Hi All, I’ve been reading about quite a few users on this forum that have been able to push Aetna into paying for their Depo-testosterone. My doctor has deemed me as hypogonadal recently, but I’m struggling with the high cost to administer it. I recently was forced into Aetna health insurance at my workplace.
Unfortunately, they have denied my claim stating this about injectable depo-testosterone: “your prescription is excluded from coverage based on the terms of your benefit plan”. Aetna does allow me to go into the hospital weekly to get the injection. It is covered by the health plan and applies to my deductible.
How do I force Aetna or trick them into paying for my injectable depo-testosterone? I’m not really sure why they would be able to deny a drug that is needed by someone hypogonadal in the first place, but such is Aetna’s terrible service. I would welcome all solutions that can get me my injectable depo-testosterone at the best price (with, or without insurance.
There is no way to “trick” an insurance company. You can have a doctor write an appeal letter.
My insurance company, Oxford-United, covers Androgel, Testim, and HCG for hypogonadism, but does not cover T cyp. However, I have bought T uncovered because I now prefer injectable T and it is DIRT CHEAP.
Where are you shopping for T cyp? My pharmacy down the block charges 115 bucks for a 10 ml bottle and my bro got it from some place for 85 bucks. For a prescriptions of 100 to 120 ml per week, the bottle covers four to five months! That’s an average of 20 bucks a month!
Buy insulin or tuberculin syringes on your own and self-inject if you must. Going to an MD once per week for injections is ridiculous. Find a doctor who knows what he is doing with TRT.
I am located close to Bozeman, Montana. I’m using a little pharmacy in one of the towns very close. They want to charge $180 / bottle. I usually go through one bottle about every 2 - 3 months. It’s looking more and more like i’ll have to just purchase it out-of-pocket w/o insurnace involved. We do have a Costco close as well as a few of the other major pharmacy (Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, etc).
I am located close to Bozeman, Montana. I’m using a little pharmacy in one of the towns very close. They want to charge $180 / bottle. [/quote]
That is a bit much for a 10 ml vial of T cyp. But then again, I live in one of the most expensive cities on earth, where 180 bucks seems to evaporate every few days.
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I usually go through one bottle about every 2 - 3 months. [/quote]
Why are you using so much T for TRT? That’s like 200+ mg per week, not a standard clinical dose. A doc prescribed that?!
[quote]
It’s looking more and more like i’ll have to just purchase it out-of-pocket w/o insurnace involved.[/quote] If they’re not covering, then you have to.
[quote] We do have a Costco close as well as a few of the other major pharmacy (Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, etc).[/quote] If I recall correctly, Costco charges 75 bucks.
But if you decide to go to a more normal dose of T (eg, 100 to 120 mg per week), 75 to 180 bucks over four to five months is not much at all. (Speaking as a New Yorker here though, who wonders where 75 bucks went one hour after leaving the house on a Saturday, and then every few hours after that.
I am located close to Bozeman, Montana. I’m using a little pharmacy in one of the towns very close. They want to charge $180 / bottle. I usually go through one bottle about every 2 - 3 months. It’s looking more and more like i’ll have to just purchase it out-of-pocket w/o insurnace involved. We do have a Costco close as well as a few of the other major pharmacy (Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, etc).[/quote]
that’s an insane price. the cost of that without insurance should be $110-120, MSRP. youre going to have to find another pharmacy- one of the bigger ones, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Target, Costco, etc. you can even get a phone app called “GoodRx” that will knock that price down considerably- this “coupon” is accepted at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, etc. I was looking into it a couple months ago when it looked like I might have to pick one up out of pocket, and this app coupon knocked it down to either $75 or $45 i dont remember.
Doc prescribed 150 mg / week. I was originally on a lower dose on a two week schedule, but it wasn’t enough. My levels were in the low 300s with 100 mg / week (injected every two weeks at 200 mg). With 150 mg / week my levels rose to slightly below 400 being injected once / week. The once per week stabilized my ups and downs a lot more. My 10 ml vial only lasts me 3 months on this regiment. Usually about 1 dose of the bottle I have to toss due to bad needle or some other issues that make me not comfortable with injecting (I like my needles to remain very sterile up until injection time).
