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Post by mrbrightside on Jun 5, 2013 13:18:27 GMT
Hi there,
Just wondered if anyone could confirm what the costs of Elvanse were in the UK op a private prescription?
I have also read that it is currently classified as a POM so can be prescribed much more easily than controlled drugs, can anyone confirm this?
Thanks
Mark
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 5, 2013 15:03:03 GMT
About 80 quid. Dunno what POM is but the pharmacy still made a song and dance about controlled drugs so I doubt it.
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Post by mrbrightside on Jun 5, 2013 15:23:37 GMT
Thanks for the reply, POM is prescription only medication so can be prescribed easily just like any other medication rather than jumping through hoops with controlled drugs.
How are you finding Elvanse?
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Post by Chris Musician on Jun 6, 2013 21:13:01 GMT
Cost me £78 but I now know supermarket pharmacy's sell it for about £60.
It seems very few people actually get the 13 hours it's meant to last. Alot of people end up taking it twice a day, or once in the morning then take later on an instant release drug like dex to tidy them over.
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Post by Chris Musician on Jun 7, 2013 19:05:37 GMT
Update for you: My Local Sainsburys in Hertfordshire sells Elvanse for £60 for 28caps bottle of 30mg and £72 for 28caps bottle of 50mg. I didnt ask about 70mg, but I would probably guess around £85. Its good value compared to Dexamphetamine, because you can buy different mg tablets which keeps costs down. As Dexamphetamine only comes in 5mg tablets. Though if your like me, and you only find the drug lasting 5-7 hours, then you might need to take the pill twice a day, then the cost jumps up to £120 for a months supply, when Dex is about £100 (at Sainsburys) for a month if your taking 20mg a day (112, 5mg tablets). I am going to ask my doctor when I go back for the review which is better: Taking one, twice a day, or having one in the morning and a Dex if I need a boost later on. The second option is obviously cheaper, but the first one might work better . If you want to follow my experience with Elvanse, please see my post in the diary section: Here
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 9, 2013 9:29:15 GMT
I whinged about the 28 caps thing to the pharmacy last time and said the prescription clearly said 30 days. They sorted it the next time
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Curtis
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Post by Curtis on Jun 29, 2013 9:09:44 GMT
It seems very few people actually get the 13 hours it's meant to last. Alot of people end up taking it twice a day, or once in the morning then take later on an instant release drug like dex to tidy them over. I take two 30mg capsules in the morning and then another 30mg capsule at noon and find it gets me through the day.
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Post by joey on Jul 5, 2013 13:49:53 GMT
Were you able to get your prescription from your GP or did you have to do testing though a psychiatrist?
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Curtis
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Post by Curtis on Jul 13, 2013 20:31:04 GMT
AFAIK, GPs aren't qualified to give ADHD diagnoses, so you need to go through a specialist.
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vtez
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Post by vtez on Jul 23, 2013 19:33:55 GMT
That's right, GPs are not able to diagnose you or say that you don't have it - they have to send you on to a psychiatrist.
My experience of Elvanse is similar to what others are saying - 6 hours and then an extended comedown.
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Post by susan mcnamara on Mar 13, 2014 14:37:18 GMT
How long does it take to work on a eight year old child
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2014 14:54:55 GMT
In minutes from taking the first dose or days before it has allowed the child to change 'potential'?
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Post by Christian Troy on Mar 18, 2014 0:00:17 GMT
do you find you dont eat anything on these tablets?
Ive heard them being refereed to as the US versions of ''ADDERALL''
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2014 0:29:12 GMT
All the stimulant meds can reduce appetite but running to fat is still an issue with ADHDers.
Adderal is a different med - it's a mixture of different amphetamines, including dex.
Elvanse is dex with an additional link that needs breaking off the molecule, which releases the dex for use - it's known as Vyvanse in the US.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 18, 2014 0:35:16 GMT
Thanks for the reply, POM is prescription only medication so can be prescribed easily just like any other medication rather than jumping through hoops with controlled drugs. How are you finding Elvanse? Elvanse is listed with pharmacists and GPs as equivalent to Dex even though it is currently unclassified. It's just as hard to get prescribed.
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Curtis
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Post by Curtis on Mar 22, 2014 12:52:31 GMT
I take two 30mg capsules in the morning and then another 30mg capsule at noon and find it gets me through the day. My script changed not long after I made this post and appears to be my ideal. I now take a 70mg capsule in the morning and then a 50mg in the afternoon. Strangely, at some point in the last 3 months (the length of my scripts), my local pharmacy has started keeping it in their CD safe and I have to show ID to pick it up.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2014 13:45:56 GMT
They're not picking on you (or changed Elvanse's classification) - it appears there has been a tightening of the rules concerning CDs.
