By Marie Santangelo, Staff Writer

(Page 2 of 2)

 

For protracted dosing, discuss alternatives with your doctor. You may benefit by new, top of the line relief for a short period, but be able to be maintained on more affordable brand or generic once the crisis period abates. One example would be cholesterol medication. If you are not maintaining your diet and exercise sufficiently while going to town on high fat meals, you could drive your blood values out of whack and require more sophisticated drug intervention. Samples may give you a boost in normalizing while you put yourself back on the diet and exercise track. Prescription rebates and other programs may offset the cost should you need an extended course in the newer meds.

By no means should patients or caregivers rely on shopping online for medications unless they know the source. There are numerous scams on the Internet and elsewhere designed to bilk people of money while providing inferior medications. You may not be sure you are getting the actual medication in some instances, so enlist family and friends to research for you.

Best buys for medications can be researched through Consumer Reports. Their online system can be found at www.consumerreports.org/health/ where you can navigate to the prescription menu.

When visiting your doctor, concern yourself with the necessity of being medicated. Your doctor may have samples and a willingness to prescribe, but you should make a mutual decision on whether prescription medication is the right course of treatment. For example, lifestyle changes that you will commit to can be implemented and evaluated within six weeks. Diet, exercise, and a commitment to stress management may be your doctor’s preferred suggestions before pulling out the prescription pad. Simple changes may add up to big benefits, including more money in your wallet.