Mommy Victory of the Week.

 I must gloat....and share some information that might be useful to other autism parents.  Nate has been on enhansa (enhansed absorption curcumin) for about 6 weeks now.  We have new words, we have more eye contact, we have naughtiness :).  Now, he has also started on a higher dose of B12 injections, P5P, folinic acid, and naltrexone.  And yes we introduced them a week apart.  A week is really not enough to concretely determine if something is effective so I find myself questioning which thing is working.  Solution?  For now he stays on all of it.  Anyhoo, as you can imagine, this is quite expensive.  And I have no doubt that at our next visit, Dr. Brenner is sure to add more.  I went to the online pharmacy who sells enhansa to reorder....www.leesilsby.com.  This is a compounding pharmacy in Ohio that specializes in kids with autism.  They have their own supplements and special formulations of different supplements that are easier to administer to kids with picky palates- such as creams, and various transdermal formulations.  I was on the enhansa page and saw a little note at the bottom stating that parents should check to see if this drug would be covered by their individual insurance company....it's rare, but it does happen.  So I called the pharmacy to request the NDC (national drug code) as with all medications there are multiple different names and who knows which one the insurance company has it listed under?  (see my job comes in handy ALL the time).  I then called our drug coverage plan.....get this!!???  We have been paying approximately $45 a month for the enhansa out of pocket.  With a simple little thing called a prescription (which our amazing pediatrician called in within hours) a 3 MONTH supply is.....wait for it....8 bucks!!!!  I swear I was on a natural high for the rest of the day.  NONE of the boys other supplements (other than the B12) are covered in any way shape or form.  The specialized multivitamin is $60 a month, the probiotic is another $60, Bcomplex drops are $24, Calcium chewables are $17, folinic acid is $15, P5P is $17, zinc is $11, naltrexone is $6, fish oil is $20, grapefruit seed extract $9 (this lasts for like 6 months though), B12 is $35 with insurance, oh and Mg sulfate cream is $18.  Holy crap.  This is the first time  I have really allowed myself to itemize this.  That's almost $300 dollars a month in supplements a month for those keeping track, and that's just Nathan.  Admittedly, Jack is not on as many supplements, but still.  We are talking a car.  So I will take $45 a month back in my pocket, thank you very much!


This, ladies and gents, is why, when a child is diagnosed with autism and parents ask, "what do we do?" a frequent response is "how much money do you have?"  I pray all of the time that someday these treatments will be acknowledged as viable medical treatment for autism, and that insurance will start to cover more of them. I mean, they cover birth control, acne medications, Viagra......to me, these are all quality of life medications.  These supplements help our children's brains function at a higher level.  Hmmmmmm.......what's wrong with this picture?