What I would do if I had to choose again

My review appointments cost money too, and building those into the annual figure changed my sense of the total considerably.

Something practical: I set up a separate account for it, which sounds excessive and means I always know where I stand.

My experience is that this got easier once I had a plan for a year rather than reacting month to month.

The thing I underestimated was how the cost affects the decision-making. I was reluctant to raise problems because of what a change might cost.

Something worth knowing: prices moved over two years and I only noticed because I was tracking. Worth checking occasionally.

The comparison shopping is worth doing once a year and not worth doing every month, in my experience.

I found that being honest with my partner about the number was harder than the number itself, and better once done.

I would have written the same thing a year ago, word for word.

Something practical: I worked out the annual figure rather than the monthly one, because monthly made it look manageable in a way that hid the total.

My prescriber knew about an option that was cheaper and I had never asked, for a year, out of embarrassment.

I would say do not go without something else that matters to make this work. I did for a while and it was not a good trade.

What surprised me was how many people here are in the same position and how little it gets discussed anywhere else.

My honest experience is that the cost has been the hardest sustained part of this, harder than any symptom.

Coming back to say I have kept it going for two years, that it has been tight in places, and that the planning is what made it possible.

Agreed, and I have nothing to add to it.

Nothing here sells anything and nothing here takes a commission, which is why I trust the numbers people quote in this circle.

The arithmetic is the arithmetic and there is no shame in it. I sat down with a calculator and a cup of tea and worked out what it actually costs me per year.