I was wondering if anyone can recommend a protocal for treating Babesia.
I have been on Mepron & generic Zithromax for 4 months now, all of a sudden the insurance company says they will no longer pay that it was an 'ERROR" that i got this much for this long. I was only supposed to get 28 days MAX of any anti=biotic according to them.
So now it is going to a review board. I am pretty sure that will mean i am cut off. They won't pay and i can't afford to pay MORE out of pocket. My LLMD wanted to treat me for at least 1 more month with the Mepron zith combo.
My question is what else can i take to make sure the Babs don't come back. I just started 'Art' and also take many supplements and of of course Doxy provided they don't take that away too.
I would be interested in anything that worked well for your Babesia.
Also I have heard that you have to pulse the Art is this true ? My LLMD did not mention this but I am not sure if he forgot or what. It was my idea to add the Art. he said it was a good idea go ahead.
Thanks Posts: 86 | From Central PA | Registered: Jan 2010
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Dawn in VA
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posted
You might want to ask your doc about clindamycin + quinine for Bab Tx.
-------------------- (The ole disclaimer: I'm not a doctor.) Posts: 1349 | From VA | Registered: Jul 2006
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Health
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6034
posted
I would also ask for Clindamycin and Quinine.
I did this Combo and I also did Mepron and Azithromycin, I would personally recommend bother treatments for all of us.
Trish
Posts: 1250 | From Canada | Registered: Aug 2004
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janet thomas
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
You may want to do a search for primaquine, and then read a lot.
I bought enough chloroquine & primaquine online for 3 courses of treatment, cost about $65.
I followed the CDC's recommended treatment for P. vivax, the most difficult of malarias to treat.
I did relapse after the first course and am presently doing a second course.
-------------------- I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice but only my personal experience and opinion. Posts: 2001 | From NJ | Registered: Mar 2005
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I take Art for three weeks on 2 times a day and one week off. The reasoning is that something builds up in your system and you need that week off for downtime for your body to get back to normal. You may also want to check Dr. Buehner's herbal book for Lyme or his website - he has some new herb.
Good luck!
Posts: 65 | From USA | Registered: Mar 2010
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Hoosiers51
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posted
Another option is the drug Lariam. I am not sure if Artemisinin can be taken with it or not. You may want to combine it with something like Zithromax, if those don't interact....because Zith also has an effect on babesia.
Lariam can cause psych side effects....so just read up on the risks.
But overall, I'd recommend Quinine/Clindamycin for now, since it's something you take everyday. Read up on the risk for C. diff with Clindamycin, and take your probiotics religiously, 3 hours away from antibiotics.
Another drug is Malarone, that you would take with Zithromax or Biaxin. But if your insurance won't cover Mepron, not sure how likely they'd be to cover Malarone for more than a month, because it is also expensive. And with Malarone, you'll want to do at least 2 pills a day.
Posts: 4590 | From Midwest | Registered: Jun 2008
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posted
Artemisinin capsules has done wonders for my daughter...3x daily for the past 2 months...
Posts: 499 | From Malta, NY | Registered: Dec 2008
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TF
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Member # 14183
posted
I got rid of babesiosis taking Bactrim DS 2 times per day.
Bactrim is an old drug, so it is generic and cheap. It will do the trick, and you don't have to ask your insurance company to help pay for it.
Definitely must add artimesinin and pulse it, like 3 days on and 4 days off each week. Otherwise, your intestines will build up a resistance to it and it does you no good.
Here is a webpage that tells you to use bactrim for babs:
"Treating Babesia infections had always been difficult, because the therapy that had been recommended until 1998 consisted of a combination of clindamycin plus quinine. Published reports and clinical experience have shown this regimen to be unacceptable, as nearly half of patients so treated have had to abandon treatment due to serious side effects, many of which were disabling. Furthermore, even in patients who could tolerate these drugs, there was a failure rate approaching 50%."
