Please Help! Ive had it with Docs...?

Question

I was just diagnosed w/Fibro by a very nice Doc Dr Wilke, I also have a slightly high SED & CRP rate, i was told. Anywho, I am in extreme pain & have no insurance. I already take, Celexa 40 mg for depression & a thyroid pill for a low thyroid. Plus take Aleve liquid gels, but they really dont help. I called the Doc & asked for Ultram, cuz it is inexpensive(i checked) & he tried to give me Cymbalta. The Cymbalta was 144 $ My dad is laid off & we r in serious debt so obviously cant afford that, so he calls in Effexor 75 mg, that is 75$ which i cant afford either. The Ultram is 14$ but he wont prescibe it. How do i get my Doc to understand that i am happy w/ my anitdeprrant but in pain. He just wont prescribe anything for pain! Im going to cry....................Does anyone have a Doc in the Cleveland Ohio area that will prescribe Ultram?????????

Answer 1

Don't be afraid to go into your doctor and tell him that you are ready to cry.  Explain your situation to him and let him know how tough your financial problems are.  Most doctors will be understanding and help you out.  Just tell him that there is no way you can afford the cymbalta and ask for some sort of generic pain medication.  Ultram has a generic and so does hydrocodone (vicodin, lortab) and oxycodone (percocet).  Let him know that the antidepressant is working but you are still in a whole lot of pain.  You may want to find a pain management doctor near cleveland, they will me more willing to prescribe a pain medication.  Hope I was able to help

Answer 2

Have you explained that the other scripts are to much $ ? If you are constantly calling and telling him that only Ultram will work, he might mistake you as a drug seeker.

The Ultram is completely different than the Cymbalta and other depression meds. Ask him if he has any samples he can give you also or coupons. Has he given you a prescription for any other meds?

There are a LOT of patient assistance programs out there. I work in a pain mgmt clinic and I also have fibro. My heart goes out to you.

Check out this site for assistance. https://www.rxhope.com/Patient/Home.aspx

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Fibro pain will not respond to the normal pain killers, as it is a different type of pain. You need to try Lyrica! Fibro is due to poor sleep, which leaves you exhausted, fatigued and once you are exhausted and fatigued, your body rebels by producing pain. That is not the same type of pain you would get from say a broken leg, back, head, but a pain that is generated by the body for no known reason, except lack of quality sleep. The drug they use for Fibro is Lyrica, so by asking for a pain killer when the Doctor knows the pain killer will have no affect, makes you look as if you are drug seeking. To this day I have never asked my Doctor for any drugs, as I know nothing about drugs, do not have a medical degree. However my Doctor decides based on my health what drugs to prescribe. Hence me being on Fentanyl Patch! However within a few weeks of Lyrica hitting the Market for Fibro, I was also prescribed it. Best of Luck

Answer 4

I am glad you got into see Dr. Wilke. My mother has gone through the same things with her doctors with the expensive meds. Have you looked into programs like PPA (the one Montel Williams is a spoke person for, putting a link below)? There are a lot of programs to help with meds, some state specific. Try doing a web search for prescription programs in your state. My mom found a program for senior citizens and all her scrips are now $7 a month, one alone was going to run $350 a month.

If you are comfortable, try to continue pushing the doctor as well. Make them see that without insurance you need to find something affordable that will make you feel human again! Good luck hon. I know how you feel, the OTC drugs like Advil do nothing for me either.

Answer 5

If you have fibromyalsia, you really need to be on something stronger than Ultram.  Cymbalta has a off-label use for fibro, Ultram doesn't.  He was just trying to give you something that will actually give you relief.  [MOST] Doctors basically have no concept for how much it costs for meds and they really don't care.  Go to Wal-Mart.com and print out their $4 list.  Call them and tell them you only want something on that list.   You need to call him and tell him to switch you back to your old anti-depressent.  There are other anti-depressants that are on the $4 wal mart list.  Target and KMart also have $4 lists that you can look up.  You can also contact your local free health clinic.  Also; you can contact the companies that make the drugs and ask to get on a drug assistance program, if you qualify your drugs could be free.