$14.25

[prism]

good fucking god. so I go to the surgeon the other day for my pre-op appointment(I finally got to see her after waitng for three hours, but that's not what has me pissed) anyway since I have this puking problem and painkillers make me puke and they really don't want me puking after this surgery cause well it is an adominal surgery and that's one really great way to fuck up the catheder. so the Dr. tells me okay I'll right you a script for an anti-nausea med and you can take that a half an hour before the painkiller and you'll probably be okay. so groovy right? this surgery won't be so bad if can get some painkillers in my system afterwards....so the surgery is schduled for Wed. so yesterday I go ahead and drop off these two scripts with my pharmacist so that I have them in the house before I even leave for the surgery center on Wed. morning...cool..... *hitthebrakesbitch* the pharmacist informs me that my insurance (ie the state) will not cover this anti-nausea medication because a bottle of 20 tablets cost $285. that comes out to $14.25 PER MOTHERFUCKING PILL. now, now they take Visa and Master Card....well whoopie de do I don't have a credit card and I don't have $285. so do I not pay my rent? or do I cancel the surgery? taking it from the food budget isn't an option cause my rent got increased this month and that already wiped out the food budget.:puzzled:

I want to kick someone...hard....in the nuts

oh and if that's not enough fun that damn hurricane frances is headed right for where my parents are buried in Flagler Beach. so now I'm having nightmares about floating coffins

[Johnny Carwash]

maybe he's got some free samples he can give you, and if he doesn't have enough, he can write a prescription for the rest... that'll lower the cost a bit..
i could help you pay for some of it

[prism]

maybe he's got some free samples he can give you, and if he doesn't have enough, he can write a prescription for the rest... that'll lower the cost a bit..
i could help you pay for some of it
awww thanks Johnny yer sweet to offer but hopefully I might just fineagle(sp?) a way to do this without asking for $. it helps that my pharmacy is at the end of the block that I live on so I walked over there a few minutes ago and talked to one of the "actual pharacist" that knows me and not just one of the many peeps that work behind the counter over there. anyway he told me that the first thing tuesday morning he would get my dr. to fax a them a letter telling these turkeys that it's imparative that I have this medication and all the other cheapo ones(that they will cover) we already know don't work on me. that and this ain't some cosmetic procedure. cause the pharmacist told me that they will cover this med for chemotherpy patients. then he said if that doesn't work and they still say no on the day of the surgery I can ask my Dr. if she'll write the script for just 10 of them if I think I can get through on that many and then I can set up payments on the $142

holy shit....pharmacies are to the point where they're doing up payment plans....and people that are in pain have no choice but to pony up :hurt:

[yer ardy]

first off, sorry to hear about the dilemma, nancy....it sucks hugely.

secondly, your doctor *should* have a sample or two of this med. they get free samples of ALL kinds of drugs all the time from the drug reps....the drug reps live for that shit, stopping by doctor's offices and dropping off samples, pens, notepads and free lunches. so definitely inquire with the doctor, or one of his nurses, about obtaining a couple three or four pills to get you thru the initial surgery woes....

thirdly, definitely have the doc write/fax to the insurance peeps about the dire need for you to have this med....and don't stop bugging them til this gets done. YOU have a NEED for this to happen... get on the phone with the surgery scheduler to help keep the ball in the air about this...the ball gets dropped all the time, don't let that happen.

[panthergirl]

well that just sucks.


let us know what happens...because maybe we can help ya, priz...

good luck!

[share]

not that i'm doctor share here or anything but i would head back to the doctor

i've never heard of anti-nausea pills that cost that much

did he suggest something like gravol - or a non prescription drug?

i wouldn't pay that - i know there's a cheaper solution out there

sometimes my doctor prescribes the most expensive new-fangled drug out there becasue he assumes that it will be covered - i've had him either change the prescription or went the sample route (he had over three weeks worth of free ones for me)


sorry about your dilema - as if you're not worrying enough!

good luck

[Highway23]

that's really shitty hun...I hope you get it worked out...


Because you have a script written from your doctor, you are allowed to ask for only a certain amount of pills. (at least in NY and NC you can)....you should be able to ask for only a few, and they keep the rest on file. Just because a scipt is written for 30 doesn't mean that you have to get all 30.

I'm not suprised about the cost though. Working in the pharmacy I got to see alot of people pay a shitload of money for meds...ones that they couldn't do without.

If your doctor doesn't have any samples...and he may not, tlak to your pharmacist again, and see if you could only get a few. If he says no, I would go to another pharmacy and see if they could transfer your script and see if they could fill it.

Good luck...:(

Hugs from boulie!