And, "Artemesia (a nonprescription herb) should be added in all cases." (p. 24)
To answer one of the replies above, one of the problems is I am already on generic zithromax aka azithromyacin when i spoke with the representative today, they said I am NOT supposed to be able to get an anti-biotic for more than 28 days which i said is just silly. They are NOT my dr how can they dictate what i am allowed, he rattled off some jargon about it is not approved by the isda that peopl have long term treatment with anti-biotics yada yada yada so in other words.... he is saying I will no longer be able to get ANY anti-biotics for longer than 28 days.... sounds like crap to me...
so i am looking for things that i can get on my own herbs supplements vitamins etc.
I am taking the art today is my second day , i still have about half a bottle of the mepron and about 5 days of the zith. then i am not sure what i can do. i mean if they are blocking the zith as well as the mepron i think they will probably not let other scripts go through... i am not sure but it is looking that way to me.
i have been reading as much as i can but there are so many different things out there , how to tell what really will work ? IDK,
I appreciate all your suggestions. please feel free to add more if you think of anything elsa.
i will try to look some of these things up and see what i can find.
Posts: 86 | From Central PA | Registered: Jan 2010
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posted
TF - I will be sure to ask my LLMD about the Bactrim DS especially if it is cheap, i could pay out of pocket... Thank you Posts: 86 | From Central PA | Registered: Jan 2010
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Can your doctor provide a different diagnostic code, for example mycoplasma or toxoplasmosis, or anything else you test positive for, that requires antibiotics.
Talk to your LLMD. I'm sure he/she may have a way around this. They must have run into this before. It's a scary reality of the ridiculous political climate...
Posts: 964 | From san diego | Registered: Oct 2009
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My LLMD doesn't even want to talk to the representative, he as much as told me he didn't want to get involved, i pay him up front and send in a claim & get a partial reimbursement for the dr visit, most of it is out of pocket, the cost is a big burden. the dr really doesn't want to deal with insurance companies. i can't say as i blame him, they are constantly after the LLMD dr's .
i know when he had lyme & co. he paid a lot out of pocket due to the same problems... insurance would not pay. yep, he had Lyme & babesia too. don't get me wrong he is a good LLMD but he does not want the hassle dealing with insurance companies.
i left two messages today on his office machine and the representative left two yesterday and one today and the DR did not call him back... i don't think he will either. i will try again tomorrow.
i will ask about the diagnosis code thanks for the suggestion. but i don'tthink they have a code on scripts ? do they ? i am not sure how that all works. i mean if the DR. writes the script they should fill it. who are they to say too much or too long, everyone is different.
it is just frustrating that things are this way.
Posts: 86 | From Central PA | Registered: Jan 2010
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seekhelp
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 15067
posted
I'd be mad about a LLMD who won't deal at all with insurance to help me out. We pay them a crapload of $$$$....they owe the courtesy of a response at least IMO.
Posts: 7545 | From The 5th Dimension - The Twilight Zone | Registered: Mar 2008
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I have read & heard that you can really help kick Lyme by exercise and raise your body temp etc. The lyme doesn't like that. it does not like that higher body temp.
Is the same true for babesia ? Does raising your body temp make any difference ?
Posts: 86 | From Central PA | Registered: Jan 2010
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posted
seekhelp- yeah, i am rather annoyed & it did make me feel like i am on my own with this instead of having an advocate.... i mean i need him to talk to the phamacy rep or they won't fill the script for sure...
they have it goiing to the review board which i think is just bull, but i am not sure what else i can do.
not only that but he really is the only llmd around, i drive an hour to see him. the next closest one is a long ways.... Posts: 86 | From Central PA | Registered: Jan 2010
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posted
I got rid of babesia with a long course of cat's claw and andographis, both herbal remedies, along with weekly rifing sessions. All I know is that it was in my blood work and 4 months later it was completely gone, with out antibiotics.
