Posted by Racer on December 1, 2007, at 10:44:10
In reply to Re: Zyprexa to Risperdal due to a change of Insurance » Zyprexa, posted by Happy Girl on December 1, 2007, at 9:35:01
Depending on the insurance, your pdoc may be able to appeal the exclusion and get Zyprexa covered. It depends on the insurance, though -- and on your pdoc's willingness to go through the appeals process. The good news about appeals is that a doctor who is willing to appeal has probably been through the process enough to have it down to a routine. The bad news is that not all doctors will bother.
As for changing medications, I've never taken either. As far as mechanism of action goes, Zyprexa has a wider range of actions, which might make it better for you, or might include actions you aren't benefiting from. Riperdal skips the cholinergic effects, which might be a good thing for you, but it also has more serotinergic and dopaminergic effects. If those were helping you, you may find Risperdal less effective. It's probably worth giving it a try, based on your situation, though. It might be that the more targeted actions are equally effective for you.
A lot of people here like Risperdal. Others have had good results with Seroquel. And there's always the chance that the new insurance will approve Zyprexa with an appeal from your doctor.
Insurance issues just [emulate a Hoover] -- our insurance is changing in January, too, and my husband hasn't yet brought home the EOB, so I don't know what changes I'll face. It's kinda scary, though, wondering what changes I'll have to deal with. (Although I already know that the dental coverage would have covered my most recent work, which was not covered by the old insurance. Could have saved me nearly $2000!)
Good luck with it.
poster:Racer
thread:798047
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20071125/msgs/798072.html