Friday, August 25, 2006

GAAK! Exxefor XR co-pay . . .

Edit: It's so late, that I mis-spelled Effexor. S'okay, I'm gonna leave it that way, it's funnier.

Well, hell.

I knew this med was $200 a mo. for 300mg a day (2 150mg), but I was hoping for like a $30 copay . . $72. OUCH!

At least the gabapentin 1200mg a day is only $10 a month . . . nice to have a generic.

The problem is, this med works, and I know it can be hard to find a med that does. So.

We'll figure something out; might be buying only 2 weeks at a time, for awhile (the mom'n'pop pharmacy we go to IS on the provider list; they have killer prices, too. Shoulda seen what Target wanted to charge for a week of pills . . . 'twas ridiculous!)

Lemme add this up:

$200 a mo for health insurance
$80-$100 a mo copay for 4-5 ologist visits, added together.
$72 a mo for Effexor XR
$10 a mo for gabapentin
Occasional copay for Xanax, and iatrist.
$382 in monthly $$. We can't afford that, lol! Once our huge credit card payment goes back to normal (September is last huge one, I think), the $180 we're saving from that will bring this total down to $202.
Well, my mysterious funding source did mention perhaps helping w/copays and maybe even utility bills . . . I need to meet with them, but I'd really rather stand on our own four (six) feet.
I don't like having to keep going on the good graces of someone else.
Still, the numbers just don't add up. There is NO WAY we can afford that $202 a month. None.
If they ever put thru dh's raise (I'm hoping for retroactive but betting not; and if it's not, they'd better get their tushies in gear because, in that case, we're losing money the longer they take to get to it; he qualified for it awhile ago, and they said they'd do it effective when he switched to perm employment . . . nope!!) that, I'm guessing, will add a minimum of $80 a month to the mix.
Which helps alot.

Anyway, maybe I shouldn't go into so much detail, but there it is. No wonder I'm under so much stress; not knowing how we're going to eat, or get mental health care, from day to day, from week to week, sucks.

Thanks for the box of food, Mom & Dad! We've been enjoying it.

I just gotta hang in here and pray.

Good thing we still qualify for free school breakfast and lunch for dd. So that's good.

Ah, I sound pathetic. I'm not begging for anything here, although I'm afraid it looks like it.

Just . . . well, it's so . . . I feel so trapped, and closed in and crushed and stuff. Can I cry on everybody's shoulder, please? Can I whine, a little? Oh, and I'll take some cheese with that, please! Hee hee.

We could, at MOST, free up $24 a month from other places. A pittance, really, and the things that goes for keep out of a LOT of trouble. Especially impulsivity wise, and bipolar wise, and stuff. Provides me with variety. We don't get a newspaper at all, either. Less than $1 a day, to keep me outta trouble, is worth it. I'll just eat less, if it comes to that. And I have, in the past, but haven't had to for more'n a week every great now 'n then. So I don't think that its unhealthy, anyway.

Cable modem is, well, it's how I stay in touch. Saves $$ on long distance, we almost never have long distance charges. It's not an option to get rid of; my support system is on here, too. Of which Barb is a great part!

Besides, end of January we'll get our tax return (we generally get W2's early and file early, and it gets deposited in about a week to 12 days or so, that early), and will be able to pay off, I think, a $100 a month bill. So that'll help too, and it's really not that far away. Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan.
I know I'm justifying and explaining, and I'm learning that I don't have to, but, right now, it's good for me to lay out all the issues. So, there they are.

Anyway, I have faith in the Lord, and we do what we can, and every now and then I am able to sell off some old crafting stuff or what-have-you and help out a little, financially, that way.

Obviously the selling jewelry thing isn't working, but I did know that having the Etsy shop was more just for friends who wanted to buy something, than for attracting some chance person off the web.

There's a guy who pays not much above my cost, for what I make, but it's been awhile and he still owes me a bit. It's a rather long, drawn out process, but at least it pays for the hobby, thus giving me something to do, and it's very sensory and distracting and soothing, and FUN!

Anyway, I hope there's some shoulders out there for me, and as I stretch my Effexor doses to half doses over the weekend, and get sick from that, just gimme a hug. Still, half a dose is better than none, and I should only be a little sick, instead of horridly sick as missing a dose or going cold turkey does to me.

3 comments:

Dreaming again said...

Hi Sarebear ... I followed you here from Dr. A's ..just wanted to say hi.

I've read down through a few postings. I'll be back. I have PTSD and an eating disorder ..a few other loverlies in there.

My kids both have tourette's and OCD. My youngest son was diagnosed as PDD from age 3 to 10. (he's 14 now)
He's under an IEP too ... or will be in a couple of months when we put him back into school. We're homeschooling him till we move. We got tired of fighting the district we were in 3 weeks before the end of last school year and pulled him out because we knew we were moving.

IEP's are just ... ARGH!!

Loved your Save pluto slogans!!

Anonymous said...

I remember when I paid for meds on occassion out of pocket back when I was taking them. Expensive! I am so glad that I was not in a situation of deciding whether to fill my perscription or getting groceries. They talk about the elderly in this situation a lot while it is a sad reality for people of other generations as well.

Christine said...

Oh, my...I know all about expensive meds!

All I can say is THANK GOD we have decent health insurance, mostly paid for by Mike's employer. Mike went to the drug store today, and refilled ALL of hs meds...nine all told, including his insulin. The co-pays came to $110.

I shudder to think what that would cost if we did NOT have the insurance.

Something needs to be done to help un-insured and under-insured people to be able to afford their meds. We can afford the $110 per month that Mike's meds cost, but I know that many who have similar health problems can't even afford THAT.

Here's hoping that things get better for you soon! :-)