If Regranex Was A Drug, I'd Sell It By The Gram
I recently started a new phase of treatment for my pressure sore. As the IV antibiotics I've been infusing to fight my osteomyelitis infection now seems to be doing the trick, my doctor prescribed for me to have a medication called Regranex applied to the wound once a day. Regranex is a special gel used in the treatment of pressure sores. The active ingredient is a growth hormone designed to encourage macrophage production and enhance tissue growth (although I'm still not hitting the long ball as I would like). Essentially, it mimics the body's own ability to promote wound healing.
This treatment is necessary because after my initial surgery to clean out the sore and have a bone biopsy performed, the cavity of the sore was left wide open. Simply closing the wound up at that point in time would have been counterproductive because, not only did the infection remain in the ischial bone beneath the wound, but without any tissue covering the exposed bone, closing the wound over would have left me with a potential sink hole of sorts in that same spot. The skin in that area even more susceptible to breakdown than before the sore occurred in the first place. In order for the wound to finally heal properly it must fill in from the inside out. The Regranex is supposed to aid in the tissue growth to complete that process.
What makes the Regranex an interesting medication, in the context of the various aspects of my medical care, is its cost. Each tube of Regranex is measured out at 15 grams. Pharmacies will not stock Regranex, even though it is dosed in such small quantities, because that 15 gm tube is sold at an average price of over $520 according to some Internet sleuthing I performed. Suddenly, the insurance change that increased my co-pays from $5 to $10 doesn't seem like such a big deal. Per dose that checks in at a sum of approximately $38 per gram. I thought that sounded kind of expensive, but just how expensive? What else costs about $38 a gram?
Well, gold is highly valuable in some circles. On a recent day gold was trading for $801 per ounce and one once is equal to 28.3 grams. Do a little arithmetic and we find that gold trades for just over $28 a gram—score a point for Regranex. Oil is getting a lot of press these days; something about it being a limited resource by which the Western world fuels itself. When I last checked oil traded at about $94 a barrel. Now oil isn't actually sold in barrels, but as a unit of measure the size of a barrel of crude oil is 42 U.S. gallons. If that barrel was full of water it would weigh almost 350 pounds. Sixteen ounces to a pound, 28 grams to an ounce; a tube of Regranex approximately the size of a barrel of oil would sell for over $5.9 million, although I suspect in such a quantity Walgreen's might cut me a bulk rate deal.
What about illicit drugs? I've heard illegal drugs are quite expensive. According to Wikipedia cocaine can be bought for between $30-$120 a gram. The farther down the chain you are, apparently the more expensive cocaine becomes. I guess when it comes to blow, it's all about who you know (caveat emptor: find out how many times your coke has been cut, but be subtle about it). Drugs are bad, m'kay, but let me just mention that I found myself a little disappointed by the fact I had to refer to Wikipedia to find out my cocaine information. It's like having to look up how to launder money in the dictionary—not the best way to confirm one's street credibility. I don't know how this happened either. I'm not saying I have any inclination to know or associate with cocaine users or dealers, but I went to college, I know people who lived in fraternity houses, I have even used the bathroom in a Miami nightclub; the price of an eight ball is just experiential knowledge I feel I should have gained somewhere along the way. I saw Traffic—this never would have happened had I grown up in West Bloomfield.
I have three refills on this prescription too, if there was a better market for its healing powers I should be able trade my three tubes of Regranex for something cool or useful, like an RPG, but I digress. I'm sure there are other, more relevant products I could use to provide a better cost analysis comparison to belabor this point, but I got lazy. I present this information to simply illustrate the fact that Regranex is expensive.
Oh, and to the FBI agents monitoring my recent web searches: I'm not really looking to buy cocaine or a RPG. Just wanted to clear that up. Thanks.
Word to your mother.
10 comments:
I'm a C-5 quad. I have not read your blog since the summer. It is terrifying for me to read about your sore. I've been getting slack lately about weight shifting. How often were you shifting? What kind of shift do you do?
AdamAM
Honestly, I never did presure relief in the traditional way we're advised to do. For 3 years I never had a problem. I sit on a high profile Roho cushion and get in and out of my chair many times during a normal day. I also was riding an FES bike 3 times a week and that was good for keeping blood flow to my legs and gluts, which helps prevent tissu beakdown.
My sore came about from an activity I was doing in PT that caused an irritation and at the time I wasn't in my normal chair or cushion. By the time I started trying to treat the sore it had already opened up and was probably infected.
I will be much more vigilent of pressure relief after this finally heals up, but I don't think I got this sore because I wasn't doing pressure relief every 10 minutes. That being said, keeping your backside clean and dry, avoiding shearing on your skin, and having a good seat cushion will all help prevent presure sores.
If you're not strong enough to do a dip to lift up off your cushion try leaning forward over your knees to relieve tne pressure offyour butt - Just make sure you can push yourself back up and don't lean too far you fall out of your chair.
I'll just say again that I love your writing and I think you should be doing it professionally.
Dan - awesome blog entry. I agree with the last post. You should be making money with this kind of writing - Micah
OK Simple question. My husband is going through the same care with regranex For the first week or two, it was awesome. Now we are not sure if the home health care are following procedures. Here are the steps they follow...I told them how to measure enough regranex to cover the wound--but they are only putting it on what can be seen of the wound, not moving the wound around to get underneath the sides of the wound. Also when rinsing out regranex, my husband is using a handheld shower....do you think that is too much pressure? Pat in the Villages
One more thing. Regranex may be worth more than cocaine....but it is now off the market. I am looking to get it anywhere and I can't do so It is our last hope
Regranex is now FDA BlackBoxed. Found to have 5 times the risk of cancer in patients who have a family history. Try Bensal HP. 3 times lower priced, SAFE, very effective! Good Luck.
My husband had diabetic-related ulcers on his ankles that were ultimately treated with the immenesly expensive Regranex. The wounds did star to heal from the inside out, but the Medicare decided to no longer cover the cost of Regranex. We had to stop the treatment and my husband wound up with serious osteomelitis. He has been undergoing different kind of treatments for the past 18 months and nothing seems to help. I will however try Bensal HP, hopefully this will bring some healing to his ulcerated legs. Thank you so much for your very informative posts, you write beautifully!
A grateful wife
I was in an auto accident and needed Regranex. The prescription was lost and I called to get a new one. The insurance provider denied it because of cost. I never got to fill the original. Little did I know the gel cost $949.00 ((which I was told that is why it was denied).Found out that polysporen mixed with sugar can have the same effect. Thanks for the drug companies for all their help
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