My name is Meg Jackson-Drage and I am a 50-year-old living in Magna, Utah with my husband and family. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia years ago, and also live with neuropathic pain. I have a history of medical conditions that limit my mobility and require costly medication.
I was living in suburban Chicago when I was most recently prescribed Pfizer’s blockbuster drug, Lyrica, to treat the pain and symptoms of my fibromyalgia. It was the drug that I had long been waiting for. I was given samples to start and found that it ameliorated much of the pain I dealt with on a daily basis. After deciding to continue taking the Lyrica, I was given a discount card to help to pay for the medication.
Unfortunately, this is when the trouble started. When I found out it would cost me $550 out of pocket each month, even with the discount card, I was stunned. And it would mean only taking a third of the dose my doctor ultimately wanted me to take. How much would a full, effective dose cost?
And this wasn’t my first rodeo with Lyrica. Eight years ago when it was prescribed to me, it was about $150 for one month. This was expensive for me, as well. Now I’m wondering how there was a $400 increase in the eight years since I was first prescribed it?
Pfizer holds a monopoly on Lyrica that is a detriment to the public. These price hikes and exorbitant costs have affected me terribly and are most certainly harming thousands of other Americans.
Patients need to have access to more affordable drugs. I don’t want anything for free, I just want to be able to afford the medication that has been prescribed that will help me deal with the pain I endure each and every day. Pfizer needs to be held accountable for their skyrocketing drug prices and these unconscionable price hikes.
Patients For Affordable Drugs is the only independent national patient organization focused exclusively on achieving policy changes to lower the price of prescription drugs.