Posts: 2 | From morris county | Registered: Jul 2010
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Tracy9
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Member # 7521
posted
Babesia isn't Lyme disease. Are the IDSA guidelines also 28 days for Babesia? Mepron is not an antibiotic, it's an antimalarial. Same with Malarone.
Also, different things work for different people. I took Bactrim and zith for a year and they didn't touch my Babesia where Malarone started to kick it within a week. It may have to do with different strains, too.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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Tracy9
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posted
Also, we have a group on Babesia with lots of information on www.lymefriends.org you might want to check out for more information.
13 years Lyme & Co.; Small Fiber Neuropathy; Myasthenia Gravis, Adrenal Insufficiency. On chemo for 2 1/2 years as experimental treatment for MG. Posts: 4480 | From Northeastern Connecticut | Registered: Jun 2005
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posted
Tracy9 - The rep said certain drugs are not allowed over 28 days and he said if the treatment is outside the guidelines for that drug then it is not allowed , in this case he mentioned the ISDA .... so i don't know the answer to your question. Even though it is not an anti-biotic it has gotten their attention. I am pretty sure if it didn't COST so much they wouldn't care as much. I think they don't want to pay.
I only know what the rep is telling me. He is very hard to understand as he has a bad accent and doesn't talk very loud so he is hard to hear as well.
I spoke with the rep again today he said he finally got a hold of my Dr and my Dr talked with him for half an hour. the rep said my case is in front of the review board now, as we speak. i should know sometime today if they will fill either of the scripts. I did feel a sense of relief that my Dr did talk with them.
I think it is a bunch of bunk, but i am at their mercy. I keep trying to remind myself things happen for a reason and just to ride the wave out and be calm so i don't drown in the wave. yeah i guess i am a highly visual person. Lol
Just imagine me riding on a wave knowing where the wave takes me i still can deal with it and gto just go with the flow.... sounds cool huh, sometimes easier to do than others. I am trying to remain as un-stressed as possible.
I have gotten several pm's with detailed suggestions and if they don't fill the scripts I will try to persue alternative methods. Thank you so much to all that have pm'd me.
Funny you mentioned Lymefriends, I recently joined and am already in the Babesia group, It was one of the first groups i looked at & joined. I figured any and all info is worth looking at when it comes to those little buggers. My profile has the black dog sitting with the pink flower petals.
I am coming to the conclusion that it is highly possible I had Babesia since I was a kid. i am a farm kid so i entountered all kids of critters good and bad. i think i got Lyme a few years ago that is when the havoc started in my body. That is when things started to fall apart and get so much worse. Just my own theory.
I have had horrible headaches since i was about 7 or 8 with no apparent cause. I have had so many tests, and no one could ever figure out a reason for the headaches. Now i think it may have been Babesia. Hindsight is always 20/20, eh ?
Posts: 86 | From Central PA | Registered: Jan 2010
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massman
Unregistered
posted
I used a specifically mixed herbal that worked well for babs from www.inno-vita.com.
It is called Micro-site and is for smaller parasites.
People from this site tried to run me over with a steamroller and semis after I posted what happened.
Since babs is inside red blood cells, don't those cells need to be split open for the babs to be killed ?
After 1 to 2 days (memory not perfect due to some weird disease) very small red specks began to appear in my urine which was being collected in a clear jug.
The howling began ! Everyone knows babs is difficult, takes a long time to get rid of, was accused of saying the specks were babs, I had to be selling the supplement and yada yada yada on and on and on !
I had only posted what I tried and what I saw and because of that I was considered the the devils' brother or cousin or whatever.
Yes, the Micro-site is a fairly new product from IMO an extremely brilliant PhD that developed a number of supps from specifically mixed parts of herbs. Strictly no animal parts so vegetarian.
Must get through doc. _______________________________________________ These insights and opinions are based on being a natural health pro since 1985. DISCLAIMER: I get no $$$ for recommending A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G ! ! !
