How Much Does Follistim Cost?
Follistim, an injection only available via prescription, helps stimulate the development of eggs within the ovary and can also assist women who are having a hard time getting pregnant due to ovulation issues.
Made from a man-made form of a hormone that naturally occurs in the body, this hormone can help regulate ovulation and healthy develop a woman’s ovaries.
Commonly used to treat infertility for women who cannot ovulate, it is also used to help stimulate sperm in men as well.
How much does Follistim cost?
The cost of Follistim, as with most prescriptions, will depend on your health insurance, the dosage and the pharmacy you choose and based on these factors, the costs, without any health insurance involved, tend to be in the $300 to $850+ per cartridge range with discounts found online.
| Follistim AQ 300 IU Cartridge | - $300 (with coupons) - $750 (without coupons) |
| Follistim AQ 600 IU Cartridge | - $600 (with coupons) - $1,500 (without coupons) |
| Follistim AQ 900 IU Cartridge | - $900 (with coupons) - $2,200 (without coupons) |
As for health insurance, it appeared most health insurance providers would not cover the prescription, including Medicare, according to GoodRX.com; however, it does not mean you can save in other ways, which we will explain below.
Jessi at lifeabundant-blog.com created an insightful post talking about various ways to buy Follistim, with some overseas options retailing for as little as $160 plus shipping.
How to save on Follistim
Manufacturer coupons: The official manufacturer of the drug, Merck, does offer a “Multiuse Savings Coupon” that allows you save up to $300 on your out-of-pocket costs. The program, as per the terms, is available for commercially insured patients only and can be used up to three times. To see if you qualify for the program, you can either visit Follistim.com or call 1-877-264-2454.
Prescription coupons: Online, we were able to find the MDRX fertility pharmacy, for example, which offered the cartridges for as little as $291 per prescription. These prices, as per the website’s terms and conditions, were exclusively for cash-paying patients only. Another pharmacy, Avella Specialty Pharmacy, offered the same prices as well to help offset the costs for cash-paying patients.
Follistim overview
Follistim, a follitropin beta injection, can be used to treat fertility for both men and women. Made from a man-made hormone, known as the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), it is produced by the pituitary gland and can assist women to develop eggs due to ovulation problems and to increase sperm production for men. Follitropin beta essentially replaces the natural FSH inside of the body.
Before you’re sent home with the injections, a medical professional will show you where to and how to administer the injections, which is commonly beneath the skin for both men and women or into the muscle for women only. The cartridges should always be used with the Follistim® pen and directions should be closely followed, never using more, less or even stopping without your doctor’s permission.
As for dosages, it will be different from patient to patient and based upon the dosage, but men often take 450 international units (IU) each week injected beneath the skin, divided and administered as either 225 IU two times a week or 150 IU three times a week. Women, depending on the reason, may take 75 international units at first, once a day if using the injections or 50 international units once a day for the first seven days, but your doctor may increase the dosages as needed. As for assisted reproductive technology procedures, adults may take 150 to 225 international units once a day or 200 international units in the case of women with healthy ovaries undergoing reproductive procedures such as ICSI or IVF.
Follistim side effects
Common side effects include headaches, redness/pain at the injection site, bloating, breast tenderness, flu-like symptoms, or a condition known as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which can cause tissues build fluid in the heart, chest or stomach area. As with any side effects, if you feel uncomfortable with any side effects felt, consult with a doctor immediately. This is not a complete list of side effects; for more information, consult with your doctor and refer to this Drugs.com overview.
Gonal-F vs Follistim
A common question often brought up online via women currently undergoing or are thinking about IVF treatments is, “What is the difference between Gonal-F vs Follistim?” While both seem the same from afar, the key difference here a subtle difference in the ingredients. Gonal-F is composed of follitrophin alfa, while Follistim has both follistrophin alfa and beta. Functionally, they do work in a similar way and most doctors even let you take the two interchangeably.
Aside from the similar traits, there are two key differences aside from the aforementioned description: the price and results. One particular medical study, for example, noted that “evidence that exclusive use of Follistim may produce better pregnancy results than the use of Gonal-F following in vitro fertilization (IVF) – embryo transfer (ET).” As for price, as noted above, Follistim can retail for as little as $300 with a coupon, while Gonal-F can be 20 to 50 percent more.
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Average Reported Cost: $336
How much did you spend?
- Megan (Newark, New Jersey) paid $386 and said:
Has anyone ever used IVFpharmacy.com? They seemed to have the cheapest price since my insurance will not cover the drug.
Was it worth it? Yes
- Jessie (Panama City, Florida) paid $286 and said:
I ended up paying cash using MDR Pharmaceutical – the same website mentioned above. Seemed to be the best and much cheaper than Walmart when I called to get a quote.
Was it worth it? Yes
