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Re: The price of Provigil!


Posted by caroline smith on March 12, 2000 at 05:18:43:

In Reply to: The price of Provigil! posted by Marie on March 11, 2000 at 13:00:21:


In Dec. when my neurologist changed me to provigil, the pharmacist called me at work ( I manage the local vision center at Wal-Mart, and deal with our pharmacy there. I was informed that my HMO required the neurologist to fax in a nessisity of use form; two hours later, I had my meds, and it was good for 1 refill! I take 2 200 mg a day, and with my HMO it was $15. with a retail price of $287.
1 January, our HMO changed, and yes, you guessed it, neither my neurologist nor my PCP were in the new plan. I immediately, saw my new PCP to establish contact, get an RX for high blood pressure, and a referral to a network neurologist. Bottom line, I had enough Provigil to last to the 20 of Jan. but had to go out of state on a business trip until 2 Feb. He wrote me a RX, and now the new HMO will not fill Provigil because I am over 21!!! I can't see the new neurologist til March as she was on maternity leave(guess we're just supposed to "van winkle" it )until March 15! So I asked him to just give me the Ritalin until I could see her(that was the last med I was on, until it started becoming ineffective, and I was already sleepy an hour after taking it. I HAD TO HAVE SOMETHING TO COPE WITH 5 DAYS OF LONG HOURS IN HIGH STRESS MEETINGS REQUIRING _C O N C E N T R A T I O N**(sometimes I think that's another word for torture!) Now my dr. says he hesitates to prescribe Ritalin, since I am a new patient, and he can't confirm I truly need it. By this time, I am so ---frustrated, I felt like taking on the whole unfair world, I'm at work, trying to deal with patients, staff, etc..and can't get a simple medicine to enable me to work and lead a fairly decent life. Even tho I knew where he was coming from--I lost it. I told him to call my neurologist, and assured him that noone would be happier than I , if I could exist without meds. Long story--pharmacist called me about an hour later, and Provigil was filled and had three refills. He had had to call the HMO, but got approval, and this was without having seen the new neurologist yet. Sometimes, we have to just hang in there with these HMO's. In fact my new one has a mail order plan for maintenance drugs, and if you order a 90 day supply, you only have to pay a double co-pay!
Now to the person who has no HMO, check the past few days postings. There was someone who gave an address, where if you qualify, $ is available. If you don't qualify, please do some comparison shopping. I checked on a meds for my mother, between Wal-Mart, a national drug chain, and a grocery chain . The price ranged from $32-28-15. That is a big difference, and it was all the same brand!! Good luck!



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