I now have to sign the CD book when I pick up my script and sign the CD box on it at the pharmacy - both should always have been done but now they're keen on it.
BTW that's for Dex not Elvanse
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2014 8:32:31 GMT
My chemist locks up my Elvanse in the CD safe, but I don't have to sign for it or offer photo ID. Looks as though he's operating a hybrid approach to the drug - storing it as if it were a CD but dispensing it as POM.
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ozadd
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Post by ozadd on Apr 25, 2014 14:09:04 GMT
I've just started on Elvanse 30mg (one per day - taken with breakfast) from last week. Private doc told me it would cost about £120 but he knew of Tesco pharmacy doing it for £110! Left me feeling a little gobsmacked. Because the nearest Tesco pharmacy was miles away, I went to the local Sainsburys (in south Devon) and it cost £87.50 (for 28 caps) - so I thought "bargain!"- until I just read the above post in this thread (from last June 2013!). Is there any consistency between different Sainsbury's pharmacies or are they franchised businesses which set their prices individually? This is quite a big difference. Maybe we need a "price watch" thread in the forum to keep track. If the numbers of forum users keeps increasing, who knows, it might even have some impact! By the by, although I'm still not settled into the medication (8 days) it seems to affect me right across the day. I have had some ups and downs with irritability (daytime and evenings) but overall I'm a bit more settled. But it definitely is not some form of serenity just yet . - Calmness (?) feels not so much "calm" but more like "not having racing thoughts" - even when I'm agitated I don't find my mind heading all over the place. This seems constant throughout the day.
- I don't react as badly (most of the time) to trivial problems (forgetting things, sudden noises, making small mistakes). There have been a couple of exceptions to this.
- Less vigour and I feel a little tired.
- I go to sleep pretty quickly once in bed and only wake up during the night for loo visits (now that's a good thing!).
- I can focus a little better when I'm concentrating (reading, conversations, research)
- I do still get a little bit of edginess, thinking about things that need to be done - but I'm trying to deal with that gradually.
- I still talk fast when I'm agitated or feeling intense about something.
While I've had some "blue" or mildly despondent stages, I don't feel there has been any sudden dramatic change on a daily basis after a certain number of hours.
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Curtis
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Post by Curtis on Jun 13, 2014 16:10:41 GMT
How long ago were you diagnosed ozadd?
I was diagnosed private, but once we found the right meds and dose (took a year), I was transferred to the ADHD clinic, so now all my scripts are NHS.
I see you posted this a while ago, is Elvanse still helping? Has your dose increased? I didn't start to see the night and day benefits until I hit 60mg. (Kept going up until I found that 120mg was the right amount for me, though I'm told that this is at the upper end of dose)
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drogue
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Post by drogue on Oct 1, 2014 12:54:21 GMT
How easy is it to get on the NHS once dosage and diagnoses is steady? I've been on Elvanse for the last 3 months for post-chemo cognitive impairment (basically ADHD but caused by chemotherapy rather than being a natural brain chemical imbalance) and now take a steady 50mg daily on weekdays, 30mg at weekends, with 5mg dex if I need to work late (the 50mg makes me functional until ~5-6pm). It'd be wonderful to move this to an NHS prescription as it costs so much.
Also, does anyone know how it works if your doctor prescribes slightly more or less than the pack size - do you pay for the full pack size? I just got charged what seems like a huge amount to me, at the same pharmacy I went to last month, though my prescription has changed slightly - I got 28x 50mg Elvanse for ~£90 before, this time got 20x 50mg, 8x 30mg and 30x 5mg dex, but came to ~£150. Is the dex that expensive or have I been charged for a full 28 tab pack of 50mg?
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Post by Jemma on Oct 2, 2014 18:05:08 GMT
Hi my son is 9 and was diagnosed with add today. Doctor wants to put him on elvanse 30mg. I'm really worried about the loss of appetite is my son likely to lose lots of weight? Also will he experience a comedown?
