i have had ra for 22 years - i am now 46. i first was started on the gold therapy & prednisone - when it lost it's effectivness, on to methotrexate & prednisone. i haven't worked outside the home in 5 years so therefore i have no insurance. currently i am on 10mg prednisone, plaquenil, sulfasalazine, methotrexate & folic acid daily, with aleve & ibuprofen along also. up until the last 2 years i have actually felt good. i have 3 daughters, ages 26 & 22, and all are married. i do feel blessed to have gotten all my children grown but now i am steadily going downhill. unfortunately, we make a little too much to qualify for any drug programs, but not nearly enough to afford any of the newer drugs. i truly feel like i have fallen between the cracks so to speak. I have no answers for you...just wanted to say hi and sorry things have been rough for you. Where do you live?
OMG - losing my insurance is my BIGGEST fear. I know that Humira has a program........... i dont know what it is tho. Here's the link.
http://www.humira.com/hu/hustore/cgi-bin/ProdSubEV_Cat_20505 4_NavRoot_205054_NavID_301.htm
I'm sorry you're hurting. I dont think it's fair that people without insuance cannot get the drugs they need. There's gotta be something out there to help you. Grrrrrrrrr
Does your doctor have any ideas?? Let us know how you are and welcome! Wish I could help. woobie
hey Sorry to hear about your situation. That sounds like a total nightmare. I feel so lucky to live in the uk even thugh we have tough criteria to get drugs we get them when we need them. It sound alot better than what you have to go through with the insurance companies. My aunt lived in the U.S and had similar problems getting drugs whn she had cancer and we had to send money to pay for her treatment. Some of the companies are awful. I hope things get better for you. cindy, i'm so sorry to hear what you're going through. there has to be some way you can get the med's you need. it makes me so mad also that you're having so much trouble. i think we all have the same fears of not being able to work & get the med's we need with insurance. please know we are all here for you to talk to & help you get through this. maybe we can all start some kind of petition on drug program qualifications. Hi Cindyslou It's terrible not having or being able to afford insurance. I am in the same boat, however the EnCourage Foundation saved me. This is the link to Needy Meds. Click on Brand Name or Program list and then select the letter of the drug you need. I use Enbrel and for now I receive it at no cost. (in fact 8 weeks of injections was just delivered via FedEx today) It was very easy to qualify for this. Each drug has their own guidelines for qualifications. Most likely you will have to make phone calls but it is worth the time. My doctor is the one that told me about the EnCourage Foundation. Give it a shot and if you need any other help PM me. Good luck. RozBuds
companies to find out if you qualify for free or reduced priced meds? i
know that most if not all of the big companies have programs based on
income and other qualifications. I have a hard time with living in America
and people not getting the help they need. I'm on my husbands health
insurance but if something happened to him, I'm not sure what I would
do. And heaven knows, we don't need any more stress to add to what we
already have going on. If you haven't, check into the drug programs.
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