Planned Parenthood &BC perscriptions?

[villagetheatre.livejournal.com]

So, my doctor gives me a really hard time when I have to get a BC refill and it's really frustrating. They always say I have to come in for a check-up to get another refill. And I don't live near my gyno to make things worse! Anyways, so I was wondering what the procedure was to get a prescription for Ortho-Lo at Planned Parenthood? Of if you even CAN. Thanks!

Comments

[indigodye.livejournal.com]

How often do you get a refill? You should have one pap a year.

[villagetheatre.livejournal.com]

I need a re-fill every month.

[indigodye.livejournal.com]

Wow, he makes you come in once a month? Something is definitely fishy there. Im glad you're looking for other options.

[marionravenwood.livejournal.com]

You should have one pap a year.

Probably not, unless she's higher than normal risk or has had an abnormal pap recently. According to the American Cancer Society, if you're getting liquid-based pap tests, you only need one every two years if you're under 30 and every three years if you're over 30.

Anyway (and I know I sound like a broken record about this) pap tests are not a clinical requirement for HBC prescriptions, and it's completely manipulative and unethical for doctors to use HBC scripts as a way to coerce women into getting pap tests.

[indigodye.livejournal.com]

But that is just for cancer.. it never hurts to get checked out if you are sexually active.

[marionravenwood.livejournal.com]

That's debatable, but my point is that pap tests, STI screens, and pelvic exams don't have anything to do with whether it's safe for someone to use birth control. It's manipulative and unethical for a doctor to hold a birth control prescription in front of someone as a "reward" for getting a (completely unrelated) test. It "never hurts" to get your cholesterol checked either, but you don't see doctors refusing to refill HBC scripts until a patient gets a cholesterol reading.

And obviously it is hurting the OP since it's making it hard for her to get the contraception she needs. Statistically, the way most people mess up on HBC is by not starting a new pack on time, so her doctor is putting her at a higher risk of pregnancy.

[indigodye.livejournal.com]

Uh.. I know. I agreed with the OP.

[hellospaceship.livejournal.com]

I'm on the same pills and I get them from PP.

I just went in and told them OTC-LO was what I had been taking and wanted to switch to getting it there (PP) instead of through my doctor. They were super nice and had me to do some paperwork to see if I qualified to get it at a discount on my pills since I don't make much. I ended up getting a year of pills and my yearly checkup for free. They give them to me 3 months at a time so I don't have to make a trip there every month.

I would suggest asking if they have a sliding scale for payments. Any money saved is good.

Oh and just a heads up. The OTC-LO is in different packages for clinics such as PP. Don't freak out if it looks weird. It's the same stuff. : )

[hellospaceship.livejournal.com]

I forgot to add:

I know from going that PP wants you to have a vaginal exam once a year. Maybe even requires it, I'm not sure I've never had a problem about doing it. After that your good until the next year. I've never had to do anything when I just go in and pick up pills. Actually I usually have my boyfriend or my mom get my pills for me.

Have you had a pap this year? If so you can probably take in the paperwork so that you don't have to have another one, thats what I did.

I didn't mean to make it sound like they just hand out pills to anyone who walks in.

[malantha.livejournal.com]

I seem to remember PP requiring me to come in either 3 or 6 months after the *first* exam, to check that I was okay with the BC I was given, and then just yearly after that. But I don't know if that'd still apply if you've been on that BC for a while already.

[quietlymanic.livejournal.com]

What do you mean by check up? I have to get my blood pressure & weight checked when I get refills from Planned Parenthood, but not a physical exam every time I go in. You should call your local PP and see what their policy is.

[quietlymanic.livejournal.com]

To clarify, my PP only gives out 4 months of NuvaRing at a time because there have been issues with patients not storing them correctly. When I say I go in for refills, I mean when I go in for my next set of rings. I don't know what my PP's policy for pills is (IIRC, it's the same), but yours might be different. I do have to have a physical once yearly to continue getting my BC.

[crazyzoo8886.livejournal.com]

There is nothing wrong with getting a check up, you're supposed to get a pap every year anyway. I always have to go in for a pap before I get my BC. I actually sort of like it that way. As long as I am on my BC, I am sure that I will have yearly paps.

[villagetheatre.livejournal.com]

My insurance won't pay for check-ups more than once every 6 months (that's how often I get paps because once something came back unusual). THATS why I can't have a check-up every time I need new pills (aka a new pack every month).

[crazyzoo8886.livejournal.com]

They should give you refills on your pack. Like when I went a couple of weeks ago, my Doc gave me one year of refills.

[kaz-lynx.livejournal.com]

"My" doctor (or whatever doctor is free during Open Clinic Days) usually writes me a prescription for 6 or 9 months, and then I just get refills at the pharmacy until I run out and have to go in again. Ask if they can write you out prescriptions for 6 months at a time, and explain your insurance RE: check ups situation?

[villagetheatre.livejournal.com]

Whenever I call to get another re-fill, they transfer me and have me make another appointment, and I have to get paps every 6 months, so my insurance won't pay for my appointment until it's after that time frame, so my next appointment is the end of September... but I'll be done with this pack long before then! I'll try asking them if they can write me a 6 month prescription.

I have absolutely NO idea why they make this so f**king difficult!

[atalanta0jess.livejournal.com]

They should DEFINITELY be writing you a prescription for many months (like, 12) at a time so that you can just call the pharmacy and get a refill. Its totally ridiculous to be calling the doctor every month, nevermind going in for a check up!!! I'd switch doctors or else just be really forceful about getting a longer prescription. Because...no one does that! EVERYONE writes multiple month long prescriptions for birth control, unless there is some kind of special issue.

[marionravenwood.livejournal.com]

If you're happy with the HBC you're on, the doctor should be writing a prescription for at least a year.

It's somewhat understandable for your first prescription to only be for 3 months, in case that particular pill doesn't work for you. Sometimes they want to check your blood pressure before writing a scrip for a whole year, which makes sense because HBC raises blood pressure for some people. If you have some condition (like high blood pressure) that needs to be monitored more if you're on the pill, then maybe. Other than that, there's simply no excuse for them to not give you a year's Rx.