I'm worried he's going to be like a zombie while on the meds. Also doctor said he only needs to take it when at school but will stopping it at weekends mess his system up? Any advice would be greatly appreciated in so worried right now.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2014 21:20:13 GMT
How easy is it to get on the NHS once dosage and diagnoses is steady? I've been on Elvanse for the last 3 months for post-chemo cognitive impairment (basically ADHD but caused by chemotherapy rather than being a natural brain chemical imbalance) and now take a steady 50mg daily on weekdays, 30mg at weekends, with 5mg dex if I need to work late (the 50mg makes me functional until ~5-6pm). It'd be wonderful to move this to an NHS prescription as it costs so much. Also, does anyone know how it works if your doctor prescribes slightly more or less than the pack size - do you pay for the full pack size? I just got charged what seems like a huge amount to me, at the same pharmacy I went to last month, though my prescription has changed slightly - I got 28x 50mg Elvanse for ~£90 before, this time got 20x 50mg, 8x 30mg and 30x 5mg dex, but came to ~£150. Is the dex that expensive or have I been charged for a full 28 tab pack of 50mg? It's fairly early days for Elvanse and not all NHS psychiatrists are prescribing it which means that availability depends on the experience of the psychiatrist. Some are prescribing it as a matter of course and others are dragging their feet - and anywhere in between.
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Curtis
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Post by Curtis on Jan 2, 2015 13:30:48 GMT
How easy is it to get on the NHS once dosage and diagnoses is steady? You'll want to contact your local clinic and ask them how to transfer, but it shouldn't be difficult at all.
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flocka
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Post by flocka on Mar 1, 2015 18:13:17 GMT
I see a lot of people here paying the private prices on their meds which worries me a bit. I was given a private Concerta prescription but Boots quoted me £68 to get it filled - I was surprised by the high price, isn't it available as generic?
I am still waiting for my GP appointment but I am hoping I can get the Concerta on the NHS so I don't have to pay a silly price every month for ADHD medication. My GP is nice and has known me since I was a kid, and I was first diagnosed with ADHD as a kid though I was never treated before and was only just re-assessed as an adult, so I'm just hoping I don't run into problems. From what I've read on this forum it's just down to luck. Hoping my GP comes through for me on this, I simply cannot afford the private cost every month.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 1, 2015 22:33:59 GMT
Concerta generics are coming so the price should fall but until they do expect the price to stay high. Even with generics the pharma companies will try to keep the prices high so they won't compete too hard, especially since it looks like only the one generic is arriving in the near future.
Nip along to your GP and ask if they'll share care with whoever prescribed you Concerta, it's not an unusual route (I was privately diagnosed and always got an NHS prescription).
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flocka
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Post by flocka on Mar 1, 2015 22:50:18 GMT
I was able to get a private prescription for pregabalin (which is still under patent so very very expensive) done by the GP and all that happened is the psychiatrist sent a letter over and I showed the GP the prescription. This time the psychiatrist didn't send a letter (I'm guessing because my ADHD diagnosis is already on my record from when I was a child) but told me to just show the prescription to the GP. Judging by what happened before I don't think this should be much of a problem but I'll have to wait and see I guess. I have had this GP for a long time so we know and trust each other. Hopefully it's not an issue, I'm just getting myself worked up over it. I have high hopes for this medication helping me but there's no way I can pay the full price for it every month.
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Post by manson88 on Mar 1, 2015 23:05:15 GMT
Are you on pregabalin now if so what do you think of it?
I been on it 6 months I'm happy with it.
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flocka
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Post by flocka on Mar 1, 2015 23:10:59 GMT
It worked for about a month then caused unpleasant side effects so I had to come off it. Shame too, it was prescribed for anxiety and treated it pretty well, but the side effects that built up after being on it for a few weeks were not worth it.
I am hoping that Concerta (or another ADHD med) works for this, it seems paradoxical that a stimulant would reduce anxiety but my psychiatrist assures me that is how it works for some people. I guess it depends if my anxiety is caused by ADHD or if it's separate. Only way to find out is to treat the ADHD and see what happens.
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Post by Gaylev on May 13, 2016 9:38:09 GMT
Hi my son is 9 and was diagnosed with add today. Doctor wants to put him on elvanse 30mg. I'm really worried about the loss of appetite is my son likely to lose lots of weight? Also will he experience a comedown? I'm worried he's going to be like a zombie while on the meds. Also doctor said he only needs to take it when at school but will stopping it at weekends mess his system up? Any advice would be greatly appreciated in so worried right now. Hi.. My son is also 9 & is currently on 20mg Elvanse & doing incredibly well! His appetite is fine although he's always been a fussy pain in the *ss eater :-) - I still have issues getting him to settle at bedtime though & he's still awake often after 10pm but other than that? The change in him is nothing short of incredible. Went from near expulsion to 3 merits, top of his class, no dreaded phone calls from school & his teacher who's new to the school said if she hadn't been informed of his behavioural issues in the past, she wouldn't have known as he's a delightful, charming little boy! Good luck
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