Susan's Place Transgender Resources

Community Conversation => Transsexual talk => Male to female transsexual talk (MTF) => Topic started by: Ellesmira the Duck on June 16, 2014, 11:15:04 PM

Title: It's finally time!
Post by: Ellesmira the Duck on June 16, 2014, 11:15:04 PM
So today, after work, I was finally able to pick up my prescription for HRT. Because unfortunately it was written last Friday while I was at work and I missed business hours. Managed to get it filled at a target on the way home, took forever to finally get it. 45 minute wait just to end up waiting another 20 minutes because they still weren't ready with it. I ended up paying 140 dollars and only got half my spiro, still a 3 month supply, and my full 6 months of estro. I have a sneaking suspicion I only paid for half my spiro so I'll likely have to drop another 110 on that in a few months...I was honestly expecting it to be a lot less and decided to bite the bullet of not using my insurance this time, (I have Kaiser and you -have- to go there for it to mean anything.) So I ended up spending way more, but I really didn't feel like dealing with Kaiser since it was farther and I haven't really ever done anything with them on my own before. Kind of regretting it now since i didn't find out the price until after I had already waited an hour at target. Next time I definitely won't be going back to fill my prescription. Regardless! Finally started, obviously no real changes yet but it's only been a few hours. So not really surprised there. Anyway, that's all for now really, just wanted to share.
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: RosieD on June 17, 2014, 12:22:09 AM
Congratulations! Good isn't it? Now it is just a waiting game.

Rosie
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Evelyn K on June 17, 2014, 12:28:58 AM
$140 for spiro? That's a rip, what pharmacy?
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Jessica Merriman on June 17, 2014, 12:32:12 AM
Quote from: Evelyn K on June 17, 2014, 12:28:58 AM
$140 for spiro? That's a rip, what pharmacy?
I second this. Spiro is the cheapest drug in the HRT regimen.  :(

I am so glad you are finally to the HRT point though! Welcome to the "E" express sweetie!  :)
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Evelyn K on June 17, 2014, 12:52:50 AM
Better?  :D
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Ellesmira the Duck on June 17, 2014, 01:57:11 AM
I just got mine from the pharmacy at target, which the people who work with my therapist said was one of the cheaper options. I'll have to look into the spiro though. I'm a bit annoyed that I seem to have been grossly over charged. Thanks for telling me though, I didn't really have much to go on.
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Evelyn K on June 17, 2014, 02:04:31 AM
I usually take my prescripts to different pharmacies and have them write me their price. You can always shop around before committing.
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Natalie on June 17, 2014, 02:10:37 AM
That's ridiculous, my copays are like 20 bucks.
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Suziack on June 17, 2014, 02:34:16 AM
Federal law prevents any pharmacy from taking a medication back, once it has left the store. If you call around and get some competitive pricing, it's possible you could call and talk to a Target pharmacy manager about refunding some of what they charged - maybe/maybe not. Same thing for the Estro.

Some pharmacies will have vouchers right there behind the counter that they can apply to the charge when a person is paying out-of-pocket. If Target has vouchers, you could find out if they can back-apply a voucher to your purchase. They should be willing to try, just to keep you as a customer.

BTW, Evelyn, I LIKED watching her put on her LIPSTICK!!! MMMMmwaaAAAHH!!!
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: AnneB on June 17, 2014, 02:42:49 AM
Es, I went to WalMart.. My E, single months worth was ... wait for it... $3.90 with insurance... $3.34 without... cash..  Finerstride, months worth was $9 and my Spiro was also $4... So unless yours came with an once of gold bullion...   ;) 

www.goodrx.com has coupons for nearly everything out there, so search their site for your scripts, use a coupon for .. like... half off!   Hmmm, I just checked the link, but it says server cannot be found... So maybe they're DOS'd, it crashed, or they shut down..

Just rechecked the link, working now..
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Evelyn K on June 17, 2014, 03:19:22 AM
$3.34?? That's peanuts. What brand?

Suziack, I must admit she is kinda dysphoria inducing even to me. ;D
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Natalie on June 17, 2014, 03:46:08 AM
Quote from: Paula Christine on June 17, 2014, 02:42:49 AM
Es, I went to WalMart.. My E, single months worth was ... wait for it... $3.90 with insurance... $3.34 without... cash..  Finerstride, months worth was $9 and my Spiro was also $4... So unless yours came with an once of gold bullion...   ;)
Yeah...right around 20 bucks. I've never heard of anyone ever paying 140 bucks for spironolactone. Even the name brand Aldactone without a prescription is three times less than what she claims she paid for the generics.
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Evelyn K on June 17, 2014, 03:48:08 AM
There's got to be a pricing error. That's too egregious for a mainstream pharmacy to get away with.
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Misha on June 17, 2014, 10:09:53 AM
Congratulations! The feeling when you get the first prescription is something unique, isn't it? Not to mention the very first pill/injection :-) .

Good luck!

Still the discussed prices seem high to me. I'm on Neofollin (5 vials with 5mg of estrogens each; 1 injection per week) and the price tag shows 66.60 CZK which is roughly 3.29 USD. So I wouldn't care if my medical insurance wouldn't cover it.
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Ellesmira the Duck on June 17, 2014, 12:21:10 PM
Hmm, I'll have to go back and see what I can do. I feel pretty ripped off, the pharmacist said he would look for any discounts but I only got the generic 5% off and at my price it really didn't change much... I will have to ask why it was so high when into back for my other half of the Spiro. Definitely never going back there again if they don't do something to make it right. Also I live in California in the Sacramento region if that changes anything.

Edit, cost aside it is nice to finally start, haven't really noticed anything yet but I'm sure I'll get there.
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Miharu Barbie on June 17, 2014, 12:43:37 PM
Hi Ellesmira,

I love your avatar photo; you are so pretty!

I live in Oregon and I have Kaiser.  Of course the specifics of your plan may differ from the specifics of my plan, put I've been getting blood work and hormone prescriptions from my Kaiser doctor for the past 8 years.  The Kaiser pharmacy sends my medications to my home via US Mail.  My prescription co-pay is very manageable.

It might be worth your while to give your Kaiser physician a chance to help you manage your HRT.

Congratulations on your awesome milestone!  You're going to be a total knockout when you're all growed up!
Title: Re: It's finally time!
Post by: Ellesmira the Duck on June 17, 2014, 11:37:29 PM
Thanks I really hope so ^_^, I really do just need to get things all sorted out with kaiser, it will probably be better in the long run. I just was expecting closer to the prices people listed here, so I figured I'd bit the bullet for convience this time. Turns out it was a bit bigger bullet then I expected.