Ok, ok....

[susandennis]

I have pills. She (the doctor) was nice about it and didn't force the issue at all. It was my decision. She wants to see me a week from Thursday and send me to a fast lab which, apparently, has nothing to do with the speed of the laboratory but more with what you can't eat or drink before you pee and bleed for them.

Have I mentioned the slippery slope?

She said that assuming this pill works, I should be able to also avoid any erectile dysfunction. Oh and my swollen ankle might not be swollen any more.

On to the pharmacy. I just fell into the one that is there at the doctor's office. It looked easy and no waiting. It was. My insurance has a $150 deductible on drugs. The only drug I've purchased this year is my toothpaste. I figured out the other night that once I get the deductible paid, my toothpaste is going to be covered by insurance!!!

For some reason, the pharmacy people only charged me a copay. I don't understand. Ok, well, now I do. I called the insurance people who are amazingly easy to get a hold of and are very good about silly questions. So I asked her about why I did not pay the whole cost.

Turns out I did. 30 days of these pills cost... $2.80!!! At this rate, I'll be buying my own toothpaste forever! Geesh.

No adverse side effects yet. Of course, they might not kick in until I start taking the pills tomorrow.

Comments

[rsc.livejournal.com]

What are the pills? I control my blood pressure with Atenolol (a "beta blocker", whatever that is), which costs me a little more than that but not a whole lot.

[susandennis]

hydrocholorothiazide 25 mg. I don't think it blocks any betas but it is, apparently, a diuretic. Note to self: check toilet paper supply.

[happyjenn97.livejournal.com]

My dad's been taking those for years. Nothing scary there.

not a beta blocker

[henare.livejournal.com]

it's a diuretic. i take two every day. these are super-cheap. you'll need to pee about an hour or so after you take them (at least i do).

[legalmoose]

Be glad they're cheap, and that the deductible is relatively low. I had a $600 (!!!) deductible one year. As I recall, I simply did without allergy meds that year. :-p

[susandennis]

Oh I'm better than that... I've had health insurance most of my life and I think it's kind of amazing that this is the first time I've ever had to use the drug part. All I know about drug costs are what I see on the evening news and the total monthly bill that Mom paid (usually about $2,000).

Hell, asprin costs more than this stuff!

[davmoo.livejournal.com]

Consider yourself lucky. I don't have medical insurance other than Bank of Dave's Right Pocket. My pills (Altace/Ramipril) this morning were 30 for $60...$2 a pill.

[jwg.livejournal.com]

You are probably getting cholesterol test which requires fasting.

Well, you won't need any trips to Canada to save money for those BP pills.

[rivendweller.livejournal.com]

I started with a diuretic and most of the time it works. Didn't work for me. So I had to move on to the beta blocker. It worked, but didn't prevent basilar artery migraines (which is a rare neurological condition that I was blessed with, geeze). So the neurologist put me on a calcium channel blocker, and it works just fine. I've been stuck with blood pressure pills for nearly 20 years now. But I haven't had a stroke or heart attack!

Don't be surprised if you have to try a few different kinds of blood pressure pills until you settle on the kind that works for you. That's normal procedure.

[tmb2005.livejournal.com]

It's really distressing what a lot of these medications cost - thank goodness there are still some that are reasonably priced. I take a beta-blocker, which is very cheap, and also an ACE inhibitor (Altace, as davmoo mentioned), which is not. But thank goodness I have fairly good prescription coverage to help pay for it.

[letmesaythis.livejournal.com]

I take that diuretic too. It may actually make you tolerate the heat a little better...less swelling. I'm glad [relieved] that you decided to try medicine.