Good morning all!
Have yet annnoooooooooother question :D
I am on Wellbutrin (antidepressant) and Dostinex (a drug I take to treat a pituitary tumor). Am I going to be able to stay on these? The Dostinex is to treat a chronic illness and if I don't take it for a prolonged length of time, the tumor will grow. So I don't see how they can legally NOT let me have it, that would be cruel & unusual punishment..right?
The Wellbutrin.....I have an appointment tomorrow with my psychiatrist.....(had to start seeing him after a suicide attempt last October...over all of this) and IF I can stay on the Wellbutrin in prison, I want him to go ahead and UP my dosage...I'm already taking the most allowed on the Wellbutrin, but he's told me before that he can combine it with other drugs...like Zoloft...to increase the strength...which I think I'm going to be needing once I get in there.
One more question...who pays? Does my family have to pay for my drugs outright? Does the state pay? I don't have insurance now and my Dostinex is almost $300 a month.
Please let me know if you have any information.

Good morning tx. I really don't have any answers, but I do know that the state will have to foot the bill. Unfortunately, or maybe it is fortunately, families are not allowed to buy drugs for the prisoners. I know many families who would happily pay for the drugs their loved ones need it they could just get them. Hang in there someone with more knowledge than me will be along shortly.

Thank you flygirl

I got seated late,... so I don't know what route you are taking to a prison...

County jail (usually the first stop on the tour) is notorious nationally for not giving a rodent's behind about medications. Point of it is cost, and if you're not going to be their problem for long,.. or long enough for NOT having your meds to become a medical crisis they'd have to contend with.. You stand every chance of not seeing your meds, or any dosage you'd like of them from a County Jail medical department.
(I've seen diabetics with oral meds (not insulin dependent) being told to 'buy a few more Moonpies from Canteen' if you start to feel bad.)
Anti-depressants aren't usually handed out in county unless it is something that will keep you from being THEIR problem. Anxiety attacks, depression, bipolar disorder aren't medical conditions acute enough to toss meds at someone unless your particular symptoms make you a bull in a chinashop. If they need a tranquilizer to keep you from attacking staff, they'll get up off of it.

If for some odd reason you are just going straight to prison, they will assess your medical needs as part of the indoctrination/assessment process. You'll be asked what you've taken, you'll be asked what you were taking in the jail (and you might have a nifty story to tell them about THAT).. and for the medical need (tumor inhibitor) you'll have that validated by exam and referencing any medical records they can locate. As for the psychotropics, antidepressants and the like,-- you'll be evaluated by a prison psych service person and they will determine what the PRISON will proscribe for you.

Does that help?

Hi TX ...

I don't have an answer either but with all I have heard concerning medical care or lack thereof behind the walls ..I would suggest you get as much documentation as possible concerning your health issues especially the drug of choice and dosage. I do know they don't let you take anything in with you so have someone send all this to you once you are in.

Hope this helps some ...

Thanks guys, you have been a great help! I will do all that you have recommended. I WANT to be on the antidepressants, because, obviously, I have a severe case of major depression. And the pills have made a tremendous difference! But on the other hand, I don't know that I want a psychologist or psychiatrist in the prison analyzing me and finding out about the "attempt" (because I was in the hospital ICU for 4 days then sent as an emergency 24hr watch to the state hospital!...not fun!) and I'm afraid if they find all of this out they might put me on suicide watch or in the mental unit.......???? and that could reduce my chances of parole..correct?? God, I don't know. I'm sorry to be getting so personal with my life, but it seems the only way to find out any information is to be brutally honest about yourself. Hope I don't make anyone uncomfortable.

Your skeletons aren't the boniest these people have ever seen or contended with.. Fear not.
The Prison people will evaluate you based on all the known/documented history and their own evaluation tools. They will want you in your skin. They will want you not to be a problem to staff, other inmates or yourself.
On the planet I came from...
if a person in 'blues'...(newbie) had gone through all of the other indoctrination but hadn't been cleared by medical- with respect to having the specialist necessary to approve or issue a certain prescription -they'd just stay in blues until it happened. (days to a week). Once your doses are cleared, you're general population bound.
If the powers that be had in mind to put you on a new med or some dosage less or more than you'd have had before (for whatever reason) when you'd get out of blues (and joined general population) you might only have some administrative 'hold' put on you for a 90 day evaluation period.--seeing how you were doing..
For example. Intake w/ meds might have the earmarks of someone bound for housing in a Minimum custody unit. That person would get out of blues and the move would be to Min. Housing directly,--unless there was some change/addition/subtraction of meds that would keep you in a unit --not newbie--but not Min either--until you were on the stuff 90 days and re-evaluated by the doser-faerie.

If you're bound for some other housing unit (freestanding) or out of earshot of the medical department--may not be minimum --like I said I don't know what route you're taking or how long you're staying...but-- They only have so many beds in a medical unit, fewer in a psyche/lockdown unit, and they aren't going to give you one there unless you foam at the mouth.
They do have an interest (in prison) in managing your conditions. They will evaluate you, treat you, and make sure you are not a threat to yourself, your neighbor, or them.
The one thing you can count on though is GENERIC medication

Life~
You are too funny...(foam at the mouth) lol.
Yeah, I forgot to tell you this part, it's for a felony DWI-3rd..2 years. I'm hoping I'll get a G1...think that's possible? Anyhoo, I'm not sure I followed EVERYTHING you said but I think I got the jist of it all. I just want to get parole! Don't we all! And the Dostinex does come generic, that's what I'm used to taking, so that's fine. So do you think I should still have my psych UP my dosage when I go tomorrow...I plan on telling him about all of this (prison) ...should I have him write some sort of letter or something..for the antidepressants?