A vitamin question for Melanie or anyone else

S

shopaholic

Cathlete
I went to get my prenatal vitamins, due to my poor insurance coverage(sadly a bcbs policy) my prenatal vitamins were $31 for the month. I stormed out of the drugstore. Are there generic prenatals that are less costly?I don't know which one I was prescribed since it was called in. Can I just double up on over the counter prenatals? Thanks in advance. Melanie, If you offer your pharmacy skills, i'll offer you my counseling skills in trade.lol.
 
I was using an OTC prenatal from Walmart. The prescription ones are so expensive, aren't they? Mine are $35 / month.

I wouldn't recommend doubling up on a prenatal, simply because you might get too much of some minerals and vitamins.

Any prenatal should have at least 400 mg of folic acid. That's the key component to worry about.

My friend skipped the prescribed prenatals also. She took a bottle of OTC ones to her doc so he could review the ingredients. He was comfortable with her choice.

So she paid $7 for 200 of them, instead of $35 for 30!

Allison
 
Wow! $31/$35 a month?! Yikes! I'm taking an OTC vitamin - not even a prenatal, to be honest. It's an expensive one, but it's still less than that! Why do they cost so much, I wonder? I thought it was the folic acid and maybe the iron levels that made it a 'prenatal', but those aren't exactly expensive ingredients!

I had my dr. check my OTC ones out, too. As long as it has folic acid and I'm not anemic (I'm taking a no-iron variety due to nausea) they're fine with what I have.

Another thought - my dr. gave me a huge bag of prenatal samples (like 3-4 months worth all together) to start off with, and some only had two or three components (vitamin B, C and iron, or calcium and some oil-based things..) I didn't care for many of the samples, but they were free... Maybe your doctor can set you up with some, too?
 
I take citracal prenatal generic through the pharmacy. It's $14 per month, my insurance pays about 1/2. Ask your doctor for some samples! I got about a month's worth from my doctor. kristan
 
Hi,
Thanks ladies!
I have been taking a store brand prenatal. I will ask my doctor about samples.
melanie, I am still interested in your opinion as a pharmacist.
 
Shopaholic, I know you were asking for Melanie's opinion, but I hope you don't mind if I jump in here. For both of my pregnancies, I just took a generic multivitamin/multimineral supplement. I also added an iron pill because I tested low. I added an omega 3 (fish oil) softgel 2-3 times per day (contains DHA, which is important for babies developing brains). I am healthy and so are the little ones. If you eat healthfully, and I have a hunch you do, then you probably are already getting lots of what your pregnancy requires.

I say don't pay their ridiculous prices! Just one person's opinion.
 
Looks like you've gotten some good advice here! Many doctors in our area write the Rx's as: "Prenatal Vitamins, one tablet daily". This gives the freedom to the pharmacist for the selection of the vitamin. If your doctor wrote for a particular brand, we wouldn't be able to substitute it for a less expensive one.

Prescription prenatal vitamins have 1-mg folic acid...all of the over the counter prenatals I've seen have 0.4mg...thus the difference of RX vs OTC.

We offer several generic prenatal Rx's for around $10/month cash price, or $20 or so for 100 tablets. You can ask your doctor to write the Rx as I've listed above...then have your pharmacist fill it with the least expensive prenatal vitamin they have. I would NOT double up on the OTC's.

I hope this helps. You've been so helpful to me throughout the years Elyse, I wouldn't want to let you down. ;)

**Melanie**
baby to be 11/28/05
Justin born 1/17/04
Jory born 4/9/94

http://lilypie.com/days/051128/2/4/1/-6/.png[/img][/url]
 
Hi everyone,
Thanks so much for all your advice. I was feeling neglectful by not taking the $31 vitamins. I am going to see if my doc can write me out a new prescription for a generic variety.

Mel, glad we could help each other out! Thanks to all you other moms as well, your advice helped!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top