Starting FORTEO tomorrow and so nervous.

Posted by vkmov @vkmov, Jan 24 1:42am

Any good experiences out there? Worried about serious side effects.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Osteoporosis & Bone Health Support Group.

Yes, I'm have traditional Medicare and my secondary is Anthem BC/BS. I'm not sure what you are saying though. It's early here - the only excuse I can think of. Will you please say it another way?

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@leeosteo

babs10, are you on Medicare? I also will start Forteo soon and on Medicare. I have original Medicare with a Plan D prescription plan through AARP United Healthcare (UHC). My full year out of pocket cost will be $3300. To hit the $8000 cap, and depending on the plan stage (deductible, initial, coverage gap, catastrophic) the requirement to hit $8000 cap includes UHC portion of the cost.

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I think I might understand. Are you saying that the $8000 cap is all inclusive, not just the cost of the Forteo?

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@leeosteo

babs10, are you on Medicare? I also will start Forteo soon and on Medicare. I have original Medicare with a Plan D prescription plan through AARP United Healthcare (UHC). My full year out of pocket cost will be $3300. To hit the $8000 cap, and depending on the plan stage (deductible, initial, coverage gap, catastrophic) the requirement to hit $8000 cap includes UHC portion of the cost.

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Hello,
I took Forteo for two years. I got it free from the company based on income. Would that help either of you? It was arranged through the Doctor's office.

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@babs10

Yes and because I'm on Medicare and don't meet the eligibility criteria, they said they can't help defray the cost at all.

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Can you afford a trip to Canada?

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@gently

Can you afford a trip to Canada?

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I looked before to see if they'd ship to the USA and the answer was no. I wonder if you can get a full prescription for a year (or two) with one Canadian visit? Do you know? I've never thought about traveling there to get the script, but I'll look into it.

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babs10, my understanding is that you can get three pens per visit at 100$ per pen, and they accept your prescription from the US. The endocrinologist I see is on an information zoom with an Arizona endocrinologist who regularly sends patients to Mexico for Forteo 100$ per pen. Singapore is $100 per pen with discount for three. But wanted to do all the testing at Raffles Hospital. They arranged it quickly. A pharmacy in Japan quoted me 41$ per pen. In the US we subsidize all the research and then can't afford the medications.

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@beedom

Hello,
I took Forteo for two years. I got it free from the company based on income. Would that help either of you? It was arranged through the Doctor's office.

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I posted this earlier in the thread. My Forteo assistance was also arranged through the Dr's office. The clinic I go to is large enough that they have a person that only works on medication / medical care assistance. I didn't see how I would ever qualify but the clinic did and my complete treatment was 100% paid for.

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@lkel

I posted this earlier in the thread. My Forteo assistance was also arranged through the Dr's office. The clinic I go to is large enough that they have a person that only works on medication / medical care assistance. I didn't see how I would ever qualify but the clinic did and my complete treatment was 100% paid for.

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Amazing. I asked about that at my MD's office and was waved off - my problem, not theirs.

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@gently

babs10, my understanding is that you can get three pens per visit at 100$ per pen, and they accept your prescription from the US. The endocrinologist I see is on an information zoom with an Arizona endocrinologist who regularly sends patients to Mexico for Forteo 100$ per pen. Singapore is $100 per pen with discount for three. But wanted to do all the testing at Raffles Hospital. They arranged it quickly. A pharmacy in Japan quoted me 41$ per pen. In the US we subsidize all the research and then can't afford the medications.

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It's astounding, isn't it? "Greatest country in the world" and all that jazz. "Medical care" is a misnomer. In my experience it's more like "Medical They Don't Care."

Thanks for the information. I'm unsure of how many visits to Canada would be required - do you use one pen per month and when all are used up, go back?

It's horrible that some of us can't take the medication that would be the best for our circumstances, and have to pay obscene amounts for medication that is a 2nd or 3rd choice. OR, worse yet, some take nothing because they can't afford anything and don't know to ask for financial assistance.

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babs10, the endocrinologist I see recommended Singapore out of the blue. I happened to be going for a wedding and the hotel was close to Raffles. So I started with two from Singapore. I paid 743$ each for the next three pens of the generic Alvogen with a goodrx coupon at Rite Aid. You'd need four Canada trips a year because you can secure three each trip.
I'm thinking about Bogota, never been. I have some reservations about Mexico because of the problems with counterfeit, though osteoporosis drugs aren't a target.
But why should a perons with fracture have to traipse around trying to find a country that protects their citizens.

If we elect representatives who depend upon election financing from the pharmaceutical industry, we're lost. Our present administration, through the inflation reduction act, has reduced the price of insulin with plans to reduce the price of all drugs for Medicare patients. In another avenue they are looking at the abuse of extended patents. https://porter.house.gov/uploadedfiles/skyrocketing_how_big_pharma_exploits_launch_prices_to_cash_in_on_cancer.pdf
Porter is more interesting to watch on the videos.

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