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Dawn in VA
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Massman, when you did your Babs Tx, did you have extremely high RDW counts and did your ferritin levels stay OK? Also, was your spleen able to handle the mis-shapen/busted RBCs OK?
-------------------- (The ole disclaimer: I'm not a doctor.) Posts: 1349 | From VA | Registered: Jul 2006
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massman
Unregistered
posted
Was not doing any other types of testing when I treated the babs.
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posted
WOW, Discouraging... they finally made their decision, i called everyday since Thursday, finally today they say. 'sorry we are not filling scripts'. Does not follow ISDA guidelines." so sorry, try swearing at the germs maybe they will get scared and leave... they didn't say the last part but they might as well have.
uggh.
I guess i will have to resort to harsh words to kill the Lyme spirochete and Babesia??
And no it doesn't matter if i have more than one thing they don't care. wow, they just don't care. peopel pay in to insurance companies buut they just don't care and don't want to pay out.
i don't get how they can say 'no anti-biotics more than 28 days can be filled'... how do they know what script is for ? sheesh.
they fill acne scripts for like YEARS!!! and no one says anything.
Posts: 86 | From Central PA | Registered: Jan 2010
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posted
If you have to go the out of pocket route, consider Costco's pharmacy.
Mepron is incredibly expensive, so that would be out, but like others have mentioned, Bactrim DS is a decent alternative. Zithro/Malarone tends to be pricey too (although not insane like mepron), but Doxy and even Cefitn (generics) are relatively affordable.
Posts: 584 | From NY | Registered: Feb 2009
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janet thomas
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7122
liz28 Unregistered posted 07-08-2006 06:06 PM ________________________________________ I've been symptom-free over a month after having a babesia-like illness for six years. I used a combination of chloroquine and primaquine. I took three 3-day courses of chloroquine over a 3-week period, and pulsed primaquine for three months.
I was on mepron over a year, and it only held the babesia in check, without ever curing it.
My personal opinion is that babesia is not like Lyme disease, a slow-growing organism that takes months to kill off. Instead, it seemed more like plasmodium vivax, or relapsing malaria. Malaria is treated with combinations of drugs that clear the active form of the organism from your bloodstream quickly, and a dormant form hidden in the liver over a period of weeks or months, depending on how well you tolerate the "cyst buster" malaria drug, primaquine liz28 Unregistered posted 07-25-2006 02:11 PM ________________________________________ I used a combination of chloroquine and primaquine. Before using this treatment, I was on plaquenil for two years, and found it useless, and mepron + ketek + artemisinin for over a year.
Mepron was able to suppress the babesia symptoms temporarily, and at one point, I thought I was in complete remission, and started gym training again. Then I relapsed with a much more drug-resistant generation of babesia, and lost several more months.
I started out taking 15mg base of primaquine on a 4-day-on, 2-day-off pulse. I got a G6PD deficiency test from a travel doctor before starting primaquine, and went through a harsh two-week herx at first.
After two months, I cut back to 30mg base of primaquine per week, and took three courses of chloroquine. The dosage for chloroquine was as follows:
Day 1 300mg twice per day Day 2 300mg once per day Day 3 300mg once per day
You need to give yourself a break of at least one week between chloroquine courses, because it has a low overdose threshold and builds up quickly in your system. It is usually taken once a week in tropical areas to keep from catching malaria--although in places where people take it all the time, malaria has of course built up considerable resistance. It's still new to the United States, however.
Most Lyme patients seem to believe that most bacteria act like Lyme does, and that they will require months and months of treatment in order to be cured. But babesia is much more like malaria than Lyme, and malaria drugs have to work in two ways: they must clear the active form of malaria from your bloodstream immediately, so you don't die en route to a hospital, and they must remove any drug-resistant dormant bacteria. Malaria is notorious for going into dormancy and then relapsing years after you think you are cured.
When I took primaquine, I had severe side effects the first month, and also experienced a Lyme relapse for another month. Then primaquine ceased to have any effect.
