Our Health Care System is Peachy Keen! NOT
Feb. 8th, 2008 12:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
recalcitranttoyThere has recently been much hoopla about Zyrtec, the lovely antihistamine that helps me to keep breathing, has gone OTC. Many have praised this as a wonderful advance and ever so progressive. Funnily enough, I'm not finding it such a panacea.
I've been on Zyrtec for several years, after Allegra and Claritin decided to stop working for me. I've suffered from chronic allergies pretty much since birth, and have found great relief through the magic of modern chemistry. However, as with Prilosec before it, changing Zyrtec to OTC has resulted in demand > supply, and difficulty finding it.
Add to this wonderous fun, the fact that I was getting my Zyrtec for a small co-payment while now I have to pay up to 1.00 per pill, and you have a mixed bag of goodness and badness.
I run out of my Zyrtec in 15 days. I can't get it as a prescription anymore, even if I were to pay for it. So I tried to go to the ever so helpful zyrtec.com page where I found that there were several places "authorized" to sell it OTC. Interesting that many of them said that it's unavailable until the end of Feb, or even March. Heh.
This is similar to the time my insurance company swore up and down that Nexium is the same thing as Prilosec (it's not) and I should use Prilosec. Trundling down to my local CVS there was a big sign that they couldn't keep up with demand for Prilosec and so they may have it....sometime.....not sure when...... uh....try the Internet.
Gotta love it when you have to jump through hoops in order to get your meds, pay through the nose (pun intended) and yet our health care system is so great. Pass the Benedryl, will ya?
I've been on Zyrtec for several years, after Allegra and Claritin decided to stop working for me. I've suffered from chronic allergies pretty much since birth, and have found great relief through the magic of modern chemistry. However, as with Prilosec before it, changing Zyrtec to OTC has resulted in demand > supply, and difficulty finding it.
Add to this wonderous fun, the fact that I was getting my Zyrtec for a small co-payment while now I have to pay up to 1.00 per pill, and you have a mixed bag of goodness and badness.
I run out of my Zyrtec in 15 days. I can't get it as a prescription anymore, even if I were to pay for it. So I tried to go to the ever so helpful zyrtec.com page where I found that there were several places "authorized" to sell it OTC. Interesting that many of them said that it's unavailable until the end of Feb, or even March. Heh.
This is similar to the time my insurance company swore up and down that Nexium is the same thing as Prilosec (it's not) and I should use Prilosec. Trundling down to my local CVS there was a big sign that they couldn't keep up with demand for Prilosec and so they may have it....sometime.....not sure when...... uh....try the Internet.
Gotta love it when you have to jump through hoops in order to get your meds, pay through the nose (pun intended) and yet our health care system is so great. Pass the Benedryl, will ya?
