[jasonsmith]

Anyone know of any GI docs that can prescribe Lotronex in Tennessee?I can't find any in Tennessee who are on the Lotronex prescribing program. I've called Glaxo, and they won't tell me anything.I'm male. So if you know of any who have prescribed Lotronex for men, that is a plus.Thanks

 

[14416]

I don't know any in Tennessee. Are you willing to travel?In Lousville, Kentucky there isr. Alan CoxLouisville, KY502-452-9567I know some in Indiana, too. I wish I could help you more. Contact iffgd.com and ask them to send you information on the doctors in your area that are good with functional bowel disorders. I just did this and they sent me a packet in the mail with all the doctors that gave their information to them to be used (usually these doctors will be more likely to prescribe Lotronex). My GI was on there and he prescribed Lotronex to me, no problem, as a male.

 

[jasonsmith]

quote:Originally posted by Silent Sufferer Suffering:I don't know any in Tennessee. Are you willing to travel?In Lousville, Kentucky there isr. Alan CoxLouisville, KY502-452-9567I know some in Indiana, too. I wish I could help you more. Contact iffgd.com and ask them to send you information on the doctors in your area that are good with functional bowel disorders. I just did this and they sent me a packet in the mail with all the doctors that gave their information to them to be used (usually these doctors will be more likely to prescribe Lotronex). My GI was on there and he prescribed Lotronex to me, no problem, as a male.

Thanks, I'll contact them. I'll travel if I have to. Though, first I'm thinking of going to the IBS Treatment Center. www.ibstreatmentcenter.com I inquired if they prescribed Lotronex, and they responded with the following:"The research on IBS and the experience of our clinic have led us to find the root causes that are responsible for the symptoms. The causes of IBS can be treated through a variety of means, but in our experience none of them requires Lotronex or Zelnorm. These drugs don't address the source of the IBS symptoms but rather attempt to modify the biochemistry of your system to affect the symptom of poor motility. If you read the information on our website you will find that the causes of IBS include celiac disease, parasite infection, bacterialogical problems, food allergies, and other problems. Our high rates of success come from testing for these conditions and addressing them."It seems far fetched, but I like the idea of doing lots of tests. But if it doesn't work, I'll need Lotronex.Thanks

 

[jasonsmith]

I had a quick question.I read somewhere a while ago after Lotronex came back, is that you have to sign a paper every month. And the most prescription you can get is for one month. So you have to call your GI doc every month to get a refill.Is this accurate?

 

[Kathleen M.]

I think they have loosened up some of the refill requirements since the initial re-release, but they do keep a tighter rein on it than most other drugs.K.

 

[jasonsmith]

Silent Sufferer Suffering,Did you only have to see your GI doc in Louisville, KY one time to get prescribed Lotronex? Or did you have to go back several of times?Thanks

 

[14416]

My GI doctor isn't actually in Lousville - he's in Indiana... He prescribed it to me and would send me my prescription refills in the mail.The one in Lousville was on the list of "Doctors for Lotronex" - meaning, prescribers enrolled in the program.They have loosened up the prescribing rescrictions since it's release, but I'm not too sure about how the one does it in Lousville...I only know what my GI doctor did.

 

[jasonsmith]

I went to that website you mentioned and gave them a call. They are going to be sending me a list of GI docs in Tennessee in the mail.Do you guys have any tips on what to tell the GI doc so I can get Lotronex? I went and saw a GI doc a couple of weeks ago. The GI doc could not prescribed Lotronex when I asked her. Though, she said I couldn't get it anyways because I'm a male and that my symptoms weren't serious enough as they were being controlled by Immodium AD.I usually have a bowel movement with diarrhea once a day. But every so often I get bad cramps with explosive diarrhea at work after I eat. Which this is NOT good as I work on a line at a factory and can't be in the bathroom for 15 minutes off and on. And sometimes I have real bad diarrhea, as in every 10 minutes. The reason why it isn't as bad as it could be is because I only eat two small meals a day and I take Immodium AD. I figured diarrhea predominant IBS was good enough reason to get Lotronex? Should I just tell the "new" GI doc that I have diarrhea all day long? I'd hate to screw up and miss a chance to get back on Lotronex.Oh, and did Glaxo ever run any testing in men with Lotronex? I've heard two stories. One is they tested men and found that they didn't respond to Lotronex. The other is that they NEVER tested men. Which is it?Thanks

