My uro's pharmacy says No to home instills???

[ISONormal]

My urologist tried to ask the pharmacy ***** to mix up rescue instills for me to do at home. They were very pissy, and he was clearly uncomfortable asking them (I pressed him to do so). (Sounded like a turf war to me.) Anyway, ultimately they said no. They claimed they were worried about the formula's "stability." Hell, I'm worried about their stability. :) This delayed my doing these rescue instills for several months, and now that I just had the FIRST one (using a formula I found here on the boards and at ICA), I LOVE IT. It works great. Significant reduction in pain and frequency.

Has anyone else had this problem? Or anything related to it?

Thanks.

[Julie B]

Yes, my daughter had a similar situation when she needed to get Lupron for endometriosis. Our gyn doesn't keep it in his office because he was throwing so much away from spoilage, so he writes a prescription for it. My daughter took the script to the pharmacy and her insurance wouldn't pay for it! It was a wicked round robin. Basically, her pharmaceutical company said Lupron was an office procedure, and therefore should be billed under her medical insurance. Her medical insurance said it was a prescription so they wouldn't pay for it. God bless my kid, she doesn't stand for that nonsense. She actually ended up getting it directly from the manufacturer as a hardship case.

You were good to stay assertive about this. I am SOOOOooo glad that you are helped by it though! How excited you must be!

Gentle hugs,

Julie B

[shvlnose]

When my uro set me up with the Rx for home instills, I had a really difficult time getting it filled. There was a pharmacy that the Dr normally worked with who could do it, and was familiar with the mix and everything, but the didn't take my insurance and it would have been around $125/week - which was not an option.

I'm lucky enough that I'm double insurance covered (through my work and my husband's) so I started calling pharmacies. Even the "specialty" pharmacies, all were refusing to make the mix. It would have been covered, I just couldn't find a pharmacist willing to actually compound the mix and send it to me. Many of them said that "it had to be done in sterile conditions" which is weird because I don't think that all of the IC-ers who are doing their mixing at home have "sterile conditions":cussing: ... but anyway...

I finally found 1 Walgreens (regular store pharmacy about 200 miles away - not their mail order division) willing to make the mix. The pharmacist mixes it and sends it to me via DHL each week. And it's only $14/week (7 for the Rx/7 for the shipping). MUCH BETTER!

But yes, I had pretty obnoxious problems getting this all started. Took me about 3 weeks to find the pharmacy that would fill and cover the med.

Aly

[kadi]

I mix the meds myself with a measuring syringe. It's not hard, maybe reduces the cost a little.

I had trouble finding a pharmacy that would sell me the meds, syringes, caths & be a Blue Cross Provider, but I requested a case manager nurse from Blue Cross & she set it all up for me.

If you have a lot of trouble with Kaiser, you do have the right to go to the Patient Advocate. When I had Kaiser (before IC), they helped me with several situations & people became much more helpful...

[Dixiefireball]

I had no problem getting my meds, but the way my Dr. wrote the Rx out was one RX for each med. Like my heparin i had one RX for that, then for my Marcaine another RX for that. My Dr then wrote out order how to mix it up at home for me or my husband to do the mixer here. We fix the installments up right before I need to use them.
It may be more simple on you to have your uro to write it out that way then it would be for the Dr. to write it out for a Drug store to pre-mix it. (cheaper that way too!) Easier to get the Ins. companies to fill it that way also.
hope this helps.
Rhonda

[kathyjean]

My urologist tried to ask the pharmacy ***** to mix up rescue instills for me to do at home. They were very pissy, and he was clearly uncomfortable asking them (I pressed him to do so). (Sounded like a turf war to me.) Anyway, ultimately they said no. They claimed they were worried about the formula's "stability." Hell, I'm worried about their stability. :) This delayed my doing these rescue instills for several months, and now that I just had the FIRST one (using a formula I found here on the boards and at ICA), I LOVE IT. It works great. Significant reduction in pain and frequency.

Has anyone else had this problem? Or anything related to it?

Thanks.
Hi, I was wondering what the Cocktail your using is exactley? I had an instillation 1o years ago that worked fantastic. The doctor is no longer in the area and I'm having a hard time getting my records, but am working on it. The other day I was just given the DMSO and it was painfull. so I'm looking for the right cocktail mixture.

Thanks,
kathyjean

[Romans8:28]

since I was my doctors first patient to do home instills, he's the only URO,so I got to be the first one in town to do it..., (Great thing to be known by).
I had a hard time getting my meds. Finally he got one pharmacy to get them for me but once we realized I needed the preservative free meds. They were rude and unhelpful, then charged me a lot! I have no insurance...

I too went even to manufactures and call several chains untill I found the Walmart Speciality Pharmacy. I had to get set up by one of the top pharmacisits, and can only deal with her or one other pharmacist or they mess up my order every time, but they have always made it right.
Hang in there and keep trying! I am soo thankful I can do my instills at home when I really need them!!'

My "brew"is preservative free 10 cc 1 % lidocaine, 10 cc .5% sensorcaine, (=marcaine), 100mg, powder solu cortef, 10cc sodium bicarb and 8cc/80mg gentamicin. (most gentamicin is 2cc for 80mg, but this is the only one preservative free!)