My sister-in-law has these patches for her back pain (she has a steel rod for a back), and one day at her house she gave me a few for my muscle spasms and nerve pain. They are miracle workers! I asked my doctor for a prescription. He said FDA only recognized them for permanent Shingle nerve pain. My sister-in-law in Alabama doesn't have Shingle pain, only severe back pain, and her insurace covered (medicare BC/BS). My doctor said he requested an exception, an override, for them to be used for MS pain. It sure beats taking Norco that is harmful to bodily organs. But, in spite of his requests, my Medicare Welcare Advantage refuses to cover. Has anyone been able to get these patches approved? OTC salonspas are 4% lidocaine but are expensive for daily use when using in 3 different places on my body. Just wondering if anyone else has used these "miracle" pain relieving patches.
Agapepilgrim (Judi)
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It’s definitely covered for back pain too, I’ve placed them on plenty of people and have not worked in years, so it’s likely more widely prescribed by now. It’s the % that requires a prescription and the 2-4% patches should be at your local drug store for about $1 per patch. I used a gel stick on my feet when I was pregnant and it was great relief and not sticky.
Thank you. The lower lidocaine % just doesn't knock the nerve pain, and at $1 a patch, using 2 and 3 patches (leg, arm, and shoulder) a day amounts to about $90 a month which I cannot afford. My sister-in-law would get them in boxes of 30 with 20 boxes for $30 for her back pain.
I love these patches, they also have a 4% lidocaine cream and a roll-on lidocaine pain reliever. I get them at Walmart and as a suggestion, Ask the doctor for a 5% lidocaine prescription. I have already had 2 back surgeries & a year ago started having more back pain. The 5-6 Vertebrae above the last surgery have curved themselves into Scoliosis. I can’t always reach to put the patches on so I use the roller two relieve the pain. I showed them to doc & she said she could write RX for 5Percent. I have had to delay my back surgery that was supposed to be in October but due to my husband’s heart surgery, will wait until next year. I also have RX for Vicodin, but use it sparingly.
Thank you. I have tried the creams, even the new Voltaren with diclofenac, but nothing so far has stopped the pain in calf of leg, shoulder blade, and right arm. The OTC patches are too expensive to use every day. My doctor said he cannot get an override for the prescription.
I used the patches for my back and side of my legs to help me after I fell down.You can get them on line at Amazon.com. I also used CBD creme which helped.
I love that even the 4 percent Products are available for us. Are use th Products are available for us. Are use the one that is available to roll-on for bug bites and things like that, they work great!!
Thank you. The 4% lidocaine are smaller and weaker than the prescription 5% patches, and just do not stop the nerve pain all night to let me sleep. I have used the CBD creme and taken it in the highest dosage and that does not stop the pain either. I have poor metabolism. I knew I did, and then one doctor gave me the Genosight gene test, and sure enough, there were a lot of meds I did not metabolize. I just know from experience those large 5% patches are wonderful.
wow, i'm glad they helped you and hopefully your doctor can figure out something. go figure your insurance doesn't want to cover it. gotta love big pharma and its long-reaching arms🤬.
i looked at these, but the pharmacist told me they wouldn't help my pain. now i'm thinking i should try some.
Pharmacists do NOT understand the complexities of MS pain. There is muscle spasm pain, muscle overworked pain, and then there is nerve pain and pinched nerve pain, etc., etc. I don't think there is anything "out there" that I haven't tried in the last 30-40 years. I even bought some Tiger Balm guaranteed to relieve all pain, as stated by the Blue Emu, and all the other strange names. For ME, nothing works like the very large (twice the size of Salonspas) 5% lidocaine patches that my Medicare Advantage Plan refuses to cover.
i didn't think of it that way, that there are different types of pain. she might have been thinking about nerve pain when she said it wouldn't help. and thx for replying. you just reminded me to get some!
I can get the 4% patches online from WellCare but not the large 5% patches. The 4% last for a few hours, but the 5% will get me through the night, and more - at least 12 hours.
Thank you! Someone understands! That's the quantity she would get and came in a large box of 20 boxes. One times she gave me an entire big box and I shared with my daughter who used them for relief from arthritis and Shoulder pain from working as an RT and handling overweight patients, turning them, etc., and also RLS after walking from patient to patient for 12 hours. She cannot get approval for them either.
Whenever you have a problem with your insurance company you should file an online complaint with the insurance commissioner of your state. It is very easy to do and the insurance companies see them in real time or within a day or two after your filing. Insurance companies take these filings very seriously and within a day or two you will hear from them. Over the years I have had to do this several times and always with a favorable outcome. Good luck.Bob
I have had to do this a couple of times as well with my Part D carrier and boy oh boy do they move quickly when you file a complaint.. Holy moly!!! They do not want any issues with Medicare or SSA.. I had an issue where they were all of a sudden trying to tell me they were only going to pay for half of my pain meds script and they were taking over 6 weeks to do a prior authorization on a medication I was already taking and approved for the year prior. I had to ask the drug maker for a months worth of medication to hold me over until they got off their asses to push my authorization thru. I paid for the half of my pain meds and later on they paid my pharmacy for the full script so they issued me a refund.. I even spoke to a supervisor on that one and he was so rude.. he told me there was nothing I could do about that and it was too bad that I would not be able to get my full amount of meds anymore.. I was like really? That's your story? Watch this! within 2 weeks i had a refund and never had an issue since then
Thank you so much wolfmom! You just inspired me to fight for what I am already paying for!! I didn't believe my doctor when he said they were only approved for shingles nerve pain! I wrote him a note via patient portal, expressing the fact that I have had shingles and MS nerve pain can be worse than that pain, and its going to be with me the rest of my life. He wrote back that it was all the fault of the insurance company and he couldn't fight them. So, I will file an official complaint and go to battle!!!
the insurance company even sent me a letter of apology and said "someone" entered a code wrong or something on my profile and that was why that happened.. I dont believe that for one second.. Especially because I spoke to a supervisor, it clearly states on their formulary the qty limit is 90, not 30 AND this was in February, not January and this clown supervisor claims it had been this way since last year.. um.. yeah ok.. LOL.. IDK why they have supervisors if they do not know wtf they are talking about
UUUUUGH!!! But they will pay to have you shit full of steroids or to get trigger point injections or what ever else.. Sounds like a conflict of interest to me
Thank you so much, randal!!! I still have the letter of rejection so I will follow through with that as soon as possible. I received a personal letter from my doctor blaming it all the the insurance company, but you have given me inspiration to fight for what I should be able to obtain so I don't have to resort to pain pills. Thank you again.
I also have diabetes and everything that goes with it so I get my patches with no problem I also carry the aspercreme stick with me in case my side starts attacking me
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