Anyone Here Buy Pet Medications Online?

[Virgo10]

One of my cats has to go on a medication (methimazole) for hyperthyroidism. The Vet wants 70 cents a pill! I've found it online for as little as 34 cents a pill. I haven't called the local pharmacies yet but am going to do so in an hour or so. Somehow I doubt they will be able to compete with the online price.

Even with the shipping it's still way cheaper than the Vet's cost. I'm just wondering how much of a PITA doing this thru the mail is or if it's a problem at all.

TIA for any input.

 

[Evil Queen]

I don't order through the mail, only because my oldest sister worked for a vet at a time. She said it's a hit or miss doing that. Kind of like buying name brand items at the dollar stores. They sometimes get the rejects at those companies. It could be the same exact dosage or it could be under.

Now, I can't say how much truth there is to that, because that's what the vet told her. Was it something he encouraged to get the patients to buy directly from him, I don't know.

ASk your vet what they think of the company you are ordering from. Do a search on BBB to see if that mail order company got any bad feed back, etc.

I buy my flea treatments from a local pet store, and they didn't ask for the script from the vet. I think it's a hit and miss on those. Last year we either had a bad case of fleas or a bad pack of flea treatment.

 

[cherylp3]

I use 1800petmeds for heartworm, my vet doesn't help at all so we have to mail the prescription after we place the order, it usually takes them 2 days to get the mail and then they mail it priority mail which takes another 1-2 days.

Cheryl

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

I use 1-800-Pet-Meds for our Heartworm and flea control. I don't like the stuff that you apply directly to the skin, so we stick with the pills. The vet wanted $17 a month for the pills. We save about $70/year ordering it online. I have a coupon right now for free shipping. If you PM me, I will be happy to pass the code onto you more privately.

It really isn't a PITA becuase you have it right there at home where you need it. I think it's more trouble going to the vet's each month as our's is wierd about giving anything more than a 3 month supply. I don't know, I don't ask. They're excellent vets with excellent hours and the animals love them. I thin it's much easier doing it that way!

 

[Virgo10]

Well what I finally decided was to go with CVS. The cost per dose there will initially be about 21 cents a day because she'll be on a quarter of a pill. When she goes to a half it will be 42 cents. The cheapest online store was 19 cents for a quarter tablet. Hope that made sense.

Interesting that Wal Mart is often thought to have the cheapest drug prices but they were $3 more for 30 tablets.

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

Never buy drugs online. I'm a vet and the reason we don't endorse these pharmacies is that the source of the drugs is often unknown. The big manufacturers, Pfizer, Merck, Novartis, etc. do NOT sell to these companies, so the drugs are often purchased overseas and then shipped back to the US for distribution through online pharmacies. Who knows what happens to them in the intererim... and if you saw Dateline last night, they may not contain ANY of the actual medication advertised. Also meaning that if, God forbid your pet should have a reaction from a medicine purchased online, you're totally out of luck as the companies' guarantee is void. There has been lawsuit after lawsuit involving these companies. In order to sell medication, by law one must have a 'Doctor-Patient-Client' relationship. PetMed et al have never examined the animals and have been caught writing prescriptions for animals they've never seen. This is illegal in most states.

I've delt with these companies for years and let me tell you, they're not interested in your animal, only the money. The clinic where I work now refuses to deal with them, but the place where I worked before would occasionally write scripts for them (although why I'll never know). From time to time, we would get a request for heartworm pills for a dog who had been off them for some time. We would call the owner and tell them that the dog needed to come in for a test before we could send the script. The reason being is that if a dog is heartworm positive and starts preventative, it can cause a fatal reactioin. After a day or so delay, Petmed would start dozens (I'm not exaggerating) of phone calls, faxes, and other harassment of both our clinic and the owner saying that we were 'endangering the pet by holding up his/her medication' nevermind that by fulfilling the request THEY were putting the pet in more danger.

They are incredibly harassing and aggressive towards veterinarians and that's why most won't deal with them.

Back on topic, have you considered radioactive iodine for your cat? It's expensive up front, but is curative. I did that for my cat Kendall and it worked like a charm. No need for daily medication ever again!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thank you for explaining that MickeyMouseGal. Good to know.

I've never bought pet medications online, I'd rather just get them through my vet's office. That way there's no confusion, extra phone calls, waiting, problems, etc.

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

Thank you for explaining that MickeyMouseGal. Good to know.

I've never bought pet medications online, I'd rather just get them through my vet's office. That way there's no confusion, extra phone calls, waiting, problems, etc.

Any time!
I can't speak for every clinic, but we either buy directly from the manufacturer or an authorized supply company (Columbus Serum, The Butler Company, etc.). The drugs are absolutely what they say they are, no question.
Another danger of online companies is that we (vets) often don't have a record of what meds and/or dose the pet is on. This could cause a potentially dangerous drug interaction should we prescribe something that interferes with their online meds.

 

[Virgo10]

Wow, thanks for the info MMG. As I said, I've opted to go with CVS. As for getting them thru the Vet, no offense but the price is double what I'll pay at CVS.

The cat in question is at least 13 years old and has a heart murmer that predates the thyroid problem. I don't think she'd be a good candidate for surgery and I don't know enough about the radioactive treatment to express an opinion. Maybe some day down the road that will be an option I'll look into.

 

[MickeyMouseGal]

Oh, most vets have no problems with reputable human pharmacies, it's just the online ones who are iffy. You're good!

Hyperthyroid kitties often have heart murmurs because of the high thyroid hormone levels. Occasionally the murmur shows up before the bloodwork suggests hyperthyroidism. You might want to have an ultrasound done on her heart to determine if it's from the thyroid condition or not.
As for the radioactive iodine, it's an injection not a surgery. Kendall had it done at MedVet in Columbus Ohio. http://www.medvet-cves.com/sp_radiology_services.asp (The guy in the pic is the one who treated Kendall.) The only problem is that they have to stay in isolation for a week or so, as they are excreting small amounts of radioactive material. Kendall handled it like a champ and went on to live three more years with normal thyroid function. She died of renal failure (unrelated to the thyroid disease) in January.