Older Medications

[DoubtingThomas29]

Hi there, I have schioaffective Disorder, which without my medications, I have symptoms of schizophrenia, and Bipolar. Which is basically a mood disorder, with a thought disorder. I really cannot afford my health insurance anymore, because I am only working two days a week, and making only eight hundred dollars a month. My health insurance costs, two hundred sixty five dollars a month, and meds run sixty dollars a month for the co pays, and to see the psychiatrist, that costs fifty dollars. So I can't afford it really. I plan to take the older psychiatric drugs, to treat my schizophrenia, and bipolar. I'll take lithuim, and some other drug for the schizophrenia, I plan to take the lowest theraputic dosage, to minimize side effects. I'll have to have tests done to check my kidneys to make sure they stay healthy, but instead of paying three hundred fifty dollars a month formy psychiatric care, I'll only spend eight dollars a month for the drugs, and average thirty three dollars to see the psychiatrist. I'll probably only spend six hundred dollars a year for my psychiatric care, as apposed to the three or four thousand dollars a year I was spending, on a salary of ten thousand a year, it was really hard to do that you bet.

So what do you know about the older psychiatric drugs? I hope they work as good as the new ones, that is for sure.

 

[goldenviolet]

i took a class on meds; solely to educate myself on my meds. thomas and i already talked about what i learned about older drugs. anyhow, Thomas, i was poking around at something and came across these two links. they are actually contrary to what i was told... but relevent for your topic. they're on studies that determined the older drugs may have worked better. the newer ones just have fewer side effects.
http://www.schizophrenia.com/sznews/archives/004020.html
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-12/uom-nad120406.php
also as i saw your post... it struck me... do you know if the money you spend on meds is refundable at tax time? mine are, i though it was a fedral mandate. so everything i spend on premiums and meds, is tax deductable. also i had two other thoughts! lol... ask your pharmacy for literature on the drugs you are looking into... i know you can find it online as well... but i just found out that walgreens gives out more easier to understand info to phyc out pacients. so does most hospitals; because they throw little education classes for the community education on perscription meds. then the last thing that stuck me was walmart's four dollar for any perscription offer. i have no clue about it, but it made me think about comparing drug stores. lol.. xo dee

 

[DoubtingThomas29]

Well honestly about tax deductions, that eight thousand dollar deduction is sixty percent to almost a full hundred percent of my income, so I am paying no taxes, because my income is so low, which I regret, I would like t ocontribute to the government, and think like I paid something to a GI soldier in Iraq, instead with that six hundred dollar rebate, I paid no taxs this year, they let me keep almost all fourteen thousand dollars that I made, other than the few hundred dollars to social security, and Medicare. And I spent all of it, so now I am making less money, but I feel that, I have reduced my bills to almost nothing, and I am living with my parents, so really, I can exist on seven hundred dollars a month. I spend two fifty on food, and about two hundred on gas, the other three hundrd, I can put that towards, my credit card, and the occasional purchas of clothing, or something stupid, that I don't need, got to have room for that stupid purchase, it keeps the economy going, or save it for a car, that would be good. I think in July I'll be making a thousand a month, which then I'll be able to get a car in a year probably, and finally have some money put away for an forseen job loss, or some emergency like that, but that'll take a year I bet.

 

[DoubtingThomas29]

I have reduced the cost of my psychoatric care to $796 a year that is down from paying $370 a month.

Now I am paying about $66 a month now. That is a reduction in cost of eighty two percent. This is so cool, I can pay my bills now. Great!!!! I take haldol for my schizophrenia, and lithium for my mood disorder. I am sane, and I am happy.

 

[Alive again]

I have reduced the cost of my psychoatric care to $796 a year that is down from paying $370 a month.

Now I am paying about $66 a month now. That is a reduction in cost of eighty two percent. This is so cool, I can pay my bills now. Great!!!! I take haldol for my schizophrenia, and lithium for my mood disorder. I am sane, and I am happy.

That is great news!

 

[DoubtingThomas29]

The costs for my psychiatric care should be seven hundred dollars a year, this is so cool, I can pay my bills, before I couldn't pay my bills, this is really working out you bet. I am paying like sixty dollars a month for my health care, this is great.

 

[DoubtingThomas29]

I have to buy my meds tomorrow, you know how much that is going to cost me? Two Prescriptions, some people pay two or four hundred dollars, or go without their meds. Me because I use generics, older psychiatric drugs, I will pay $8.00. Thank You Jesus and Target!

 

[Korah]

I have to buy my meds tomorrow, you know how much that is going to cost me? Two Prescriptions, some people pay two or four hundred dollars, or go without their meds. Me because I use generics, older psychiatric drugs, I will pay $8.00. Thank You Jesus and Target!

The older meds do have severe side effects for some people. I can never take lithium again, because I have hyperparathyroidism caused by the lithium I was taking 20 years ago. Tegretol has to be monitored to prevent liver damage, and it gives me severe migraines so I can't take it anyway. (Trileptal is the newer alternative to tegretol, and doesn't give me migraines.) Depakote has like side effects, and I never took it long because it gave me a stiff neck.
For your schizophrenic side you can get cheap drugs like thorazine, but in the long run you'll get tardive dyskinesia.
Keep on taking cheaper older drugs to stabilize yourself so you can get a better job, then pay for insurance or the better newer drugs.