I've been taking GOCOVRI for a little longer than a year. I take it for dyskinesia and to extend my "on" time. It helps the dyskinesia and helps "on" time a bit. No side
effects that I know
about. I tried Entacapone before that and it gave me bad dreams. My questions are;
1) Have you used it?
2). Did/does it help?
3) It is very expensive, it costs $3,900/month. The speciality pharmacy gave me a special deal of $20/ month until I go in Medicare, which will be in January. I can't afford $3900/mth,who can? If Medicare doesn't pay for it, which I heard they will not, is there any other place I can go to that may help with the cost ?
4). Any suggestions?
Thanks!
🥊
Written by
laglag
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I have been taking GoCovri for a few months to try to extend my On times between my Sinemet dosage times. It seems to be helping. I’m not sure. I have the same issue as you with the cost. My current insurance has covered the cost but that ends on Oct 31 as I begin Medicare. I was told that there are two organizations for patient assistance but you have to get on a waiting list for one. I don’t know how anyone could have the kind of money to pay out of pocket for this med. I will be talking to my doctor to see if there is any alternative med that I can use.
GOCOVRI is extended release amantadine. Amantadine is much cheaper (less than $1 each), as compared with GOCOVRI ($50 each).
Amantadine has a half-life of about 13 hours, which is much longer than L/C ( about 90 min). So, there's not much to be gained by having the extended release version.
Amantadine's mechanism of action is poorly understood. If you are taking it to reduce levodopa induced dyskinesia (LID), this might be a direct effect or an indirect effect (by replacing some of the levodopa leading to a reduction in the fluctuations in plasma concentration).
See my app which allows you to see the overall effect of your drug regimen:
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