Holy good Dr. appointment

Lovegia - so happy for you that you had such a great visit with your NP. I saw that you asked questions about Stadol. I will try to answer them. Feel free to PM me with more.

She probably wrote the script for one or two sprays. Either way, it's a total number of sprays, not sprays per nostril. It's a very powerful drug. It may kick in right away or take 15-20 for you to feel the effects. Some people feel euphoric or have a "woohoo" sensation. Some just generally feel high. The end result is that, I believe, your brain processes things like pain differently and therefore you can't feel it.

I get sweaty and hot with Stadol.

I do not dilute it, I use it full strength. A bottle generally lasts me a week, but that was when I was taking it daily for severe pain. And I used two sprays at a time. I did find after a while that I increased that to three sprays, but again that was when I was in my daily 10 migraine.

Rachel

Thank you so much Rachel. I am so glad you came back as I know you have experience with Stadol and I have been very nervous about it. I haven't even picked it up yet! I needed something for emergencies and nothing was cutting it. I hear excellent things about it but I also hear a lot about a euphoric high feeling which I do not like. I worry for my daughter so I asked for it as a last resort. I'm sure I will be PMing you very soon with plenty of questions after I pick it up and of course after my first use. It's great to have you around!

When I first starting using stadol, one bottle would last me 60 days. I didn't dilute mine then either, but I do now, to try to make it last longer. I put 20 drops of saline nasal spray that you can get at any pharmacy or grocery store. The bottles only last between 20 to 30 days now, I think this is because of the tolerance one builds up to the drug, I've been on it since '99 & I take 2 sprays instead of 1 like in the beginning. If you are going to take it full strength, be sure someone is with your daughter and not just you there, cause it is going to mess you up until you become somewhat familiar with it! With it diluted, it won't so much. My insurance co-pay is $10.00 for the stadol. Without insurance co-pay, for instance, I once I had to have an early refill and the insurance wouldn't pay so it was out-of-pocket, and it was around $75.00. Just FYI. Stadol only comes in generic form too, I believe. Hope that helps! Good luck!

Good news indeed
Accupuncture is ok, it helped me a lot in the past. I wish I could afford it again (quite expensive).
Bye

The one thing I forgot to answer for you is that if you don't prime it each time you use it, there will be about 15 sprays in the bottle if you don't dilute it. When I dilute it I get about 25/30 sprays out of it. Just for your help.

Do you have to prime it each time? I'd like to make it last...My medications and appointment copays cost us a total of $150 a month and we have a VERY small income. That is sooo much money for us so if I can make the stadol last longer and avoid refilling it more often I will. Does it depend on how long it has been sitting?

Thanks KW

I've never had to reprime mine, even after it sat for a long time. That is what I remember, from back in 1999. Of course, I'm talking on Topomax, and you know what that does to a person. Seriously, I don't remember ever repriming my stadol ever!!! So, with that said, in the beginning, I would let it sit for a month or 1 1/2 months and never touch it, and it never needed to be primed again. I would still get a full dose. I think you'll be fine using it as is. I understand the $$$ we shell out for meds. Between my migraine meds, and my husbands meds for reflux & ADHD, even with insurance deductibles, it gets expensive. Have you had to use your stadol yet? Just curious to know your reaction to what you felt like on it? Let me know how you do when you have to use it. Hope your day is a good one! So far, mine has been good--knock on wood. Take care & kiss that cutie!!!

Gia, sorry it's taken me so long to get on the ball with commenting.

My nuero used to write my Stadol scripts with the same notation: "#2". That means for 2 vials. Each vial is for approx. 15 sprays, including priming, so about 10 doses. It's supposed to last a month if used as a rescue med. 2 bottles should last 45 to 60 days if you're using it for severe migraines 2 or 3 times a month, and using it 2 sprays for each migraine. That's the general dosing info. my doctor tells me.

I can't take it full strength because of the awful taste, it makes me nauseous, and my gag reflex kicks in something awful too. So as I mentioned, I do dilute it. My dr. told me I could use regular water though, so I do, and its been fine. I dilute 50/50. The script does last longer, but the downside to that is I use more sprays more of the time.

Costwise, when I had insurance, I paid $10 copay for the stadol because it's only available as a generic (butorphanol). Now it's anywhere from $70 to $100 at the pharmacy per vial. However, at Costco pharmacy, its about $28, a real price reduction from $70. And at CVS, I can get it for about $30 with their discount program.
I hope that cost info helps, Gia. If you have access to a CostCo, that seems to be the place to fill the script.

If you want to dilute it, here is what I do. Since you have 2 vials with your script, peel the label off of one of the vials so that you can more easily see the liquid level in the bottle. Very carefully pour out half the contents of the label-free bottle into the other bottle. Be careful not to overflow the bottle. Then carefully add water to the half full bottle. That's what I do. Then I keep the empty, label-free bottle so that I always have a second bottle for diluting.

Hope this helps.