Cost of Elmiron

[jen74]

Cost of elmiron

I can relate to the money issues. I am also a stay at home mom because I am so sick. I got sick 4 years ago with other issues and could not work and now when I was thinking about going back part time, the IC hit me, and forget it, all went down hill after that.

My deductible is actually $ 2,500. and we still have to pay 20% of everything after that. I dont know if it is different costs where people live, or where their doctors are located, but I know that I belong to a Big teaching hospital where I live in Chicago and the bills and what they charge is OUTRAGEOUS! WHen I had my cyctoscopy done in the end of December of last year I also had a couple biopsies of the vulva area done as well and can you believe they charged my insurance over $10,000 dollars. I ended up having to pay over $1000 out of pocket.

That is why I have to be soo careful not to jump into doing tests and such because I know I will get stiffed with a huge bill and most of these tests are pretty useless anyways it always seems. I wish the doctors would not charge so much. They are the reason why insurance is so high to begin with. It is not fair. If the doctors would not charge these astronomical amounts, then the insurance would not be so high and we would not have to pay so much out of pocket.

My hubby always laughs because I tell him that going to the doctor should be like going to the mechanic. If the mechanic does not fix your car, he does not get paid right? That is how it should be with the doctors. You would see a big change in how we were treated if that were the case. I think the doctors would maybe go the extra mile to look into helping us then .
Jen

[chicakms]

I just got my first bottle of Elmiron yesterday the paperwork from CVS says INS. $144.86...I guess that's what I'd be paying if I didn't have insurance and since I have a prescription plan I only had to pay $25. I'm going to look into mail order if I have to take this for a long period of time.

I don't understand why there are so many different prices. I mean it's the same drug why does everyone pay different amounts?

[amartaingirl]

cost

i too am very worried about the cost
mail order did help....from 85/month to 35/month
and you know...it could be worse.
i am actually afraid to switch jobs..for fear of the co-pay being more.

but depending on the severity of your IC...this may work for you.
Mine is mild...just frequency...some burning...my main complaint is lack of sleep from peeing all night. anyway.
i hardly have any pain.

the first 3 days of starting elmiron...the frequency may seem to pick up
but by day 3 i felt great. i was taking it 3xday.

by month 3. a piece of hair fell out in the shower. it was only like 6 strands or so. but they were all bunched together...so i freaked out.

cut back to 1xday and in the place of the other 2...i took the aloe vera pill
http://desertharvest.com/ (also $35 month)


still felt great...and by week 2..on the 1xday....the hair loss in the shower went down.

but since the hair loss was still noticable to me (no-one else)
i cut out elmiron completely. now taking 3 aloe vera pills
still feel fine. really fine actually.
its been about 2 weeks.
and the hair loss has practically stopped.

so, i think..if you have mild ic like me.
you may be able to trim the number of pills down.
but, keep your doctor righting out the script the same..
you know...1 month supply = 90 pills
if you go down to 1 pill day...that 1 month supply may actually last you 3 months
you know what i mean?
so now that $35/month...now becomes more like $12/month
plus the aloe vera cost, of course. but still.

it really could be worse.
just think of all the money you'll save...when you stop buying:
coffee
oj
oranges
grapefruits.
soda
lol

also, if you are looking for a Hot Drink in place of the Coffee
Try MINT TEA.
theres a good one at Walmart PLANTATION MINT TEA.
I love it sooo!!

[curlycue]

Elmiron

Thanks to you ladies. My Elmiron went from being 110.00 to 60.00 a month. Thanks alot for the information. I really appreciate it.

[jynxpierce]

Cost of Elmiron

I am on elmiron and no insurance. It costs me $500 per month. I am also on enablex which costs me $100.00 per month. I was on medicaid when I was first diagnosed but as of March 31 I will no longer receive medicaid because they say between me and my husband we make too much money for a family with just two children. I have tried to get regular insurance but none will take a preexisting condition or if they do it is excluded from coverage or the policy is so expensive that I just can't afford it. My husband is self emplyed so he has no benefits and my company that I work for only has 10 employees so they don't offer insurance either. The only drug I can afford each month is my tramadol for pain- it is only $20.00 per month. I am at a loss on how to make ends meet. I may make too much money but every dime I have is needed to pay the bills. It is so hard to make ends meet with out worrying about the medical and now it will be twice as hard. My IC is flaring because of all of the stress going on. I also was told by my family doctor that I probably have Fibromyalgia. I told my husband to just shoot me and put me out of my misery.

[Paininthe*.*]

I agree with Jen74! Doctors get paid no matter how they treat us, or whether they help us or not...if I performed that way on MY job, I'd be fired! Not that I dislike doctors, it's just that I feel like I've transferred all my money to them, and have little relief to show for it. And they always have to CYA because of idiots who are sue-happy, so we get stuck with the needless tests that cost a fortune. Wow, I'm on my soapbox today...hope nobody on this board is a doctor!

[Berkshire Road]

Terry -- You might try filing a grievance with your insurance company, on the basis that elmiron is the only FDA approved medication to treat your condition. This worked for me (sort of), and now I get partial coverage. The cash price is well over $400.00/month, and I have to pay $129.00. All my other co-pays are $15.00; I don't know how they arrived at this figure of $129.00 but it is a lot better than no coverage.

[curlycue]

IC Elmrion