it is unbelieveable how much they charge for drugs

Hi, I picked up a prescription a few minutes ago for provigil that my dr. wanted me to try.
I simply could not believe how much it was, 644.99 for 30 tablets!!
I had no idea it was so expensive,it blew me away!

You might want to read this if you don't have insurance or limited coverage.

http://www.provigil.com/index.php?t=pat&p=assistance

I know. I'm taking some pretty common medications and it blows me away how much they cost each month. Thank goodness for insurance, is all I can say. These medications would be unreachable without insurance.

Thanks Kempo, that was so nice of you to send me that! i am one of the lucky ones though, I have insurance and only cost me a small fee.
I just amazes me how much it cost. I have been taking nexium for years and that's I think 359.00,
I can't get over 644.99!
janknitz,you are so right,they would certainly be unreachable for me if I didn't have insurance.
Have a good night!

Whenever you are self-pay, go to Costco...For example, they will show prices for drugs on their web site...you do not need to be a member to use the pharmacy. They quote 100mg Provigil bottle of 30 for $415.85. You would have saved $230.00.

LSAT wrote:Whenever you are self-pay, go to Costco...For example, they will show prices for drugs on their web site...you do not need to be a member to use the pharmacy. They quote 100mg Provigil bottle of 30 for $415.85. You would have saved $230.00.

Thanks but mine are 200mg.
My insurance covered them but thanks for caring.
have a good night.

I know this is a it off topic - but regarding Nexium I used to take that for GRD. It worked well but I got tired of how expensive it was. (Even with insurance) I switched to Protonix, (which is now a generic) and it works just as well if not better than Nexium. I know everyone's chemistry is different but if you haven't tried it give it a go.

digitaleagle wrote:I know this is a it off topic - but regarding Nexium I used to take that for GRD. It worked well but I got tired of how expensive it was. (Even with insurance) I switched to Protonix, (which is now a generic) and it works just as well if not better than Nexium. I know everyone's chemistry is different but if you haven't tried it give it a go.

I find this answer funny.....I was on Protonix for 2 years and this past summer, my insurance dropped it from their formulary and put me on Nexium. I have to take one or the other for the rest of my life, because I had my gallbladder removed.

Nexium, Prilosec, Protonix, Aciphex, Prevacid and Zegarid are all what are called Proton Pump Inhibitors, or PPI drugs. Structurally, they resemble one another. The differences are largely intended to confer patent protection and its exclusive marketing advantage to the developer, not to get too cynical about the field I work in.

For my money, I can buy plain old Omeprazole (generic for Prilosec) over the counter at the supermarket. No reason to use anything else. (Disclaimer: I'm not an M.D. If yours thinks otherwise, listen to him/her, not me.) However, now that I'm on CPAP, my GERD symptoms are only a memory.

I spent several years developing another variation on the theme of these PPIs. My employer was late to the party. So when Prilosec went generic, the writing was on the wall. Funding for the project was pulled, and the drug I developed exists only in my file cabinet and a patent hanging on my wall.

Don't get me started on why prescription drugs cost so much. 15 years for the discovery and development of a new drug is not uncommon. Drug formulators frequently can only claim four or five drugs taken from concept to market during their careers.