about the patch
 

Hey all, is anyone on SSDI with medicare coverage and taking the neupro patch. I don't think it is covered, 487.00 a month! I just got a trial from my neuro today and it works great...but...that's a house pmt.!!!


Thanks

I don't have SSDI but I do have Medicare, which means that I am not eligible for the discount from the pharmacy. Happily, I am so old that the mortgage is paid, but paying for a three month supply of patches is a real pain in the butt, pun intended. The good news is that it works great.

the cost is prohibitive, the manufacturer does have a payment assistance program for 1 year, haven't studied the details. my neuro gave me free samples but reluctant to start because of the cost, tough to switch to a different agonist if i have to stop neupro after a year because of cost. i imagine insurance might pay for requip XL and maybe neupro if you can prove you have difficulty taking oral meds or have major side affects from a different agonist.

i've read on some message boards where some people leave patches on for 2 days. directions say not to cut the patch which is a bummer cuz often higher strengths are cheaper/unit and you can split them to save money.

jm,
just curious what else you are taking and if you are replacing another agonist?
i've talked to 2 neuros that say the side affects are less than with mirapx or requip but i think there's only one study where neupro went head to head against requip and wasn't a whole lot better. that was reqular release requip and dosing wasn't exactly the same between the two.

The cost for one month of 6 mg patch is $200. We do not qualify for the payment assistance program despite working through personal representatives. My insurance did pay for Requip XL.

I had a strange experience this week with my patch. Due to my granddaughter's third birthday party, I forgot to put the patch on and was not able to get back home to get one for about seven hours. The last time I missed taking a Requip XL (about two years ago) I felt like I was being herded by a cattle prod for several hours. I could feel jolts of electricity jumping through my body and my arms and legs flopping around like a marionette gone wild. You can imagine the trepidation I felt realizing I had missed my Neupro patch. But, oddly enough, nothing much happened. No cattle prod. I had a lot of extra energy and couldn't get to sleep until about midnight. I have no side effects with Neupro, had massive side effects with Mirapex and some with Requip XL. My doctor told me that Neupro is a little bit stronger than Requip XL. Other than the price, I'd say it's great.

thanks for sharing NAN,
sounds like medicare has a 50% copay. age has it's advantages.

I've cut them in half a number of times without any problems or diminishing of effects.

I have cut them in half too with no problems.

aquario,
can i ask you how well it's working - strength/side affects, how well you function, what meds your are taking, if you can compare it to another agonist you are taking, when you were diagnosed?

happy thanksgiving.

I'm OFF the patch!
 

I told my gf of the problems I had with Mirapex, that you could not pay me to take it and we agreed to try the patch. Worked great, smooth on, no offs and my meds seemed to last longer. Actually went smoothly from one dose to another. My movement and functioning was better when I was on.
Side effects almost immediately: I could not stay asleep, woke up at about 12:30 or 1 and was up until about 5 in the morning. I felt like I could do anything! I was cleaning the house, all kinds of chores, mopping, moving furniture and cleaning. Had mind racing thoughts of finally cleaning out the garage,etc. She said that I seemed to get more distant and abrupt with our conversations-not rude but that I didn't have the same tendency to pay attention to her. Additionally I went about a week without even the thought of sex! Contrary to my experience with Mirapex where even the fish stopped swimming when I was home!
Long story short, I kept the patch. Got rid of the gf!!!! Yikes!!!!!


Actually I was noticing these behaviors and the straw was when I yelled at my little poodle guy for peeing in the house. He is about 12 yrs old and was never housebroken by my ex wife when he was a puppy. As such he does a pretty good job of getting outside but I usually don't discipline his mistakes. When I yelled at him and later realized my actions and talked to my gf I was off the patch right then! I was on the 4 mg, anybody have similar experience? Did your side effects get better after time? Thought about going to 2 mg but don't want any of this. She said I was a different person and that is something that I cannot have. It has taken me too long to find her and I would not give that up for anything.

jim,
this "new guy" you describe, he doesn't sound all that bad, actually normal. i believe rigotone(?) in the patch has a short half life, wouldn't take long to test 2mg or even 1mg, they make a 1mg patch. sounds like you can cut the patch so would be easy to test.