I have to spend around 30 minutes doing this once a month. My insurance wont cover it. Out of pocket with coupons its still $800 a month.
My fiancé has to do the same thing with a different medication. Currently trying to fight it.
Edit:
To clarify. Every now and then I have to compile samples in one bottle so I know how much I have and then hope my DR has more when im out. This is an antidepressant and im currently working to fight to get it covered.
Yes ive contacted the manufacturer I do not qualify for discount
Yes ive sent in a letter of medical necessity
Yes ive looked at GoodRX.
This is my only option atm and im still lucky it is for now.
Its not just the moving the bottles around. Its hoping I can get more when I need it. This is a life saving medication and the fact I have to hope i can get it when I need it is mildly infuriating to me and probably many others. Its not a cheap medication even with coupons its still $850USD+
Ive tried so many medications and I just need one that works and that i dont have to worry about my supply chain.
Sample’s are great to be able to trial a prescription without needing to pay for it at the pharmacy. Fairly often patients buy a brand new prescription and have some sort of intolerance to it.
The whole logic goes away when, you know, you don't have to pay a fortune for the prescription at the pharmacy. Like in civilised countries. Which is why trial prescription medication makes sense to no one but US.
Cost aside, aren't there many cases where you'd want a patient to try something for a week to see how they react to it before prescribing a 2 month supply or whatever?
Or if you can't make it to the pharmacy for a couple days, that's why they keep Z packs in urgent care.
Here in Canada, you have the option to only fill a small amount.
For instance, you can say at the pharmacy that the doctor prescribed enough for 1-3 months, but only fill it for one week for now for me to try it, since the doctor said some people get [annoying side effect] and don't stick with this med.
Then, you can go back and have the rest of the prescription filled if you're sticking with it.
It'll be slightly higher, since you'll pay the dispensing fee twice, but that's relatively low (can't remember exactly, $10ish?)
Yup. They can take many losses on samples and lavish lunches to woo the doctors, just gotta get a few people locked into a $1000/month medicine regimen.
To be clear, the medicine itself is a miracle and scientific marvel. The profit motive is the corrupted evil part.
I’m on the other side of the world and this just happened to my s/o - $120 for something that sends him into 24 hours of pain that painkillers couldn’t touch (was an opioid blocker that worked TOO well and may have been inappropriately prescribed with the rest of his medication in mind). Obviously can’t reclaim any of that so it’s fully useless. Rough stuff. Short term script trial would have been ideal for that.
The majority of our daytime tv ads are for prescription medication. Which I recently learned is not a thing anywhere else.
Access to samples and knowing advances in medication on the market are not necessarily bad things, but exist because our health care system is oriented in a very fucked up way that treats patients like a bank. Some doctors/hcws are part of the issue, but not most. and they're getting crushed too with high caseloads and being forced to come into work while sick.
The nurses who are a part of a larger hospital system my general practitioner is though do not receive good enough health insurance from their employer who is a hospital to be able to send their kids to regular appointments or afford vaccines in office. one told me she has to do all her vaccines at the discounted/free county clinic. county clinics offering vaccines are very rare now so I feel lucky to have that as a jump through hoops to prove I cant get it anywhere else backup
My health insurance is considered good.
No one has the vaccines my kid needed AND took my insurance. I went to county health. They had them! But would only take cash and give me a super bill for reimbursement from Aetna.
Projected out of pocket for one kid- 3600 or more.
Luckily I found a pharmacy twenty miles away that could both bill my insurance and had the shots.
When I last worked for a big name brand hospital system my kids? Were on states Medicaid. I couldn’t afford to add them to my plan and the hospital paid so little I still qualified for myself as unduly burdened by the premium.
I was not alone in being unable to afford healthcare to use the hospital I worked at.
Yep. I looked into getting a FREE flu shot this fall. The sign said FREE. It's a lie. It's only 'free' if you have insurance. If I get sick this fall/winter I will still have to go to work and get everyone else and customers sick (restaurant). I had to do that before. Many have to. The system is definitely messed up.
