Lamictal...changes and Insurance..

[Georgiagirl88]

Hey Guys!

I wanted to mention this to the Lamictal users out there. Not sure if this will affect you, but I went to refill my Lamictal which is normally a $20.00 copay with my insurance(BCBS). Instead on $20..00, it rang up $84.54 !!! What??
Apparently I was not told that a generic med came out and I was not aware of this. Now my insurance is only going to cover a smaller amount for brand Lamictal. So I need to wait until Monday when they get the generic in. I will call my Dr. on Monday because sometimes generic meds are not recommended. Quite a difference between $10.00-20.00 and $85.00. SO you may want to check this out and pay attention when refilling your RX.

Take care!
Michelle

[Meetz1064]

what a mess! I'm sorry for this, Michelle. I wish I knew what to tell you.... you've got yourself on the right track, calling the doc, though.

Good luck.

Meetz

[hawke86]

I use to take the brand name Lamictal. Now I take the generic. I haven't noticed that much of a difference in the medicine.

[Georgiagirl88]

Thanks Guys..I am hoping generic will be fine, but I really don't feel like paying $85.00. I just thought I would throw that out there for anyone taking it. I wasn't aware of the generic. It finally popped up in the Pharmacy system though. I didn't want anybody caught by surprise.

Michelle

[hawke86]

Good Luck Michelle with your medicine. I hope generics work for you.

[Crazy Monkey]

I have taken both Lamictal and Lamotrigine and found there to be no difference between the two.

[Georgiagirl88]

Thanks for the input on the generic y'all!

[alivenwell]

I'm taking brand name only for this one. I'll pay the price (one way or another). It works. And I'm worth it.

[darkmarkshark]

depending on your plan if you get your doctor to write "namebrand medically necessary" you might get it for $20

[tinasmom]

My co-pay for name brand Lamictal is $100. The pharmacy told me there was no generic chewable and the insurance company said there was. The pharmacist insisted that there was no generic and when I researched it, she was right. Because my insurance disagrees, the copay was $100. After we found a new doctor, she wrote a letter stating that it is medically necessary for Nicole to have the name brand. Now the secondary insurance picks up the remainder of the cost. Nicole's doctor refuses to take any chances because she knows what we have been through with my daughter's death.

[Georgiagirl88]

Great feedback from everyone! Thank you!

Michelle

[stringbean]

I have also been wondering about the generics, I just received a generic for my Lamitical, it is the lamotrigine and right before that I received another generic for my Tegratol it went from it to the Carbamzipine (spelling) and now it is Epitol.

I have to make an appt. with my neurologist, I have been having more seizures again and they seem again to be getting more often and worse as this past around 6 weeks.

I am not sure if it is the med changes or just all the stress I have been under lately and my outbursts of anger and little sleep due to my bi-polar being in what they told me now is bi-polar mania.

[Georgiagirl88]

Hi Stringbean..
I know for me..if I am really tired or have not slept..I am very prone to seizures. I can just feel them coming. I would still ask about it..but try to get better rest. think that would probably help with everything. I just feel overall crappy/awful when I don't rest. I know it is easier said than done though. Insomnia stinks too!! Rest up Girl!!

Michelle : )

[alivenwell]

That sounds like a major adjustment between brand name and generics. Crappy is such a purely accurate word for that. I slept through the adjustment from brand Mysoline to generic Primidone. I did not also change the Lamictal simultaneously. Sleep is extremely important.

[MichelleMC]

I am surprised by a lot of posts on here where taking the generic is discouraged.
I just changed. One day I was on the brand name, then I got a refill to the generic, and it helped the same way as the brand names. My doctors have been encouraging me to take the generic, and one of the reasons they have is money. I know though that if they didn't think it would work, they wouldn't encourage me to take them. Worked for me, and after reading these posts on various threads, I am thanking God more and more.

[Georgiagirl88]

Hi Michelle,

The reason is..there can be a difference of around 20% of medicine in either direction..either too much, which can overdose you(from what you were used to) or 20% less which can cause breakthrough seizures. The FDA regulations allow this with generics..the problem is for seizure meds, this cannot be afforded. Alot of meds are fine..
Neurologists are trying to change this with the FDA. Another issue is a change in the maker of the meds. This month it may be from say glaxo..and next month a different company and they can totally vary with the amounts. Then you can go from way to much ,to a lesser amount. There is a ton of information on this. Staggering numbers from both patients and physicians.

Michelle

[Bernard]

The main difference between brand and generic is the binders and fillers used which can greatly affect the way the drug is digested/metabiloized - causing the release to the blood stream to be less even. This can cause big problems for people when the therapeutic dose is just barely keeping them above their seizure threshold.

I know the Epilepsy Foundation is working hard to get legislation in place to protect patient's rights and access to the brand name drugs where the generics aren't tolerated the same. Michelle, you might try contacting your local chapter and see if they are talking to whatever insurance company you are using.

[Georgiagirl88]

Thanks Bernard. We had a good conversation with my Dr. yesterday as he explained it all to us. He was actually mentioning how Drs. are trying to get the FDA to listen to their findings and get things changed. Some meds are fine in generic... I take a few. But he said they really do not recommend taking the generic because of the up and down with the med levels.

M