I have a BP cuff at home and it was just 136/87, so not nearly as bad. I know the Vyvanse raised it but it would go down as the day went on and get down to about 115/75 by bedtime. I don't know how bad it is having it be high for 8-9 hours a day, but I'm sure it isn't good.

They had me double my anti-depressant dose. I'm stopping my Copaxone after I finish my final month's supply and switching to fingolimod (Gilenya) as well.

I thought of paying full retail for Vyvanse but I think now that the worst part of being without it is over, I'm going to see if I can work without it. I have a lot of brain fog but I know my job very well so I might be able to manage eventually.

The good thing is, now they know about it, the MS cat is fully out of the bag. So while I might not do as well with my sales, at least they know so if it ever comes to STD they'll understand.

I need to sit down with DH and have a long financial talk so we know where we stand just in case.

wiz,
are you paying for long term disability?

i had worked at my job for 18 yrs when i got my dx. all that time i had LTD.
however, i thought if i went PT i could extend my work life. turned out it didn't work and i needed to resign.

i lost my chance at disability and it made things financially a lot harder.
it was a good 18 mos til i got approved for ssdi.

Judi,

They take LTD out of my pay check, I've worked there five years. I don't know what I qualify for that but I know I have it if I need it. I would go that route and on to disability if necessary. There is a track record now so if I need the STD, then LTD it should work out but I don't know how it all works. But I can work through that if necessary if it comes to that.

I just took my BP again and it was 108/65. And I haven't taken my bedtime BP meds. It might get pretty low at night so the average over a 24 hour period might even out and be good to protect my cardiovascular system.

I get an EKG (ECG?) test before the Gilenya to make sure my heart is ok, and it has always been good in the past.

If I didn't work I could probably get off the BP meds altogether.

Hi Wiz,

Sorry to hear about all of your insurance problems. Did you check to see if Vyvanse has a patient assistance program?

I didn't look closely but found this.

http://www.shire.com/shireplc/en/patient-support

Good luck!

Natalie :hug:

Ah, sweetie, the stress of all that you're going through sure can't help your BP. And now that the workplace knows, you won't have the stress of hiding that issue, so that will indeed help.

Your pile of lemons got a bit larger, didn't it? Lots of lemonade to be made:hug:

Wiz, have you tried dealing directly with Vyvanse's manufacturer? They have a patient support system: http://www.shire.com/shireplc/en/patient-support.

I don't know if they could help if it is prescribed off-label, and I probably wouldn't meet their income level for assistance anyway. I'm going to try to go without it and see how it goes. My symptoms are flaring up from the stress though. I think it's probably best if I can live without it since it does affect my blood pressure. One of my managers at work asked me if I could get a diagnosis for ADD. Actually, I probably had it as a child because my teachers always told my mom that I never paid attention in class, and our oldest son had ADHD as a child and still has ADD as an adult.

I'd check into the LTD policy because I haven't ever been able to get it through an employer, including the federal govt thanks to my pre-existing MS dx. :(

I would guess that since they are taking money out you are entitled to it or at the very least a refund of the money you contributed but it wouldn't hurt to be clear before you count on it.

I was thinking along that line Jules since my MS existed before I started working there. But even if I got STD it would help until I could get disability. Or they could fire me and I could get six months unemployment.