How do you deal with depression and anxiety when you no longer have health insurance and cannot afford to pay?

I have been trying to treat mine without prescripts: start by watching what you eat (healthy eating makes you feel better...) and try to work out more often. Contact the local county mental health department and find a therapist who offers services on a "sliding scale" so weekly/biweekly sessions are more within your means. Professional help is essential to helping you solve this problem. In addition, keep a journal: this is key to helping your therapy work best ~you can review it and see what your consistent issues are.. and try to figure out what some of the causes are.. I have also been taking vitamins, fish oil and consistently doing yoga/stretching to try to keep my "stress" levels down.. Also, family/friend support is helpful too: let them know you are having a tough time and want their help and support to get through it. If you are religious, this may be a time to reach out to that community also or if you are not (like me), it may be time to find a group which fits your beliefs. Also, find new hobbies. It is good if they are social, but even if they are solitary and you enjoy them: hobbies give you something to look forward to and distract you (ps: tv doesn't count!!)

I've had friends come down off prescrips and it isn't fun.. just remember you are in charge of your health: mentally and physically!

Get your drugs from Canada where they are generally one-third cheaper. The USA has the highest priced pharmaceutical products in the entire world. Read on:

"FDA OKs Generic Antidepressant Effexor"

Generic Version May Bring Cost Savings, Says FDA

By Miranda Hitti

WebMD Medical NewsReviewed By Louise Chang, MD

on Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Aug. 9, 2006 -- People taking the antidepressant Effexor are getting a generic option.

The FDA yesterday approved the first generic version of Effexor (venlafaxine), a widely used prescription drug for major depressiondepression. The generic drug isn't the same as Effexor XR.

Generic drugs often cost less than brand-name drugs, notes Gary Buehler, director of the FDA's Office of Generic Drugs.

Generic venlafaxine "can bring significant savings to millions of Americans diagnosed with [major depressive disorder]," Buehler says, in an FDA news release.

Like all antidepressants, generic venlafaxine will carry a "black box" warning about possible suicide risk in children and teens.

Generic venlafaxine will come in five doses: 25 milligrams, 37.5 milligrams, 50 milligrams, 75 milligrams, and 100 milligrams. Its maker is Teva Pharmaceuticals USA.

Effexor is made by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. Wyeth is a WebMD sponsor.

SOURCE: News release, FDA.

2. The generic Wellbutrin (BUPROPION) has been around for years and years. I have been on the stuff for years and years. It's not a huge deal to go from Wellbutrin XL to BUPROPION. I went through something exactly like this a few days ago with Escitalopram vs. Citalopram. Trust me, not a cause for huge concern. I am, in fact, completely surprised that your health insurance plan paid for the stuff. My own (Blue Cross) will not and never has.

3. Lorazepam (generic ativan) also been around for many years. Blue Cross would ONLY pay for that generic too!

If you can order the Generics from Canada your bill will drop SIGNIFICANTLY.

Good Luck with it and happy new year too!

You can call your pharmacist and check who the pharmaceutical company is that manufactures the drug. Once you know that information you can find the number or maybe get the number from your pharmacist and explain your situation. If you meet certain financial criteria many of these companies will help you get the drugs at reduced cost or for free. It sounds like you will have more than one company to deal with. You can check online to and do a search based on the names of your meds and find out who manufactures them.

Whatever you do, do not go cold turkey. You can suffer severe withdrawal symptoms like seizures especially when dealing with Effexor XR and Wellbutrin XL. You need to withdraw from those medications for a period of weeks and sometimes even months because it's pretty brutal. I used to take Effexor XR and I felt horrible even as I was tapering off...Be careful. If you can't get any help at least find out from the prescribing doctor how to taper off safely.

Good luck...

Here are some links to patient assistance programs. They can help you pay or give you free prescriptions if you cannot afford them. You just need to fill out forms for each company and they usually ship the drugs to your doctor for you to pick up. Also, there are several companies that work with all the drug manufacturers, so you only have to fill out one form and they'll do the rest of the work for you. Do a web search for prescription cost assistance or something similar.

Wellbutrin XL (GlaxoSmithKline Co.)http://www.bridgestoaccess.com/

Effexor XR (Wyeth Pharmeceuticals)

http://www.wyeth.com/patientassistance

Ativan is available as a generic, called lorazepam. I don't know which company makes Ativan, but this site has a list of manufacturers websites, if you know it.

http://www.druginfonet.com/index.php?pageID=manufa...

Good luck!

Well if you go to mental health, they will go by your income, and how much you have to spend. They can also get med's from the makes of them. There are a lot of companys that make the med's taken for depression and anxiety, that do send like a month at a time to the health provider that you are seeing , each month, so then you are not with out the medication. I know a lot of people that has done this. And have been getting their meds for 8-10 years now from the maker of the medications they take. There are places out there that will help you with this if you ask, that is all you need to do is ask who you r seeing, or even just your normal health doctor can get the meds. And there are places that do therapy for free.

Happy Hoildays

I can't believe they cost that much! I use generic Paxil and it costs only $40/month ... that's in Canada. You could probably get it cheaper if you're in the states. Effexor is more expensive but there may be a generic on the market by now. Also generic Prozac is very cheap. Don't let anybody convince you that generic drugs are inferior because they are chemically identical to the brand name counterparts. You really should try to get something in place - quitting cold turkey can be very hazardous to your health.

Have you called your Dr explained the situation to see what help is available. There is no way you should be withdrawing from this medication on your own and it disgusts me to think of the additional pressure you are facing with this problem. Is it possible to visit the ER as an out patient? There must be some assistance somewhere, the samaratins or similar group may also be able to assist.

In many cases, if you explain your circumstances to your physician, they will fill prescriptions via samples. If you can’t afford a mental health professional or doctor you should contact your local Health Department. Most will maintain a list of physicians who offer services to low/no income patents. They also tend to maintain a larger number of samples for low income patients. Speak with your physician. Some doctors will even call other physicians in order to locate more samples. You never know without trying. Good luck.

Check with social services in your area to see if they can help with any advice on where to find care when you do not have insurance.

Our medical insurance situation is beyond repair in this country. It needs a complete overhaul. When a family of three pays three times more for medical insurance then for their house payments something is seriously wrong. That is exactly our situation. We are at our breaking point too! My heart goes out to you.

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