When I started on chloroquine, I was terribly worried I'd run out and hoarded a big stash, expecting to be on it for months and months. My babesia symptoms went away about two hours after the first dosage, which is exactly how a malaria drug is supposed to work.
The babesia symptoms stayed away at first, then came back after a few days off the first chloroquine course. I used mepron to temporarily control them, took a second course, had a much milder babesia relapse after a few days, took the third course, and so far have been okay. Here's hoping!
Lymetoo used quinine for several years, and quinine would have been my next drug of choice had chloroquine not worked. And there is always a chance of a relapse. So my babs-free summer has been spent aggressively researching a transition into a higher paid version of my job, so that if there are any further babesia problems, I can just hop on a plane to a tropical country where they take this disease more seriously. The only thing worse than being disabled for six years with babesia is finding out it could have been cured in two months.
I'm sorry to say that I still have a mild form of Lyme, and cannot yet go off maintenance without relapse. But the symptoms are far milder, and I can work full-time, so the next goal is to earn enough money to just pay for IV rocephin out of pocket in a year or two. With no co-infections left, the IV might actually work this time around.
Also, two noticeable effects of this babesia treatment were that I lost ten pounds and cut a minute and a half off my mile on the track. If that doesn't convince you to check this out, nothing will. liz28 Unregistered posted 08-15-2006 09:22 PM ________________________________________ I've been symptom-free for babesia for almost three months but took 300-600mg per day of Nutricology artemisinin for over a year. It worked very well as a temporary suppressant when taken daily. It also seemed just as strong as the artemisinin in Riamet.
I got better on chloroquine and primaquine. Mepron worked well at first, but I kept relapsing and after a year it was almost totally ineffective. liz28 Unregistered posted 08-19-2006 12:10 PM ________________________________________ Hi, Dave. Always love your posts, but hope to throw in an alternative explanation on this one.
Supposedly, artemisinin works well because it immediately lowers the amount of active malaria in the body, but only on a temporary basis.
In drugs like Riamet, two malaria drugs are taken at once, artemether and lumefantrine. The artemether lowers the malaria levels right away, so you don't die before the second drug has a chance to kick in. It also has an effect on malaria strains that have developed resistance to chloroquine. However, it has a short elimination half life, which limits the ability of malaria to develop resistance to it, but also doesn't allow it to stay in your body very long. Here's a Novartis website on Riamet:
Artemisinin derivatives have a short elimination half-life (2-3 hours), which means that they carry a smaller risk of developing resistance. The main drawback of the short half-life is that it results in substantial recrudescence if artemisinin derivatives are used alone for less than 5 days. Therefore, artemisinins are commonly used in free combination with other antimalarials.
Furthermore, a fixed combination of two antimalarials offers significant advantages over the free combination of such drugs. Firstly, it facilitates compliance, and secondly, by preventing the patients from taking either drug alone, it helps to prevent the development of resistant Plasmodium strains.
Riamet�/Coartem� - a highly effective combination
Riamet�/Coartem� is such a fixed combination antimalarial. The tablet contains artemether (20mg), a synthetic derivative of artemisinin, and lumefantrine (120mg), a highly lipophilic aryl amino alcohol. Lumefantrine has a much longer elimination half-life (several days) than artemether, and is associated with a low recruduscence rate, but has a slower onset of action. However, when used together, the complementary properties of artemether and lumefantrine result in a highly effective combination."
The form of malaria that Riamet combats, plasmodium falciparum, does not have the capacity to go into dormancy, so one course of Riamet is usually all you need to get better. There are two other forms of plasmodium, p. vivax and p. ovale, that are able to evade drug treatment by hiding in the liver. They can reactivate years after a malaria sufferer becomes symptom-free. The only drug regularly prescribed for the dormant form of malaria is primaquine.
If you check with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, you will find that they are running African drug trials on primaquine. The World Health Organization is also considering wider distribution of this drug. The reason you don't hear more about it is that it can cause severe side effects in people with a genetic variation called G6PD deficiency, which is prevalent in Africa and the Middle East.
