Morning sickness might have you throwing up last night’s dinner, but there’s no need to throw up last week’s pay check too.
Pharmacist: Alright sir, your total comes out to $743.36
Me: Ummm, I think my wife is just going to have to suffer for a few more weeks.
Pregnancy is expensive. I knew this going in, but I figured the bulk of the costs would stem from the pregnancy itself. Most health insurance plans have a “pregnancy co-pay” up front that covers a few doctors visits and a couple of ultrasounds before the delivery. Then, they hit you with the big bill, hospital fees, doctor fees, epidural fees, delivery fees, etc. I wasn’t expecting a large bill for anti-nausea/morning sickness meds. Not forking out $700 for nausea meds might have been a wise financial decision…but it definitely was NOT the best “supportive husband” decision. I vividly remember the look of terror on Kialy’s face when I returned home without the Diclegis. Follow along at your own risk.
So here’s what happened. Kialy started experiencing morning sickness around the 13th week. She wasn’t throwing up (at first), but she was extremely nauseous, and working the night shift sure wasn’t helping. Thankfully the onset of this morning sickness coincided with one of her scheduled doctor’s visits. During the appointment, her doctor recommended trying out Diclegis, and she conveniently had a free week’s sample. The Diclegis starting to kick in after a few days and the nausea disappeared, but after a week she was out of samples so we had her doctor order a prescription.
When I went to fill the prescription I was shocked to find out that our insurance didn’t cover it, and on top of that, they wouldn’t accept the $30 coupon I had, without her doctor filling out a ton of paperwork, and last, it was going to cost $700+. So naturally, being the cheap ass that I am, I left with free prenatal vitamins instead. Once she got past the initial shock of me coming home empty handed, it really wasn’t that bad. She called her doctor up and asked for more free samples, and I picked up 3 weeks worth of samples up the next day.
The reason I wanted to share this story is because it’s easy to just accept that pregnancy is expensive and shell out tons of $$$ without even thinking twice. And sure a lot of it is expensive, but you have to know when to call B.S.
If your wife has bad morning sickness, here are a few pointers that could help you save some $$$:
- There’s nothing magical about Diclegis. All it is, is unisom and vitamin b6, both drugs you can get over the counter, but Diclegis IS time released so you take it once or twice a day and your covered.
- There are plenty of alternatives out there. Be sure you check your insurance before having your doctor call in a prescription. Zofran is another popular morning sickness drug that is covered by most insurance providers, and it doesn’t make you sleepy like Diclegis.
- Ask your doctor for FREE samples! They have tons of this shit just sitting in a closet in their office. They are usually more than happy to hand the stuff out like candy, unless they’re hoarding it for themselves… and well, if you have any leftover…you know what the going rate is…
