I have been fighting migraines since Saturday. During my teleconference with my neurologist he informed me that my insurance company was no longer going to cover my Relpax prescription. These are the pills I take when a migraine gets really bad. My prescription fills at 6 pills per month under the generic version Eletriptan. They gave my doctor two other options to try.

The first one he gave me was Rizatriptan. A dissolvable pill that you place on your tongue. I had migraines that started Saturday so I tried the new pill. It tasted horrible. They tried to make it taste like a peppermint but it didn’t cover the medication taste. I waited and waited and nothing. I only get 9 of these a month, not something I want to take a few times a day. On Sunday when my migraine had not gone away, I took my Eletriptan. It was better within an hour.

Called my neurologist first thing Monday morning and said no to the new drug. He has now prescribed the second, Sumatriptan. I have not picked it up yet from the pharmacy. I had another migraine start again yesterday. This one was able to be quieted with aspirin but I unfortunately woke up today and I still have a migraine. I will ask my aid to get this new medication and give it a try.

I go through cycles with migraines. I can be fine for a while and then have them on and off for a week. I now take preventative medicine daily for them, Topiramate. This has made a huge difference in how often I get them. I get them more infrequently now then I did. I thankfully hoard my Eletriptan prescriptions. Filling them monthly even if I didn’t take a pill. Therefore I have a supply of boxes that could last me a year.

If I fail on Sumatriptan we could fight the insurance company. It is ridiculous to go through all of this. I’ve been taking Eletriptan for 5 years or so. It took us a while to find the right balance of medication to help my ever present migraines. The difference in these prescriptions are about $15 a month. I have enough to deal with. I also have a long history with a drug that works. For $15 a month, can’t you just leave me be? Even this is giving me a headache.