Help with Prescription cost?

Ed1937

I have been having problems keeping my glucose high enough to prevent symptoms. My doctor ran blood tests, and he is pretty sure I have a tumor(s) in my pancreas, or possibly in another location. An MRI is on schedule for Feb. 4 to see if they can find any. Tumors like this are not usually malignant, and he does not want to do surgery unless absolutely necessary because of my age (83). He wants to treat it with medication. But the medication is around $250.00 a month, with a coupon. He ordered diazoxide oral suspension. Our combined income is under $2900.00 per month, which is a little over the limit for help with state aid. Any ideas? This is not a pity party. I am just looking for help paying for the medication, and I have not had any luck.

dayn2nite2

Tell the doctor it is out of the question due to cost and put it back on them to find an alternative.  I'm sure they'll come up with something.

BethL

Some drug companies offer "coupons" for compassionate use for expensive medications. It would be worthwhile to contact the drug manufacturer.

Mint

Ed several people I worked with and myself used GoldRx instead of our insurance, was much cheaper.  Have not had to use it for awhile.  Did just look it up there and had to find it by using Proglycem.  Looked like it would be quite a bit cheaper than $250.  With GoldRx it may be different price at different stores in your area.  My dermatologist is great, they look up the drug on GoldRx and tell you where it is the cheapest. Had taken my iPad with me to do this myself.  They were ahead of the game.

Have also read that you should always ask what it would cost you out of pocket.  Guess sometimes it’s cheaper that way but pharmacy not permitted to volunteer the info but can tell you if you ask.  Have no experience with this.  

Hope something works out for you.

Marta

Ed:  if you Google Good Rx you'll find diazoxide much more cheaply.

Cynbar

Do have a Medicare Part D plan, and it either doesn't cover this medication or has a high co-pay? If so , call the company and see if they can switch you to another tier that would cover it for a small additional monthly premium. If not, be upfront with the doctor and tell him you can't afford it. The doctor may be able to come up with a generic or cheaper alternative.

Ed1937

Thank you for the replies. I had a GoodRX coupon that said the price should be $106.00, but when the information was entered, it came to around $250.00. And that was the cheapest I could find. However, my daughter found one for Costco, supposedly bringing the price down to $78.56. Costco is checking on it for me, and they will call me with the price when they get it. Hopefully it won't be too much more than that. I did contact the manufacturer through email, but still have not heard  back from them yet.

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Crushed

Question why the oral suspension?    Dan you tolerate tablets?  Proglycem (Diazoxide) is on the WHO list of essential drugs so it internationally produced

NinjaWife

I believe Costco and Sams Club have the best prices. You must have a Plus membership at Sams Club. The pharmacist at Walgreens advised us to go to Sams for the Aricept because it was free to members for a 30-day supply. They have a few other medications that are also free: Actos, Lexapro, Proscar, and Vitamin D2 50,000 IU.

The best price at Sam’s is $216.96, so Costco might be your best bet.

Did your doctor advise to to eat some protein and carbohydrate 5 or 6 times a day to keep your blood sugar level, especially if you have to wait a month for an MRI?

Another option is to contact the Merck Patient Assistant Program at www.merckhelps.com. The annual income restriction is $42,000.

Ed1937

NinjaWife wrote:

Did your doctor advise to to eat some protein and carbohydrate 5 or 6 times a day to keep your blood sugar level, especially if you have to wait a month for an MRI?

Another option is to contact the Merck Patient Assistant Program at www.merckhelps.com. The annual income restriction is $42,000.

Yes, he advised me to eat several times a day, in small portions of protein and carbs.

Thanks for the link. This might be my best option to see if they will help. I received a text from Costco. It said the cost would be $2.56. I think it was a mistype, and it is actually $256.00. But I'll have to wait till they open tomorrow to see what's going on there.

 

Ed1937

Crushed wrote:

Question why the oral suspension?    Dan you tolerate tablets?  

I didn't question him about that. Yes, I tolerate tablets.

JJAz

Ed,

I'm sorry to hear this.  Someone mentioned to ask your doc for a less expensive alternative and I completely agree.  I cannot tell you how many times this has happened to friends.  It seems like many docs prescribe the 'latest and greatest' which is crazy expensive, when there are plenty of generics that work just fine.

Blessings,

Jamie

M1

So sorry to hear this Ed, those endocrine tumors are rare but vicious....wish I had something to add to the drug debate but I don't.

Dreamer Lost

Ed, I am so sorry to hear about the possibility of a tumor in your pancreas.  I pray that is benign.  Wondering why the MRI is scheduled for a month away and not sooner?  I worry because unfortunately I lost my MIL last year to pancreatic cancer.  She was 82 but still very active, driving a school bus full time and had just had double knee replacements the year before.  It took awhile (several months) for her diagnosis as they say it is hard to detect or see the pancreas because of its location. 

Good luck with your Rx cost and with the future tests.  Keep us posted.  Prayers. 

Ed1937

Thanks, friends. The MRI is scheduled in Feb. because there are so many people waiting for them. Hospitals have not been hurting because of lack of patients.

Ed1937

Ed1937 wrote:

I received a text from Costco. It said the cost would be $2.56. I think it was a mistype, and it is actually $256.00. But I'll have to wait till they open tomorrow to see what's going on there.

Update: Whoever sent that text to me forgot to put an eight before the two! Final cost is $82.56!! I can handle that.

 

amicrazytoo

Well, that is good news! Yay!

Mint

Glad something worked out for you Ed