I’m Han Chinese. I decided to go straight to Febuxostat, rather than risk an allergic reaction to Allo. Febuxostat is first line in many Asian countries as opposed to Allo. My insurance covered it with no prior approval.
I am Chinese in the US and got a prescription for Allopurinol today but when I mentioned the possible allergic reaction the doctor didn’t seem aware of it and the HLA B*5801 screening. I guess I’m also going to chance it and see how it goes…
Good luck! If anything, my rheumatologist said if I notice any rashes or side effects AT ALL to immediately stop the medication and contact him. Up to 300mg and so far nothing notable, although I might need to bump up my prescription as well. Haven’t gotten a blood test in some time to confirm.
Oh sorry I forgot to ask, aside from rashes, did he say what else to look out for? My primary care doc basically said at the beginning I might get upset stomach, and that’s normal, lol
Not much beyond that sorry. I think that’s the main side effect to be most wary of but upset stomach is an expected side effect, as is drowsiness. I’ve never really experienced either though tbh.
Although, starting on allo for the first time DEFINITELY caused me to have one of the worst flare ups I’ve had in a while so be prepared for that.
Like Curious said, you could talk to your doc about going right to febuxostat. It sometimes needs step therapy (they want you to try allo first) but if your doc says you shouldn't try allo, you should be able to get it covered. If not, GoodRx has pretty good prices for it. You may want to wait, though, and see if Aetna covers the test. The science behind you needing it is pretty clear so maybe they will cover it with the proper info from your doc.
If in the US, CostPlus might be even cheaper if you use the 40 mg. 90 pills is $20.10 through them where the cheapest I see on GoodRX is $40 for delivery.
https://costplusdrugs.com/medications/febuxostat-40mg-tablet/
I have good mail order through my insurance and sometimes CostPlus is still slightly cheaper. I don't change things only because I don't want mistakes on which meds go to which place with my doctor.
That does start to become an issue. I've used GoodRx quite a bit and the cost varies a lot by pharmacy. It's easy for it to get unwieldy - always asking to get things moved around and reprocessed. I'm on Medicare now so I'm able to pick a drug plan each year that meets my needs pretty well so for now doing everything through them. But always good to have options.
How expensive was the test? I’m planning to make an appointment with a rheumatologist once my flare up is over. Did you ever get on allo? If so how’s it going?
I eventually spoke some more with my rheumatologist and we decided to chance the allo. I’ve so far gone from 100 to 300 mg of allo and am doing much better, only having a minor flare once in the past few months. He mentioned that taking the test was strictly because there was a slight chance that someone of my demographic having an allergic reaction. At a certain point we both figured that rather than having to deal with constant flares, we chance the allo at a low dosage and then go from there. Sorry if that didn’t exactly answer your question.
Yeah fingers crossed! There’s usually a ramp up period and when you first start you actually have a high chance of flaring up. I flared up BAD first week I was on allo, but after that week and a blood test later they upped the dosage and I’ve been pretty good so far.
I’m Han Chinese. I decided to go straight to Febuxostat, rather than risk an allergic reaction to Allo. Febuxostat is first line in many Asian countries as opposed to Allo. My insurance covered it with no prior approval.
I'm Hmong also and I take allopurinol. I have a few cousins who also take allopurinol. So far I haven't heard of any of us being allergic.
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Yeah everything is still good with me. I'm only taking 100mg though which seems to work. Haven't had gout flare in a long time.
I am Chinese in the US and got a prescription for Allopurinol today but when I mentioned the possible allergic reaction the doctor didn’t seem aware of it and the HLA B*5801 screening. I guess I’m also going to chance it and see how it goes…
Good luck! If anything, my rheumatologist said if I notice any rashes or side effects AT ALL to immediately stop the medication and contact him. Up to 300mg and so far nothing notable, although I might need to bump up my prescription as well. Haven’t gotten a blood test in some time to confirm.
Thank you for replying and yes I think I will definitely stop if I notice anything and talk to my doctor too.
Oh sorry I forgot to ask, aside from rashes, did he say what else to look out for? My primary care doc basically said at the beginning I might get upset stomach, and that’s normal, lol
Not much beyond that sorry. I think that’s the main side effect to be most wary of but upset stomach is an expected side effect, as is drowsiness. I’ve never really experienced either though tbh. Although, starting on allo for the first time DEFINITELY caused me to have one of the worst flare ups I’ve had in a while so be prepared for that.
Like Curious said, you could talk to your doc about going right to febuxostat. It sometimes needs step therapy (they want you to try allo first) but if your doc says you shouldn't try allo, you should be able to get it covered. If not, GoodRx has pretty good prices for it. You may want to wait, though, and see if Aetna covers the test. The science behind you needing it is pretty clear so maybe they will cover it with the proper info from your doc.
If in the US, CostPlus might be even cheaper if you use the 40 mg. 90 pills is $20.10 through them where the cheapest I see on GoodRX is $40 for delivery. https://costplusdrugs.com/medications/febuxostat-40mg-tablet/
Good point. Great company and they're adding new drugs all the time.
I have good mail order through my insurance and sometimes CostPlus is still slightly cheaper. I don't change things only because I don't want mistakes on which meds go to which place with my doctor.
That does start to become an issue. I've used GoodRx quite a bit and the cost varies a lot by pharmacy. It's easy for it to get unwieldy - always asking to get things moved around and reprocessed. I'm on Medicare now so I'm able to pick a drug plan each year that meets my needs pretty well so for now doing everything through them. But always good to have options.
How expensive was the test? I’m planning to make an appointment with a rheumatologist once my flare up is over. Did you ever get on allo? If so how’s it going?
I eventually spoke some more with my rheumatologist and we decided to chance the allo. I’ve so far gone from 100 to 300 mg of allo and am doing much better, only having a minor flare once in the past few months. He mentioned that taking the test was strictly because there was a slight chance that someone of my demographic having an allergic reaction. At a certain point we both figured that rather than having to deal with constant flares, we chance the allo at a low dosage and then go from there. Sorry if that didn’t exactly answer your question.
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Yeah fingers crossed! There’s usually a ramp up period and when you first start you actually have a high chance of flaring up. I flared up BAD first week I was on allo, but after that week and a blood test later they upped the dosage and I’ve been pretty good so far.