Zyrtek-D not covered by perscription plan- other options?

2talll · 05-23-2005, 07:19 PM

My doctor prescribed Zyrtek-D last month when I had another sinus infection- he said I needed a decongestant to keep the infection from coming back during allergy season. I paid the $96 bucks for the prescription last month thinking that I'd be fine in a month and wouldn't need it anymore but after trying to cut back to just one at night and then not at all- it's obvious that I still need it since I was waking up congested with severe headaches each night.

I'm going to stop in to my doctor's office after work tomorrow and see if he can suggest anything similiar that is covered, but I figured since I've recieved so much good advice from this board so far I might as well ask here. Maybe someone will suggest something that I can suggest tomorrow to the doctor to avoid wasting time.

THanks in advance!

sneezydiva · 05-23-2005, 10:12 PM

I'll assume since Zyrtec-D isn't covered, regular Zyrtec isn't either. But I think regular Zyrtec is cheaper, and if you get that and buy 12 hour sudaphed, you'd basically be taking the same thing as Zyrtec-D. You might want to try Claritin, which is OTC, but that doesn't work for a lot of people. Also, maybe the decongestant Duratuss will be covered by your company. Sorry, I can't be more help.

Titchou · 05-23-2005, 10:34 PM

If the allergies are worse at night, try taking OTC benedryl with OTC sudafed at night.
And then just the sudafed in the AM....

2talll · 05-23-2005, 10:35 PM

I'll check if the Duratuss is covered. I don't think regular Zyrtec is covered either. I thought about Claritin- but that's going to basically be the same price if I were to pay for the zyrtec-d so even if it does work it wouldn't be any cheaper.

kehorner · 05-24-2005, 04:00 AM

There are other allergy pills with the -D component. You should call your insurance company and find out what is covered before you go to the doctor. There is an Allegra-D, Claritin-D (OTC), and maybe some others. But there are other options that are all fairly interchangeable (although not all of them work the same for everybody). So check with the insurance to see what is covered, then ask the doc which one of those would work best.