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Change in medication

Today, without warning or explanation my medication was changed from Avastin to Lucentis, has this happened to anyone else?

  1. The only way to know the reason is to ask the doctor, but it is a shame they didn't tell you at the time. You must have been quite surprised. Can you phone them? The only reasons that I, personally, have heard of are if the first medication is not working as desired, or if there is an issue with insurance coverage. I hope you can get a good explanation from your doctor. Best wishes, Wendy, Advocate.


    1. Yikes. Yes, it happened to me yesterday. At first it was quite surprising. Unfortunately I woke up in a cranky mood so that did not help. My doctor came in asked me how I was doing today. I told him I woke up cranky. He stopped looked at me and asked why. We talked a bit about that and he informed me I could reschedule If I was not up to the shot today. As we talked and I became less cranky I stayed. He then told me about the medication change, he did explain it to me, why and what he hoped to achieve by this change in a calming compassionate way.


      I did lots of my meditation breathing, the shot went well. The after effects of the shot were the same, no changes there. It did take me a few hours to process it all however I am good with it and no new worries.


      I would definitely ask my doctor why the change. I have found doctors overall want to help up be informed and have good experiences. Once a doctor knows you are interested they are willing to help and remember to keep you up to date for next time. If I have questions I write them down because the appointment day I do not remember everything.

      1. @chellye I love how you really connected with the doctor by telling him how you actually felt. Then he connected with you by talking and explaining things clearly and compassionately. And it all worked out well. Thanks for sharing this with others so that they realise doctors do change medications sometimes. Best wishes, Wendy, Advocate.

      2. I am glad you have such a compassionate doctor that keeps you informed about your treatments. Your tip to write questions down is a good one. The stress of seeing the doctor can cause us to forget those questions if we don’t have them written. All the best, Sharon Moore Advocate

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