Wellness

[Patriot3]

---

@spumoni99 wrote:

---

@Patriot3 wrote:

Thanks everyone for  your opinions.  They are appreciated.  I know everyone's reaction is different to scripts, but it is still helpful.

I am under the care of a cardiologist.  However, I only see NPs or PAs.  I haven't seen the doctor for a couple of years.  I was just recently diagnosed w/failure.  It is so hard to get an appt. w/the doc.

---

Do you have any way of at least sending a message to the doctor?  With that new diagnosis I would think you would take priority.  My mother was diagnosed this was years ago but she died a week later, I did take her to the doctor but in hindsight he really didn't do anything for her, she had recently been put on celebrex for arthritis.  I know people live yeaars with heart failure it just scares me with my experience, she was only 71.

---

@spumoni99  I'm so sorry about your Mother.  That is just too young!  Your suggestion is a good one.......never thought of that......thanks!

[BlueFinch]

The FDA has approved Jardience for the treatment of heart failure. Every single medication we take can have side effects, including non prescription meds and supplements.

Jardience is not unique in having lots of reported side effects. In fact, a lot of even older medications have Black Box warnings for the number of reported issues, but they're still prescribed. I'd love to never have to take a single medication, EVER, but take a couple that I must.

I totally get that you're feeling anxious about filling this script. But you have to remember, that meds that cause problems for some, can be life saving for others. We just always need to be alert to our body's messages, and speak up, if we notice unusual symptoms.

You're going into this educating yourself about the medication. Many people don't do this. They just take whatever is prescribed, with little knowledge of what negative symptoms to look out for. Your approach will help you make wise decisions.

[Toppers3]

---

@Patriot3 wrote:

Thanks everyone for  your opinions.  They are appreciated.  I know everyone's reaction is different to scripts, but it is still helpful.

I am under the care of a cardiologist.  However, I only see NPs or PAs.  I haven't seen the doctor for a couple of years.  I was just recently diagnosed w/failure.  It is so hard to get an appt. w/the doc.

---

Our primary care doctor wanted me to try it, because I'm a Type 2 diabetic and it can help with weight loss and appetite suppression.

I gave it a try and I had too many negative side-effects that were not worth staying on it, for me.

I was very nauseated from it to the point where I was worried about getting sick at any time, and it really killed my appetite, plus it was affecting my sugar in too much of a negative way.

My PCP did warn me about the possible problems with urinary tract infections, if someone is prone to them, which I am, too. 

[spumoni99]

---

@Patriot3 wrote:

---

@spumoni99 wrote:

---

@Patriot3 wrote:

Thanks everyone for  your opinions.  They are appreciated.  I know everyone's reaction is different to scripts, but it is still helpful.

I am under the care of a cardiologist.  However, I only see NPs or PAs.  I haven't seen the doctor for a couple of years.  I was just recently diagnosed w/failure.  It is so hard to get an appt. w/the doc.

---

Do you have any way of at least sending a message to the doctor?  With that new diagnosis I would think you would take priority.  My mother was diagnosed this was years ago but she died a week later, I did take her to the doctor but in hindsight he really didn't do anything for her, she had recently been put on celebrex for arthritis.  I know people live yeaars with heart failure it just scares me with my experience, she was only 71.

---

@spumoni99  I'm so sorry about your Mother.  That is just too young!  Your suggestion is a good one.......never thought of that......thanks!

---

Thank you, this was 23 years ago so I am sure there is a lot more that can be done now, her doctor took her off of the celebrex thinking that was the culprit.  She had a lot of medical problems with arthritis all her life, hips and knees all replaced, lifetime of pain killers probably didn't help.

[itsmetoo]

@Patriot3 

I have been taking Jardiance for about 9 months or more now for heart failure.  So far I have had only one UTI but that was at the beginning.  As someone already mentioned, it's a very expensive drug.  I'm on Medicare with a Part D plan and now that I'm in the donut hole I'm paying about $160 a month, out of pocket, for just this med.  With no insurance it's about $700+.  It's just one of the many meds for heart failure that I take.  Sometimes I think the meds just make me feel worse than the heart failure does.

[conlt]

@itsmetoo I am in the donut hole now too and pay about $160 for the Synjardy. I will be happy when the donut hole thing chages in 2025. 

[itsmetoo]

---

@conlt wrote:

@itsmetoo I am in the donut hole now too and pay about $160 for the Synjardy. I will be happy when the donut hole thing chages in 2025. 

---

@conlt  Eliquis is another drug I take that is also about $154 every month.  Fortunately my other meds aren't as expensive.  What is going to change about the donut hole in 2025?  Or are you talking about the 10 drugs who prices will then be negiotable then?

[conlt]

@itsmetoo I copied and pasted this from the Center for Retirement Research Boston College. 

Medicare’s donut hole is the bane of existence for retirees with expensive medications.

They will get substantial relief in 2025, when the Inflation Reduction Act, last week, will cap all retirees’ annual drug copayments at $2,000. Monthly drug plan premiums are not included in this cap.

The cap will effectively eliminate the donut hole that currently requires retirees to pay 25 percent of the cost of their prescription drugs until they reach a threshold amount. The threshold increases every year and hit $7,050 this year.

[itsmetoo]

---

@conlt wrote:

@itsmetoo I copied and pasted this from the Center for Retirement Research Boston College. 

Medicare’s donut hole is the bane of existence for retirees with expensive medications.

They will get substantial relief in 2025, when the Inflation Reduction Act, last week, will cap all retirees’ annual drug copayments at $2,000. Monthly drug plan premiums are not included in this cap.

The cap will effectively eliminate the donut hole that currently requires retirees to pay 25 percent of the cost of their prescription drugs until they reach a threshold amount. The threshold increases every year and hit $7,050 this year.

---

@conltThanks for the information!  I think I recall hearing about that quite awhile ago.  Now let's just hope we all live until 2025 when it goes into effect without going bankrupt from the price of all these meds first!