People with G6PD deficiency can still take primaquine, but in lower doses. The lowest dosage is frequently listed as 30mg "base" (that's two 15mg base tablets) per WEEK for 30 weeks.
I took it on a 15mg "base" per day, four-day-on, two-day-off pulse for three months, and probably could have stopped after two months. I took a G6PD deficiency test before starting this medication. The first two months, it caused intense side effects and a massive Lyme relapse. It should also be taken with lots of liver support, since dormant malaria hides in the liver and you are really going to stir things up.
It no longer has any effect, and I have not had babesia/malaria/whatever symptoms for three months. I also took three courses of chloroquine, spaced a MINIMUM of one week apart (it's very easy to overdose on chloroquine, since it stays in the body a long time and builds up). Children take a much lower dosage of chloroquine than adults.
Prior to taking this chloroquine/primaquine treatment, I had babesia/malaria/whatever for over five years. I took mepron and artemisinin for over a year. Artemisinin is a wonderful herb, but it really does not stay in your body long enough to cure you, no matter how high a dose you take.
And mepron was only a stopgap measure. It did suppress the babesia symptoms, but I relapsed every time I stopped taking it, despite taking two teaspoons twice a day and getting liver and kidney damage in the process. Each time I stopped mepron and then started again, it worked less well. liz28 Unregistered posted 08-19-2006 06:05 PM ________________________________________ Dave, thanks, it really is wonderful to read your increasingly enthusiastic and educated posts. Glad to see you are going to be getting out of here!
Just want to say, if you decided to explore either chloroquine or quinine, you shouldn't have to take as much primaquine. I took a lot more than was probably necessary because I heard about it first, then added in the chloroquine.
Also, chloroquine and plaquenil (i.e. hydroxychloroquine) are related, if you want to check it out in your research. Chloroquine is the much stronger version. That's probably one reason so many babesia sufferers feel better taking plaquenil, but rarely are cured by it. ________________________________________ IP: Logged |
liz28 Unregistered posted 09-04-2006 03:11 PM ________________________________________ For me, it was five months on rifampin/ketek for bartonella, and two and a half months on chloroquine/primaquine for babesia. Please note the chloroquine is taken three days on, one week off, and the primaquine is taken four days on, two days off, after having had a G6PD deficiency test at Quest Labs.
It's hard to tell yet whether the Lyme is gone, as I was disabled over five years and am going through a godawful cleanup phase. But after about five months on ketek/omnicef, I became symptom free and have remained so, despite being on maintenance abx. liz28 Unregistered posted 09-07-2006 10:48 PM ________________________________________ I took three courses of Nivaquine chloroquine spaced at least one week apart, three months of pulsed primaquine after taking a G6PD deficiency test, and artemisinin as temporary maintenance. So far, so good, although the primaquine did cause a temporary case of anemia. liz28 Unregistered posted 09-11-2006 10:49 AM ________________________________________ Try one course of Nivaquine chloroquine just to see if there is an effect. It only takes three days, and costs about $25.
Day 1 300mg twice a day Day 2 300mg once a day Day 3 300mg once a day
I ended up taking three courses, spaced a minimum of one week apart. Primaquine was part of the treatment, too, but for now it might be interesting to just see if this helps. liz28 Unregistered posted 09-28-2006 12:51 PM ________________________________________ Hey, just did a quick look through Lymenet after a nice, relaxing break (yay!) and saw this.
Yes, so far the chloroquine/primaquine treatment has been working. I did have a major Lyme relapse after stopping maintenance abx, which have been downgraded from omnicef/ketek to omnicef/doxycycline. And so I threw in an extra four-day course of chloroquine, and then two weeks of primaquine, just to be on the safe side.
It's true that if LLMDs start prescribing chloroquine en masse, they will bring the World Health Organization down on their heads. But you guys are smart--you'll find a way to do this.
