Where have I been all of this time? Dealing with other, new health issues and "sleeping". Existing. Retreated from the world and my family. Lately however I have been rather talkative on some social networks, so I thought about it and decided it was time to return to my blog.
The following is an update on Living Bipolar.
I have gone into my Medicare Part D Gap. Interestingly enough, the changes from ObamaCare allow for bigger discounts on the name brand medications. It's still not enough for me.
Seroquel is my and my doctor's drug of choice. I believe I cannot live without this atypical antipsychotic. It treats the manic and delusional side of bipolar. AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company that makes Seroquel, has continually applied for patent extensions so they can continue to make more money with name brands than generics in the United States. They do sell generic in other countries.
This year my shrink suggested buying from an online Canadian Pharmacy. I did it. They do have it in generic form! If I made my purchase through Part D Medicare I would pay around $200 for 30 pills. From Canada I pay about the same, but for 100 pills. I plan to do this until we have generic Seroquel in our country.
It angers me! If the gap didn't exist I would pay $25 for name brands. Everything else I buy besides Seroquel is generic, $5.
One added benefit of purchasing from Canada, besides the previously stated, is that I don't have to navigate the paperwork to sign-up for help from the pharmaceutical company. As far as I know most offer much lower cost prescriptions for those that qualify. Usually the first fill is free, but, and this is a big but, my family's numbers were just enough to get denied.
Another bonus about buying from Canada is that I don't have to beg my doctor for samples. It's embarrassing.
I am hoping AstraZeneca is ready to do generics in 2012, fingers crossed! I searched the FDA website and I have yet to find the information I read about a couple years ago.
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