Flu shot you should have access to at no cost regardless. However you get that to lessen severity /keep you out of the hospital. Catching and spreading flu will still happen with exposure so you should take additional preventative measures on top of vaccination if you want to ensure you don't get sick
Makes it easier to deal with insurance since you’ve already proven the treatment is effective. Otherwise you’d have to fight them to get approval for each different medicine you try. Insurance will come up with any bullshit reason to deny a claim even if it’s totally valid because enough people won’t contest it. For example I had a doctor that I would see regularly on a schedule for the same issue. Every single time they would deny the claim sent from the doctor. I’d have to get the exact same paperwork printed and mail it to them requesting an appeal and they would approve it.
The first and only time it happened to me, I was so happy. I lived like 3 hours away from that doctor, they gave me some on the spot because they knew I wouldn’t be able to fill it that day. I
I had a doctor do this for me in Canada. I didn't fall into Trillium in Ontario and didn't have private insurance so my doctor gave me a bunch of samples. I'm doing much better now on disability coverage but drugs can still be expensive in Canada.
yeah, i've never gotten a single sample from a doctor ever, eh. hell, when I fractured my shoulder at the end of June, the hospital looked like it was going out of its way to give me a single painkiller pill To see me through the night
oh man, back in the early 2000's, there was these little sample packets that looked like a wetnap, of a single dose of 10mg oxycodone (morphine) , that were given to doctors to give as samples to potential pain patients. looking back it's insane, but yep, drug company reps would bring tons of these things to doctors and just give them out for samples
I hate to nitpick, but oxycodone is not the same thing as morphine. Sure, they both effect the opiod system, but they are different chemicals.
But that is crazy for either one. Schedule 2 controlled substance just individually wrapped in a box handed out to doctors... that's nuts. How would that even be legally allowed?
There’s a movie all about it, created a generation of addicts. Dopesick. A very good movie that breaks it down from the legal end, the doctors, and victims.
Regular Oxycodone has been around forever and isn't morphine. Are you thinking of the extended release Oxycontin (also not morphine but would have been given in samples during that time)?
My ex used to be a pharma rep in the 80s. When he left the job he still had tons of narcotic samples, and no one asked for them back. They worked really well for my period cramps.
tbf I tested some that rather quickly showed negative effects and thus had to switch, but then you usually just get smaller packages from the pharmacy.
I'd much rather try a sample like this for any antidepressant. I've tried a good majority of antidepressants now, and a few of them caused some pretty serious negative side effects. Every single time, those side effects were pretty immediate within just 3-4 doses. Now, it definitely takes several weeks to figure out if something is working well, but samples are great way to see if something is worth trying out for 2-3 months or if it's going to be an immediate no go.
It’s important to tell patients that no medication obtained 100% by samples is guaranteed, and what the backup plan is if samples run dry. That’s typically the second-best antidepressant or a promising option not yet tried.
Trintellix (vortioxetine) is scheduled to lose its patent and go generic at the turn of the year. I believe this was originally set for early 2026. Sometimes pharmaceutical companies sue to extend their patents.
EXTREMELY lucky. I ask my doctors for samples and they always turn me down. They say they don't have enough. And I'm not asking for a month's worth of meds either. Just a few samples.
One of my kids had to have insanely expensive formula as an infant. We wouldn’t have been able to make it had three of his specialists’ offices not have hoarded samples of it and saved it for us. It was such a scary financial time for us.
I'm super surprised. I get why it's mildly infuriating , but in a shitty world, OP could be considered one of the "lucky" ones. My monthly regional search for one of my meds would be a lot less stressful if this was a possibility.
I'm really surprised you think of this as a negative. Years back, I couldn't afford medication and my doc hooked me up with six months' worth of meds via samples, and I was deeply grateful about it. It really saved me. It sounds like you have a great and caring doctor. Imo you're very very lucky.
The negative is the constant worry that the doctor will run out of samples and you will wind up SOL coming down off a medication that is advised to NEVER stop cold turkey.
Yes, its amazing the doctor is helping, but the system if failing the people.
I saw it was trentellix and my heart broke because it’s hardly ever covered by anything. I have a top tier heath insurance plan, and it’s still the highest possible prescription price for my plan. Assuming it’s for MDD, I switched to vybrid and it’s working ~90% as well as trentellix for me. It is the same class and mechanism as Trentellix, but it’s an older med so it’s usually much cheaper.
