probably a stupid question.

[Red_Lauren.]

I have about a month left of my hormones, and on the bottle it says no refills. With my adhd stuff. If it says no refills. They typically would call my dr, and have them filled.  I don't know how this works with hormones. Do I need to call my dr, or what? 

[ValerieRun]

Yup, pharmacy will need another authorization from the doc. Maybe a week or 2 in advance just call your dr and ask to get them refilled. It is possible they would want to get a blood work or something first to see your progress in order to adjust the dosage, if needed. That is usually a reason for very precise prescription in the beginning. 

[KathyLauren]

This is quite normal.  Generally, the doctor wants to re-check your blood hormone levels periodically, and sets the length of the prescription accordingly.  My levels are pretty stable after four years, so my prescriptions last for a year.  I get three months' supply at a time, with three refills after the first one.  Once I run out of refills, it is time to see the doctor again.

 

It is a good idea to check with your doctor before the prescription runs out to see if you need to get lab work done.  That way, you can have new lab work in hand when you see the doctor, and they can adjust the prescription as required.

 

Be sure to make the appointment in enough time to have the new prescription in your hand before the old one runs out.  It can take six weeks to get in to see my doctor, so I have to remember to make the appointment well in advance.  I normally want to have the new meds in my hand more than a week before I run out, in case of blizzards, covid quarantine, or what have you.

[Red_Lauren.]

Then I better call them, and see if I can get in soon. 

[VickySGV]

1 hour ago, Red_Lauren. said:

Then I better call them, and see if I can get in soon. 

 

Possibly they will just call the script in for you with nothing more.  I order my stuff even if it says "doctors approval needed" and the pharmacy calls the doctor and gets it re-done. 

[Red_Lauren.]

1 hour ago, VickySGV said:

 

Possibly they will just call the script in for you with nothing more.  I order my stuff even if it says "doctors approval needed" and the pharmacy calls the doctor and gets it re-done. 

Thats what was happening with my adhd pill during the lockdown, and after. Because I was just going to the walk in. Till I could see my dr in august. 

[Jackie C.]

2 hours ago, Red_Lauren. said:

Do I need to call my dr, or what? 

 

I use my UofM health portal but yeah, you just contact your prescribing physician's office and ask for more. They may require bloodwork, they may not depending on where you are with your treatment plan.

 

Hugs!

[Red_Lauren.]

I started hormones in December. They took blood work then, and that was it. 

 

[Jackie C.]

You might be due, but yeah it's going to be up to your endo. If you're low and they want blood, they'll probably say something like, "OK, but you only get a month and you need to come in and bleed for us before we'll give you more."

Usually they watch you more closely in the first couple of months. I went like 3 months, 6 months and now I'm at once a year. I can give blood at the local clinic about a week before my meeting with my endo and it's all good.

 

Hugs!

[Red_Lauren.]

1 hour ago, Jackie C. said:

You might be due, but yeah it's going to be up to your endo. If you're low and they want blood, they'll probably say something like, "OK, but you only get a month and you need to come in and bleed for us before we'll give you more."

Usually they watch you more closely in the first couple of months. I went like 3 months, 6 months and now I'm at once a year. I can give blood at the local clinic about a week before my meeting with my endo and it's all good.

 

Hugs!

I know I haven't heard any thing from them, and i was going to call any way. To find out what was going on, but forget.

[Red_Lauren.]

They must be stalking me. I just got a call from them. 

[Ivy]

21 hours ago, Jackie C. said:

Usually they watch you more closely in the first couple of months. I went like 3 months, 6 months and now I'm at once a year.

This is a good thing.    I had some bad stuff happen with spiro, and it was blood work that caught it.  

[Red_Lauren.]

I got a call from them today, and was worried after they said there was a problem. Turns out it wasn't with me. Some thing about my blood. So I had to go take another blood sample. They said they want my testosterone  levels lower, and that was it. I get to talk to a dr on Friday to see officially what happens.  So far every thing seems well then. 

[Drayse]

Short but related story. About 2+ weeks back I noted that I was going to run out of Estradiol and Cyproterone. My doctor in charge of my hormones is based out of Edmonton, Alberta and travels to various clinics around the province. I tried getting a hold of my doctor or his assistant via phone call to the clinic and left message after message with various people. Finally, last Thursday I was down to my last estradiol patch with 12 cypro tablets to go. I contacted my doctor's previous assistant about his current assistant's email address, which she provided, and the current assistant responded almost immediately. So I have an appointment with my doctor next Monday. But I used my last patch on Saturday.

 

I complained about my situation to a friend and she informed me that pharmacists may give you an extension on a medication that you take regularly and you're between visits with your doctor should you run out. So I called my pharmacist and sure enough they'll give me sufficient estradiol to carry me over my next appointment.

 

Something to keep in mind if you find that you're running low and your doctor doesn't take refill requests from the pharmacy via phone or fax.

[Drayse]

1 hour ago, Red_Lauren. said:

So far every thing seems well then. 

I'm glad to hear that there was no problem with the blood work.

[Red_Lauren.]

1 hour ago, Drayse said:

I'm glad to hear that there was no problem with the blood work.

I told a few friend's, and they were more excited then me. That I will get to bump my hormones up.  

[Ivy]

3 hours ago, Drayse said:

I complained about my situation to a friend and she informed me that pharmacists may give you an extension on a medication that you take regularly and you're between visits with your doctor should you run out. So I called my pharmacist and sure enough they'll give me sufficient estradiol to carry me over my next appointment.

This was good.