Ok, my first night home and can't get comfortable with neck dissection on both sides. :o( Anyway...I just got the bill for a MONTH worth of Jevity Plus 1710 - seems it is going to be $70 per day for 6 cans a day to have it delivered by a local Health service. Insurance will pay $40 a day, we 2ill owe $30 a day. I didn't eat that well when I could eat. :o(

I will call insurance tomorrow and see if they would cover Nestle or Carnation or Ensure if it were prescribed and maybe I could purchase it cheaper.

I just wondered if anyone had any tips/tricks on eating and not going broke with an NG tube. My mouth is wired shut, with another 2 weeks to go and then rubber bands for 3-4 weeks...so we are talking a LOT of money for $30 a day.

I am not thinking really clearly yet...and am WAY over tired but if anyone has any stories/ideas, etc I would appreciate it. I am debating about just going with Ensure with Fiber at $10 or so a day...not $30!

First night home - tired/exhausted but can't sleep, get comfy or do much of anything else. Have the trach collar on over my stitches and staples.

Just wondering if insurance will pay for the lesser brands, and other hints and tips. This every 4 hours stuff is killing me!

Michele in IL

Carnation VHC can be purchased thru the Amazon link on the main forum pages for $42 per case. I go thru RxUSA Inc. and the price was $31 + $11 S&H. If you need further help, I can send you the link. Insurance will not cover non prescription formulas such as Carnation, ensure, etc.

I was prescribed Impact with fiber which was $240 per case. Somehow, my hospital case manager helped negotiate the price down to $75 per case. Prescription formulas are less sugar and more balanced than Carnation VHC.

The dietician (spelling) @ the hospital I worked with had cases and cases of samples and she gave me weeks of supplies. Then the company that furnishes them considered me a "hardship" case and donated them to me. I had my feeding tube for a year and didn't have to pay for any of the formulas. It's worth checking into. Maybe at least they would give you a discount of some sort.

Best wished to you!

Cathi

Michelle,
Those numbers don't sound right. That is $11.67 a can. Are you certain it is not $70 a week, or $70 for a case of 24? I looked up the cost of their 1.5 on the Abbot web site and that runs around $57 a case. I also can't imagine the insurance company willing to pay for something costing 11.67 a can when there are a zillion other products almost as good at a much lesser price.

I'm certain you got this wrong, but even at $70 a case, it is too expensive. See if the Carnation VHC will do the trick. I think I used Ensure Plus with NG tube after insurance stopped paying for Jevity.

Take care,
Eileen

No, it is $70 a day...we checked. Believe me! We called the Dr. back and they said Ensure plus would be fine...insurance won't cover but it is only $10 a day...not $30 like the Jevity would have been. Geesh. We have to keep the 8 days worth they sent...so I am eating $240 of food in the next 8 days. Highway robbery!

I did get HAP (hospital acquired pneumonia and they killed me with antibiotics...the Jevity has stuff to help get your stomach back to normal...so the first 8 days will help but heaven's to betsy!

It was going to be $986 for the first 30 days. Once my out of pocket was filled they would cover it all...but that is $5000 so don't really want to go that high either!

Thanks for commenting, if we had read it wrong I would certainly want to know.

Otherwise, does anyone know if Carnation VHC or Ensure Plus might be better for me?

Having a hard time sleeping with the neck stitches and trach strap. I am pretty darned miserable right now...but tomorrow is another day.

Michele in IL

Hi Michele:
It's good hearing from you. Hope you feel better soon; maybe you can sleep better when you get your neck stitches out. I'll say a prayer that you do and send it to you ASAP. I used, and still use, the Carnation Breakfast VHC 560 cal. drink, and even though I'm "sick" of it, the can is only 8.45 fl oz, and I can sip it through a straw really fast. I know it probably has more sugar than the other, but calories count now too. You could supplement the VHC with a probiotic capsule, BifidosBiotics, which I get at the Compound Pharmacy for $23,95/bottle for 60 capsules. This is a "friendly" bacteria that is supposed to support healthy intestinal functions. This is just things I use satisfactorily, and I'm sure other Forum members will suggest their solutions. Either way, I hope you find something you can use that doesn't cost a fortune. I believe Christine said the VHC can be bought on the Amazon link on the main Forum pages for $42 per case (24 cans). I didn't know that, and will get mine there from now on. I ordered mine through CVS Pharmacy and for 24 cans I paid $63.24. Get well soon.
julieann

Michele - It's so good to hear from you - You have been so strong and courageous through all this. I wish I could say or do something that would help you to be more comfortable and feel lots better. I'm sending prayers your way for things to improve really soon.

