Has anyone bought prescription meds from a Canadian pharmacy?

[canadianjovigirl]

Being Canadian I get all my prescriptions from Canadian pharmacies of course and wow........cant believe that prescriptions are even more expensive there than here......thankfully my health coverage pays for all but the distribution fee but i feel for those of you who cannot afford the medication needed to stay healthy. It was once suggested to me to stock up on my medications when i went to Mexico, and nope sorry can not do it even if they were free i wouldnt feel comfortable taking them but would take medication from the US with no worries.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

FYI, both Nevada and Wisconsin used to have a list of approved Canadian pharmacies. They actually visited the locations and reviewed their standards. I can only find Nevada's:

http://govcha.state.nv.us/new_CP_LCPList.htm

Wow, thank you for posting this!!

 

[smokeyblue]

Would it be possible for you to ask her which online Canadian pharmacy she uses? I am still doing research and would be open to other ones than the one I've posted.

Sorry I hadn't checked back on the thread. If I remember the next time I see her I will ask. I do shift work so it might be a few days.

 

[DeniseinNS]

My DH is on flovent, if we buy one inhaler it's 109 with prescription insurance (50%) or 250 for 3 mail order. But our next renewal of insurance we may have to drop the prescription plan and then prescriptions fall under out of network 10,000 deductible.

I've been considering Canadian, too, for both his flovent and my advair but I've been worried about it. But thanks to all the posters, I feel a little more confident about ordering. Can their drugs be any worse than Walmart's 4.00 specials from overseas?

Those prices for flovent seem REALLY high to me, even with the prescription insurance!!! We live in Canada and my son is on Flovent, the regular price without any insurance is $49, we pay $10 after insurance.

 

[j's m]

Sounds a bit "elitist" to me.

Even though the subject has been already been addressed by someone who has knowledge of the business, I would like for you to explain to the rest of us the difference between Walmart's $4.00 generic drugs and those same generics which come from the local food/drug chain...

Excuse me, I didn't mean to be elitist since I buy the $ 4.00 generics at Walmart AND K-mart. They are not from the same manufacturer as the ones that you can buy at CVS. But a three month supply at Walmart/KMart is $ 10 and at CVS it's $ 45 with our prescription plan and $ 180 or so without a prescription plan.

The Kmart pharmacist has told me that they frequently change manufacturers to get the rock bottom lowest price and I wonder if the medicine is as quality control checked as it should be. Especially since with certain manufacturers of lisinopril my blood pressure is not as well controlled, some days it is too low and some days it is too high, almost as if there is too much active ingredient in one pill and not enough in another.

Anything else you want me to explain to the rest of you?

 

[JB2K]

The Kmart pharmacist has told me that they frequently change manufacturers to get the rock bottom lowest price and I wonder if the medicine is as quality control checked as it should be.

Yes, it is QC checked - the U.S. FDA dictates it is.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Those prices for flovent seem REALLY high to me, even with the prescription insurance!!! We live in Canada and my son is on Flovent, the regular price without any insurance is $49, we pay $10 after insurance.

It's like $46.xx (US) plus shipping on most of the online Canadian pharmacies that I've checked, so about the same as what you'd pay w/o insurance. Since it costs $143.xx WITH our insurance here in the US, though, $46 sure doesn't seem high to me

 

[LovableGluttons]

I do! I've been on Domperidone for 6 years. It was taken off the market here in the US because breastfeeding mothers were using it to increase milk production. It can be dangerous when used for that. I use it to treat a gastric disorder that there is nothing else out there that works as well.

So do I suffer because some feel it isn't "right"? My gastroenterologist here in the United States write my prescription for it and I have it filled when I go up there, or order it online. I'm not breastfeeding, so it isn't used for that.

It's like the good Dimetapp of old. It worked so well! Then peope with high blood pressure were using it too (since it worked so well) and having strokes and dying. If you didn't have high blood pressure, it worked great..... no strokes! So it was pulled off the shelves.

I've even received enough Domperidone samples to last until my next refill.

OP, I've even brought prescriptions to get filled in Mexico when on vacation. I have terrific health insurance with low to no copay for my prescriptions. I'm a nurse with a complex health problem that my health insurance company sometimes wants to guide my maintenance instead of my physicians. So I have to find a way to take care of my self on my own.