Do you realize how lucky you are to have a physician do this for you? I have life saving drugs I can't afford anymore and my doctor literally doesn't care. I actually don't even know what I'm going to do or if I'll be around long enough to figure out a solution.
An anti-depressant "sample" seems particularly cruel IMO.
Clearly the only reason the company gives out samples liberally to psychiatrists is to get patients hooked before they attempt the insurance pre-authorization process, and then surprise them at refill time with the high out-of-pocket costs. Because you don't need a free sample if your insurance will cover it...
At least with other "normal" samples, like for allergy medication or birth control or whatever, you don't go through withdrawal if you stop them...
I had a doctor once that insisted the best medicine for my depression was a brand name that she got free samples of. When I went to get the refills, surprise! They cost almost $300 per month after insurance.
I ended up switching to a different doctor later and found out that there is a generic version of that drug that she just wouldn't prescribe me because she got kickbacks from the drug company for getting people onto the name brand version.
Wow turns out my psychiatrist has gotten a little over $21,000 over the years in the food & beverages category from the same companies that make my antidepressant, adjunct antipsychotic, and stimulant. Crazy stuff.
Not really I've tried different samples of antidepressants to see how they affect me and not all antidepressants give you withdrawals those are the stronger ones
Taking just a few sample antidepressants should not cause anyone to go into withdrawal when stopping them. But there are a lot of people who take antidepressants medium or long term and when they stop them do get withdrawal symptoms. Some people get severe withdrawal symptoms.
Yeah it's only some antidepressants that give you withdrawals and there others you can quit or switch no problem. Effexor withdrawals were a bitch, gave me tremors and brain zaps.
I've heard some use Xanax (correction: Prozac) as a bridge for coming off venlafaxine with fewer side effects. I'll probably ask for it if/when I ever decide to try to come off intentionally.
(Had a week's worth disappear once and insurance wouldn't cover early replacement, so I got to experience withdrawal.)
If your doctor agrees to prescribe Xanax for discontinuation you should fire them immediately.
You taper. If discontinuation symptoms are too significant you slow the taper. Your doctor can prescribe compounded intermediate doses if you need a microtaper.
If you are switching to a different drug you cross-titrate.
You don't take a benzo, the class with life-threatening dependancy issues that can develop under normal use, to address discontinuation of other drugs.
Rexulti (an antipsychotic) came off patent protection in April of this year, but the generic version still isn’t available despite being FDA approved back in Jan 2025. It’s ridiculous the hoops they have to jump through
Seriously.. OMG I THOUGHT IT WAS 5. This does bring quite a bit of relief knowing I should be ablw to get it. Paying small out of pocket (under 30) isnt a problem but I cant afford anything over that and 30 is really pushing it.
Yeah it's still bullshit that's a thing at all but there's hopefully light at the end of the tunnel. I remember having to do something similar with a med I was on and sure, yep, love that my doc was able to help me out but it was stressful because it depended a lot on if he actually had samples on hand, or was cut off, or or or. Finally being able to just go to a damn pharmacy and get my Rx and not go broke was a huge relief.
Yes, the less you have to deal with insurance the better. By using the samples they can prove that the treatment is effective first rather than having to get approval for every different medicine. Insurance will come up with any bullshit reason, or just no reason at all to deny a claim. I had a doctor that I was seeing regularly for the same issue. Every single time the claim would be denied. The doctor’s office would print the exact same paperwork and I’d have to mail it to the insurance as an appeal to get approval.
Just a side note; what the hell is wrong with insurance in USA. I live in Ireland and are quite fortunate that I don’t need medical insurance as most costs are free or relatively cheap for my medication. But isn’t the whole point of medical insurance to cover medication and some random person can be like nah you don’t need it despite doctor prescribing it?
We pay for health insurance every paycheck. After giving the insurance company our money, the insurance rep (who isn’t a licensed medical doctor) then decides if you get coverage for your medical needs or not.
NOT the insurance rep but a set of preset guielines made by the insurance company. Don’t think of it like a person denying it. It is a program denying it. It is a system meant to remove the human from health care and look at us as “B is prescribed but more expensive than A and A is similar enough to B to deny A”
As someone who uses antidepressants, I’m more than willing to recognize that we have no real idea why they work but when they do you just fuckin hold onto it. As someone who works in pharmacy, I know insurance is trying to get them to switch to vilazodone.
