[Moreta]

So my insurance changes next year and on the med front I'm totally ****ed. First of all they don't cover my opiate patches. My back dr said he was going to appeal the denial, but that could take a month and he won't prescribe me pills cause of the whole addiction thing. Oh man opiate withdrawals are so much fun. I actually had some this AM because I forgot to change my patch yesterday. The vice like headache is starting to finally go away.

Next there's the geodon. I take 3 80 mg pills at night and since the freaking FDA limit is 160 mg, insurance won't cover the whole prescription. My pdoc will have to appeal and threaten to sue, just so I can get the right dose of meds. Last year the appeal took a month to go through. I guess in the meantime I'm just going to go to costco and pay out of pocket if we have the money. i really do hope we have the money.

Then there's the saphris, equetro, and nuvigil. They're all tier 4 and there's no way in hell i can afford $160 a month for them. I have about 4 months stored up of saphris. The equetro I can get my pdoc to change to tegretol, which totally sucks because I have more side effects. The nuvigil I'll just have to go without, so I'll just be a lump and sleep most of the time.

Sounds like I'm going to have a great ****ing life next year.

[gayleggg]

I'm facing the same thing, just not as bad. I only have Saphris and Trintellix to worry about. But that's enough. I'm sorry for you not having your patches, I know that will be rough. I think my doctor will have to change my two to generics for me to be able to afford them. And I've taken all most all the generics and they don't work as well. Oh well, big pharma reign on.

[Ocean Swimmer]

Prices are all so different depending where you go. Shop around. My ins likes me to use express scripts by mail.

[Victoria'smom]

can your dr prescribe a different stimulant then nuvigil? What are your more cost effective options?

[Moreta]

Originally Posted by Miguel'smom

can your dr prescribe a different stimulant then nuvigil? What are your more cost effective options?

The only other thing he'll prescribe is provigil. He won't give me an actual stimulant because it could make me psychotic blah blah blah. You have no idea how many times I've asked for adderall the past 6 years haha.

At leas dollar tree and family dollar have knock off 5 hr energies for $1 or I could just spend a bit more money and get herbalife energy drink tabs. I did reup my membership.

[Shazerac]

Sorry you are facing this. My insurance has always sucked. I have to take generics and I can't afford any of the new meds like Latuda or saphris. Forcing you to go off your pain meds should be a criminal offense. That's just ridiculous.

[still_crazy]

I'm so sorry. The pain patch situation sounds utterly inhumane.

Provigil is $$$. Will your doctor not even try Ritalin? Its in Schedule II, but its milder and not as addictive as adderall and the other amphetamines. Back in the day, it was used in psychotic disorders and depression a good bit.

Do you think maybe the doc could get you on 1 antipsychotic at a higher dose? That'd cut costs for you. Or a different 2nd drug? I take Abilify every day, and when I'm extra crazed I take a low dose of generic risperidone. When I shopped around, I was able to get the risperidone for cheap(ish) at Wal-Mart, since the medical coverage will only pay for 1 antipsychotic.

Have you ever tried Wellbutrin? Its mildly stimulating. I take it for both depression and
to counter the sedation from my other prescribed medications. It works well on both ends, at least at a high dose.

Other than that, have you ever tried Trileptal? Its one of the things that I take. Its Tegretol-ish, but cleaned up and you don't need regular blood work. Its generic, 2x daily. I think there are also fewer drug-drug interactions.

Hope this helps. :-)

[Moose72]

Mildly stimulating: I was up all night for several nights on Wellbutrin. Even occasionally now after 2 months the same thing happens.

[bioChE]

I'm sorry that you're having problems obtaining your meds. Is there any chance your doctor would consider Vyvanse as a stimulant? There is no way to abuse it, but then again it's still brand and $$$.

[*Laurie*]

With regard to Geodon (and perhaps some other meds, too)...go to the website of the drug company that makes the medication. Almost every drug company will offer their meds free of charge, or low cost, if you qualify as lower income. I was able to get free Seroquel for the 2 years I was on it this way.

[Nammu]

Kim shocked. I moved to MN from TX and there's no Medicare advantage plans that cover hearing, dental or vision. So I'm on Medicare old plan with QMB help. Meaning I now have co pays and stuff that's not covered by any insurance. I need a new vision test and glasses but guess I'll postpone it as long as possible. I have a separatist RX plan though AARP...thankfully they cover my meds as they are now and that includes latuda.

[Moreta]

Originally Posted by still_crazy

I'm so sorry. The pain patch situation sounds utterly inhumane.

Provigil is $$$. Will your doctor not even try Ritalin? Its in Schedule II, but its milder and not as addictive as adderall and the other amphetamines. Back in the day, it was used in psychotic disorders and depression a good bit.

