POZ Community Forums

Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits => Insurance, Benefits Programs & HIV => Topic started by: GJL2K on February 25, 2021, 09:03:02 am

Title: Insurance errors in processing and then USPS lost my meds
Post by: GJL2K on February 25, 2021, 09:03:02 am

Beside myself right now. First my insurance (UHC) kept putting holds on my refill without notifying me. Then they sent it out a week later, but forgot to put down a tracking numbers, so noone knows where my meds went. Then there were two more holds, one because my copay assistance card expired (after I told them that wasn't an issue.) Then they finally "expedited" the meds...by USPS, who promptly lost it (I have filed claims, and they return the same message about it being in transit and set to arrive at...a date in the PAST).

I had to call and ask for a pharmacist, and had to scream so they would send a new order overnight by FedEx...which they did but managed to delay the orders by one day. So I have been without meds for 7 days and now I'm worried that my status will no longer be "undetectable."

Has this happened to anyone else? After thirty years I am resistant to many types of HIV meds, so the Pifeltro and Isentress HD are the only drugs that work (unless they've developed something new). Is it possible to be off meds for 7 days without developing a resistance to them?

Title: Re: Insurance errors in processing and then USPS lost my meds
Post by: leatherman on February 25, 2021, 03:45:38 pm

Quote from: GJL2K on February 25, 2021, 09:03:02 am

Is it possible to be off meds for 7 days without developing a resistance to them?

sorry to hear about your terrible situation.

resistance most often happens from haphazardly taking meds. take them a couple days, miss a couple days, take them a couple days. This would allow the level of meds to dip low enough (not low enough to be out of your system) that HIV could learn to be resistance to those meds. When you flat out stop meds, they clear out of your system and HIV doesn't have any level of meds to become resistant to. If you ever have to stop meds (because of insurance foul ups, mailing services, etc) the best way is to completely stop them.....so in your situation, you have a huge possibility of not developing resistance.

Hopefully, all your prescriptions will all finally show up at the same time, and you'll have a small stockpile after this nightmare situation clears up.