shopping T: pharmacy recommendations?

[Dar]

Hi everyone,

I am wondering about pharmacies you're working with to buy T. Any specific brands and locations? Do you actually go to a pharmacy each time you need a refill? Or do you place a shipment request? 

I am living in Michigan, if this is of any help. 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

[Tysilio]

The best deal I've found is at Walgreen's. GoodRx has a coupon that'll get you a 10 ml/200 mg vial for around $45. It'll last for several months at our usual dosages. Just print out the coupon and take it and your prescription to their pharmacy.

[KarlMars]

I didn't think you could legally do that over the counter.

[FTMax]

Agree with Tysilio. Download the GoodRx app for your phone. It will show you which pharmacies near you are the least expensive.

I get a generic and I go to pick it up each time.

Also, I'm not sure if it is routine practice or just the way my doctor does things, but for the first year on T, I was not allowed to get refills. I had to come in for blood work quarterly and I would be given a new prescription at a follow up appointment a week later.

[Tysilio]

I didn't think you could legally do that over the counter.

Note that I said "...take it and your prescription to their pharmacy."

Testosterone is a controlled substance, which means that you not only have to have a prescription, it also has to be in writing, on paper and signed by your doctor -- it can't be faxed. But once you have that, you can take it to any pharmacy and they'll fill it for you. Depending on how big the place is and how much it keeps in stock, you may have to wait a couple of days if they have to order it, but if they have it in stock, most pharmacies will fill it while you wait.

The usual meaning of "over the counter" is that the drug in question doesn't need a prescription, e.g. things like aspirin or benadryl, where you just get them off the shelf and take them to the cash register.

[Dar]

Just got it from CVS! Good to know about GoodRX, though. Will check. I think that the prescription process will work same for me, FTMax. My doctor sent the prescription electronically, no papers. It worked just fine.   

My initial confusion was around the prior authorisation process. My insurance is supposed to cover the costs, but they won't do it before they get an authorization from the doctor. I bought out of pocket in the meantime. So now the first shot...   

[Tysilio]

Depending on what your insurance will cover, you may want to pay for it out of pocket anyway. Mine covers it but only pays for a month's supply at a time, which means an endless procession of 1ml vials. Aside from the inconvenience of going back every month, there's never quite enough for the last shot.

If I pay for it myself out of pocket with the GoodRx coupon, the 10 ml vial ends up costing me just a couple of bucks more per month than my copay, I avoid a lot of hassle, and I always get the correct dose.

[Dar]

Yeah, that's a good point. It might be that my insurance won't cover a dosage that is good for a few months either. Thanks Tysilio!

[FTMax]

Ah gotcha, those pesky pre-authorizations. Basically you'd give the pharmacist your insurance, they'd run it and say it requires a prior authorization, you tell them to go ahead with it, and what they would do is call the authorizations number on your insurance card and connect the dots between them, your insurance, and your doctor. Your doctor has to tell your insurance company why it is medically necessary for you to be on testosterone at the requested dosage.

That's where it gets a little tricky. If your insurance has trans exclusions, they probably won't cover it. They may also say that they'll cover it, but in monthly dosages only (1ml vials).

Like Tysilio, mine will cover it but only in those stupid 1ml vials that everyone complains about. I would much rather pay out of pocket to get a 10ml vial and (1) not come back to the pharmacy for several months, and (2) not struggle with having to juggle multiple vials in order to do a single shot. Your doctor may be able to talk them into a larger vial if there are special considerations. I have a friend who was able to get the bigger vial covered because he lives in the middle of nowhere and basically comes down off a mountain a few times a year to refill. I think they allowed it because there weren't any pharmacies within a certain mile radius, but I'm not sure.

[Dar]

My interaction with the pharmacy staff is extremely frustrating.

I've just been to CVS and they told me that my prescription is for 1ml vials, which is incorrect. My (electronic) prescription is for 10ml of 200 ml/mg. My insurance probably approved 1ml vials only (as both of you said), but now the CVS doesn't make a distinction between doctor's prescription and my insurance pre-authorization. It was really frustrating talking with the CVS personnel, who seemed completely unprofessional.

I sent a message to a nurse working with my doctor. Will see what she says. I want to check some private pharmacies as well. 

[Tysilio]

Exactly what happened to me after my first couple of vials. They refused to fill the prescription as it was written (for a 10 ml vial) -- and that was before they checked with my insurance.

