I’m getting emails from people who are diagnosed, but can’t afford to fill their prescription. This just showed up in my inbox:
I went to go get my [meds] filled, and it was $660 or so for the generic. That is very depressing as it seems to be helping a lot of people.
He went on to ask if I knew anyone who had ordered meds from India. I don’t. I fill my Lamictal prescription as Costco. Lamictal without insurance at Costco is 30% cheaper than Lamictal with insurance at Walgreens ($30 for a three month supply).
Anyone have any idea for inexpensively filling prescriptions?
I’m sure no one means to rub it in my face, but it’s so depressing to hear about other countries where the most expensive thing in my life is just free.
It may seem like a scam, but those drug brand coupon cards actually work - somtimes. The tricky part is that pharmacists don’t want to accept coupons. CVS pretended to be unable to figure out how to apply the discount after telling me they would accept the coupon and having me wait while they filled the prescription. Then the pharmacist said, “those things never work.” They want you to give up and pay full price.
I used to take Abilify, which is crazy-expensive and has no generic. The coupon gave me a free month + later discounts. I found the best price by calling a bunch of pharmacies. I’d recommend calling around both to check prices, and to take their temperature on accepting coupons.
I’ve used coupons for a few brand name drugs. To “activate” the coupon, you sometimes have to call the drug company several times. Sometimes you have to sign up at their website and print out coupons. It’s a hassle, and it’s especially hard when you’re dealing with mental health problems.
If you don’t have many alternatives, you can buy most prescription drugs relatively cheaply on the Silk Road. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s an underground marketplace operating on the TOR network that uses bitcoins as currency. (www.reddit.com/r/silkroad for more info) The sellers are peer reviewed, and while there is no guarantees that you will always be able to find what you need; there is a good selection of prescription meds. Currently 5 x 5mg Abilify pills are being sold from a domestic (US) seller for $8.