08/24/2020

A Postal Slowdown Is Scary for Those Who Get Meds By Mail

Many rely on the mail for online meds - particularly during COVID-19

About four or five times a week, Emerald—a pseudonym to protect her identity—feels a stabbing pain behind her eyes or at the back of her head. Lights get brighter. Sounds are louder, sometimes so loud that they’ll cause her physical pain or make her start vomiting. Emerald suffers from complex migraine syndrome, and at the first sign of an impending attack, she pulls out dihydroergotamine mesylate, a nasal spray that can keep the pain from escalating.

Without the drug, she will start to experience symptoms that make it seem like she’s having a stroke. If things get that bad, she’ll rush to the emergency room. She can spend weeks in the hospital getting intravenous drugs to manage the pain and monitor her brain. In addition to getting migraines, Emerald also has an aneurysm, a small bubble of blood in one of her brain’s blood vessels. If a migraine increases her blood pressure too much, the aneurysm could rupture and be life threatening.

Emerald is an Army veteran and gets her medications through the Department of Veterans Affairs. “You have to receive all your medications through the VA, and it’s a hassle to even request to pick up your refills at the VA,” she said. “You have to call in a prescription and get it mailed.” And recently, her crucial medication hasn’t been showing up on time. Since June, she says, she’s been waiting anywhere from 14 to 28 days for deliveries. “In the past, the longest I ever waited was seven days,” she said. “Now, as soon as I can, we’re calling to try to fill the prescription.”

Please select this link to read the complete article from WIRED.