if it comes. I called the manufacturer and there are appeal specialist that are going to help with this now. Thank you for your support!
Amen to that. I feel like by the time I get the meds right, I will be 90 and my son will be 60! I got diane's sig wrong- it's Diane V. She also had tons of trouble with tics. If you ever get the provigil, please let us know how it works for you.
I wish all the people who say meds are not necessary and just the easy way out would have to spend 1/10 the time I do researching, talking to the doctor, convincing the insurance company, trying to observe my son constantly to try and discern differences. You're right- AUGHHHHH!
Bubbles39883.5397800926