And don't get me started on what it's like to try to get syringes out of CVS. If your insurance covers them, great. Mine doesn't (which makes no sense), and at first they charged me the price they bill the insurance company: around $1 each. Then one of the techs told me that if I buy them over the counter (which you're allowed to do in my state if you have an Rx for something which has to be unjected), the cost would be $0.25 each. That worked for a couple of visits, and then they went back to wanting to charge me the higher price. The woman I was dealing with (who was the pharmacist on duty!) first said they couldn't do that, then she looked it up and found she could, but tried to sell me the wrong size syringe (which would have cost more), claiming they were out of the 1 ml ones. I very politely told her that I couldn't use those because I was on a small dose and couldn't draw it up accurately with a 3 ml syringe. Then she yelled at me: "I'M TRYING TO HELP YOU HERE!!"

Finally, she went back and looked again, and "found" the 1 ml syringes I needed.

Yes, unprofessional. I thanked her for her help and I never went back there.

Now I buy  them online. Allegro Medical has them for around $40 for a box of 100, and it's well worth it -- they ship super fast, too.

[Dar]

Makes me angry to even read what you write,Tysilio. Why on earth should it be so difficult?!

I am wondering how you convinced them to give you a 10ml vial, eventually. Did they check with your insurance? You doctor?

There is an independent compounding pharmacy in my town. They have very good reviews, but probably more expensive than the Walgreens.

[Alexthecat]

I go to CVS for my other prescriptions. Makes me wonder how my experience will be.

[Dar]

It also depends on the particular individuals, I think. Can be a matter of mere luck on who you run into a pharmacy. During my several visits to CVS and Walgreens in the past few days, there were some folks who were friendly. Although, my overall impression is that of inconsistency and amateurishness. 

When do you start Alexthecat?

[KarlMars]

Note that I said "...take it and your prescription to their pharmacy."

Testosterone is a controlled substance, which means that you not only have to have a prescription, it also has to be in writing, on paper and signed by your doctor -- it can't be faxed. But once you have that, you can take it to any pharmacy and they'll fill it for you. Depending on how big the place is and how much it keeps in stock, you may have to wait a couple of days if they have to order it, but if they have it in stock, most pharmacies will fill it while you wait.

The usual meaning of "over the counter" is that the drug in question doesn't need a prescription, e.g. things like aspirin or benadryl, where you just get them off the shelf and take them to the cash register.

Is this in case the doctor you see is several hours away?

[Alexthecat]

It also depends on the particular individuals, I think. Can be a matter of mere luck on who you run into a pharmacy. During my several visits to CVS and Walgreens in the past few days, there were some folks who were friendly. Although, my overall impression is that of inconsistency and amateurishness. 

When do you start Alexthecat?

First endo appointment is at the end of the month then I would assume after that sometime. I'm shooting for June at the latest.

[CursedFireDean]

I've also found that 1mL vs 10 mL vials can depend on pharmacy. There's a CVS I've been to that only stocks the 1mL but then I've been to a CVS that stocks both and will give me the 10. I've been to Targets that only stock the 10. It seems to vary simply on which location you go to sometimes whether they even have the 10 in stock to give you. I know that's why I was refused a 10 at CVS once, they didn't have a 10 at all.

[FTMax]

Is this in case the doctor you see is several hours away?

No. They just can't give you anything without a prescription. Some doctors can send it electronically if you tell them a specific pharmacy, but nothing beats a paper prescription.

I'm tempted to try my luck at a new pharmacy. Apparently the price of T at the pharmacy I've been going to is significantly higher than other locations nearby. From what I'm hearing I might want to call ahead and make sure they stock 10ml vials.

[Tysilio]

I am wondering how you convinced them to give you a 10ml vial, eventually. Did they check with your insurance? You doctor?

No, they didn't. I now go to a different branch of CVS for my other prescriptions -- one in a better neighborhood, which tends to keep the staff polite -- and I pay out of pocket for the T at Walgreen's, using the GoodRx coupon.

Is this in case the doctor you see is several hours away?

No, it's just how things are in general. And I should have said that the requirement for a paper copy of the Rx may not apply in all states -- I just know that in mine, they can't do it electronically.

I've also found that 1mL vs 10 mL vials can depend on pharmacy. There's a CVS I've been to that only stocks the 1mL but then I've been to a CVS that stocks both and will give me the 10. I've been to Targets that only stock the 10. It seems to vary simply on which location you go to sometimes whether they even have the 10 in stock to give you. I know that's why I was refused a 10 at CVS once, they didn't have a 10 at all.

In my case, I'd been getting the 10 ml vials there with no problem until I ran into that one woman who wanted to be a coprophagous douchenugget about it. But once she called my insurance company, they noticed, and that was that.

[Dar]

First endo appointment is at the end of the month then I would assume after that sometime. I'm shooting for June at the latest.

Sounds good. I've just had my first shot last Thursday. 

No, they didn't. I now go to a different branch of CVS for my other prescriptions -- one in a better neighborhood, which tends to keep the staff polite -- and I pay out of pocket for the T at Walgreen's, using the GoodRx coupon.

This is what I plan to do with Wagreen's and GoodRx coupon, too.