[prism]

not that i'm doctor share here or anything but i would head back to the doctor

i've never heard of anti-nausea pills that cost that much

did he suggest something like gravol - or a non prescription drug?

i wouldn't pay that - i know there's a cheaper solution out there

sometimes my doctor prescribes the most expensive new-fangled drug out there becasue he assumes that it will be covered - i've had him either change the prescription or went the sample route (he had over three weeks worth of free ones for me)


sorry about your dilema - as if you're not worrying enough!

good luck
okay I looked up what gravol and is and it's the Canadian equivant of Dramamine so no that ain't gonna work. when I had surgery 2 years ago they were up giving me this stuff called phenegren that was suppost to help my nausea but even with that stuff when they discharged me from the hospital after 5 days I was still vomiting. so the day after I got home from the hospital I was to the point where I couldn't even keep liquids down so I had to go to the ER and they had to bring out the big guns this "zofran" stuff and give it to me by IV(now the state paid for that, go figure) so we pretty much know that "zofran" is the only thing that I haven't built up a tolerance to it yet like I have with all the other anti-nausea meds. so no it's not like I can just use something cheaper because they don't work on me anymore but this stuff does.

now why this zofran has to cost $14.25 per pill is what I'd love to know. is it because it's the last resort for those that get pukey from chemo? is it because it's so very easy to take advantage of those that are sick and in pain??? this the kind of "compasionate conseratives" that can kiss my fucking ass! :devious:

[rockrighter]

okay I looked up what gravol and is and it's the Canadian equivant of Dramamine so no that ain't gonna work. when I had surgery 2 years ago they were up giving me this stuff called phenegren that was suppost to help my nausea but even with that stuff when they discharged me from the hospital after 5 days I was still vomiting. so the day after I got home from the hospital I was to the point where I couldn't even keep liquids down so I had to go to the ER and they had to bring out the big guns this "zofran" stuff and give it to me by IV(now the state paid for that, go figure) so we pretty much know that "zofran" is the only thing that I haven't built up a tolerance to it yet like I have with all the other anti-nausea meds. so no it's not like I can just use something cheaper because they don't work on me anymore but this stuff does.

now why this zofran has to cost $14.25 per pill is what I'd love to know. is it because it's the last resort for those that get pukey from chemo? is it because it's so very easy to take advantage of those that are sick and in pain??? this the kind of "compasionate conseratives" that can kiss my fucking ass! :devious:
My sister-in-law's a pharmacy tech, so when she gets back from her Dad's wedding in Winnipeg, I'll ask her about that drug. I would imagine the Canadian cost for the drug is similar. I know there are drugs that are worth $300 (as she accidentally wrecked the whole thing, although it wouldn't have happened if the tech who started the compounding did her job correctly.)

This blows. I think they're cracking down on border-hoppers who come up to get their prescriptions filled here due to the lower costs. I wonder how much the drug I'm currently on would have costed me in a two-tier, privatized health care system as opposed to the $4.25 or so I paid for my (Novo)-Naproxin.

Speaking of Novo-, is the drug they're trying to sell you a brand name, or generic? Generics are the same thing from what I understand; maybe a Novo- or Apo- version of the drug can save you some money. I imagine that in private health care, they're going to give you a brand name as often as possible for their bottom line. (?)

Hmmm.

[prism]

from what I can gather on-line is that GlaxoSmithKline still holds the patent on this one so it looks like there's no generic version of it as of now and the thing is if they keep paying companies to keep the patent exclusively theirs then they can charge whatever the fuck they want to.....who are they going to answer to? as long as they keep on being encouraged to plunder the sick why should they give a shit? oh and another thing did you know that if an American pharacuetical company sets up their factory in Puerto Rico they don't have to pay any taxes....so all this gouging of sick people and it's tax free on their part...god bless their greedy $$$$oul$

[yer ardy]

when i go back to work tomorrow, i'll check our supply of zofran....
if it's big enough that i could perhaps take some, without anyone
noticing, i'll let you know....


we give it to the newly pregnant moms to
stave off the effects of morning sickness...
it works like a charm ;)

[Not_Trapped]

My sister-in-law's a pharmacy tech, so when she gets back from her Dad's wedding in Winnipeg, I'll ask her about that drug. I would imagine the Canadian cost for the drug is similar. I know there are drugs that are worth $300 (as she accidentally wrecked the whole thing, although it wouldn't have happened if the tech who started the compounding did her job correctly.)

This blows. I think they're cracking down on border-hoppers who come up to get their prescriptions filled here due to the lower costs. I wonder how much the drug I'm currently on would have costed me in a two-tier, privatized health care system as opposed to the $4.25 or so I paid for my (Novo)-Naproxin.

Speaking of Novo-, is the drug they're trying to sell you a brand name, or generic? Generics are the same thing from what I understand; maybe a Novo- or Apo- version of the drug can save you some money. I imagine that in private health care, they're going to give you a brand name as often as possible for their bottom line. (?)

Hmmm.
the patent holder has a ten year monopoly on the market -

prism, i hope you get this figured out - i talked to my brother when i read this this morning and they don't have samples of that in the ER, sorry.

good luck -

dominic

[MonkeyBrains]

That totally sucks.. I hope you can work something out Pris, best of luck & I hope the surgery goes well..

[rockrighter]

the patent holder has a ten year monopoly on the market -

prism, i hope you get this figured out - i talked to my brother when i read this this morning and they don't have samples of that in the ER, sorry.

good luck -

dominic Only 10? I thought they had longer than that. (Could just be different up here?) Thanks for the info.

Ummm ... fly to Michigan, go to Ardy's work and say you're pregnant. Yeah. Cheap flight on low-cost airline is probably the same cost.:P

Hope you can get them to fall in line with common sense and human decency.

[prism]

I just got off the phone with the pharmacy and one of the ladies there had to spend over and hour on the phone this morning begging and pleading with whomever it is for the state that decides these things and they finally agreed to pay for the medication....wheeew :bigsm: