Prozac

[pca_85]

Ok, I'll start by saying I am not asking for medical or legal advice. I was on an antidepressant at 15, felt great on it.....my mom made me stop taking it, havent felt that great since. I've played with the idea of taking it again, but here are my concerns: will I have to disclose the prescription to potential employers? Will it turn them off to hiring me(obviously, these meds are prescribed for a reason). are nurses who disclose prescriptions for psych meds treated differently at work? What has been your experience? My nursing school doesn't require a drug test, only thing is they'll test you if they suspect something...so that buys me some time....Im at a loss for what to do I'd love to feel happy again, but not if it will make finding work difficult. Advice please!!!

[Lacie, BSN, RN]

Dont disclose!!! It's not something they standardly test on a drug screen to see if you are on anti-depressants. Also unless something turns up "positive" and is questioned there is no need to disclose any information Many people are are anti-depressants for various other reasons also such as menopause, chronic pain, etc. Keep it to a "need to know" basis and you should be fine. I never disclose any of my medical information unless it comes up and I have no choice but to do so (which it never does).

[pca_85]

That's so good to know :)

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

It would not be disclosed in an interview or on an application. It however might need to be disclosed during a physical or before a drug screen. As long as it is legally prescribed, generally there is no problem.

I take prozac and have for quite a while. I disclose during the hospital physical (you list your meds) or when you have to list your meds for a drug screen. No one has ever asked me for my script....and as a traveler, I took plenty of drug screens and passed them all. I also had one done when I had been given dilaudid for a surgical procedure - I went with a legal script, but the urine showed negative. And I had one done when I had taken prescribed cough medicine w/codeine - I showed positive but gave them a copy of the legal script.

The people who interview you do not have access to that, and presumably if you get to the point of a physical/drug screen, you have already been offered a job. And per HIPAA, your manager does not theoretically have access to employee health records though in some places people talk. Having said that, I do not discuss those issues with my manager or coworkers, at least not initially. At one job I was open with my manager and that did get inproperly thrown in my face later, but that manager took gossip as gospel and threw a lot of things improperly in various coworkers faces. This, though, had more to do with a toxic work environment, and you really do not want to work in one of those.

Otherwise, the few people that have known have been fine w/it and they do not treat me differently.

These days, many of your coworkers will be on meds : antidepressants, antimania, sleep, hormones, etc. Chances are on any floor there will be several staffers on prozac.

[Jules A, MSN]

I'm a bit cautious about having psych meds on my record so I pay the psychiatrist in cash and purchase my antidepressant with cash also.

[pca_85]

I'm a bit cautious about having psych meds on my record so I pay the psychiatrist in cash and purchase my antidepressant with cash also.

Me too!I just got a prescription yesterday and can feel the difference even after two pills lol. I'm so glad I finally did it, thanks for all the advice.

[dnnc52]

Has there been any studies on the health of the healthcare worker? Years of lifting, the mental stress, emotinal drain?, divorce rate, nurses going postal? yeah my hospital system offers the staff a form of "private services " for personal problems, but call me paranoid i would never let them have a paper trail of any of my problems. Now I am worried that I use my insurance and Rx card for my Lexapro. Wonder just how much HIPPA works on our side?

[elkpark]

Shoot, half the nurses I've known over the years have been on some kind of psych med. If that was some kind of problem or barrier within healthcare, we really would have a nursing shortage! That said, I wouldn't go out of my way to disclose that to employers or coworkers ...

[iwanna]

Anti-Depressants are not just for depression. They can be for chronic pain, too. But, it does not matter. If you have a chemical imbalance and need any psych meds, there should be no worrying about it. Many nurses take anti-depressants or mood stabilizers. I don't think there is a need to cover it up by not letting insurance cover it, as these meds can get expensive. I wouldn't advertise it to everyone, but I would definitely use insurance to cover it, if available.