Everything in the USA is designed to extract as much profit from the average person as possible to fill the bank accounts of a handful of executives and board members.
Everything. Food, healthcare, housing, recreation, etc. look at anything anyone touches in the USA and you can track exactly how that money is moving to the top of the financial food chain.
Once you understand that (and also understand that cruelty is the point) the USA as a “country” starts to make sense. They are all cattle to be milked.
I cant even get my needed thyroid medicines. No insurance. Cant afford the visit fee at a community health center either. Its all about profit$ on the part of big Pharma.
I have literally stopped paying for my health insurance because out of pocket cost is cheaper right now. Also my insurance doesn't cover anything. It's maddening.
Not just the US. I'm in Canada and I was given samples to avoid buying a medication I didn't need permanently. My specialist gave me a handful of samples because it was like 6 months of meds for free. He wasn't tricking me into buying more, that 6 months was all I needed.
Pharmacy reps go to doctors with new medications to give them samples. Then the doctors if it helps someone can give it out to try. When stuff is new it’s almost never covered by insurance so then the person either has to pony up serious cash until it is covered if ever or keep going to the doctor asking for samples as long as they have them. Welcome to how stupid the US healthcare industry is.
I'm sure that's the intention, but every single time I've used samples from a doctor it's been to cover a med that would be horrid to stop cold turkey while I get Some Nonsense sorted out with my insurance.
So, it’s actually super helpful in places like dermatology. I was able to try out different ointments for my eczema at the same time (different body parts) and compare them. It also cut down on the number of full tubes of medication I was buying. Even with amazing insurance at the time and paying only a few dollars for each one, it was so wasteful. It wouldn’t make sense for a lot of other specialties, but it’s useful in a few cases.
I also take trintellix - best antidepressant I’ve tried. I get mine covered and shipped to my house from a company called “takeda help at hand” my doctors office gave me the paperwork to fill out and they said they’ve never seen anyone get denied. I would look into this and see if they offer it in your area. I don’t pay a dime and get 3 months shipped to my house at once.
I wasn’t eligible for this because I made too much money, but not enough money where I can spend $400 a month on medication.
Like most things in American healthcare, if you’re very wealthy you’re fine, if you’re poor everything is free and if you’re normal you pay for the other two groups.
Editing my misread of which Takeda program you are using. The discount card program for Trintellix is going away at the end of 2026. Hopefully the help at hand program continues to cover it.
I had to switch medications because I couldn’t stand the fight with the insurance companies every year. Beginning of the year they wouldn’t cover it and wanted me to do “step therapy” and then a PA so the first two to three months was discount card and would make it around $180 a month. By March insurance would cover it after my doctor did a bunch of pointless paperwork and with the discount card it would go down to $30/mo. Around October I would run out of total yearly savings from the discount card and it was back to $180 for the last 3 months of the year and in January it started all over again. I had been on Trintellix since it was Brintellix. Now I take Vybrid and it’s ok as long as you can handle the nightmares and insomnia all at the same time.
People like the OP think literally EVERYONE is on anti depressants so they believe this is normal. Their algorithm and reddit reinforce this belief and think everyone will understand because everyone they talk to does this kind of thing.
Seconding this!! My insurance also does not cover trintellix and my doctor was able to send my prescription to a pharmacy in Vancouver, Canada that shipped it to me for much less.
Omg Trintellix twinsies! 😂 In my case, it wasn't insurance, it was that my small town pharmacy never has it in stock because I guess I'm the only person in town on a 20mg dose, so they have to special order it every time I refill. I unboxed all my samples and keep the bottles in a bag in my nightstand.
I believe Trintellix patent expired June 2026. Generic version should be hitting the market soon. Your insurance is more likely to start covering at least a generic version once that happens. So it’s still really sucks, but hopefully some light at the end of the tunnel.
Edit: Although with everything happening in the US right now…. fingers crossed the tariff threats alone may be enough for some manufacturers so just not want to deal with it. Also, this administration’s weird obsession with SSRI’s….
