Prescription prices

[pomtzu]

OUTRAGEOUS!!!!! I don't know how people can afford them. I take no prescription meds on a regular basis so I don't carry Medicare prescription coverage. When I do need an occasional prescription, then I pay full price, minus my AARP discount. And boy oh boy - I got socked today!!!
I had to go to my ophthalmologist because of a pea sized lump right in the middle of my upper eyelid. Come to find out it's a clogged tear duct most likely caused by some sort of bacteria. So I have to put hot compresses on it several times each day and massage it too, and it might break it up. If not, then it has to be removed. Anyway, doc prescribed an oral antibiotic (at a reasonable price), and antibiotic eyedrops that must be laced with gold and platinum!!! A tiny 3ml bottle set me back $95.29, and that was after the AARP discount of $38.70. Pharmacist said "sorry - no generic available!" I thought I would have to be resuscitated on the spot! Just as a size comparison - it takes 29.5735593ml to equal 1 ounce, and this bottle is 3ml. I don't even want to convert it to gallons!!!! And I thought the price of gas per gallon was bad. I sure hope I won't have to have the script refilled.

If I was young and starting out, I think I would be going to school for pharmacology.


ETA:
Okay - curiosity got the best of me and I had to figure price per gallon. At full prescription price (not figuring the discount), the price per gallon would be $169,094.35. Tell me these pharmaceutical companies don't make money - just like the oil companies don't!

[Karen]

Yes, they make money! Of course, some drugs cost them millions in research to develop, so some of it goes to repay that, and if there's no generic available, you know it must be a fairly new drug to the market, as it's still under patent production, but given the convoluted state of health care today, I am not surprised at that price tag. Sorry you had that "sticker shock!" Hope it works, and you never need a refill!

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Vigamox? My kids have been on that. The price HIGH, but man, that stuff works fast.

[pomtzu]

Vigamox? My kids have been on that. The price HIGH, but man, that stuff works fast.

Yup - Vigamox. I remember now that it's what I had to take when I had cataract surgery several years ago. It was only around $80 then.

[Freedom]

Ellie, congrats on NOT having any regular meds! OMGosh, I can't imagine, lol. Dad has 17 scripts daily, plus a few once a week things. I have 7 daily ones.

You may want to talk with a SHIP rep at your local senior center about picking up a prescription plan. I think the next time you can add one is end of the year.

[pomtzu]

Ellie, congrats on NOT having any regular meds! OMGosh, I can't imagine, lol. Dad has 17 scripts daily, plus a few once a week things. I have 7 daily ones.

You may want to talk with a SHIP rep at your local senior center about picking up a prescription plan. I think the next time you can add one is end of the year.

Yes. I am fortunate that I don't have to take a lot of meds. Blood pressure is normal to a little low, cholesterol is great, don't have blood sugar issues, etc. The only prescriptions I get is my B-12 for injection every 2 weeks, which costs next to nothing, and a couple of IBS meds I keep on hand in case I have a flare up, but I seldom have to take them and they are super cheap too. I don't have to pay for my infusion of Prolia (like Reclast) that I get every 6 months, because that's done as a procedure at an infusion center, and Medicare covers that - that runs around $1000 per pop! So that's why I don't carry any prescription coverage tho I have looked into various plans - it is all VERY expensive and with the discount card I have thru AARP, I normally make out just fine. It's those once in a blue moon meds like I got yesterday, that send me into shock. I pay out more every month for meds for the Fuzzbuttz than I do for myself - 2 scripts for each of them!

I guess I've just gotten spoiled with not having to take a lot of meds to keep me going, and should consider myself lucky. Just seeing what people have to pay out on a regular basis is a real eye-opener. I just hope I never have to join those ranks!