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I can not afford my prescriptions...now what? I don't qualify for the prescription assistance plan since I have prescription coverage, but my co-pay on the Cymbalta is .00 and I can not afford that along with my other prescriptions. The total co-pays come out to almost 5. I just don't have that much extra lying around. Paying for everything before was tight, but adding to it makes it impossible, we're budgeted to the penney and still come up short sometimes since gas and groceries got so high. I am glad gas prices are down, but not down enough to same me a month...

I may have to get creative...with the budget or forgo the Cymbalta for awhile.

 Does the doctor have samples maybe? I find myself charging my prescriptions frequently....Is Cymbalta a NSAID?  Are there any less expensive?I just read Cymbalta is an antidepressant so I don't know.I would ask if your dr. has samples.  Mine gave me enough for a month to see if it would work for me.

It is not on the "Preferred" drug list for my insurance, so the copay is plus tax. "Preferred Drug" copay is plus tax, and generic copay is plus tax [QUOTE=jennmommi]It is not on the "Preferred" drug list for my insurance, so the copay is plus tax. "Preferred Drug" copay is plus tax, and generic copay is plus tax [/QUOTE]

Are you taking name-brand Toprol (the extended-release version)?  I take generic metoprolol - same drug, immediate-release version, but it's dirt-cheap.  without insurance at Walmart and other discount pharmacies.  I have to take it twice a day vs. once a day.  What about the Relafen?  Have you tried other NSAIDs?  For me, naproxen (Aleve/Anaprox) works the best - plus, it's cheap and available OTC.

Have you taken Cymbalta before?  If not, you might want to talk to the pharmacist about getting a week's supply first, before buying the whole prescription.  Make sure you can tolerate it before you buy the entire month's worth. I've done that many times, especially with expensive drugs I've never had before.  No sense spending hundreds of dollars (whether it's your own personal money, or the insurance company's, or the government's) for something you might have to just throw away. What about checking for samples thru your doctor OR Checking with the pharmacy company themselves about a voucher OR checking with your dr for a Rx that is on your preferred list. If none of those work, I was made aware of a website (I have not used it and can't vouch for its authenticity), but it is called Volition.com and if you go down the bar on the left, it says get paid.  On that website it talks about doing surveys, etc and getting paid.  LIke I said, I haven't ever used it, but it might be worth checking out.  What I have done is sold some stuff out of the house (old furniture, lamps, etc) that I'm not using on Craigslist.  You would be surprised what people will buy.  Just be careful and never let strangers come to your house, etc. Good Luck! PhatsMy Metoprolol is plus tax since it is generic I get the "low" copay. I also pay copay for generic Relafen and use that on top of Tylenol Arthritis. I can't take Naproxen, it makes me sick with reflux. I also take an acid reducer which is copay, and Birth Control which is copay and the Cymbalta is copay. add together and add tax it comes out to 3.
have you taken a look at this site? [QUOTE=jennmommi]My Metoprolol is plus tax since it is generic I get the "low" copay. I also pay copay for generic Relafen and use that on top of Tylenol Arthritis. I can't take Naproxen, it makes me sick with reflux. I also take an acid reducer which is copay, and Birth Control which is copay and the Cymbalta is copay. add together and add tax it comes out to 3.
[/QUOTE]

You can get metoprolol for /month (save ); there are dozens of different oral contraceptive formulations - many are well under per month with no insurance.  If naproxen doesn't work, there are many other NSAIDS that might, and that are cheaper.  What acid reducer are you taking?  All of the H2 antagonists (tagamet, pepcid, etc) are available for /month without insurance.

You've got to shop around, and press your doctors for less expensive alternatives.  It's definitely possible!!!
Many new or newer medications aren't on the insurance formularies, they cost more for the insurance company so the don't want to OK them. Cymbalta is an antidepressant as you know but there are many many antidepressants that are older that may do the trick for you. Contact your doctor and just be honest with him, tell him you can't afford the medication he wants you to have. He may be able to intervene on your behalf with the insurance company if he truly feels no other medication will do what he wants it to do, and he may have samples for you to use for awhile. I also agree with Jasmine, Walmart has a whole bunch of meds for 4 bucks, you can go to their website and download the whole list. Also, I don't know where you live and this is just for future info, if you live where there is a Publix supermarket they will give you free oral antibiotics that are on the list if you should ever need them. If I had still had cymbalta I would send it to you for nuthin, it made me hallucinate like crazy. I was trying to go out the front door while "talking" to the neighbors at 3 in the morning! I hope it works out for you to get your meds. I am in the same boat, I can't afford my Humira now that I've been on it for about 8months, I have a humira card but they decrease the amount the subsidise over time so I'm back to paying my 100 buck copay every 2 weeks. UGH.Newer doesn't necessarily mean better either.  Older drugs have the benefit of being tested in the "real world" for years - their safety profiles are much better known.

My husband and I make quite a bit of money; he has a serious heart condition and I have RA.  We have great insurance with low co-pays; we could easily afford all the latest cutting-edge therapies.  Instead, we both take older, generic drugs.  His cardiologist (nationally-renowned, well-respected) has told us from the beginning that he almost always sticks with older drugs - because we know more about them.

Cymbalta may have recently gotten FDA approval for fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions, but that doesn't mean it's the only choice or even the best choice.  There are other antidepressants available that are much cheaper and can also help alleviate chronic pain.

You also might want to look into dietary changes - a move towards more omega-3's and less omega-6's can help reduce pain and inflammation.
I think it is the pharmacy, I use the campus pharmacy (at the University where I work) and they don't have .00 prescriptions. I may just move them all to Wal-Mart and see how much I save, I thought if I had insurance I could not get the .00 prescriptions, that it was a program for the uninsured only. I should be able to get the acid reducer and Metoprolol reduced at least.

The Birth control is a touchy subject because I have been on 9 different ones and tried an IUD before I found one that I had little/no side effects from. I have issues that make it hard to find one that is effective, not for preventing pregnancy, but from side effects that I get from the hormones. I couldn't even use the IUD because of those same issues.
If I was using it just to prevent pregnancy, I would think about alternatives, but I have to have it for other issues so now that I have one that works, I'd hate to try and go through the whole process of trying to find another that will work.

The mail order that my insurance uses is not any cheaper for the 90 day supply once you add shipping and tax it is actually .00 more.
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/10/21/how-to-get-help-paying-for-prescription-drugs/
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