With your suggestion I did call up Costco yesterday. They quoted me for $54 for a 10 ml vial. I’m assuming this is a generic brand, as that is a lower price than i’ve seen on here even. I haven’t picked it up yet, so the price may change.
as far as I know, there’s not really “generic” brands of Test. if you’re getting legitimate Test from a pharmacy, it will be from one of a few brands. Most of mine has been Watson, but one time I got something else from a different manufacturer that also began with W I believe…
AS FAR AS I KNOW it is not like many other prescriptions where you’re prescribed “Percocet” but get the generic equivalent because it’s cheaper.
and something else you mentioned- you need to inject more frequently than once every two weeks, that amount may have actually been sufficient, but depending on when the blood draw was, you may have already been coming back down from it due to infrequent dosing. T Cyp should be injected at least 2x/week. if you’re prescribed 200mg/wk, that’s 100mg every 3.5days, something like Saturday AM, Tues PM.
[quote]dez6485 wrote:
as far as I know, there’s not really “generic” brands of Test. if you’re getting legitimate Test from a pharmacy, it will be from one of a few brands. Most of mine has been Watson, but one time I got something else from a different manufacturer that also began with W I believe…
AS FAR AS I KNOW it is not like many other prescriptions where you’re prescribed “Percocet” but get the generic equivalent because it’s cheaper.
and something else you mentioned- you need to inject more frequently than once every two weeks, that amount may have actually been sufficient, but depending on when the blood draw was, you may have already been coming back down from it due to infrequent dosing. T Cyp should be injected at least 2x/week. if you’re prescribed 200mg/wk, that’s 100mg every 3.5days, something like Saturday AM, Tues PM. [/quote]
Costco has a generic available, the symbol looked like a ‘w’ which I assume is Watson. I was able to pick it up for $65 off insurance with a 9% discount from signing up with a costco plan that helps with RX not covered by insurance. It is a lot cheaper than $180 a vial. Anyone have suggestions of a good website to buy syringes and needles?
getpinz.com been using them for years. you can order a 21 g 1.5" with 3cc syringe to draw with and a 25 g 1" without syringe to shoot with. pretty much painless and dosent take to long. they also have prep pads, sharps containers. i use a plastic coffee can. i only put the needles in it, so it lasts longer, then tape it up and discard.
thats a great price. ya, the Depo-Testosterone is brand and the cyp is generic. ive had the watson many times, but there are a few other manufacturers ive gotten from cvs as well. it was all the same.
check your med before you leave the pharmacy. my box was correct, 10 lm 200 mg. when i opened to box there was a 1 or 2 ml (cant recall) 200 mg vile!! pharmacy said they were aware it has happened before, no problem. crazy!
side note, while your syringe is in the packaging tighten the needle. ive found them to always be a bit loose.
yea I guess that makes sense, I had forgotten that Depo-Test is the “brand name”. the point I was trying to convey though is that you need not worry about the efficacy of these products coming from the pharmacy.
I just looked at the packages, I’ve got a Watson and a West-Ward Pharm. the packaging looks very similar- same colors used, etc- turns out they are both manufactured by “Hikma Farmaceutica” out of Portugal. Not sure where Depo-Test is made.
while syringes and needles are being discussed, I suppose it would be helpful to call to your attention that there is no need to use these larger gauge or longer needles. many people use 28,29,30 gauge 1/2" needles just fine. I’ve got 29s now, the draw is slow, which is fine, but I can’t seem to draw it without ending up with a bubble that I then can’t get back out, which makes measuring the dose inaccurate and I don’t like it. the best for me so far has been 27 gauge 1/2". draws fine, and will let the air bubble pass back into the vial if needed.
I’ve been pinning lately with 20 gauge 1" as I’ve upped my dose for a bit, and I’m getting by, but I don’t fucking love it. when I go back down to my normal dose I will resume using the 29 gauge- I backfill them from a 20 gauge and that avoids the air bubble issue.
pinning with a 20!? outch. I draw with a 20 and pinn with a 25 1/2. I get that little bubble as well. I wouldent worrie about it. Not even close to the amount needed to hurt you if shot into a vein and as for dosing, hell, its close enough, really. Before you change needles, draw back on the plunger and get a bit of air in the syringe then change the needle and push the air out. That small amount you get out of the 20 g will compensate for the loss the bubble creates and your not wasting any. Youll be suprised how much you get