Lots of Lymenetters have taken primaquine, though many have used it in mepron or Valtrex combinations. But you don't read much about them because they disappear from the board. One recently wrote to say she was going on her honeymoon, because her sight was coming back after ten years of vision problems.
It is a VERY heavy drug, though. If you check it out, be warned, the only reason to put up with primaquine is there are no other drugs like it.
Try asking your LLMD if you can take two 15mg base tablets a week for 30 weeks. Take one in the morning, and one at night, then wait a week. That will keep your side effects down, you will get the exact same effect as taking one tablet a day for 2 weeks, and it will not be waving a giant red flag under your pharmacist's nose. Your pharmacist has already sold you six months' worth of mepron already, so why not just tack this on for the next six months. And it should cost you about $2 a week. Who could argue with that?
Since primaquine is a travel drug, you may also be able to purchase it from a travel doctor. They are much cheaper than LLMDs, so feel free to shop around
-------------------- I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice but only my personal experience and opinion. Posts: 2001 | From NJ | Registered: Mar 2005
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posted
See if they wouldn't give you Biaxin and Plaquenal... it would be the cheapest way to go to treat the babs....
-------------------- Lyme, Babs, Fry Bug..... Whatever it is, may a treatment be discovered to make us all whole again! Posts: 941 | From AZ-MT | Registered: Oct 2004
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Remember to Smile
Unregistered
posted
quote:Originally posted by shadesofpurple: they say. 'sorry we are not filling scripts'. Does not follow ISDA guidelines." [snip] I guess i will have to resort to harsh words to kill the Lyme spirochete and Babesia??
And no it doesn't matter if i have more than one thing they don't care. wow, they just don't care. peopel pay in to insurance companies but they just don't care and don't want to pay out.
i don't get how they can say 'no anti-biotics more than 28 days can be filled'
Dear shades, So sorry to read of your recent troubles!
May i suggest you contact your elected officials at both the local and national levels?
My mother had MAJOR trouble with her insurer and got a senator to go to bat for her. That insurance company paid immediately after the senator called them. That wasn't a LD problem, but the principal is still the same:
You are a conscientious, voting citizen now struck with several serious, chronic illnesses. Babesia infections can be fatal! Your elected officials should go to bat for you on this. You are in a weakened state due to the parasites attacking your immune & adrenal systems. Ask your reps to fight for you now, since your insurer has decided they can pull the plug on you. That should be illegal!
Maybe you can write a few bullets or sentences to be your "script" for phone calls or emails. Then write some letters by hand as well. Handwritten letters still seem to get the best response.
posted
The phamasist at the mail order company knows I have Babesia, It is also a mail order company. I went with them because I could get my Mepron for 65.00 per month vs the 522.00 at the local pharmacy. This i sthe only reason i went with them. It was my only option finacially.
I still am going to try the local phamacy for the zith. But i know the Mepron locally is out of my budget.
I see my LLMD again in a few weeks so i will see what he says if i don't talk to him sooner. The mail in company said they would return my paper prescritions to me in the mail along with a letter stating why i can't have these drugs yada yada, yada.
I will mention the other suggestions to my LLMD and see what his plan will be, he always leans towards Mepron but I have read so many posts saying people relapsed so i am wondering maybe something else would be better anyway ?? IDK
I would NAME the mail in company to alert everyone but I am not sure it is allowed on the boards . If you want to know who the mail order company is pm me .
My regular insurance may still pay for the zith. i am not totally sure if the two companies are hooked together or separate contrators. I do know i can't afford the co-pay with my insurance compnay though the co-pay i paid the first month was 522.00 i just can't swing that and pay for the doctor, and all the other meds too. thansk for all the suggestions. I will be sure to mention these to my llmd. Posts: 86 | From Central PA | Registered: Jan 2010
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We pay them a crapload of $$$$....they owe the courtesy of a response at least IMO.
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