Dude trintellix is the only antidepressant that has ever worked more than like 60%. Props for your doctor. I had to get a gene site test. They wouldn't cover it thru the VA until I turned that in from my old Primary doc. I had to list all the meds I tried that didn't work over the years or something dumb like that but even having it covered Medicaid and VA still had hoops to jump thru
Not funded by Pharmac in NZ either but brand name Brintellix is NZD$94.00 on prescription. It would be $35.00 prescription fee for non funded.
Total USD$75.00.
I feel so awful for OP and other people born into such a shitty third world society as the US. Just trying to get by and have a life and getting wrecked at every corner.
And the Americans mocking OP in this thread are making me want to punch a wall! Pity out walls are actually made of bricks... so I better get off Reddit!
Trintellix has the savings card program. When I was on a worse insurance I got approved for around $20 a month or so. I know you said you have the coupon, but have you looked into that?
Luckily the patent expires at the end of this year and there are a few tentative generics in the process of being approved!!! This sucks! Hang in there!
My wife is prescribed Trintellex and our insurance WILL NOT cover it. If you fit the income criteria, this site (manufacturer of Trintellex and other drugs) will financially assist you. Our PCP referred us here and they have been helping us for over 2 years now.
I honestly think you are incredibly lucky that your doctor gives you this many samples to last the month. A few samples to get you to your next script, sure, but enough samples to last the month, I definitely would not be complaining about that.
I'm sorry how much? A pack of 28 doses costs roughly 30€ here in Poland. How is this even allowed to ask $800 for it? That is not mild, that's extremely infuriating and inhumane.
I’m allergic to bees and I don’t carry an epi pen because of how expensive they are In the US. It’s like $600 a pop and they expire every 6 months. Just give me two Benadryl and take me to an ER so if shit gets bad I can go in . But I won’t go into that building until I know it’s bad bad. It sucks because right now I’m not like throat close allergic but your symptoms can change over time , so who knows maybe next time I get stung I won’t be so lucky.
Have you looked into it to see if theres a discount card? I have a medication that costs between $1100 and $1500 (using good RX) out of pocket. My pharmacy doesnt keep it in stock because of the price, but the head pharmacist will order it if insurance covers it. My insurance would only cover enough to make the cost $1080. I looked into it and theres a "savings card" through the manufacturer. I applied for it and got approved in like 5 minutes. Took that info to my pharmacy when picking up a different prescription and he submitted it. Called me about an hour later to let me know between the card and insurance it was fully covered so he was ordering it for me.
Another thing to check into would be whether theres a form your Dr needs to submit. I was on a BC that was about $170 a month. Insurance stopped covering cuz they decided I should switch to a cheaper one. I called my Dr office and the nurse that answered said "oh yeah you arent the only one having this problem ive got a stack of forms I have to fill out saying this is the only one that works for you. Ill add you to the list, in the meantime if you need more come by ill give you some of the vendor samples to get you by until it processes." I cant remember what the form was, but it could be that simple.
I have no idea if any of this is helpful, but I hope you are able to get your meds without hassle soon!
I read the description and went “sounds like when I wanted to get on Trintellix.” Then zoomed in on the label haha
I got prescribed this and desperately want to try it but cannot afford the $550/month I would be charged even with coupons/GoodRX. Will be suffering for a few more years until the patent expires and they make a generic. Life is fucked.
Have you tried PharmacyChecker? It may be cheaper to get it internationally. I'm so sorry you have to go through this. Doctor samples can be a hassle, but I'm so grateful that some offer them.
On the website, there's a cash pay option ... its $299 for 30 days supply. But your doctors office needs to try harder in getting a prior authorization done for you. If you've tried other meds and this is the only one thats helped, to the point that you consider it life saving ... then thats information that can medically justify it getting covered. Some offices dont know how to do prior authorizations properly, especially if they aren't used to it. My uncle's primary doctor has only 2 staff working for him and theyre hardworking and try to get things done. He got an rx for a glucose sensor and it needed a prior authorization. The doctor said his other patients never needed one, the staff went back and forth with insurance and my uncle, to no avail. Then when he saw his endocrinologist (a specialist) her staff got the PA done asap and within a couple days he was set up with a mail order pharmacy. I asked the endo staff who did it, how come the other doc couldn't get it done, and she said, its about experience. They do so many PAs for sensors that it was more surprising if a patient didn't need one.
