[JohnW26]

Hi,
My PDOC put me on Delplin today and I was amazed my insurance company said it was a "vitamin" and it is not covered. $56 for 30 pills. I also take Cymbalta and Xanax and Lyrica.
I told him today my depression was worsening and he said this would help.
Has anyone been successful in getting their insurance companies to pay?

[Slothrop]

Technically, yeah, it is a "nutrient," and your insurance might not pay up.

Deplin didn't do anything for me, so I stopped when my samples (3 weeks) were used up...never tried to get insurance to pay for a prescription.

Give Deplin a shot, though...I know it is different for everyone. Just don't wait too long if you see no improvement. Worsening depression is bad news, as I keep discovering.

[JohnW26]

Yes, thank you. I am maxed out on Cymbalta 120MG at day for depression and fibro. PDOC said this would be a "booster", I did not ask about the exact kind of medicine it was. I also take Xanax but depression is getting worse and I have increased my talk therapy sessions. After a little reading I see there are "boosters" for most depression meds like Abilifly, but it does not say to use with Cymbalta. And, yes again you are corrrect worsening depression is really bad. I have had it for several years and did Paxil, Effexor but Cymbalta seems best until a month or so ago. It has only been about a week on deplin now as a booster, but I really do not feel any better yet.

[Slothrop]

Yeah, Abilify has been a tremendous help with my depression. I found that out when my psychiatrist agreed that I could try going off it. Bad news!! Abilify is really helping, it turns out. I got back on it fast!

(I'm bipolar II, which may have some impact on how much Abilify affects me, but I understand it is very helpful with unipolar depression too.)

I did take Abilify with Cymbalta for a long time, and they seemed to get along fine. (Cymbalta happens to make me drowsy and lethargic, so I have since switched from that to nortriptyline.)

[JohnW26]

Hmmm, I wonder why Cymbalta is not listed on the TV commercials as that it helps boost Cymbalta, but does list about everything else?

[sunrise]

Last time I saw my PNP, she mentioned "cognitive enhancers" to me. She named two: one was Deplin and one was another drug I have forgotten. She said she thought Deplin was available without a prescription now. I was curious, as I think my mother might benefit from a cognitive enhancer, so I asked at my pharmacy. The pharmacist said Deplin is available only by prescription. She also offered that you can buy folic acid as a supplement/vitamin (what pregnant women take to prevent spinal cord defects in their babies). But folic acid is not the same as Deplin, which has a methyl group. So, Deplin cannot be bought as a vitamin. It is prescription only, at least in my state. If it is prescription, then I would assume insurance would cover it.

My PNP said she thought many elderly people could benefit from taking a cognitive enhancer. My mother is in her eighties and in the last half year or so has shown quite a bit of coginitive decline. I wonder if Deplin would help at all? I have not heard of it being used for depression.

[Slothrop]

Supposedly (according to the product literature), a dose of Deplin provides many times the usable folate that a dose of folic acid provides. They say this is because the body must slowly break down folic acid into folate, whereas Deplin is in a form your body can use right away.

I'm paraphrasing, but that was the gist of it.

I agree, you'd think it would be covered by insurance...the ins. companies have an excuse for everything it seems...

[sunrise]

I just checked my drug plan's formulary, and sure enough, Deplin is not covered by my plan.

My PNP told me she thought most elderly people (my mom is 84) could really benefit from a cognitive enhancer. But most elderly on medicare and my mom could not get Deplin unless her coverage paid. So that is out. It just seems contradictory. If Deplin can help most elderly, why not make it available to that population? Maybe its benefit is not so clearcut. Perhaps it is still experimental?

[JohnW26]

Thank all of you for your replies. I see my PDOC next week. Deplin has not helped me at all and it is available only by prescription and costs about $60 and is not covered by insurance because they call it a vitamin!

[VickiesPath]

I actually take a "cognitive enhancer" called Provigil, which is actually a drug used to treat narcolepsy. It wakes me up. Not really like speed or anything (I took amphetamines back in the 1960's). I am bipolar and both my mood stabilizer and my antidepressant can leave me kind of "dull" in the head and the Provigil helps. The other enhancer I'm on is called Cytomel, which it straight T3. I am also hypothyroid and the Cytomel simply boosts the metabolism of the other meds. In AZ, we have free public assistance for mental illness and neither of those drugs are on the formulary so I have to pay for them myself. Fortunately, for the time being, I have insurance through my husband's work. But not sure if I'm going to get to continue them when he retires cuz I'll be on Medicare Part D only.

[thinker22]

I got 30 pills for just over $30 at my local Rite Aid around February. But still, too expensive and it didn't do a flippin' thing. I'd pass on it, but it's always up to you. You can tell your doc you want something proven to work on tough cases. If it helps you, by all means ignore my advice.

TC,

thinker

[thinker22]

I got 30 pills for just over $30 at my local Rite Aid around February. But still, too expensive and it didn't do a flippin' thing. I'd pass on it, but it's always up to you. You can tell your doc you want something proven to work on tough cases. If it helps you, by all means ignore my advice.

TC,

thinker