[MSCherokee]

First a little background. I have not seen my neurologist since 2005, when I had a follow-up MRI a year after going off Avonex and there were no changes to the MRI. My MS has been relatively stable, although I deal with fatigue to a varying degree every day of my life.

I’ve never had a problem getting medication refills in the past – all I do is call up the doctor’s prescription refill line and while it takes them a while – usually two weeks – I get my prescription refilled. Even though my prescription for Provigil is 100 mg once a day, I cut them in half and use it only when I absolutely need it to make it through the day.

So I did my usual and called in my prescription and after almost two weeks, it was called into my pharmacy. When I went to pick it up last Thursday they said they couldn’t fill it until the doctor submitted a prior authorization form because of my absurd Anthem insurance, which I hate. So I thought, OK, so I’ll have to wait another week or so, but at least I’ll have it in time for my upcoming business trip at the end of October.

When I called the pharmacy today the woman was so apologetic and told me what happened. After her second call to the doctor’s office to obtain this prior authorization, she was finally able to talk to a PA.

The first comment from this PA was that I was not taking the medicine as prescribed and therefore she wouldn’t fill out this form. LOL no kidding, at $50 co-pay for a one month’s supply I conserve as much as possible! Let me get this straight, I’m being punished for not taking enough Provigil? WTH?

Next, she pulled my records and changed her excuse to “she hasn’t seen the doctor since 2005 so we won’t fill out this form until she sees the doctor”. Well, that’s all fine and dandy but there’s a three month wait to get into see him, so WTF do I do in the meantime? I left a message on this PA’s answering machine, practically begging for even a one month’s supply until I can get in to see the doctor but I frankly don’t see her helping me.

So, what to do? One thought I had was to go to the emergency room, which I’ve never done and hate to do for something so insane as needing a prescription refill. Heck, I doubt they’d even see me.

I would call my GP but I know for a fact he won’t prescribe Provigil – I’ve tried in the past. He doesn’t like to step on the specialists toes so he won’t prescribe any MS related med.

Another thought I had was to try one of those nifty online pharmacies. My concern, besides having to pay triple the cost for a month’s supply is if these places are legit and the meds safe.

Any suggestions or personal experiences anyone cares to share? Provigil is the only reason I can continue to work full-time – without it, I’m screwed.