I promised terrie, but...I got it!

[HennyPennies2007]

Sorry Grit...I'm praying for ya...

Hang in there...

 

[Sissy]

Sorry to hear this . Those that need meds
have to put up the cost or do with out.and do with out something else
Dh became ill a month ago and 7 pills cost 65.00 copay.
He goes for biopsy tomorrow.
Our life has change in just this one month.
we have been blessed we always had good health.
My thoughts are with you with hope this gets resolved.

 

[faykokoWV]

definately contact the drug company yourself. If the doctor is the one that told you they won't help because you have insurnace, the doctor may be wrong about that. There were a lot of changes to how samples are given out under new laws that have gone into effect this year. The goverment considers it a bribe to the doctor if the reps give them samples. Also, a lot of areas have a low cost medication source, our local one is called health rite. They collect medications that people donate(someone dies, or someone can't take a certain medicine) and redistribute them to people in need. Another option, talk to the pharmacist. Ask them what medications are available that work in a similar fasion to the one that worked for you.

Finally, have you spoken with your insurance company yourself? I know many doctors are not very good at finding out what it takes to get something authorized. You may just have to try neurotin, the dr documents that the treatment failed and then you get to use the more expensive medication.

I would not rely on the doctor to do any of this.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
The neurontin isn't helping, not that I expected it to. I was up until 4 AM this morning in really bad discomfort. I finally took a sleeping pill, something I don't like to do.
DH wants me to stop taking the neurontin since it's adding to the problems, not helping. I want to give it a fair trial of two weeks or so, so at least I can honestly say it's not helping.
I checked out the drug manufacturers website over the weekend. They have lots of help available, but only for certain drugs. I wrote down their 800 # and plan to call them today.
I'll keep you updated. Thanks y'all.

 

[EweSheep]

For two years I was on Toprol XL and it worked great on me while the other generics did not work for me at all or too many side effects. Then whammo, Medicare and Medicaid will NOT pay for it because it considered "unnecessary" drug for me and many times the doctor and I appealed and appealled again and still a "NO" from them. They said I can go generic and they have the SAME make up components as Toprol. My doctor is smart and he told them in many cases they are NOT the same, it can be one ingedient less or a different ingredient that the brand name has that worked so well for me.

After a year and half fighting them, my doctor said to heck with it and gave me something generic that worked pretty good except muscle cramps so bad (not sure if it is the ctahloestrol meds or not) that I had to eat bananas often. It could be due to my fibro too (which it is still undiagnosed). I got an eye twist that bugs me for the last few days along with muscle cramps. Not sure whats going on with that. Other than that, painfully walking, I can do other things that does not bother me.

Gritsar, hope you will fight as long as you can if you know the meds works for you. Its the pits when the insurance and drug companies can take control over you and your well being.

 

[Reinbeau]

They put me on neurontin (gabapentin, the generic, actually) for help with the nerve pain I was suffering from Lyme. I don't know if it worked or not (my ear/jaw pain lessened because of recovery, I suspect), but when I read the side effects I got off it as soon as I could - you have to titrate yourself down from it, don't just stop!! I was on 100 mg every eight hours, which is really 1/3 the clinical dose for the real uses of the drug, so it didn't have the psycho-active effects on me it could have. I dropped one pill for a week, then another pill for a week, until quitting it. Be careful with that stuff!

 

[Rosalind]

Have you tried this:
Prescription Assistance programs

It's a collection of prescription drug assistance programs--some states have their own separate prescription assistance for certain things, some drug companies have a whole array of scrip assistance rather than just one program.

Also, *cough cough* I did not say this *cough cough* but no pharmaceutical company is actually going to check your tax records to see if you make too much money to qualify for some program.

Seriously, they spend their money paying executive bonuses. Not on auditors, especially not on auditors to find whether or not they paid an unnecessary $200 worth of medication to Joe Schmoe in Kalamazoo. Put a reasonable number that qualifies you for the program and consider it a job well done.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Yep, don't qualify for the program because I do have prescription insurance.
I didn't get a chance to call drug co. today because of other things happening around here.

 

[bumpershoot]

Hon, I just ran across this and let me just say that you have bunches of very delicate hugs and lots of prayers coming from this direction. I have a friend who has fibro and it's brutal. I believe she takes mangostein for the condition as the drugs incapacitate her. Every body is different, though. If the one drug that will help you is denied then get your doc to document it and nag nag nag the insurance and pharmaceutical folks. Everyone deserves to be able to sleep at night and function during the day. You deserve it.

 

[PatS]

Don't give up -- contact the insurance again. If you saw the movie SickO, many insurance companies say "no," because people give up so easily. Appeal again and again. If you are like a (polite) broken record, they may change their stance.

If you doctor says you NEED the medicine, get it in writing. If you can get a lawyer to back you, all the better.

If after weeks and weeks, this fails, pay for it anyway. If it works, your well-being is worth it. Even if it costs $10 a day. I'd pay $10 a day out of our VERY small income if it meant being able to function.