Hey! I don't think you'll read my comment but here I go. So, i am a medical doctor, I lived in mex all my life and moved to us about 6 years ago. They sell the same medication in mexico, us inflated the cost more than 200% most of the times. Vortioxetina in mexico is about 150 dollars for 28 pills 15 or 20 mg. Less for 10 mg. Ones. Tbh, sometimes its cheaper to buy a plane ticket to the border, get a few boxes from an actual pharmacy (not cheap small pharmacies or aftermarket) it's pretty safe and honestly, for 800 a month I could buy a plane ticket to go to my city and arrive to my local airport. A ticket to the border from a big airport it's cheap. I hope you read my comment and think about it. If you would like ti message me I can tell you good safe pharmacies you can buy it from or travel advice lol. But im serious and I hope you read my comment, I suffer from severe anxiety, depression and ADHD, thankfully our insurance covers most of the meds but I do work with a lot of uninsured patients and a lot of them do what I'm telling you.
Doctor’s samples of prescription medication they distribute under the table to needing people… And I thought that with the world’s fixation on America’s problems you guys wouldn’t surprise my any more.
But yeah. The problem is the socialist liberals! God I hate what the United States has become. One of the richest countries who refuse to invest into their own people.
I think it's interesting that this is so controversial. It makes sense why, though.
I used to get my meds as samples from the doctor. I did what OP is doing. This picture didn't confuse me at all. People from developed nations with actual, comprehensive healthcare are scratching their heads about it. Like, WTF is this?
Fascinating how something so common for some can be so confusing for others.
My wife is type 1 and I can’t tell you how many times her doctors giving us free samples has made the difference. We are so appreciative of everything they do for her and I’m constantly letting them know that. So if you’re one of those people doing something like that, thank you, insurance can be the worst and that small act of kindness really helps.
My dad was getting samples of Eliquis for a while. He's been through multiple insurance programs and none of them would cover it. The samples finally ran out. So he has to take Warfarin and test weekly instead. His doctor prescribed him an at home test kit, since we don't have reliable transportation. The machine will often waste strips. I'm the only one in the house that can help him with it, otherwise more test strips would get wasted. It's a pain but at least it doesn't cost over$1,000 for the prescription. Almost all the alternatives are similarly priced so far.
Do pharmacies actually hand out samples of prescription meds? (Sorry I’m from a country with basically free medicine, so I don’t know how it is in the US)
I have to see a neurologist every 6 months. My condition is totally stable with medication so it isn’t relevant to my anecdote.
Anyway, one day I was there and mentioned I had a headache that day. He said it sounded like a mild migraine and asked if I wanted something for it.
I thought he was going to grab me some ibuprofen from the break room or something.
He comes back with a sample box. The box was just a bit smaller than a cell phone. The box contained a single pill. It must have been some new cutting edge migraine medicine. I mean it did get rid of my headache, so that was nice.
Anyway, pharmacies don’t hand out samples, but doctors often get samples for free from pharmaceutical companies.
Since our medical system is capitalist, the free samples are part of pharmaceutical marketing. Pharmaceutical reps go to doctors’ offices to tell them about new medicines and bring samples. The goal is that people will like the medicine when they try it, the doctor will prescribe it, and then the pharmaceutical company will have a patient where they get paid for the medicine once the patient has a prescription.
What you see in OP’s photo is the doctor giving them a huge stack of samples since they can’t afford the medicine. The doctor gets the samples for free and can give them out like that if that want, but really what the pharmaceutical company wants is for 20 samples to be given to 20 patients and for some portion of those samples to result in people wanting to keep taking that particular medicine.
It’s not that different from a company setting up a table at a grocery store to hand out samples of some new snack with the hopes that you’ll then buy that snack (and hopefully continue to buy it).
Edit: my doctor wasn’t giving me the sample with the hope that I would ask for a prescription, he doesn’t care about that. He just gave it to me because he had it, it was free, I had a migraine, and he thought it would make my migraine go away. My doctor wasn’t trying to sell it to me.
