Anti-depressants and private insurance

Does anyone know if you can see a doc and get Paxil, Wellbutrin or Zyban with private insurance? I've seen on posts here that those drugs can be hard to get through NHS docs. And could you only get it through private insurance if you've never seen a doc about depression before?

I'm not taking any of those meds, btw, but was considering talking to a doc for a mild dose of some anti-depressant here in the U.S. But we may move to the UK soon, so it may be better to wait and do all that through private insurance.

BTW, has anyone had success or problems with any of those meds? I like the idea of Wellbutrin or Zyban because they can not only even your moods but help with weight loss.

i considered going on antidepressants here in the UK.  my uk nhs doc was very supportive of either choice.  if anything she leaned too heavily on the- hey just take a small dose side of thought.

getting any particular treatment in the UK is dependent on where you live, and sometimes how pushy you are.  my two cents.

Hi,

5 years ago I was prescribed Zoloft (sertraline) in the UK by my GP. I had no trouble whatsoever. It was for PPD, which they almost expect you to have post baby, so I had no problems getting it; I just asked. If you want something specific, you do need to ask for the generic name.

As for side effects, try: http://remedyfind.com/product_categories.aspx?lCatID=17&sCatName=Antidepressants&lProdTypeID=3

HTH

Penny

I think it unlikely that a private health insurance company will pay for prescriptions at all. Most only pay for in-patient ones and few would pay for anything on a long-term basis. Even bespoke insurance plans tend to not cover long-term psychiatric care.

I was on Paxil awhile when I first moved here.  It wasn't hard to get on the NHS.  I asked about the Wellbutrin/Zyban thing & was told they only prescribe that for smoking cessation here -- the doc was surprised to hear it was prescribed for depression, etc in the US.

Paxil is called something else here (as are many drugs) - the doc had to look it up to see how it's listed here.  I had an ongoing (maintenance) prescription for it when I moved over.