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Anagrelide: Do you switch? How to cover costs?

Posted by esperanzam @esperanzam, May 17, 2023

I have seen several state here that they are taking anagralide. After 8 years of taking Hydroxyurea (Hydrea) my doctor wants me to change to ANAGRELIDE. When he called in the prescription, my pharmacy called me to ask if I knew that it would be $400 for a 1 month supply? Of course, I had no idea. I asked if my Medicare Part D was not covering it, he said that it was and that was my part. We are living on SS and a Veterans Disability and do not have that kind of money. I also have other expensive medications. So, my question is this: does anyone out there have suggestions for how I can afford to get this medication if I decide to follow the doctors recommendations? My platelets are at 795,000 and although they have been pretty well controlled in the past, he feels it is causing my red and white cells to be lower than they should be, since the Hydrea targets all three, not just the platelets.

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1995victoria | @1995victoria | May 19, 2023

Check with the VA. They have very good medications with very low co-pays

REPLY
veryoldman | @veryoldman | May 23, 2023
In reply to @esperanzam "I saw that and wondered if it was for real?? Another question, I am seeing a..." + (show)
@esperanzam

I saw that and wondered if it was for real?? Another question, I am seeing a lot of possible side effects. Did you experience any of these? I already have a long history of lung and other problems and wonder if that would be a problem for me? There are few side effects of the Hydrea and I've been on it for 8 years. Just wondering if I should ask the doctor to leave me on the Hydrea for those reasons.

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After using HU for about 5 years, I ran afoul of the ankle ulcer. Took about a year to beat it down. Once the ulcer was healed, we decided to use both HU and Aneglaride to balance out the side effects. Came down with a lung problem (we think) that has yet to be cured....shortness of breath with minimum exertion, on O2, and back to having HU carrying the load. Docs are not sure, nor am I, that Aneglaride was the root cause, but your reference to lung problems caught my eye and I pass this along for what it's worth.

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1 reply
esperanzam | @esperanzam | May 24, 2023
In reply to @veryoldman "After using HU for about 5 years, I ran afoul of the ankle ulcer. Took about..." + (show)
@veryoldman

After using HU for about 5 years, I ran afoul of the ankle ulcer. Took about a year to beat it down. Once the ulcer was healed, we decided to use both HU and Aneglaride to balance out the side effects. Came down with a lung problem (we think) that has yet to be cured....shortness of breath with minimum exertion, on O2, and back to having HU carrying the load. Docs are not sure, nor am I, that Aneglaride was the root cause, but your reference to lung problems caught my eye and I pass this along for what it's worth.

Jump to this post

Thank you very much. The more I read about the possible side effects, they all seem to be issues I already have and do not need more or more intense problems. Thank you much for sharing your experience. I also have had foot problems. And mouth sores. But minor compared to some other chemos I had experience with (my first husband).

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