Kullen had a doctor's appointment today. He ran out of inhalers, and since our nurse practitioner is no longer at the practice where we go regularly, we had to go in for an appointment in order to get a new prescription. It didn't start off well, as I got there at 2 pm for a 1 pm appointment. (I looked at the wrong date on my calendar!)If you have asthma you likely know that as of January 1st, Albuterol is no longer approved for use by the FDA because the aerosol dispenser is damaging to the ozone. The problem with this is that no substitutes they have used actually give Kullen any relief. Albuterol is being substituted with a new inhaler called Pro-Air, which doesn't seem to work. Kullen went through four of them in the same amount of time he typically uses one Albuterol.
I went through the whole rigmarole with the doctor, pharmacist and prescription company. The situation is just ridiculous. They can't fill a prescription for Albuterol - even though they still have it because the prescription drug companies aren't reimbursing them enough on it. The prescription companies aren't approving the Albuterol because of the environmental concerns - even though the pharmacist told me in no uncertain terms that the methane gas emitted by cows is doing more damage than the little Albuterol cannisters. And to top it all off, there are essentially no generic substitutes for asthmatics. Sounds like an elaborate plan schemed up by drug companies. Caught in the middle is a little boy who I just want to help breathe easier. There is no nice way to say this - it really ticks me off!
