A.D.D. is the complete opposite of ADHD and not only kids have this disability. Many individuals with brain injuries have disabilities that are life long, not something that can go away. This is why some adults still have ADD or ADHD their life, a brain cannot heal itself if it's injured to some extent. I care for someone who has a traumatic brain injury, which resulted in many different deficits and never ending disabilities in her life. She injured 3 of her brain lobes, along with a severe brain shearing and had to even have some blood drained from her brain from the bruising. She lost her peripheral vision, many broken bones and internal injuries, along with deficits affecting her even more today; 10 years later. She has had and will continue to have chronic insomnia and Attention Deficit Disorder. She cannot get the right A.D.D. prescription because of her insomnia but the one Adderral DR 30mg truly helped her with even going to college. She couldn't get her degree because of how chronic her insomnia was and arthritis 3 times her age was holding her back. A doctor she had retired and when she changed doctors, Medicaid wouldn't help her with her Adderall XR prescription, even after her doctor specifically wrote Brand Name Required, Medicaid wouldn't pay a dime. She's been on Vivanse which works a couple hours and then it's done. When you don't use your own energy, you won't sleep the best at night and She's up to 15mg of Zolpidem, and 4 Benadryl liquid gels at once and still not sleeping. Up to 400mg Trazidone last time they did this and she went 52 days without sleep, along with a broken arm down stairs and a black and blue eye passing out for a couple seconds up stairs into a brick wall. It's not impossible to go that long without sleep when you have a brain injury. Scary looking into what might happen to her without the medication that's been working for her. She'll just go back to getting prescribed Trazidone, Seroquel, Quetiapine, Lunesta, Ambian, Temazepam etc. Every night added with the 15mg of Zolpidem until she crashes downstairs because her doctor doesn't know what to do to help if Medicaid can't help a partially blind handicapped 28 year old women. Only can go so far, right? She can't even hold a job because of degenerative disk disease and 5 herniated discs in her back. What can anyone do for help? It stops after 10 years when you get worse?
Has she ever had a test called a "sleep study"?
(You sleep overnight in a facility that monitors your cycles of sleep (or no sleep). This may shed more light on exactly what causes her inability to sleep.
2. If you have tried all the suggestions above to get the name brand meds but can't, have you contacted the manufacturer?
Often times they have special plans or offers for medically needy patients who don't do well on genetics or just can't afford the copay. You'll find the name of the manufacturing company on the name brand medication bottle. Google an address and phone number, ask for assistance.
Good luck.
Here is the Michigan government portal with links for services
michigan.gov/mdhhs/0,5885,7-339-71547_4860-225474--,00.html
The doctor writing "needs the name brand" is for the pharmacy. If there is a generic brand then Pharmacies will default to that as Prescription plans require that. Just because a doctor writes it on a script doesn't mean a Prescription plan is to except it. You can go ahead and have it filled but you will pay full price.
So, when a med is turned down have the doctor prescribing it call the provider and explain she needs it.
Most insurance doesn't pay for Name Brand medications when there is a generic available. And if there is no generic available, there is usually a HUGE co-pay. From the medications that she's taking or has taken, she should be working with a Psychiatrist.
I believe that there is a specific protocol when a doctor wants to prescribe a branded drug to a patient on Medicaid; I believe that the nonbranded generic must be trialed and then the doctor has to write a justification for why the generic didn't work.
I would work with her doctor on filing an appeal for the XR version.