Morg asked
I got a RX for Adderall 10 mg twice a day a couple of weeks ago. I told my Dr it wasn't helping and she told me to come pick up a new RX for Adderall 20 mg twice a day. How soon can I fill that?
Answer
Legally, whenever your doctor writes a new prescription that is in anyway a change from your current prescription (e.g. change in strength, directions, dose etc...), it is a change in therapy and technically is not considered a continuation of your prior therapy. You should be able to fill your new prescription.
Having said that, things can get a little tricky with controlled substances... especially if you can equal your new dose with your left over old pills, as you can in this situation. Different pharmacies/pharmacists have different policies and you may find yourself running into an issue.
The pharmacist may need to call your doctor to ensure they are to fill the new prescription and you weren't instructed to finish the old one. It would be very rare that the pharmacist/pharmacy would not fill your new prescription after conversing with the doctor and receiving clarification.
As mentioned, you legally have a new prescription that signifies a change in therapy (dose, strength) and you should be able to fill that new prescription. To avoid any confusion or delay, it may be beneficial to have your doctor call the pharmacy to instruct them to fill the new prescription or have the doctor write on the actual prescription to fill it, referencing the change of therapy.
It would be relatively uncommon for a pharmacist/pharmacy to refuse to fill the prescription. I certainly recommend going to the same pharmacy that filled the prior prescription. That way, they have a record and can verify the change in therapy. If you go to another pharmacy, they may simply 'flag' your prescription once they pull up information that you had a different strength filled elsewhere recently.
