Lidoderm patches...

I went and picked up the Lidoderm which are the patches the doc called in for me yesterday. I guess I forgot that the insurance raised the co-pays for meds and when I got to the store I was expecting $20, instead I had to pay $40. Just out of curiosity I asked how much they would be without the insurance and the lady told me they are $189 for the 30 patch box. HOLY CRAP!!! How I ever survived that year without insurance is beyond me but I am so glad that we have it now, even if the co-pays doubled.

I put the first one on a few minutes ago so I really cannot give a detailed description of how it works but my guess is that they are going to really be a boost to the quality of life.

Putting it on is a tricky proposition for one person, especially if the lower back is where you need it. Peeling back the plastic (think very big bandaid) can be tricky as the adhesive is pretty powerful. So much so that I was worried about the patch folding over on itself and I would not be able to get the patch unstuck. After a minute or so of wrangling with it I got it where it needs to be and instantly you can feel the tingling of the lidocane working, almost like someone was holding a chunk of ice on the spot.

The instructions say that you can apply 1-3 patches at the same time to the areas needed and then you wear them for 12 hours, take a 12 hour break and then repeat. The doctor said that if you peel them back properly you can re-use the same patch a few times. While the manufacturers instructions obviously frown upon this I was reading the pamphlet that comes with them and can see why the doctor said it could be done.

You would think that you would absorb most of the medicine over the 12 hours but in fact the instructions say that you will only receive a small dose. I do not have the box in front of me right now but it was something like if the patch had 700µ of lidocane you will only absorb something like 35µ of the dose. Obviously that leaves a lot of medicine left in the patch for later on.

Sometime tonight I should have a much better feeling as well an understanding of how this will really work.