Rytary

[Catlou]

who takes Rytary extended release, how much and does it work better?

[Bailey_Texas]

I have in the past and it worked great.

[Serenity_finaly-1]

Rytary works wonders for me. I sure hope I can get on it again. 2 weeks fighting insurance. It is hard when there is already a generic.

[Bailey_Texas in reply to Serenity_finaly-1]

Can't be a generic it is too new. Which generic are you talking about.

[Serenity_finaly-1 in reply to Bailey_Texas]

The professional who advised us from my health insurance company told us that there is already a time release formula for carbadopa/levidopa. So in their world, there was a generic to Rytary before Rytary was approved making Rytary obsolete before it even made it to market.

Man I feel so stupid.

[Bailey_Texas in reply to Serenity_finaly-1]

Stay on them they will give in a higher up there will see it and approve it so they don']t look bad.I have heard after the 4th time you complain they will approve. All about the money Rytary is about $800 a month.

[Serenity_finaly-1 in reply to Bailey_Texas]

Yes, I have United Health Care, what is funny is it is the same company that we had before retirement. It was pretty obvious that Obama Care was going down and we examined all the contingencies and decided we would keep the plan that we had until the dust settled. What we didn't find out was that the work plan had 2 plans and one was $ 200.00 less a month than the other plan but had higher co pays. $ 200.00 dollars will pay for a lot of co pays so we decided to go that route. What we did not expect was that the cheaper plan had a whole new administration for the drug end of the plan and bless their hearts they were able to make up the balance by hiring special needs people.

I figured that was how UHC figured on making it through the new Affordable Care Act. They didn't, so their is one third of our state were the ACA has no coverage at all.

[Bailey_Texas in reply to Serenity_finaly-1]

We have United Health Care through Obama $335 a month total for 2 people. Total out of pocket $900 a year. Income this year $19,000. We had non taxable income also. Borrowed money to fill gap to keep insurance low. This year income going up $335 a month for ins but out of pocket $4500 if we need to use insurance. The key is to keep taxable income low.

[Serenity_finaly-1 in reply to Bailey_Texas]

That is the problem. I have friends who won't make any more money than 10,000 a year so that they don't have to file taxes and not have to pay a penalty.

[JMDean]

Rytary is a new formulation of controlled release carbidopa/levodopa. There is another version of this drug with a different mechanism of the controlled release formulation called Sinemet CR ( at least that's the formulation here in the US). However, Sinemet CR has been pretty inconsistent with respect to bioavailability so if it doesn't work for you, that might be a great reason to consider Rytary. With respect to the generic formulation-I think you're referring to the fast acting version of carbidopa/levodopa (benserazide/levodopa in the UK and Europe). That's not a legitimate reason for your insurance company to reject the claim. The half-life of that medication is much shorter it may require higher doses which could cause some side effects . If your dr. has suggested that would benefit from a controlled release formulation, that insurance company should on at your doctors orders. And you might want to try out both formulations of controlled release carbidopa/levodopa to see if one works better or worse for your needs.

[Serenity_finaly-1 in reply to JMDean]

Thank you, thank you, I thought I was going mad. Have you thought of working for an insurance co. If you do please let me know, at least there will be at least someone there that understands meds.

[etterus]

I have been on Rytary for about 6 weeks. Initially I was to take 3 195's 3/day. I was so dyskinetic that I was dancing all the time. I had samples from my doc that also were 145& 95's, so I played with the doses. I think the best for me is 195 & 95 every four hours. Occasionally I need a booster from a regular 100 c-l dopa.

I'm finding that I have less problems with off time and can eat more consistently. But I am sleeping more during the day and having more problems exercising... maybe depression post election.

My insurance also stated that there is a generic equivalent. It is not the same but it is the old CR form of sinemet.

[Hidden]

Do you take 1 every dose? I started with 3 capsules 3 time a day and can’t stop moving. Appreciate any suggestions.