Baclofen copays

[aihfl]

Hello Everyone, nice to see the old timers who are still here. I haven't been here in so long my account had been deleted and I had to reregister.

Anyway, I wanted to know if anyone else has encountered a dramatic increase in their baclofen copays. Mine has more than doubled from $10 to $25 (I am on 80mg/day - 20mg 4x daily). At first, I thought insurance had declined to pay, but the pharmacist explained that baclofen is one of those drugs that have increased dramatically in price.

I have enough sober time now that it leaves me to wonder if I should see if I can get by with a lower maintenance dose, or if I should explore a cheaper alternative such as Zofran (ondansetron) which is still inexpensive. Or do I even still need it?

I honestly believe now that sobriety is more a state of mind than anything else. I've accepted that I can't drink for two reasons: 1. I've been diagnosed with liver disease and we're now talking about survival, and 2. once I start I cannot stop no matter how much baclofen or naltrexone I've been taking. It's said that naltrexone takes away the pleasant euphoria of being drunk. Well it didn't for me so I decided that rather than paying the copay for a medication that did not have the desired effect, I stopped taking it. So if baclofen is nothing more than a security blanket at this point, it's become an expensive one.

I've learned over the past 8 months or so is that recovery is not monolithic. Just as AA (which was helpful in the beginning for me) is not everyone's cup of tea, baclofen will not make all alcoholics a moderate drinker. The solution for me was so simple that I can't believe I overlooked it for so long - I just simply got a life. I reestablished a new social circle of people less fucked up than me and got back into the hobbies I enjoyed before alcohol took over my life. One of my regular cycling and kayaking partners is six years clean off crack and her second husband died of cirrhosis. I find her counsel much more insightful than any of the people I've called a sponsor.

[Ne/Neva Eva]

aihfl,

It's great that you are doing so well! And nice to hear from you.

I cannot imagine why your copay would change. That's bizarre. Baclofen is generic and there isn't any reason that it should change "levels" in terms of insurance. I would call your insurance company and/or try a different pharmacy.

I don't really recommend people going completely off of baclofen. I've seen too many people relapse, even after a long period of sobriety, even when alcohol isn't a factor in their lives anymore. I know I wouldn't chance it...But of course, we each have to make our own decisions about it all.

Great about your new life! That is one of the keys to being contentedly sober, isn't it? Sounds like a lot of fun, too.

Take care and let us know what you find out, will you?

[aihfl]

Hey Ne, thank you for the shout-out. I did some digging around. I had seen on the NBC Nightly News a segment on this new e-pharmacy called Blink Health that is supposed to bypass insurance and still provide meds at around the same price as a copay. Their price for 120 tabs of 20mg baclofen is fifty six bucks, so my $25 copay is still less than half the price. The pharmacist expressed empathy saying it's generic and costs very little to make.

By the way, Blink is not a mail-order pharmacy. You fax or email your prescription, pay for it online, then pick it up at the local pharmacy of your choice. A nice idea, but still not as cheap as my Blue Cross copays.

I should also add that ordinarily, a $25 copay would not be a big deal, but I'm already on Remeron, doxepin, gabapentin and Ativan in addition to the baclofen. And those are just the psych meds. I'm on clonidine, lisinpril and Zocor for blood pressure and cholesterol. So the $25 dollars, while not breaking the bank, was enough to be "noticed."