Pharmacy Frustration!!!

I wrote briefly about my frustration with my pharmacy in previous posts. I FINALLY got the issues resolved after 3 weeks of dealing with multiple pharmacies, and my husbands doctor thinking we were trying abuse the medications bc they had to contact several different pharmacies before we finally got it right. My insurance recently started requiring us to use a certain mail order pharmacies for any medication requiring more than 2 refills or they charge us a surcharge. After dealing with this mail order pharmacy for 2 weeks saying they didnt get the prescriptions, they couldnt verify the prescription was faxed from a doctors office, that they couldnt talk to me bc the could find my HIPA authorization, and lots of other issues I finally find out two days before my husband is due for his shot and after two weeks of trying to get it filled that I have to go through a specialty pharmacy. So the process started ALL OVER again :( Imagine my frustration.... So I figured I would share some information that I learned from my experience in an attempt to save someone else from the same situation. When dealing with fertility meds its not as easy as the doctor call it in and you pick it up in an hour - please take a second to read all the information below bc I promise it will save you ALOT of frustration.

First things first!! If you are a spouse of the one receiving the medications but you are the one that typically handles ordering refills and pick up of the meds then

It's been a while......

The last 4 weeks of my life have been the most chaotic, stressful, and overwhelming. So much so that the "fertility" stuff took a back seat for a couple weeks ~ which I cant say was a bad thing because the fertility stuff was about to drive me insane. I sat down to right a post several times but I never completed one because although I use this a stress reliever, it actually started stressing me out more thinking about everything at once so I decided to wait on the posts until I was mentally in a better place.

My Aunt (who I mentioned in my last post) passed away September 15th. It is so hard to lose someone you love, but I realized it so much harder watching you loved ones suffer and watching your surviving loved ones hurt. She held on for over 2 weeks in hospice, most of which my mother and my aunt sat at side. As much as I hate that place "hospice" I tried to be there as much as possible to be there for my mom. We did have a few "minor" family meltdown but NOTHING like I was afraid of. I was expecting another World War, but everyone did try their best to understand that everyone grieves in different ways.

Unfortunately we have a few family members that rely on drugs and alcohol to grieve...

In need of a money tree.....

Feeling a little anxious today ~ the doctor has just called in Novarel & Repronex injections for Greg. The doctor has prepared us that insurance may not cover it and it quite expensive. I have called the insurance company and gotten the "if its for specific purposes and medically necessary" it will be covered under "teir 4" (the most expensive copay)....but of course until the prescription is processed and approved they cant make any promises and with our purpose being for fertility we always have the chance they do not approve it for his low testosterone. My history with prescriptions, pharmacies, and the insurance company tell me to be prepared for the worst so Im not expecting anything to be covered and when it is it will be a nice surprise even if it is the most expensive copay AT LEAST ITS COVERED......The price of these meds without insurance is more than our monthly income a month so fingers crossed its covered!!! So having a slight melt down that Im hoping is resolved with a good news call from the pharmacy. The financial aspect of infertility is very stressful. Greg and I are luckily to have amazing parents who do what ever they can to support us emotionally and financially through this difficult time, but for us it is still hard to ask for that help and support. I remember it taking me days to let his parents know what was going on when the doctors were recommending we prepare for IVF, I knew the first question would be how much do you need...ughhhh how do you say $20,000 give or take??? I dont know anyone that has that kind of money laying around and the last thing I want is for someone else to have to take out a loan for that.  Although we have had help with the expenses incurred so far (copays, gas for specialist 2 hrs away, prescriptions., MRI, etc) it is still stressful to know that it only gets more expensive as we proceed with new treatments and it is hard not to feel like a burden to others when we should be self sufficient adults!