Michele,

It�s good to have you back. You are in my thoughts and I�m praying for you.

When I read your first post, I thought the pharmacy tech had typed the order wrong and was charging you for the one liter bottles rather than the cans. When Tim left the hospital, they sent us home with a couple and the cost was around $12 each.

You may want to let whoever ordered it for you know that the supplier is ripping you off. This is just another example of certain members of the medical community taking advantage of patients because they don�t tend to comparison shop immediately after major surgery.

Before switching to another brand, be sure to ask your dietician as well as the surgeon. Tim�s surgeon had no idea what diet he needed; it�s not their area of expertise. Some Jevity is identical to Ensure, but others have more calories, fiber and added supplements. If you decide to stay on the Jevity, Tim gets his delivered from H. D. Smith Wholesale Drug in Springfield. They may deliver to your part of Illinois, too. You can also order directly from Abbott.

Keep strong.

Michelle,
Who did you call back, the supplier or Abbott? If you didn't call Abbott, I would give them a call and find out what this stuff really costs. I couldn't find exectly what you were taking on their web site. I know the rental cost on my suction machine can double for the same machine depending on which suuplier the insurance company uses. It wouldn't surprise me if it not the same for things like Jevity.

Meanwhile Carnation VHC has 560 calories and while Ensure Plus has only 350 so VHC is lots more calories per can.

Take care,
Eileen

At the hospital, you should have had a case manager. This is the kinds of things they should be doing for you!!! My case manager negotiated directly with the medical supply company on my behalf. Thats how I got it so cheap. I used to supplement it with the Carnation VHC as it was alot more calories and much cheaper.

Hope you are making progress Michele and you are feeling a little better and stronger everyday.

I had called the Dr. and checked to see if it was OK to switch. I go back to the Dr. on Friday, still using the Jevity that we had already purchased.I will check again and if they want me on it I will talk with the case worker at the hospital. This has 284.4 calories per can so it is not quite as high as Ensure Plus. I am HOPING that within another week I will be able to get the jaws unwired and get the rubber bands and maybe drink instead of the feeding tube. I KNOW I can't drink that Jevity...YUCK! :o)

I will check on it Friday for sure, as I am concerned too...don't want to go broke but don't want to skimp on my calories/food.

Doing OK....not bouncing back as quick as I expected this time...I understand...just disappointed it isn't coming back as quickly. I will need physical therapy for the shoulder that they drug the muscle up and through. I will post again after I get back on Friday.

Michele in IL

I went to the Dr. today...he took out the stitches/staples and unwired my jaw! I drank an Ensure Plus on the way home even! I certainly wouldn't be able to drink the Jevity so that solves that question! He put rubber bands on my brace pieces so I can open a little and drink but it keeps my jaws in line instead of letting it drift to the side that the jaw is weak. I have my plug in the trach and once it goes 24/48 hours I can have that taken out. I am to be trying to drink all my calories then I can get the feeding tube out but I don't think I can swallow pills yet, as I can't get them into my mouth...so I will need the feeding tube to get those in. The rubber bands are supposed to be for 3-4 weeks I think so either I will learn to get the pills in or I will wait until the junk is removed from my teeth but am excited about corking the trach and getting it out in a few days hopefully! Drinking Ensure, water, juice, what ever I want in liquid form...yummy!

Michele in IL

Michele,

Already swallowing! That's fantastic. It bodes well for a quick recovery.

Using the tube for crushed pills is a good idea. I used to take crushed pills as a child when I had rheumatic fever and couldn�t swallow them whole. A spoonful of Hersey Syrup afterwards helped remove the taste. Dr. Mom was before her time; chocolate has since been shown in clinical trials to be a wonder drug

Keep bringing the good news.
Susan

I'm going back 11 years.....Our insurance BS/BC paid for Ensure because that was the only way for my husband to get nutrition and using the PEG Tube. I'm trying to remember how I did it. He retired from General Motors I think I called there first (Health Benefits) then I called the Insurance Co. I know I talked to many people and finally we had cartons and cartons delievered and it was covered. I was told if that's the only way he can eat the insurance will pay for it. I'm sure if you just filed a claim they won't pay you need to talk to a person.

Give it a try.

Connie

Insurance covers Jim's Ensure Plus. I just needed to have a prescription written for it. I think the prescription had to say "for enteral feeding" in order to be covered.