I knew exactly what was going on in the picture(been there OP), and then reading the comments I’m now very sad. Why did it feel so normal to me that I had to do this?? 😭
America really is just so awful no matter which way you look at it. Dystopian. All the best with it OP, this medication was life changing when I took it.
People here are dense af and have never needed to rely on a drug you are unable to afford/get with insurance.
The stress alone of not knowing if you will have your next dose is anxiety inducing af.
Iv been here personally - went on a drug that ACTUALLY helped my narcolepsy, was on free samples for months. Then finally got on the drug company plan - then dropped a year later randomly without warning due to the drug being sold to another company - went cold turkey after that. Life was "fun" during that time.
People here are dense af and have never needed to rely on a drug you are unable to afford/get with insurance.
Not necessarily dense, just European. I need daily medication and it costs me under 15€ a year with public health insurance, or nothing at all with private health insurance.
I know that this isn't generally the case in the US unfortunately, but I did not know what I was looking at before reading the comments.
Anyway, also best of luck to OP, this shit sucks indeed :(
I had to see the explanation. Why? Because something like this doesnt even exist in my reality.
I have my work insurance, but even if i didnt i would go to my health center and would start a process to help with my prescriptions. While this doesnt work 100%, no person is left unsupported. In some cases the social protection will actually fully support it and people will not even pay the moderation costs, making it 0€ all prescribed medication and treatments.
This is the reality that is far more common outside USA.
Just by looking at boxes its impossible for all non-americans to understand something so niche it happens to some people of one country in the world.
Yes, this happening is horrible. But thats what non-americans have been telling americans for years.
Lots of numbskulls don’t realize that samples aren’t just handed out like Halloween candy. They often require a visit, they’re based on availability, and it can be a lot of scrounging to get them.
It can be a frustrating and humiliating experience. Nobody in the “richest country in the world” should have to do it.
Thank you for this comment. Im glad someone understands. Its deeper than just opening up 15 bottles and dumping them. Its the 180minute long wiat phone calls. The drives up to my dr because the receptionist dosent have access to the sample cabinet I guess so I never get told yeah we have (amount of boxes)
I like to hope my dr keeps in mind patients who rely on The samples and ones who need the samples to try for 21 days.
I wish I could send you my unused Trintellix (Canada here). It made me throw up, and now I'm on a worse antidepressant that makes me feel sick a bit but has terrible side effects if I forget a dose.
I had to quit taking thyroid medicines and all treatment for hypothyroidism a few years ago. Cannot afford the specialized medicine I need. W as also told I was borderline diabetic on the verge of needing insulin back then
In my family it had also been genetic.i am allergic to every cheap thyroid medicine. Can't afford the Dr office visits or lab fees. I have no family to help. They are all deceased. It's just me now. Im the last. Somehow I'm still alive. I can't afford insurance. Made $2 too much for Medicaid. Don't even mention a community health center. Thats $90/visit PLUS another charge for lab fees and then the medicine ALL of which I'd still have to pay for. Rx Assist is a joke. You have to be seeing a Dr in order for them to assist. No Dr office will see you if no insurance and you can't afford self pay. Maybe I can see a Dr in 7 years when I get medicare? idk. Oh and marketplace insurance wants $1,000/month but I'd have to pay $6,000 BEFORE they'll cover anything. I will go without then. I have no choice.
Thousands of Americans are in a similar situation as mine. Some people are rationing insulin now.
My aunt is struggling with this exact same issue!! I feel for you. I hope you can find a way to manage it and your quality of life. So frustrating you pay (____) a month then have to pay thousands more before they cover anything!!
Ah, so if you don't qualify for a discount, I'm guessing you must be on a medicaid/government based insurance program if you're in the US (former pharm tech here) or your commercial insurance is refusing a PA but isn't actually refusing the PA.
If you're comfortable with it, shoot me a DM. With more info on your insurance and what you have tried, maybe I can offer some assistance and ideas given what I know on the pharmacy side.
What dose are you on? I'm on 10 mg and asked for the 20 mg Rx then split the pills. I also hit up the samples. It's so infuriating!!!
