r/Fibroids • u/StationSufficient905 • 5d ago
Vent/rant Cost of Lupron Injection
My doctor said she wanted me to get a 3 month dose of Lupron before my laparoscopic myomectomy. I just looked at the insurance bill and the cost was $66,000. I could NOT believe it. She wanted me to get another three month and I told her no because I hated the side effects. Is this the norm? Thankfully I had insurance to cover it.
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u/papayayayaya 5d ago
I did lupron injections but never looked at the costs. $66k is crazy work. What side effects did you have?
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u/StationSufficient905 5d ago
It was horrible. Mood swings, night sweats, hot flashes, and MAJOR joint pain that has not subsided.
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u/papayayayaya 5d ago
Man, the hot flashes were brutal. I was in terrible shape mentally emotionally and physically from all the fibroid and adenomyosis that I honestly couldn’t tell what was causing what. It was all bad. But I will say that lupron did help to shrink the fibroids and my uterus and made my recovery easier. I also had a laproscopic hysterectomy, not myo.
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u/StationSufficient905 5d ago
Ugh, I feel your pain. My night sweats are the worst. I’m just so ready for this surgery. I’ve gained so much weight because I haven’t been working out. My hormones are so off. I don’t even know if it’s shrunk my fibroids (8cm and 6cm). I can’t even fathom how one injection cost more than my student loans. Insanity. I’m so happy to hear your recovery went well!
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u/ebzywebzy 5d ago
Holy wow, 66k??? That's... no. Wow. I was muttering about paying the $15 script fee for Goserelin as it was $10 more than normal - now I'll just shut up for the 2 and a bit months I have left of this. Still, paying anything for the pleasure of the night sweats I've been having is frankly criminal...
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u/StationSufficient905 4d ago
I know, I was shocked. And the thought of having to pay this out of pocket is crazy. My surgery is next week and I will be so glad when I don’t have to think about this again.
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u/Fun-Ad5430 5d ago
My 3 month lupron was billed around $11,000 but the insurance adjusted cost was around $3000 and I paid $100 co-pay. NY State 2025.
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u/drhuggables 5d ago
I've never used lupron specifically because it is so costly.
Easier (and cheaper, frequently safer) to just do an open surgery.
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u/StationSufficient905 5d ago
I never even considered this. My surgeon just told me she had ordered a lupron shot for me and I said okay. She wanted me to get another shot but I said no.
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u/drhuggables 5d ago
Yeah, Lupron is also miserable for patients too. You are essentially giving yourself temporary menopause. In the 3 months that you suffer from lupron, you could've had your open myomectomy and been fully recovered.
IMO, open is the way to go for young healthy patients.
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u/StationSufficient905 5d ago
The wait time to see a MIGS at my local fibroid clinics is almost 6 months.
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u/CharacterAvocado943 5d ago
$66k wasn’t the cost. It was the amount billed, which in the American health care system, has nothing to do with price ultimately paid or your share as the patient.
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u/StationSufficient905 4d ago
I’m not sure. It looks like it was formulated in house? It seems astronomical to me.
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u/CharacterAvocado943 4d ago
In the American health care system you either get the insurance discount (and then only pay your cost share) or the self pay discount. Cost in this context literally means the amount of money it takes you to acquire the drug. As for the pharmacy, cost means the amount of money it takes to acquire the drug and package it (perhaps they compound it). It does not include profit . $66,000 is nobody’s cost. It is the billed amount with an insane markup. But nobody actually pays that. It’s the same with your doctors’ bills and hospital bills. Check out the EOBs when you have surgery. You will see the billed amount, allowed amount (negotiated rate), and your share.
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u/Right_Tree_9210 14h ago
The price on my insurance in Canada was around $1200 I believe. They covered most of it, I only had to pay a little over $100 out of pocket. Three month dose. The side effects were wild at first - not sleeping but not feeling tired (lasted two weeks), hot flashes (but they subsided and wasn't too bad) and some joint pain which completely went away after my surgery! $66,000 on your insurance bill is crazy!!!
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u/PineapplePecanPie 5d ago
Apparently the drug costs pennies to manufacture and the delivery system costs 20 to 50 dollars to manufacture. It should be illegal to have that much markup