Hello all! I have my first follow up appointment since being diagnosed coming up this week. The nurse in my GI office has already told me that the doctor wants me to start Entocort if no improvement (I've only had very MINIMAL improvement). I did a three week Uceris trial with samples from his office and 8 weeks of Pepto bismol - both unsuccessful.
Mentally I am now ready to try the Entocort. My problem is my insurance deductible and what I would have to spend out of pocket before it is met. I'm just wondering for those who use alldaychemist - do your GI docs know you do this? I want to be up front during my appointment and definitely don't want to be on a corticosteroid without his approval. I am a nurse in the hospital where he also works so I have a professional relationship with him as well. I'm concerned he's going to look at me like I have three heads when I tell him what I want to do!
Thanks, Denise
Entocort / alldaychemist
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Denise,
I'm sorry that you're not getting any relief from your symptoms. I'm surprised that neither Uceris nor Pepto-Bismol worked. Did you take 8 tablets of Pepto each day (or the liquid equivalent)?
I'm pretty sure that most (probably all) who use the overseas pharmacy option do not tell their gastroenterologist where they are getting their budesonide.
But there's another option if your doctor sincerely wants to help you. He can write a script for you to be filled by a compounding pharmacy and your cost will be pennies on the dollar compared with a name brand product (even the generics are ridiculously overpriced). Your insurance probbly won't cover it, but who cares? Several members here have saved a small fortune by using that option because they either didn't have insurance or their copay was ridiculously high. If the first compounding pharmacy you try isn't cheap, try another. If your doc isn't willing to do that then let him write a script for the expensive stuff — just don't fill it. If he writes you a script for the expensive stuff he is certainly giving his approval for you to use a corticosteroid. If you want to "test him" you can mention that you are probably going to have to order it from an overseas pharmacy because you simply can't afford what a regular script will cost.
Of course because medical licenses are not valid across international borders, neither are scripts. But you don't need one with Indian pharmacies. You do need one with Canadian pharmacies, but they buy the cheap stuff in India and mark it up 40 % or so and resell it.
Call me a cynic, but when a nurse can't even get decent insurance at an affordable price, the Affordable Care Act is a cruel joke.
Tex
I'm sorry that you're not getting any relief from your symptoms. I'm surprised that neither Uceris nor Pepto-Bismol worked. Did you take 8 tablets of Pepto each day (or the liquid equivalent)?
I'm pretty sure that most (probably all) who use the overseas pharmacy option do not tell their gastroenterologist where they are getting their budesonide.
But there's another option if your doctor sincerely wants to help you. He can write a script for you to be filled by a compounding pharmacy and your cost will be pennies on the dollar compared with a name brand product (even the generics are ridiculously overpriced). Your insurance probbly won't cover it, but who cares? Several members here have saved a small fortune by using that option because they either didn't have insurance or their copay was ridiculously high. If the first compounding pharmacy you try isn't cheap, try another. If your doc isn't willing to do that then let him write a script for the expensive stuff — just don't fill it. If he writes you a script for the expensive stuff he is certainly giving his approval for you to use a corticosteroid. If you want to "test him" you can mention that you are probably going to have to order it from an overseas pharmacy because you simply can't afford what a regular script will cost.
Of course because medical licenses are not valid across international borders, neither are scripts. But you don't need one with Indian pharmacies. You do need one with Canadian pharmacies, but they buy the cheap stuff in India and mark it up 40 % or so and resell it.
Call me a cynic, but when a nurse can't even get decent insurance at an affordable price, the Affordable Care Act is a cruel joke.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
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Dhorne2275
- Posts: 10
- Joined: Thu Feb 11, 2016 1:38 pm
Thanks Tex! He had me do just a three week trial of Uceris and then the pepto was two tablets every 6 hours. So yes that would have been 8/day. But I remember having a hard time getting all 8 in each day at the 6 hour interval. I probably took more like 6/day (oops)! The pepto helped but as soon as I weaned off the D returned.
I technically have a prescription for the entocort but when I went to pick it up and it was $1272 I didn't get it. That lead to the uceris samples from his office. So I don't feel guilty per se for not having an actual prescription. I will check into the compounding pharmacy. That's a great option!
And yes, the ACA and its effect on my healthcare insurance is beyond anything I ever imagined. I work for the largest healthcare system in the region and their insurance is a disgrace! I work with great nurses that are looking for new jobs just to find insurance coverage for the meds their family needs! Looks like I need to do the same!
I technically have a prescription for the entocort but when I went to pick it up and it was $1272 I didn't get it. That lead to the uceris samples from his office. So I don't feel guilty per se for not having an actual prescription. I will check into the compounding pharmacy. That's a great option!
And yes, the ACA and its effect on my healthcare insurance is beyond anything I ever imagined. I work for the largest healthcare system in the region and their insurance is a disgrace! I work with great nurses that are looking for new jobs just to find insurance coverage for the meds their family needs! Looks like I need to do the same!