Birth Control--what a budget buster!!

[Be1021]

i was going to suggest the mirena iud, since you can't take bc pills. i take loestrin and it's a $15 per month co-pay. it jumped $5 a few months ago, but i'm grateful i don't have to pay full price, which is almost $30.

I pay $60 per month for loestrin! And that is my insurance co-pay!

 

[pantherlj]

According to the quote I got last week to replace the one I have had for 5 years ...... Mirena IUD is about $700-$800 (that is the price the dr's office pays - they said they had to charge about $50 on top of that, they are a business, fair enough). Then, about $200 for the doctor visit.

I have insurance but it's deductible/coinsurance for everything - no copays. Last time I got one it as a $25 co pay, big difference!

Makes me feel better if I add up the $1000 and the $25 and divide over 10 years

So much better than the pill - no forgetting, low cycle if one at all - it's worth it. Just stinks to have to pay that much all at once vs $10-$15 a month.

 

[momof1princess]

I pay $60 per month for loestrin! And that is my insurance co-pay!

holy cow! are you taking the generic? mine is a generic loestrin called microgestin, and the regular price is almost $30.00. wow, and i thought that was high! $60.00? geez! if that's not the generic, can you ask for it? i've taken it for several years, with no issues.

 

[Be1021]

holy cow! are you taking the generic? mine is a generic loestrin called microgestin, and the regular price is almost $30.00. wow, and i thought that was high! $60.00? geez! if that's not the generic, can you ask for it? i've taken it for several years, with no issues.

No generic...it is Loestrin 24. Luckly my Dr. just gave me a coupon to pay only $24. I will see if that works nex month. Yes, it Sucks!

 

[dtr_angel]

This happened to me about 2 years ago, my co-pay on NuvaRing increased to $40/month (it was $60 for 3 months, then $66 for 3 months) I think that is what seriously made DH & I be like wth, why do we even need it anymore?

 

[Leleluvsdis]

So you can use Mirena if you have had a blood clot? I had one and my doctor told me I was stuck now with either the mini-pill (which I don't do well with) or a copper IUD (side effects of heavier period are unappealing). I'll have to ask about it next time I'm in because right now, I am leaning toward Essure, just to be done with it for good. I know Essure is covered by my insurance (just pay my copay), and Mirena is not, for some reason. Essure is permanent, though, and while I'm 99% sure we are done, there's this little bit of me that doesn't want to do something so drastic yet.

yes... she actually wanted to do that instead of minipill b/c it's so tempermental, but said it wouldn't be worth it if we were planning on TTC in the next year or so.

 

[Swimalie]

I'm on the pill now and pay $52 for 3 months and that's with insurance. I had to come off the Nuva ring due to bleeding for 8 months straight. Sadly, it was a lot cheaper. And I'm not eligible for Mirena due to past fibroids

 

[hockeyprincess]

Thanks guys! This has been alot of help. A few of you mentioned BC that I've never heard of before (Essure & Paragard?) but I am definitely going to research and see what is right for us. Our kiddos are 10 & soon to be 6, so I don't know if we want to add another child now or ever. I just hate the "permanent" form because, well like I said, we're still young.

I never knew Nuvaring could be mail-ordered, I'm definitely going to check into that as a possibility as well. My insurance is deductible/co-insurance so mostly I pay OOP for just about everything we have to do. Office visits, ER, scripts, etc. We typically never hit our deductible.

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences on different forms, always good to hear other's opinions, rather than the doctor insisting one form is safe vs another, side effects, etc.

 

[bear_mom]

I would check into the mail order. Not BC, but I am on a routine med that costs $50/month at the pharmacy or $50/3 months through mail order.

Emily

 

[MomofSixinSC]

I investigated all different types of chemical birth control (The Pill, mini-pill, the shot, Nuvaring, all types of IUDs) and what I found SHOCKED me. All of them can cause a fertilized egg to be aborted. One effect of all of them is to thin the endometrium which is the lining of the uterus. This means if an egg is realeased and does get fertilized, it is unlikely to implant in the uterus. (You can read the Full Prescibing Information provided by your pharmacist or found on-line to confirm this.) Since it isn't implanted, it dies from lack of nutrition and is washed away in the next cycle. The mother never notices, since the lighter period is what caused the baby to die.

Since I believe a fertilized egg is a baby, this was unacceptable for me. Even the chance of one of my babies starving to death was too great a risk for me.

I know not everyone will agree with me, but I wanted to put the information out there for those who might agree with me but did not know about the abortifacient properties of chemcial birth control.

