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On another thread, I was blasted for using the discount medicines at Walmart, Kmar,t and others. I am hurting the pharmacology industry.

So, how are you paying for meds? If you cannot afford a drug, even with insurance, do you simply drop it or do you go to another alternative, even if it is not as good? In my own case, one family member was on Abilify. It cost $450 for 30 pills. We cannot afford to buy it now and so we had to drop it.

Has any one bought drugs from Canada? What is the penalty if you do? One site I went to seemed legit, but I was afraid of being arrested.

Any ideas? Please post any info and maybe we can all help each other.

Thanks.
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quote:
Originally posted by LMM:
On another thread, I was blasted for using the discount medicines at Walmart, Kmar,t and others. I am hurting the pharmacology industry.

So, how are you paying for meds? If you cannot afford a drug, even with insurance, do you simply drop it or do you go to another alternative, even if it is not as good? In my own case, one family member was on Abilify. It cost $450 for 30 pills. We cannot afford to buy it now and so we had to drop it.

Has any one bought drugs from Canada? What is the penalty if you do? One site I went to seemed legit, but I was afraid of being arrested.

Any ideas? Please post any info and maybe we can all help each other.

Thanks.


LMM.... keep on using Walmart and stop listening to ignorance..... Your health is ''''your'''' business, and I know so many people who go to Walmart it is unreal....

we do for antibiotics..... but for the meds required for my daughter we use Insurance and our co-pays are at least 80 dollars for 3 months....
As far as getting drugs from Canada is concerned....... we actually looked into that to get my daughters meds cheaper.... her doctor told us that strengths and dosages vary way too much to be gambling with my daughters health.... I believed him......

He also told me that Canada was a center for the counterfiet drugs smuggled from China... he gave us that particular article..... so what one orders just might be literally nothing packaged like the real thing...
Keep buying your meds wherever they are the cheapest, if that is Walmart, so be it, don't listen to the critics. As far as Canadadian and Mexican drugs, there I would err on the side of caution. There are many incidences, especially with Mexican drugs, where the dosages and binders that go into the drugs are not as documented nor strictly enforced as those found here in the US. The FDA (Federal Drug Administration) is a beauracratic nightmare, but they do a very good job of regulating the drugs, their makers, and ingredients. For some medications it may not make a difference, but I would certainly not trust things such as anticonvulsants, anithypertensive meds, and chemotrherapy drugs which are bought outside the country.
I think you will see more and more of the "Walmart" type programs in the future. These large corporations are going to utilize bulk buying to try and negotiate better rices, which will be better for the consumer. of course it will not be the latest and greatest of the meds, but every penny saved in this economy is worthwhile.
I went on line & found different programs that helped my grandparents afford certain VERY expensive medications, like my grandmothers Arimidex, which is a hormonal treatment that she has to take for 5 years after being cancer free. What used to cost her $750.00 for a months supply, she now gets a 3 month supply for $45.00, that's $15 a month!!!
Help is out there, you just have to do your research! But first off, start with the drug manufacturers!!
quote:
Originally posted by FloTownDown08:
I went on line & found different programs that helped my grandparents afford certain VERY expensive medications, like my grandmothers Arimidex, which is a hormonal treatment that she has to take for 5 years after being cancer free. What used to cost her $750.00 for a months supply, she now gets a 3 month supply for $45.00, that's $15 a month!!!
Help is out there, you just have to do your research! But first off, start with the drug manufacturers!!



Thanks, we tried to get help from the manufacturer, but we are too rich. LOL.
I think you have to be living on the street to qualify.


Thanks for all the replies. Please keep them coming. If anybody did buy from Canada, let me know. The Abilify is $85 for three months that way. Can you believe that? The drug companies are ripping us off so BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
quote:
Originally posted by LMM:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by FloTownDown08:

Can you believe that? The drug companies are ripping us off so BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Yes, we in the United States pay about 4 times as much for script meds as they pay in the rest of the world for the exact same thing, made in the exact same place.

We have a group of politicians who wish to keep it that way because of their financial interest and lobbiest of the pharmaceutical industry.
Maybe it would be good if we replace those politicians who continue to want to screw over us all.
LMM, Abilify can be used for more than one thing, so I'm not sure if you could substitute in your particular case. I would speak with the physican and tell him your situation. Some physicians forget about actual cost when prescribing. I know that some drugs may come in a long lasting form and be much more expensive than if you don't mind medicating three of four times a day.

