Does FDA Approval Make Fibromyalgia Treatments More Available?
We now have two drugs FDA approved as fibromyalgia treatments - Lyrica (pregabalin) and Cymbalta (duloxetine) - but what does that official FDA stamp mean for you? Anything?
It's not really a question of access. Before their approvals, doctors widely prescribed both Lyrica and Cymbalta for fibromyalgia, just as they still give us, off-label, an array of medications.
It's more a question of money, as FDA approval makes drug companies more likely to cover the cost of a medication. Notice I said "more likely" - they don't have to, and many of them don't.
More than a year after Lyrica's much-heralded approval, a lot of people still can't get their insurance companies to pay for it. Lyrica's expensive - like $120 a month expensive - which makes it out of reach for a lot of people, and also has insurers making a financial decision that has a massive impact on our health. Cymbalta users (and would-be users) are in the same boat, being forced to pay out-of-pocket while insurance companies try to steer them to lower-cost treatments that, as most of us can attest, tend not to be terribly effective.
What does your insurance cover? Take the poll and let me know!
Suggested Reading:
- Fibromyalgia Treatments - Commonly Prescribed Drugs
- A Simple Explanation of Fibromyalgia
- The Monster List of Fibromyalgia Symptoms!
Comments
Lyrica:1972 serious accident;on motorcycle with husband-men wanted to kill him so they hit us with their car-went from fast lane going North into fast lane going South(approx:11:15 pm) and hit head on by FAST moving Truck! Husband died instantly-impact of body pushed me off cycle-hit road with right leg-bone shot out-street took a LOT of skin off-used right hand to keep street from my face-wrist bone shot out-head hit street anyway….27 years later PAIN through whole body! Finally went to a Rheumatologist, Dr. Kapila, and she is suggested I try Lyrica twice a day! Great save!!!!!! I feel far less daily pain!!!!!!