Anyone else a user of Imitrex?

[undeterred]

I started using this migraine drug in 1992. Great drug by Glaxo - it works. Its also horribly expensive. I have no insurance and this morning I paid $210 for 9 tablets. Yes, that's over $23 per tablet. The injections, which I cannot afford, are $158 for 2. If I lived in Australia or Canada they would be much, much less.

I thought that generic products would be available after 17 years. Today my pharmacist told me that they had "reformulated" imitrex so that they are not bound the original patent and they can continue to rob us for decades. Anyone know about this type of thing with Imitrex or other drugs which ought to have generic equivalents that are much cheaper by now?

[LeftCoast]

1. I've read about it. I vaguely recal the 'reformulation' trick gives them

an extra few years. Maybe five. I don't think it's longer than that though.

[Sadie5]

2. Some drug companies

are offering to help with the meds. Saw it on TV, then on a few web sites. Go to their web site and see if they offer this service.

[undeterred]

4. Yeah but

Theres a pile of paperwork and a doctors appt involved to see if you are poor enough and I am not.

I've used their coupons before and you get $10 off two prescriptions a year. At the prices they sell this stuff that's a drop in the bucket.

[nytemare]

3. There are many different triptan migraine medicines now.

Same basic ingredient. If Imitrex can't help you with the prices, perhaps one of the others will. Maybe your doc would know a way to help as well. Many have free samples.

[undeterred]

6. they are all expensive

when I've had insurance most will cover only one of the triptans so that's how I got used to imitrex. I've heard relpax is good and I got an RX written but it wasn't covered when I had insurance and it was very expensive.

[flyarm]

5. i used to use it..now i switched to replax..i think its a bit cheeper

and is supposed to be safer...and works i think better without the weird head stuff going on..

it is supposed to be much safer for your heart..and i find i have less side effects..and can resume life quicker..

next time try it..but tell the doc's you want samples..my doc gives me 20 pacs of samples..( my obgyn)..demand the samples when you go to doc..

i will also pm you and tell you sonething else that works for me..

fly

[mtnester]

7. Get your doctor to let you try some samples

Imitrex comes in a nasal spray (faster faster faster)...so does Zomig

I have used both (nasal spray) and they knock it out almost instantly. I first tried them via neurologost sample. They have a 6 month shelf life.

Fortunately, I have a good prescription plan.

Have you also tried Relpax?

[undeterred]

9. I am between insurance coverage

so I had to pay out of pocket today. I don't know what the new plan will cover but a lot of them will only cover one triptan. I have used zomig and relpax in the past as samples- I liked them and they worked but the insurance I had only covered imitrex. It kills me to think I am putting a $23 pill in my mouth for 1 headache which will probably come back tomorrow.

I don't remember the nasal spray working as well, but I'm willing to try anything.

[nytemare]

11. My neurologist recommended I also take alieve with the imitrex

He says somehow that makes it last longer. Imitrex also always sends me coupons for 10 bucks. I am sure your doc may help you with free samples. Mine gave me a whole bunch a couple years back of the different kinds.

[mtnester]

13. My migraines are more of the visual type

I get the impression of a headache, and that strange empty headache afterward, but I nearly go blind from loss of peripheral vision and aurals..VERY scary so I need super quick delivery.

My disturbances typically last 45 minutes to 1.5 hours...some times as short as 30 minutes, but those are rare. Fast delivery is key for me. Perhaps that is why the nasal spray works so well for me.

Do some googling on possible generics or discounted drugs...I bet there are discussion boards out there to help!

:)

[originalpckelly]

8. Claritin v. Clarinex...

remember when Claritin came off patent and then the company that makes it came out with "Clarinex." Well basically Clarinex is the metabolized version of Claritin and Clarinex is no different in effect, a study in 2003 found this out. So in other words they just wanted people to get sucked into buying a more expensive drug. (Which actually for some people with health insurance costs less because of the high OTA price of Claritin.)

[nosillies]

10. I find I get more bang for my buck from the nasal spray.

It seems to work better, and therefore lasts longer for me.

[Lady President]

12. And Imitrex is so helpful

I've been taking Imitrex for years too. If you're like me, your choices are Imitrex or enough pain killers to turn you into a zombie. I have insurance, but because it was 'reformulated' and still under a patent, I pay about 30%. It's a huge help, but I still like I'm being cheated-- by the drug company and my insurance company that charges me an arm and leg. :(

[Warpy]

14. The most egregious example was Prilosec

Astra-Zeneca kept that one tied up with one nonsense lawsuit after another challenging everything from the formula to the shape of the capsule, trying to keep the generic off the market. They developed Nexium, essentially a slightly different form of the same drug, just different enough to be repatentable. When the generic finally got approved, it was nearly as expensive as the original, thanks to the huge legal fees incurred by the competing company. Then Astra Zeneca went crying to their buddies in the FDA, and got the original drug approved OTC in record time.

In a nutshell, they kept a generic tied up in the courts for about 4 years, drove up its cost, and then rushed the drug OTC so that the generic company was out millions of dollars in legal fees and had what was essentially an unmarketable product.

And it's all perfectly legal, thanks to a bought and paid for government.

[nashville_brook]

15. imitrex is a life-saver for me

and i know well the horror of not being able to afford it. i am so sorry.

i wish i had something useful to say. here's what i do when i can't get any imitrex -- benedryl and lots of it. sometimes it works, i think, b/c my migraines are allergic reactions. but no one really knows for sure.

it's a terrifying, debilitating thing to deal with.

[undeterred]

16. people in CA and AU are shocked when I tell them

how much we have to pay for it. Then if you try to buy it online from Canada they pull out the argument that the drugs haven't been tested- ITS THE EXACT SAME THING, SAME PACKAGING AND ALL. Our government is happy to let us get robbed.

[deaniac21]

17. The generic is Sumatriptan .