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Monday, March 9, 2009

8 ideas for those who can't afford Advair

Yesterday I wrote about some ideas I had to help people cope with the high cost of Advair. This may perhaps be the greatest medicine ever invented for asthma patients, and yet it costs so darn much. Those with no health insurance may have to choose between Advair and nothing at all.

But that's not necessarily true. There are options. Here are some of the ideas people have emialed to me.
  1. Talk to your doctor about free samples
  2. Advair comes in two strengths--for example, if the doctor prescribes the 250, to be used twice a day, and the patient needs only the smaller 100, and uses the 250 once a day, maybe that is better than not using it at all.
  3. Perhaps the doctor could prescribe one puff once a day to make the discuss last 2 months instead of one.
  4. Talk to your doctor about taking alternative Corticosteroids, like Beclavent, Azmacort, Advair, Vanceril.
  5. For those who need the added corticosteroid, they could take Advair in the morning and a substitute corticosteroid in the evening.
  6. You could do a combination of the above to make the med last longer
  7. Check this website out to find the cheapest asthma meds: http://www.needymeds.org/.
  8. Pharmaceutical companies have programs for folks who can't afford drugs- call them!

These are just some ideas from me and some of my readers to help those of you who cannot afford these meds. You can discuss these with your doctor and see if they might work for you. You may have to experiment a little, and get creative.

But, please don't stop taking you preventative asthma meds just because you can't afford them. And please don't stop taking them just because you feel good after not taking them for a week. Asthma can pretend to not be there at times and then can show its ugly head on a dime.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are 3 strengths of Advair. Advair is taken twice a day because the salmeterol lasts 12 hours..... hence, twice a day.

Rick Frea said...

Good point. Still, having it once a day may work fine for some people, especially when the alternative means no Advair at all.

Anonymous said...

I'm betting that tip would work for patients who tend to flare at predictable times, especially--like at night, for example.

Anyway, great tips!

Anonymous said...

Symbicort works faster than Advair and is cheaper. You should mention that as an option too.

Rick Frea said...

Symbicort may be another option.

Kerri said...

The once daily Advair/once daily regular corticosteroid (FloVent) idea is good for those who are strapped for cash.

Though I'm still struggling with asthma control and am likely switching to Advair this month, I don't flare at night, even when I wasn't on any controller meds. (Exception to this; being when I'm sick or in high humidity).

You'd be able to switch up to when you needed or didn't need extra control and save money.

Great post.

Anonymous said...

Go to www.4cornerspharmacy.com..order advair...no prescription...75 bucks delivered.

Anonymous said...

Symbicort is not for patients with respitory Problems it actually makes it worse and can kill the person i know this because i went thru the same problem. We are not doctors so do not advise people to do so when it can harm them

John Bottrell said...

Symbicort is approved by the FDA for the management of asthma in the United States. Symbicort, when used properly, has been shown to improve asthma control. We are not doctors, but we are people who work with these medicines on a daily basis and see the positive results. Some of us also take this and similar medicine, so know by personal experience that it works. As always, any potential benefits of a medicine must be weighed up against any potential side effects.