5 replies to this topic

[brown eyes]

I been on cymbalta 2+ years, now Medicaid refuses to pay for it, Medicaid did this 6 months ago and the Dr. got it re instated somehow. Now Medicaid has refused to pay again. Im fighting to live as it is and now to take the cymbalta from me with out weening me down is going to be a big problem. I fear for my life. My drugs in all total 4000.00 a month. cymbalta being what 200-300.00 of that? OK you should get my point the other drugs I have to take are way more expensive. I could list the drugs but I dont think that is the issue, it the cymbalta I have to let go of and remain sane. And face other compilations with all my other drugs. My GP has retired, the health dept has yet replaced a GP for me, and my Infectious Disease Dr. Is fighting for Medicaid to re authorize cymbalta. It has not happened yet, no word if it is going to be approved. So its day one and Im already thinking how Im going to manage this and stay alive. I have read alot of what has been posted here today and will continue, as this is the only life line I see hanging. I will be making a Dr appointment with the I.D.Dr. as he is all I have right now and this forum.

[katelyn]

I have private insurance and the same thing happened to me a few times as well. It's a routine thing that you need to get Cymbalta "re-approved" at certain intervals of time. Some insurance plans require it yearly and others are every 6 months. If you doctor knows what he is doing he will be able to get it approved for you -- JUST KEEP PUSHING FOR IT! You might need to make phone calls every day but there is no reason why your doctor can't get it reinstated for you. I work in the healthcare field and Medicaid happens to be one of the easier ones to convince. Hang in there and good luck!

[honeybear2212]

Bless you, brown eyes,I have worked around all kinds of crazy insurance when I was working and know how bad medicaid can be it sucks. I don't work now and I too just got off cymbalta about 70 days ago so I've been through the bad I went from 30mgs to zero in 7 days and hell I needed off but enough about that. I used a cheap help and if it doesn't interfere with the others ( I think I may know... so please check just to be safe OK ) to get me through and I still take it when the ringing in my ears gets bad it's Benedryl. Please check with your Infect. Disease DR. OK. It really helped me with the symptoms though and maybe he will say it's alright for you at least until the cymbalta can get re-instated. Good Luck!

[MaureenV]

I been on cymbalta 2+ years, now Medicaid refuses to pay for it, Medicaid did this 6 months ago and the Dr. got it re instated somehow. Now Medicaid has refused to pay again. Im fighting to live as it is and now to take the cymbalta from me with out weening me down is going to be a big problem. I fear for my life. My drugs in all total 4000.00 a month. cymbalta being what 200-300.00 of that? OK you should get my point the other drugs I have to take are way more expensive. I could list the drugs but I dont think that is the issue, it the cymbalta I have to let go of and remain sane. And face other compilations with all my other drugs. My GP has retired, the health dept has yet replaced a GP for me, and my Infectious Disease Dr. Is fighting for Medicaid to re authorize cymbalta. It has not happened yet, no word if it is going to be approved. So its day one and Im already thinking how Im going to manage this and stay alive. I have read alot of what has been posted here today and will continue, as this is the only life line I see hanging. I will be making a Dr appointment with the I.D.Dr. as he is all I have right now and this forum.

If you get serious withdrawal effects see if you can get prescribed prozac - for which there are inexpensive generic versions which the insurance should cover.

Lots of people find that taking prozac during withdrawal significantly eases symptoms, then the prozac is much easier to wean off afterwards.

regards, Maureen.

[ghostmom]

Hi everyone. I am new to this site and found this by looking for info on w/d symptoms. I had to stop cold turkey on all my meds because with no warning my persc. drug coverage was dropped and didn't find out till I went to pick my scrips up. I was able very easily to reapply and get my coverage back but they refused to back date it to July 1. It seemed to be no concern that I would have nothing for a month. I have been on several sites trying to get help with the w/d and found the most info here. The 3rd was my last day with my meds. I apoligize for seeming to ramble but thinking straight is a struggle. I have rheumatoid arthritis and have severe neuropathy along with it. I take cymbalta with lyrica for my neuropathy and they both help a great deal. I have had w/d in the past from several things including narcotics but nothing compares to this. It has been nine days and things have changed but definently not gotten better. I have found that bendryl and dramimine have helped some but the best help is seeing that Im not alone. Along with the w/d's the burning and pain from my neuropathy is back in full force. The best way to describe it is I feel like bees are stinging me all the time and all over my body. My biggest concern is how hard it was to get info about my w/d's. I know this drug like many of them has side effects that can be worse from person to person and the past 4 years I've taken it it has helped me a great deal but finding info about stopping it was difficult. It just seems that they tell you only part of the info you need when it comes to the drugs we take. Like I said I have stopped taking a number of my drugs as I found new and better things or treatments but nothing has compared to the hell this has been. All I needed was help for one month and have found nothing but dead ends. Just sitting doing this is a struggle. I have been disabled for the past five years and have some experience with side effects and w/d's but this has been not only bad but from my and it seems many others experiences this seems dangerous. I have repeatedly felt I should go to the er but walking out of the house let alone driving is difficult. From what I've read starting back up could be a problem also. Any suggestions would be a great help and being able to vent a little helps also. Logic would suggest that drug companies and insurance companies should show some responsibilty not only while your taking your meds but when you have to or want to stop.Leaving people in not only difficult but dangerous positions by stopping there meds is torture and should be criminal. They love you when your spending thousands of dollars a year but turn there backs when you need evan just a little help.

[ExCymbaltaPt]

Hello all.

I was on Cymbalta until recently for pain management. The pharmaceutical company (Eli Lilly) provided the medication free of charge because I had no income. But then (a long story that I will skip here) I qualified for Medicaid. In my state, Medicaid will only pay for one branded medication and I was on three branded meds. One of the these is absolutely necessary for my medical condition, but I have managed to get that med from a pharmacy outside the US for a reasonable price. I am also on Lyrica for the pain and Medicaid will pay for that, but that is the one branded medication they will cover.

Cymbalta, I had to discontinue it because Eli Lilly WILL NOT provide patient prescription assistance for people on Medicaid EVEN IF Medicaid will not pay for it!

The cheapest price I have found for Cymbalta is $160 a month! There are some third world overseas pharmacies that claim to have a generic Cymbalta, but I don't trust meds from third world countries.

Since I weaned myself off the Cymbalta, I have had more trouble with the pain and have also noticed a change in my mood.

My only other options for the pain are NSAIDS and pain pills, both of which I can get as generic and are covered by Medicaid.

When I hear that the United States has the best health care in the world, I just laugh! The people who say this are either (1) Clueless or (2) Lying Like Rugs.