 

[mousey]

I'm sure your doctors office has loads of samples of what you need. Most of the time this stuff sits in closets or handed out to friends and family. They can also contact the drug company and they might beable to give you some good coupons to offset the payment.

 

[pintamino]

I investigated all different types of chemical birth control (The Pill, mini-pill, the shot, nuvaring, all types of IUDs) and what i found SHOCKED me. All of them can cause a fertilized egg to be aborted. One effect of all of them is to thin the endometrium which is the lining of the uterus. This means if an egg is realeased and does get fertilized, it is unlikely to implant in the uterus. Since it isn't implanted, it dies from lack of nutrition and is washed away in the next cycle. The mother never notices, since the lighter period is what caused the baby to die.

Since I believe a fertilized egg is a baby, this was unacceptable for me. Even the chance of one of my babies starving to death was too great a risk for me.

I no not everyone will agree with me, but I wanted to put the information out there for those who might but did not know.

Almost all BC is used to prevent ovulation. Preventing implantation is secondary, and if you take it regularly shouldn't be a concern?

 

[MomofSixinSC]

Almost all BC is used to prevent ovulation. Preventing implantation is secondary, and if you take it regularly shouldn't be a concern?

None of them claim to be 100% effective at preventing ovulation, even when taken properly. For me, the risk is too great.

 

[hockeyprincess]

I'm sure your doctors office has loads of samples of what you need. Most of the time this stuff sits in closets or handed out to friends and family. They can also contact the drug company and they might beable to give you some good coupons to offset the payment.

I tried that.... sadly they would only give me 1 sample! Stingy doctor... LOL I thought the same thing, you get this for free, you know it's very costly, why don't you want to help out? May also be time to shop around for a new doctor....

 

[sherry7]

Ladies, the question should be....why do some insurance companies cover Viagra, etc for the guys, but not birth control for the women?

This is an interesting thread, especially since I need to make a decision about this soon. My baby will be 6 weeks old tomorrow, and as much as I enjoy her, I don't want another one!

I probably should have gotten "fixed" when I had my C-section, but I'm just not emotionally ready to do that.

I talked to the OB last week about Paragard, and the nurse there is supposed to be checking with my insurance company to see if it's covered. I checked the website last night though, and it doesn't seem to be. Nuvaring, the patch, and a bunch of different pills are covered though...I guess I need to make a decision on what I want. The Nuvaring sounds interesting, but I'm worried about inserting it, worried about it falling out, etc.

 

[sksjasams]

Ladies, the question should be....why do some insurance companies cover Viagra, etc for the guys, but not birth control for the women?

I have never heard of viagra or cialis being covered by insurance. I know our insurance company will not cover it at all, even thought it is a medical condition.

 

[scrappingizlife]

I found this while doing some research on the the Nuva Ring. Maybe it'll help with the cost some.
http://www.birthcontrolbuzz.com/product.aspx?DrugName=Nuvaring

 

[hockeyprincess]

Wow thank you for the website! If I can order 6 months at a time, that takes the cost down to $23 +/- per month. WAY more affordable! And I would be willing to buy 6 months at a time to get that kind of discount. Definitely going to look more into that.

 

[mommycrawford]

If you have had a child...paraguard IUD...$450. for 8 years, or so it was. Ask your OB/GYN,...but I am happy with, it has been around for a long time, so they know more about ant contra indications, and it won't throw you off balance.

 

[jodifla]

I investigated all different types of chemical birth control (The Pill, mini-pill, the shot, Nuvaring, all types of IUDs) and what I found SHOCKED me. All of them can cause a fertilized egg to be aborted. One effect of all of them is to thin the endometrium which is the lining of the uterus. This means if an egg is realeased and does get fertilized, it is unlikely to implant in the uterus. (You can read the Full Prescibing Information provided by your pharmacist or found on-line to confirm this.) Since it isn't implanted, it dies from lack of nutrition and is washed away in the next cycle. The mother never notices, since the lighter period is what caused the baby to die.

Since I believe a fertilized egg is a baby, this was unacceptable for me. Even the chance of one of my babies starving to death was too great a risk for me.

I know not everyone will agree with me, but I wanted to put the information out there for those who might agree with me but did not know about the abortifacient properties of chemcial birth control.

I don't know why this would "shock" you....it's in all the literature, and in books like "Our Bodies, Ourselves." I've known this information since I was in 7th grade.

And dieting and over-exercising can bring on similar effects to a woman's body. The rhythym method is actually supposed to be one of the worst in these regards.

From the Journal of Medical Ethics
The rhythm method and embryonic death
http://jme.bmj.com/content/32/6/355.full