Cabergoline Coupons & Prices

A cabergoline coupon from Rx.com can lower what you pay at the pharmacy counter when you are paying cash, and it is free to use. Cabergoline is the generic form of Dostinex (the brand is no longer marketed in the United States, so prescriptions are filled with the generic). Cash prices for cabergoline vary from one pharmacy to the next, even within the same town, which is exactly why comparing before you fill is worth the two minutes. Rx.com compares prices at more than 60,000 pharmacies nationwide. Enter your ZIP code above to see today's price near you and print, text, or email your free coupon.

What is cabergoline and how does it work?

Cabergoline is a dopamine receptor agonist and an ergot derivative (ergoline). It works as a prolactin inhibitor: it stimulates dopamine receptors in the pituitary gland, and dopamine is the body's natural brake on prolactin release. The result is a drop in the amount of prolactin circulating in the blood.

The FDA has approved cabergoline tablets for the treatment of hyperprolactinemic disorders in adults, whether the cause is idiopathic (no clear reason found) or a pituitary adenoma such as a prolactin-secreting tumor (prolactinoma). By bringing prolactin down, it can restore menstrual cycles and fertility, resolve galactorrhea (unwanted milk production), and improve low testosterone and sexual dysfunction in men. It can also shrink a prolactinoma over time. The labeled starting dose is 0.25 mg by mouth twice a week. If the dose needs to go up, the label directs increases of 0.25 mg twice weekly no more often than every 4 weeks, up to a maximum of 1 mg twice weekly. Your prescriber sets and adjusts the dose based on your prolactin levels, so follow their directions rather than changing it on your own.

Cabergoline cost and how to save without insurance

Cabergoline is dispensed as a generic tablet, and there is no brand manufacturer savings card, because Dostinex is no longer marketed in the US. What surprises most people is how widely the cash price varies: the same tablet, the same quantity, and the same city can produce very different totals depending on which pharmacy rings it up. Chain, grocery, and independent pharmacies all price generics differently, and the pharmacy closest to you is not automatically the cheapest.

That variation is the whole reason to compare. Enter your ZIP above to see today's price at pharmacies near you, then bring the free Rx.com coupon to the counter. A few things worth knowing:

• The coupon is for people paying cash. It is not insurance, and it cannot be combined with your insurance benefit on the same fill.
• If you have insurance, it is still worth checking the cash price with a coupon. Sometimes it beats a copay, especially with a high deductible.
• Cabergoline is dosed only twice a week, so a single prescription often covers a long stretch. Ask your pharmacist whether filling a larger day supply lowers your cost per tablet.
• Prices change, so check again before each refill rather than assuming last month's pharmacy is still the best one.

Cabergoline vs. other dopamine agonists and related medicines

The main alternative for high prolactin is bromocriptine, the older ergot-derived dopamine agonist. It is also available as a generic, but it is usually taken every day rather than twice a week, and some people find it harder to tolerate. Which one is right for you is a conversation for your prescriber, not a swap to make on your own.

Other dopamine agonists you may have heard of are not interchangeable with cabergoline. Pramipexole and ropinirole are non-ergot dopamine agonists approved for Parkinson's disease and restless legs syndrome, not for hyperprolactinemia, and they carry their own distinct warnings, including sudden onset of sleep, that do not appear on the cabergoline label. Cabergoline is not FDA-approved for Parkinson's disease in the US. Its label reports that heart-valve damage has generally occurred at the high doses (more than 2 mg a day) used in Parkinson's disease, but the label also states that cardiac valvulopathy has been reported in people taking the lower doses used for hyperprolactinemic disorders. In other words, this is not only a high-dose concern, and the label's echocardiogram screening and monitoring apply to everyone taking cabergoline. Separately, an underactive thyroid can itself push prolactin up, so some people have their thyroid checked and, if needed, are treated with levothyroxine as part of sorting out the cause. Whatever you and your prescriber land on, you can compare the cash price of each option on Rx.com before you fill.

Cabergoline side effects and safety

Cabergoline does not carry a boxed warning. The most common side effects in people treated for high prolactin are nausea (about 27%), headache (about 26%), and dizziness (about 15%). Starting at a low dose (0.25 mg twice weekly) and going up slowly helps limit them. Drowsiness is not among the common reactions: somnolence was reported infrequently in the clinical trials, and the cabergoline label carries no warning about sudden onset of sleep (that is a labeled risk of the non-ergot dopamine agonists, not of cabergoline). Even so, do not drive or operate machinery until you know how the medicine affects you.

The cabergoline label's warnings and precautions are these five. First, cardiac valvulopathy and pericardial fibrosis: cabergoline has been linked to thickening and stiffening of heart valves and to fibrotic changes in the sac around the heart. Second, pleural, pulmonary, and retroperitoneal fibrosis: similar scarring in the lungs, the lining of the lungs, and the area behind the abdomen. The label says these cases generally occurred at the high doses (more than 2 mg a day) once used for Parkinson's disease, but it also says plainly that cardiac valvulopathy has been reported in patients who received the lower dosages of cabergoline used for hyperprolactinemic disorders, which is the dose range on this page. So do not treat this as a Parkinson's-only problem. Prescribers are advised to evaluate you before you start, including an echocardiogram, and to keep monitoring during treatment with an echocardiogram at intervals of 6 to 12 months or as clinically indicated, watching for chest pain and signs of heart failure; cabergoline is stopped if new valve regurgitation, valve restriction, leaflet thickening, or pericarditis is found. Third, orthostatic hypotension: blood pressure can drop when you stand up, causing lightheadedness or fainting, especially when you first start, when the dose goes up, or if you also take blood pressure medicine, so rise slowly. Fourth, cabergoline should not be used to inhibit or suppress normal milk production after childbirth, because of reports of high blood pressure, stroke, and seizures in that setting. Fifth, impulse control disorders and compulsive behaviors, such as compulsive gambling, uncontrollable spending, binge eating, or a sharp rise in sexual urges, can appear on dopamine agonists; people often do not recognize these as abnormal, so tell your prescriber right away if you or your family notice new urges like these. Psychotic disorder and aggression have also been reported since approval; because such reports come in voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, their frequency cannot be reliably estimated.

Cabergoline is contraindicated if you have uncontrolled high blood pressure, a known allergy to ergot medicines, a history of heart valve disorders or pericardial fibrosis, or a history of pleural, pulmonary, or retroperitoneal fibrotic disease. If you become pregnant while taking it, tell your prescriber; the label says to discontinue cabergoline if the risks to mother or fetus outweigh the benefits. This page is general information, not medical advice. Talk with your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation and the medicines you already take.