Rx from the US

what do I do with my precriptions from the US?

I have a full year scrip for birth control which is covered on my insurance bc of ovarian cysts. Should I ask someone to fill them all at once or can I fill them there?
I wear contact lenses and here you have to have an updated scrip every year to order them... should I have an eye exam and stock up for a year now or can I have an exam in the UK and order lenses there? I wear dailies too, have to bc my eyes basically attack the lenses. I'm an actor so I have to wear contacts most of the time, not an option to just have my glasses.
I have a student visa. It's so unfortunate to be a girl and have terrible eyes... costs so much more money than the average joe.

I get an eye exam when I'm home and then order contacts through 1-800-Contacts, who ship to the UK.  I wear dailies, too, so they take up a lot of space in my suitcase if I buy them when I'm in the US!  Last year I paid something like $35 for the eye exam and $350 for a year's supply (four boxes of 90 for each eye) of lenses - I don't usually wear mine on the weekend or on days off, so I still have a box of each left!

Obviously you can get eye exams and contacts in the UK but with the strength of the dollar against the pound, I find this method to be more cost-effective for me.  The rebate usually cancels out the cost of international shipping.

On a student visa, you'll be covered under the NHS. You'll get the birth control for free, I think.

It's best to bring a few months worth with you (usually insurance companies will allow 3 months to be filled at once), just in case you don't get set up with your surgery right away.

How does it work if you just want to buy a year's supply of birth control (or other monthly meds) without using insurance? The way mine works now, it's not covered (as in, I just pay full price) until I reach a certain dollar amount out of pocket. Can you just go in and buy them all at once if you are willing to pay without insurance?

Why would you want to buy a year's supply of BC if you'll be covered under the NHS when you live here?

Seems like a waste of money to me.

My BC doesn't exist over there and it's not a pill (Nuvaring). It'd be easier to just stock up than to have my family have to send it to me every month....

How does it work if you just want to buy a year's supply of birth control (or other monthly meds) without using insurance? The way mine works now, it's not covered (as in, I just pay full price) until I reach a certain dollar amount out of pocket. Can you just go in and buy them all at once if you are willing to pay without insurance?

Generally, no. With high deductible policies (which is what you're describing), you are still limited to the insurance company and pharmacy's limitations on allowable amounts. Even with a prescription for a full year's worth and cash in hand, you'll find it extremely hard to find a pharmacy that will dispense that amount.

Also, if you go to a pharmacy that has your insurance information on record, it will automatically be processed through that. They'll get the denial and (usually) refuse to fill for more than is allowed.

Generally, no. With high deductible policies (which is what you're describing), you are still limited to the insurance company and pharmacy's limitations on allowable amounts. Even with a prescription for a full year's worth and cash in hand, you'll find it extremely hard to find a pharmacy that will dispense that amount.

Also, if you go to a pharmacy that has your insurance information on record, it will automatically be processed through that. They'll get the denial and (usually) refuse to fill for more than is allowed.

Ok, thanks for this information! Maybe I can convince my gyno to give me a whole bunch of samples?? lol

Good luck on the samples!   

If that doesn't work, try asking if your GYN will switch your prescription from monthly to quarterly (3 mos at a time).  I don't know how that'll affect your prescription allowance (monetarily), but its worth a shot.  Sometimes you have to wait at least a month of so on this type of plan to fill your prescription again.

I had this issue a couple years back when I came over for an extended visit & filled my BC (wasn't covered over here) - was on OrthoEvra patch at the time and got it in 3 month increments.  The pharmacy rang alarm bells at me because I was filling it so soon & called my GYN to authorise the refill, which they did as they knew why I was refilling so soon...   

Good luck!

My BC doesn't exist over there and it's not a pill (Nuvaring). It'd be easier to just stock up than to have my family have to send it to me every month....

Is it possible that it exists over here under a different name? Or that there's something very nearly the same? When I moved over, I just brought the packaging and information from my b/c pills and my new GP prescribed me an equivalent UK version.

Good luck on the samples!   

If that doesn't work, try asking if your GYN will switch your prescription from monthly to quarterly (3 mos at a time).  I don't know how that'll affect your prescription allowance (monetarily), but its worth a shot.  Sometimes you have to wait at least a month of so on this type of plan to fill your prescription again.

Good luck!

Usually it doesn't change things. The coverage is usually for the allowed number of pills to be dispensed for the allowed number of months. (So if the company only allows 3 months to be dispensed at once, it doesn't matter whether it's all at once or over three months. You still won't be able to get the next batch until three months later.)

If it were a different kind of pill, you could go through an appeal process where the doctor prescribes you a super-huge dose as a way around it. (I've actually had to go through this when a doctor did want to give me a super-huge dose of a med because he felt it was the only thing that would work. Every month I had to deal with the pharmacist calling the doctor and the insurance company, and the doctor calling the insurance company, and everyone calling me.) Since it's BC, that's not going to work, especially since it's NuvaRing (not like you're going to use more than one at a time...).

Not sure what the status of approval is on it over here. I remember other threads about it. Maybe somebody who was on it can offer some input.

Definitely stock up on Contact lenses before you get over here.  I found the process for getting an eye exam and a lense prescription and then filling it in the UK to be much more expensive than just going to someplace like Walmart or another chain in the US.

Birth Control - if you don't require a special brand or type.  Wait till you get over here.  Totally free!!  It's one major perk of the NHS for women!

Definitely stock up on Contact lenses before you get over here.  I found the process for getting an eye exam and a lense prescription and then filling it in the UK to be much more expensive than just going to someplace like Walmart or another chain in the US.

Birth Control - if you don't require a special brand or type.  Wait till you get over here.  Totally free!!  It's one major perk of the NHS for women!

I definitely will be stocking up on contacts. In fact, I've got my yearly exam in 2 weeks!

As for the BC, it's not just a pill. It's nuvaring (looks like a smaller version of those "jelly bracelets" we used to wear back in the 80s!) which I can't just get a larger amount of (in terms of being counted as a 30 day supply). I'm just thinking that if I just want to buy it- no insurance (since it costs me the same either way)- then who's to care? Normally it's the insurace company that limits you, not the pharmacy, right? Either way, I'll be working on getting those samples. I think if I tell my dr. why she will work with me.

I definitely will be stocking up on contacts. In fact, I've got my yearly exam in 2 weeks!

As for the BC, it's not just a pill. It's nuvaring (looks like a smaller version of those "jelly bracelets" we used to wear back in the 80s!) which I can't just get a larger amount of (in terms of being counted as a 30 day supply). I'm just thinking that if I just want to buy it- no insurance (since it costs me the same either way)- then who's to care? Normally it's the insurace company that limits you, not the pharmacy, right? Either way, I'll be working on getting those samples. I think if I tell my dr. why she will work with me.

Sorry I was replying generically to the original poster.  I understood that you had a special requirements.  No idea what the US system is like for BC.  I remember my insurance being a pain in tha butt, but I think it varies.

Is it possible that it exists over here under a different name? Or that there's something very nearly the same? When I moved over, I just brought the packaging and information from my b/c pills and my new GP prescribed me an equivalent UK version.

No, she's right- the Nuvaring (or anything like it) isn't available in the UK.