Do you think maybe the doc could get you on 1 antipsychotic at a higher dose? That'd cut costs for you. Or a different 2nd drug? I take Abilify every day, and when I'm extra crazed I take a low dose of generic risperidone. When I shopped around, I was able to get the risperidone for cheap(ish) at Wal-Mart, since the medical coverage will only pay for 1 antipsychotic.

Have you ever tried Wellbutrin? Its mildly stimulating. I take it for both depression and
to counter the sedation from my other prescribed medications. It works well on both ends, at least at a high dose.

Other than that, have you ever tried Trileptal? Its one of the things that I take. Its Tegretol-ish, but cleaned up and you don't need regular blood work. Its generic, 2x daily. I think there are also fewer drug-drug interactions.

Hope this helps. :-)

Ritalin is still a stimulant.

I try managing with one AP and I get manic.

Abilify makes me suicidal and risperdal makes me nonfunctioning. The only other one that remotely works besides the ones i'm on is haldol, but my pdoc doesn't want me on it.

The last time I tried wellbutrin i had a migraine for a month and ended up in IP. Not doing that again.

Trileptal doesn't do anything for me.

Trust me I've been wracking my brain about this med situation. I have been on prob 50 psych meds. Basically the only ones I haven't been on are the ones that came out in the last 2 years. It took 15 years to get the right combo and each med i'm on helps with something different.

[JustJace2u]

My insurance is changing next year and I'm frustrated as all get out. None of my doctors are apparently covered, so that means more out of pocket costs for me becaus I'll be damned if I'm gonna go through the hassle of finding new doctors. I have too many health issues aside from the BP to have to spend time trying to explain it all to a new set of doctors and specialists. I haven't even begun to think about the cost of meds.

[Moreta]

Huzzah I found a discount card for saphris but it would only cover my 5 mg ones. I alternate between 5's and 10's then when things get hairy i take 15 mg. It wouldn't cover my 10's because i get 60 of them. 30 pill limit. I found one for equetro too, but it was for this year, so I'm hoping they'll put out a new one for next year but it only covers $100 of the prescription for 3 times. Hopefully my husband will have a new job by then. Now I just need to worry about the geodon and opiates.

[Victoria'smom]

geodon

[Moreta]

The whole prob with geodon though is that insurance will flat out deny it and I won't even be able to get it filled. Once the appeal goes through it will cost $20 a month. There's prob a pill limit with this card too. It's usually not written on the card but it's there. Happened when I was taking Latuda.

[Wonderfalls]

When my insurance quit covering my Latuda this year it was the intermediary between me and the insurance company that fought and won for me. In my case it was the union and for most people it's the company they or their spouse works for. They are the ones who choose and purchase the insurance company. If you can get them on your side your insurance will definitely listen to them.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

And if you don't seem to qualify for the low-income free meds apply anyway and include a note about your financial circumstances and that you simply can't afford a very much needed med. I've been getting meds through patient assistance for several years when I technically don't qualify because I have Med D and sometimes too much income. No program has ever turned me down.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Also rxoutreach.com signicantly discounts a lot of generics; they saved me when I was uninsured. And www.goodrx.com helps you compare drug prices from all over and shows you any coupons that might help.

[scatterbrained04]

I can sympathize, but I've not had to deal with it as bad as you. I'd be so frustrated in your shoes. Last time my insurance switched, my son's main ADHD medication was no longer covered. They shouldn't be allowed to not pay for existing medications. These insurance companies piss me off...All my pharmacy copays just went up!

[~Christina]

Mo ,

I'm sorry your going through all this hell. Not fair !

I don't have any specific advice.

Big hugs !!!!! I'll do some research and see what I can find out.

[Wild Coyote]

I am sorry you are going through this.
Good to mention it here, as many are offering helpful ideas/approaches.

Having to withdraw from opiates because your doctor refuses to temporarily allow you oral meds should truly be criminal, as mentioned by another poster. Clearly, the doctor could give a month of oral tabs/caps and could discontinue them in the future (if s/he is worried about addiction).

I am in a similar situation with meds. Not enough insurance coverage for multiple meds and doing research on how to gain coverage. I need to try various biologics (autoimmune arthritis) in addition to not enough coverage on psych meds.

I have often decreased costs (or stayed within a pill limit of 30) by having a higher dose pill prescribed and using a pill cutter. This would be dependent upon whether any given tab can be safely cut and whether such a dosage is available.

For instance, /I use Latuda @ 60 mg/day. #30 tabs of 60 mg tabs costs the same as #30 tabs of 120mg. tabs. The 120 mg tabs last for 60 days when I cut them in half, which has been okayed by my pdoc and my pharmacist.

Good luck, truly.


WC