Posted by Bill LL on July 13, 2004, at 8:47:22
In reply to Provigil's great--but my insurance won't cover it!, posted by zefdie on July 12, 2004, at 13:20:35
I think that the only current FDA approved label use is for narcolepsy. Is that right?
Here is a definition and description of narcolepsy that I asw on the web at narcolepsynetwork.org:
1. QUESTION: What is narcolepsy?ANSWER: Narcolepsy is a sleep disorder of neurological origin, characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness. It can begin at any age and continues throughout life. It frequently becomes noticeable during the teens or early twenties but it can also appear later in life. Predisposition to it seems to be hereditary. It is believed to affect approximately 1:1,000 people of both sexes and all races. It is not degenerative; people with narcolepsy can expect to live a normal life span.
2. QUESTION: What are the symptoms?ANSWER: There are four primary symptoms:
[1] Excessive Daytime Sleepiness (EDS) includes daytime sleep attacks, which may occur with or without warning (and for many are irresistible); persistent drowsiness, which may continue for prolonged periods of time; and "microsleeps", or fleeting moments of sleep intruding into the waking state.
It seems to me that there are 2 key conditions that make up narcolepsy:
1) excesive daytime sleepiness, or
2) fleeting moments of sleep intruding into the waking state
(I didn't list the other 2 because they are more rare.)Only you know if you have one or both of these conditions. If you do, then you have an on label condition of narcolepsy and your insurer must cover it.
Do you have one or both? Will your doctor give you the diagnosis of narcolepsy?
If you want the drug to be covered, you must communicate your narcoleptic condition properly to your doctor.
poster:Bill LL
thread:365342
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040712/msgs/365603.html