Hello everyone, I've been having a bit of a problem lately.
I was on injections for a year but got off of them due to the fact that they started giving me really bad anxiety and they were starting to hurt.
I switched to compound cream, which did not work for me at all.
I finally found a great doctor and was on Testim for 2 months before my insurance company decided they no longer wanted to cover it and denied me a pre-authorization.
I cannot afford $400 something a month, and I would go compound again but it doesn't work for me.

Someone I know suggested Abbvie, but I tried them back in February and they turned me down because of the GID diagnosis.
My current doctor told me to try again, I think she wouldn't put that GID diagnosis on the paper (which I heard that it isn't a real diagnosis anymore anyway?), but I'm sure they still have my info on file.

I've been off T for almost 2 months now and it's really not good for my mental state, I get bad headaches, and the monthly visitor has come back again.

Any idea on something I can do to get something affordable? I was getting the Testim for a $30 copay.

What is Abbvie?

It's a patient assistance foundation. They provide different medications for very low cost or free depending on whether or not insurance covers that specific medication, and what your income is.
They have Androgel on their list of medications.

Were you doing shots intramuscularly or subcutaneously? Many people find subcutaneous injections easier and less painful, and they are just as effective.

Relevant link: http://transguys.com/ref/research/subcutaneous-injections

Thanks for the link, I'll read it shortly. I've heard of subq injections but I'm scared of doing it myself lol. My girlfriend was giving me the shots because I couldn't do it. Anyway, my moods are never very good on injections either. The Testim has worked best for me out of everything, no mood swings, no injections, great progress even after a year on injections, and it smells nice too 

Try www goodrx com
Type in Testim and your zipcode in my area it's crazy expensive but maybe in your area its a better deal.

Quote from: nikkie on August 27, 2014, 01:25:21 AM
Try www goodrx com
Type in Testim and your zipcode in my area it's crazy expensive but maybe in your area its a better deal.

I second this, goodrx got me a great deal. My T was 110 and with one of their coupons went down to 40

Quote from: nikkie on August 27, 2014, 01:25:21 AM
Try www goodrx com
Type in Testim and your zipcode in my area it's crazy expensive but maybe in your area its a better deal.

Thanks so much! Looks like I'll be saving me some serious cash.

It wouldn't save me much. It's over $400 even for the generic.
Looks like I'll be giving subq injections a chance even though I can't stand injections. Awful moods, awful acne. So many more pros to topical T in my opinion.
Thanks anyway!
I'm glad other folks were able to get use out of this post.

Quote from: dapperseb on September 03, 2014, 11:10:26 AM
It wouldn't save me much. It's over $400 even for the generic.
Looks like I'll be giving subq injections a chance even though I can't stand injections.

I was hoping to be on gels but I'm in the same boat, at least $430 a month for it, so I'm going to be doing subq. I also have a friend who switched insurances and now has to do subq too. It really sucks that topicals are so insanely expensive.

Just a little update for everyone. Decided to call the insurance company myself since my Dr is apparently incompetent. Found out the reason they denied the PA is because the generic isn't covered (weird, right?).
I didn't understand what they were talking about until they told me the last Dr who wrote my prescription just wrote testosterone instead of the brand name.
The woman I spoke to called the Dr and explained the script had to say TESTIM not testosterone, Dr couldn't understand that testosterone wasn't the brand.

Side note - The Dr I've been going through with all of this isn't my regular one, she just works at the hospital and they work together. I've never even met her and I'm pretty sure she hates me because of all the "work" she had to go through.

They had to send the script to my insurance's mail order pharmacy which isn't bad. I'll save money and it should usually get to me right when I need it.

TL;DR
Brand name is covered, generic is not, I should have my T back very soon! They had to order it and the initial shipping takes a while. Good thing too, I've been without for 2 months now and things aren't good.

If you aren't absorbing compounded cream, it's unlike you would absorb Testim. Unless... you just would absorb the alcohol based product better, but generally compounding creams contain a higher percentage of T. I think if you don't want to inject, you are going to have to find someone to help you. This is usually possible. Also I agree that the brand name topicals (like Testim) are much more expensive than compounded creams and esp. injectables. The compounded cream can be affordable depending on dose, but I don't think the same can be said for Testim, Androgel, etc.


--Jay

Have you tried injecting with a smaller gauge needle? I withdraw the T with an 18 gauge and inject with a 22. I've injected with an even smaller gauge before, and I usually can't feel it. Not being able to feel  it helps with the anxiety. Also, have someone else help, if you can. Anyway, looks like everything worked out for you, so I just thought I'd add my thoughts. 

The cream never absorbed for me. I was on Testim for 2 months before my insurance issues started and it was absorbing great. I felt great all the time, my moods were never bad, my acne was never bad. Things were swell. While I was on the cream I actually started bleeding again and felt awful all the time.
The cream also never dried either. The Testim dries up quite quickly. Smells nice too.

My mail order pharmacy got back with me today and my total cost was $70 for 3 month supply. Super affordable. More affordable than the cream was actually. I paid $120 for a 3 month supply from Stroheckers.

I appreciate everyone's input though

Oh also about the injections, I was having someone do them for me. It got bad for both of us, you know after a while it started going into scar tissue, it started hurting, we both got bad anxiety on shot day. It wasn't worth it for me anymore. The Testim works a lot better for me and I'll be sad if I ever actually have to switch back.