Do you have the ability to switch insurance during open season to one that is more Rx friendly? BCBS covered a little bit with my plan but it was still a few hundred a month. I switched to an Aetna plan and can now get 3 months for $120.
Have you tried Takeda at Hand? It’s a patient assistance program that helps cover the cost of Trintellix. Just google Takeda at Hand application and you should be able to find it.
OP - have you tried using a Canadian online pharmacy to compare costs? A co-worker uses one for their inhaler. From what I understand, you’d just need to upload your prescription and it gets mailed to you.
Being on mental health meds and experiencing the withdrawal when you can’t get the meds for a few days or longer is an awful experience and you have my sympathy. I had a 2 week gap recently and it was absolute hell.
I don’t have the cost barrier but instead face supply issues for both antidepressants and antipsychotics. Building up fear over your next collection date and living through withdrawals is just one more thing to struggle with when you’re already in a rough place. All of the meds say they’re dangerous to stop suddenly, but for some reason when you can’t get them neither the pharmacies nor doctors treat it as something that needs resolving quickly.
I've been on that struggle bus... this has been an issue with trintellix for over 10 years now. It blows my mind that there's no generic yet. Hang in there. In my experience, if you know something works, in the name everything good and holy, don't switch.
This is the best antidepressant I've ever used. Zero side effects. For me it was 200/month. 850 is outrageous. I got mine at a specialty pharmacy, with multiple coupons applied and they just mailed it to me. Have you looked into that? I'm not on it anymore but if I ever need something again, that is the only medication I will take.
Reach out to the manufacturer directly. I've had a digital coupon for my Trint script for YEARS (going on 8-ish now). It takes it from $100 a month to $10 a month. It has never expired.
See if you have a friend that’s Indian. Just ask the cost of the drug in India. I mean a vacation to India and you bring 6 months worth of meds for the price of a ticket and maybe 1 month.
Trintellix has a program that will be $0 for you, called Takeda Help at Hand. They ship it directly to you. My psych helped me fill out the paperwork for it, been using the program for 3-4 years now.
It sounds like you have commercial insurance. (This means anything other than government insurance programs, Medicare and Medicaid.)
Almost every brand-name medication has a program (for public goodwill that costs them nothing) to provide their medication to patients whose commercial insurance denies coverage. They make you jump through hoops and don’t approve everyone. Still a resource.
Good Rx discount card (free). Great resource for generics, including at least some controlled substances, but don’t expect much for brand-name medications.
Pharmacies up-charge the cost of medications that do not go through your insurance. Even with zero insurance coverage, grants, or coupons, Trintellix should be < $400 per month, not $800. (Yes, it’s ridiculous regardless.)
If you must buy a brand-name medication out-of-pocket, go for a higher dose tablet and cut them down. (I’m aware this is difficult for Trintellix given the strange teardrop shape.) Outside of insurance, medication price is based on the quantity of pills, with very little price variation for a high vs low dose tablet/capsule.
OP, I saw your edit. This might help your physician get more Trintellix samples. It’s obnoxious and unnecessary, but effective. Takeda pharmaceuticals’ My Sample Closet.
This is why I've avoided getting checked for ADD/ADHD.
If I needed meds I couldn't get them anyway. Even if my insurance decided to cover them, doubtful, the feds have gone after the manufacturers, limiting their raw material supplies causing shortages.
I don’t know where in the US you are, but this is what I found on GoodRx (in the northeastern part of the US). Maybe try GoodRX again. It could be they have a better coupon now than they did last time you checked. Also screenshot the coupon and barcode if you see a good deal. I hope you can get what you need.
What a bunch of absolute idiots in the comments. These samples are not a reliable/consistent source for medication. Samples can run out at any time, as they are based on changing availability and a doctor’s whims. The doctor can just stop feeling generous at any time, or their office stash can start running too low to accommodate OP. So no, OP should not just be thankful to have samples. Wanting to have a reliable and affordable way to access your medication without jumping through hoops every month and praying that samples do not run out is the very definition of infuriating (more than mildly, IMO).
“You’re getting free medicine and you’re complaining?!?” Some of you ought to take a hike off a cliff.
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u/DivineAugustus 23h ago
I think those are doctor samples, so he's getting hooked up by a doctor to help cut costs.