Second, Target and some other pharmacies have the same prices as Wal-Mart on at least most drugs. I use Target and am exceptionally well pleased. They have automatic refills, automated calling when meds are ready, color coded bottles for various family members, and an extremely short wait time compared to Wal-Mart.

I hope this helps some, but no, never answer to anyone else about shopping at Wal-Mart. I just purchased a Samsung TV there and saved 150.00 over the next competitor. I couldn't afford not to buy it there.

Good luck!
Yes, drugs in other countries are sometimes cheaper. In Europe and Canada, if bought locally, you will get the real thing. Mail order -- questionable.

Foreign governments bullied the US and their own companies into the cheap prices -- our way or no way!

Results are that internal to those countries, few, if any new drugs are being developed.

US companies charge more to keep up their R&D. Foreign drug companies have offices ahd production lines for the same reason.

Cheaper drugs might come at a higher health price -- no new drugs.
sorry for the bad English
my family is from Guatemala they do NOT USE MEDECATIONS my grandma is 90 and still walks around they never go to the doctor when sick and this is rare the use local herbs all they eat is local plants
And home grown animals a few of my family members are here and get sick very often and have diabetes and are over weight they were not like that. In Guatemala my point is eat all natural
quote:
Originally posted by FirenzeVeritas:
LMM, Abilify can be used for more than one thing, so I'm not sure if you could substitute in your particular case. I would speak with the physican and tell him your situation. Some physicians forget about actual cost when prescribing. I know that some drugs may come in a long lasting form and be much more expensive than if you don't mind medicating three of four times a day.

Second, Target and some other pharmacies have the same prices as Wal-Mart on at least most drugs. I use Target and am exceptionally well pleased. They have automatic refills, automated calling when meds are ready, color coded bottles for various family members, and an extremely short wait time compared to Wal-Mart.

I hope this helps some, but no, never answer to anyone else about shopping at Wal-Mart. I just purchased a Samsung TV there and saved 150.00 over the next competitor. I couldn't afford not to buy it there.

Good luck!


Thanks FV,
He knows about the cost but did not want to substitute any thing in its place. For now, we are just weaning off it and wait to see what happens.
I use both Target and Kmart as their lists of covered drugs are different. I love the color coded bottles from Target, the pharmacy is always crowded even at 9 am, though. LOL
At a refute to excel's comments about the drug prices, I can relate a story about a common drug used in the cancer treatment centers years ago. I was at a conference where the latest research was being taught on the use of F-5-U and Levamisol in the treatment of colon cancer. At the time is was proving to be a very effective treatment on these patients, and it was groundbreaking research. After finishing the talk, the proctor asked if there were any questions. A country doctor stood up in the back and said he loved the drug, and had been using it to treat his patients, HOWEVER he also owned sheep. This drug is commonly used as an antiparasitic agent in the treatment of sheep. He said that the same dosage given to his patients was costing $120, whereas the sheep dosage was costing his roughly $8-10, and he wanted to know why the company was doing this. The drug manufacturer stood there a moment and said "in answer to your question....we have never been sued by a sheep", and he was sincere. Most of these companies allow for a huge amount of money in the initial sale of these drugs in the US to allow for losses due to lawsuits (aka, Call 1-800-James Sokolov). One reason these medication prices decrease over time is the recoup of enough monies to offset the payouts which they all expect. How many new drugs have you seen on the market that is not currently being pursued by one or more law firms? Have you ever looked at the PDR, the national prescribing manual that lists drugs and their interaction / side effect? Currently that book is 3500 pages long and under every drug there is a 2 to 3 page warning.

When the government decides that drug companies cannot profit from their research, you can plan to see the end of new drug regimens and treatments. But I agree that there is going to have to be measures put in place that will help control the cost of these drugs. For instance a tort reform on drugs that have been in service, thru FDA approval, for more than a year would be a good start.
Last edited by teyates
quote:
This drug is commonly used as an antiparasitic agent in the treatment of sheep. He said that the same dosage given to his patients was costing $120, whereas the sheep dosage was costing his roughly $8-10,

I wonder if he gave the sheep medicine to his patients? Having worked for a vet, medicines are the same stuff for animals as for people. It just usually cost about 1/10 or less.
quote:
Originally posted by LMM:

Thanks for all the replies. Please keep them coming. If anybody did buy from Canada, let me know. The Abilify is $85 for three months that way. Can you believe that? The drug companies are ripping us off so BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Actually LMM, my grandparents only had to be out of pocket $1200.00 (combined for the year) before Astra Zenica helped my grandmother with her Arimidex.
But I guess different drug company's have different demands. Either way, they're going to hit us in our pockets as hard as they can!

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