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Ocular Histoplasmosis

My husband has ocular histoplasmosis and has had two cold lazer treatments in both eyes. The doctor wanted to try Lucentis (an injection directly in the eye) but my insurance would not cover the medication because it has not been approved FDA for his problem.

The doctor told me that people who have undergone this type of treatment have found positive response to the treatment. Evidently the FDA has only approved this drug (Lucentis) and Evastin for Wet Macular Degeneration in the elderly.

My husband is only 46 and now is unable to drive or work because of his condition. My question is do you know if they will ever approve the Lucentis for Ocular Histoplasmosis? Also, do they have support groups with people who have Ocular Histoplasmosis?

Thenk you very much!
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Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
You can contact the social service agency for your county or a local hospital and ask the question. Also many large municipalities have subsidized hospitals for indigents (for example Cook County Hospital in Chicago). Medical schools often will treat the indigent in order to train young physicians.
You can check with Medicaid and see if you are eligible.

Another thing is to consider medical care just as much an essential as your food, car, and home. Most everyone borrows money to pay for a car or a home, you can try for a loan. You can borrow from family.  I hope neither of you smoke. Smoking a pack/day in the US is about $2500/year.

JCH III MD

Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I would love to pay out of pocket for those treatments but my husband as a result of this is no longer working. I simply do not have the money to pay for these treatments. I would like to know if there are any organizations out there that would be willing to pay for the treatments?

One thing the Dr. was going to do was contact Lucentis or Avastin to see if they would pay for part or all of the cost for the treatments. The problem was it has not been ADF approved for his problem and he did not feel they would help!

He advised us that the Lucentis treatment would be around $2,000 a month and the Avastin would be around $300 not including the syringe. We simply do not have that type of money, so my husband cannot get the treatments. I feel like our hands are tied because of the finances involved.

Any suggestions?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The use of VEGF inhibitors (Lucentis, Avastin) have revolutionized the treatment of wet macular degeneration. They also show huge promise for other types of choiroidal neovascularization. Even if you insurance doesn't cover it, if it were me I would pay out of the pocket to have the treatments done. I would use Avastin even though it's an "off label" use. It is much, much less expensive and most retina surgeons believe gives just as good of results.

JCH III MD
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I used to follow a forum for people with histoplasmosis.  People there with the ocular type were getting Avastin injections which were only a fraction of the cost of Lucentis.  At that time, the pricing seemed to be around $80-100 for the Avastin plus varying fees for doing each injection.  Some of those people had a lot of  improvement in their vision.
Helpful - 0
233488 tn?1310693103
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
The use of VEGF inhibitors (Lucentis, Avastin) have revolutionized the treatment of wet macular degeneration. They also show huge promise for other types of choiroidal neovascularization. Even if you insurance doesn't cover it, if it were me I would pay out of the pocket to have the treatments done. I would use Avastin even though it's an "off label" use. It is much, much less expensive and most retina surgeons believe gives just as good of results. The treatment is more effective when started before large amounts of bleeding occur so I would begin treatment very soon.

JCH III MD
Helpful - 0

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