I don't do it to necessarily save money (Domperidone), but would if I had to!

Their meds are as safe as ours.
Canadians have asthma too. It is not some remote isolated country that uses witch doctors to treat patients.


Many medications are developed in other countries before coming here, just as many brilliant discoveries in procedures, methods, and new technology in health care. The United States isn't even the leader for everything.

Do what is right for your family. As your daughter's pulmonologist.

 

[LovableGluttons]

It's like $46.xx (US) plus shipping on most of the online Canadian pharmacies that I've checked, so about the same as what you'd pay w/o insurance. Since it costs $143.xx WITH our insurance here in the US, though, $46 sure doesn't seem high to me

Also, my uncle has been HIV positive since the early to mid 1980's and is still heqalthy thanks to Atripla. His copays are sky high so he gets his from out of country pharmacies too.


Yes, his viral load and cd4 counts are just fine on his low quality out of country medication. (sarcasm intended)

OP? Have you watched "Sicko" by Michael Moore?

You ought to see how much an aerosolized medication costs in Cuba at a corner pharmacy!

 

[ajh88]

They are not from the same manufacturer as the ones that you can buy at CVS. But a three month supply at Walmart/KMart is $ 10 and at CVS it's $ 45 with our prescription plan and $ 180 or so without a prescription plan.

Just because CVS is charging you more doesn't mean they are getting their drugs from a different manufacturer. It is certainly possible, but it is not absolute. If you're curious, ask who the manufacturer is when you get it and keep track if you feel your BP control varies - it definitely sounds like something is going on there. Call CVS and ask what manufacturer they use...they should be willing to tell you. I cannot fathom lisinopril costing that much ANYWHERE from any manufacturer, but I suppose it is possible.

It is also why I said that the $4 medications are loss-leaders in many (not all) situations. They are medications that ARE relatively cheap to get because they have been available for a long time and are not patent protected. As JB2K said, they are regulated by FDA standards and should be consistent from manufacturer to manufacturer.

I do! I've been on Domperidone for 6 years. It was taken off the market here in the US because breastfeeding mothers were using it to increase milk production. It can be dangerous when used for that. I use it to treat a gastric disorder that there is nothing else out there that works as well.

So do I suffer because some feel it isn't "right"?

I've even received enough Domperidone samples to last until my next refill.

I don't do it to necessarily save money (Domperidone), but would if I had to!

Their meds are as safe as ours.
Canadians have asthma too. It is not some remote isolated country that uses witch doctors to treat patients.

Do what is right for your family. As your daughter's pulmonologist.

Domperidone is an interesting exception. You can actually get it compounded here at a compounding pharmacy in the U.S., it just isn't commercially available. There are exceptions to the regulation for medications that aren't available here, with domperidone being one of them.

As I stated before, real medications that come from real Canadian pharmacies are NOT the problem (besides the legality of it)...it is the drugs of unknown origin (possibly counterfeit, possibly contaminated, possibly perfectly safe) that ARE the problem, some of which may be distributed through legitimate looking Canadian storefront pharmacies and primarily over the internet.

I can't change anyone's mind nor can I stop anyone here from doing this to save money...my message is just to educate yourself on the pharmacy you are using and where your medication is actually coming from. It is possible (maybe even likely) that 99% of the time there are no problems whatsoever, but the risk exists.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Also, my uncle has been HIV positive since the early to mid 1980's and is still heqalthy thanks to Atripla. His copays are sky high so he gets his from out of country pharmacies too.


Yes, his viral load and cd4 counts are just fine on his low quality out of country medication. (sarcasm intended)

OP? Have you watched "Sicko" by Michael Moore?

You ought to see how much an aerosolized medication costs in Cuba at a corner pharmacy!

I think we did watch Sicko. Is that the one where Michael Moore brings the sick Americans to Cuba for care and they actually treat them?

 

[LovableGluttons]

I think we did watch Sicko. Is that the one where Michael Moore brings the sick Americans to Cuba for care and they actually treat them?

Yes! I think one inhaler (could have been straight Albuterol, not sure) was about 25 cents versus the woman paying $120. The woman was disabled cleaning up at Ground Zero, but could not afford medications for her destroyed lungs.

She went home with a suitcase fulle of inhalers. Good for her!