 

[14416]

I think in the initial trials they didn't really have any men to provide any concrete evidence one way or the other.I don't know if I'd lie about anything to get the Lotronex - just be honest and tell him how the IBS is affecting your life and how bad it is...If you didn't take Imodium AD everyday and ate 3 meals a day would you have diarrhea/loose stools everyday? I think we tend to forget that we often aren't normal in controlling our symptoms. Sure, I could "not" go to the bathroom if I took 4 Imodiums and ate Rice everyday - that might mean I didn't have diarrhea everyday, but doesn't mean my IBS isn't severe, because if I was eating everyday, three times a day, I would have diarrhea all the time. That's just an example.You should get your info in the mail shortly - it took about 4-5 days for me to get mine.My doctor was the one that recommended I try it so I can't really tell you how to go about getting a doctor to prescribe it, but think you will have a good chance with one of the doctor's on that list they send you.

 

[jasonsmith]

quote:Originally posted by Silent Sufferer Suffering:I think in the initial trials they didn't really have any men to provide any concrete evidence one way or the other.I don't know if I'd lie about anything to get the Lotronex - just be honest and tell him how the IBS is affecting your life and how bad it is...If you didn't take Imodium AD everyday and ate 3 meals a day would you have diarrhea/loose stools everyday? I think we tend to forget that we often aren't normal in controlling our symptoms. Sure, I could "not" go to the bathroom if I took 4 Imodiums and ate Rice everyday - that might mean I didn't have diarrhea everyday, but doesn't mean my IBS isn't severe, because if I was eating everyday, three times a day, I would have diarrhea all the time. That's just an example.You should get your info in the mail shortly - it took about 4-5 days for me to get mine.My doctor was the one that recommended I try it so I can't really tell you how to go about getting a doctor to prescribe it, but think you will have a good chance with one of the doctor's on that list they send you.

Thanks. I'm hoping that they are more open minded than the previous GI docs I've seen. I say barely eating anything to control diarrhea would be considered serious I guess.What I'll do is call the closest GI doc's office that is on the list to find out for a fact that the GI doc can prescribe Lotronex. Then I'll ask them if the GI doc has or is willing to prescribe Lotronex for men. If any of those answers are "no", then I'll move on to the next closest GI doc that's on the list. This way, I will minimize the amount of time and travel invested in a GI doc that is off of the list.Thanks

 

[14416]

Sounds like a good plan; let us know how it works out!I'm hoping to get back on Lotronex again really soon - only problem now is that I switched insurances. I went from United Healthcare PPO (covered it as a male - $30 copay for 60 pills) to Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO, and I hear they are the worst for covering this drug for males.

 

[jasonsmith]

quote:Originally posted by Silent Sufferer Suffering:Sounds like a good plan; let us know how it works out!I'm hoping to get back on Lotronex again really soon - only problem now is that I switched insurances. I went from United Healthcare PPO (covered it as a male - $30 copay for 60 pills) to Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO, and I hear they are the worst for covering this drug for males.

That sucks as I have Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO as well. Though, mine may be different as it is just for the state of Tennessee.

 

[14416]

You'll have to let me know if they cover it for you when you get it - I'll do the same if I get it sooner. I plan on going to the GI this next week to start back up on it again (if he lets me), and I will let you know how it goes with the insurance (even though it's not the same, yours only being in Ten., it might still be similar results).

 

[jasonsmith]

quote:Originally posted by Silent Sufferer Suffering:My GI doctor isn't actually in Lousville - he's in Indiana... He prescribed it to me and would send me my prescription refills in the mail.The one in Lousville was on the list of "Doctors for Lotronex" - meaning, prescribers enrolled in the program.They have loosened up the prescribing rescrictions since it's release, but I'm not too sure about how the one does it in Lousville...I only know what my GI doctor did.

Did iffgd send you a list of "Doctors for Lotronex"? They told me they had no such list. Let me know where you got this list from.They did send me a list of physicians in Tennessee who are on their functional bowel disorder thing. I've been calling the ones on the list and so far they aren't on the Lotronex program. One place only saw children. Though, the person who answers the phone at all these places is being a ###### because they won't check with the nurse. Whoever answers just tells me they've never heard of it, so they just say that they're not on the Lotronex program.I even had one tell me that she wasn't sure. I asked her to check with the doc/nurse, and she didn't want to. So she said that she'll just say that they aren't on the program. But then I interject asking if she really knows, and she goes back to what she said before and says that she doesn't really know but doesn't want to check with the nurse.One place told me that I have to schedule an appointment with the doc to find out if he can prescribe Lotronex as they won't tell me over the phone. But the person on the phone said that they would tell my doctors office if they called.I explain to all of the places that I can't spend over $100 on an office visit, drive over 2 hours, and miss work just to find out if the doc can prescribe Lotronex as most can't anyways.How did you find out your doc could prescribe Lotronex? Just luck? If you don't mind, could you give me his name, address, and phone number? I'll just have to go to him if I can't find another doc in the next few weeks who can prescribe Lotronex.Oh, and did iffgd send you a list just for your state, or for the whole USA?Thanks

 

[14416]

Actually, yeah it was kind of "luck". I have to admit that I was a little too scared to take it the first time around and didn't take it how I was supposed to. I actually got referred to another GI doctor at a big university hospital and they prescribed Lotronex, too.I can give you my GI's information if you would like, just send me a private message letting me know if you want it.Also, the IFFGD sent me a list of Dr's in my state that were up to date with fuctional bowel disorders - most on my list prescribed Lotronex, but not all... I guess I should have been clear that it wasn't a Lotronex list, just a list of Drs that are more likely to be enrolled in the program.That's horrible that everyone is giving you the run around. I'll be on tomorrow during the day to check my PM's - if you get desperate, you might want to think about traveling to Indiana to visit my Dr. I know it would be a huge deal to do it (travel, money, etc), but he really is "top notch" when it comes to GI's. He takes IBS seriously and is pro-Lotronex if prescribed to the right patient. He got me (an IBS patient) into the major university hospital where there was a 6 month waiting period for new patients in 5 days. Also, his nurse told me that he sees patients for free all the time if they lose insurance - not every Dr does that kind of thing. Hopefully you find a Dr. close to you that will prescribe it so you don't have to travel - maybe you could just request to be transfered to a nurse as soon as you call. When I call my GI I always ask for the nurse as soon as they say hello this is so and sos office - they ask me my name, I tell them, and they transfer me back to the phone nurse. It might be easier doing that, but I can't guarantee that would work.

 

[14416]

Any luck?

 

[jasonsmith]

quote:Originally posted by Silent Sufferer Suffering:Any luck?

Well, I was searching the board and came across a post from a guy in Atlanta, Georgia. He mentioned being prescribe Lotronex. I PM'd him inquiring about who is Lotronex prescribing doc is, and he replied that he isn't seeeing that doc anymore but is seeing a new doc. He gave me his new doc's phone number. I PM'd him back asking if he is indeed a male, and if this new doc had prescribed him Lotronex. I also asked him for contact info of his old doc. He hasn't responded yet.If that works out, then I may go there as that would be a 3.5 hour trip vs. a 9 hour trip up to your doc.Though, keep me up to date if you get back on Lotronex. I think you said you had an appointment this week?Thanks

 

[14416]

I'm calling tomorrow to schedule the appointment - things got a little crazy around here and I just didn't think about it.I'm thinking about it tonight for sure since I've been up all night.I hope you can see the doc in Atlanta to save you some travel time.I'll let you know what happens with my Dr's appointment. I want to get Lotronex back so I can start working! I have one year left of college and haven't been able to work through it. I know that the time is coming closer where I'll graduate and I desperately need experience so I have better opportunities with my degree! I PRAY I'll get it and this time 100% give it the chance I should have initially.