Resource Buying Drugs From Canada - A Good Choice for People With Fibromyalgia and /or ME/CFS?

[Cort]

Cort submitted a new resource:

Buying Drugs From Canada - A Good Choice for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)? - Drugs from Canada and other countries are cheaper - are they safe as well?

If you live in the U.S. you might like to know that U.S. consumers generally pay two to six times more for the same drug that consumers in other countries do. CNN, for instance, found that a prescription for Cymbalta that cost $194 in the United States cost $46 in England and $52 in the Netherlands. Who Me? in the Forums recently found Rifaximin to be ten times cheaper in Canada.

[fright][/fright]Because...

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[jeanie pochatko]

I have used Northwest
Pharmacy for many years. The drug, Elmiron, used to treat Interstitial Cystitis is prohibitively expensive, even with Medicare Part D. I have never had an issue with them.

 

[Remy]

Same with imatinib. It is generic everywhere except in the USA thanks to big Pharma. It's still expensive from Canada but at least it is somewhat accessible.

 

[Cort]

You guys are old hands at this.

I looked for Lyrica - I think the Pfizer (Pfizer?) may have cut down sales to Canada - couldn't find it in a couple of pharmacies..

 

[San Diego]

Same with imatinib. It is generic everywhere except in the USA thanks to big Pharma. It's still expensive from Canada but at least it is somewhat accessible.

Is it OTC in Canada? I’ve never asked for an RX for a drug that’s not approved in the US. Not sure how that would work?

It’s on my wish list.

 

[h3ro]

Cymbalta is even cheaper in Australia

$11.99 for 28 x 30mg
$15.99 for 28 x 60mg

As I'm on a disability pension I'd only pay $7.00 for either of those.

** Prices in Australian Dollars
http://www.chemistwarehouse.com.au/...ode=allwords&SearchSection=products&requery=1

 

[Toni Campbell]

My husbands doctor gave him forms to send his prescription to a Canadian Pharmacy for a much lower price, which it was, and the medication worked well. We ordered the Rx two times in total, that was over six (6) years ago and we have been getting harassing calls from India every few days from then on to order something from them. The pharmacy itself is in Canada, the manufacturer was in India. They call from different #'s with different names used for caller ID, they are often hateful and nasty to us, we even got a new phone system so we could block each # they call from. We would have to be desperate to do business this way again. They sold our name, phone # and Rx info to other companies too. Just an FYI.

 

[Remy]

Is it OTC in Canada? I’ve never asked for an RX for a drug that’s not approved in the US. Not sure how that would work?

It’s on my wish list.

It's still an rx in Canada.

It's approved in the US but only for leukemia. So insurance won't cover it off label for mast cell disease normally given that it is something like $100k a year.

But even if it wasn't approved, the process is still the same. Just send a prescription.

 

[San Diego]

We would have to be desperate to do business this way again.

As evidenced by the very existence of this thread, many (most?) of us are pretty desperate. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Cort]

My husbands doctor gave him forms to send his prescription to a Canadian Pharmacy for a much lower price, which it was, and the medication worked well. We ordered the Rx two times in total, that was over six (6) years ago and we have been getting harassing calls from India every few days from then on to order something from them. The pharmacy itself is in Canada, the manufacturer was in India. They call from different #'s with different names used for caller ID, they are often hateful and nasty to us, we even got a new phone system so we could block each # they call from. We would have to be desperate to do business this way again. They sold our name, phone # and Rx info to other companies too. Just an FYI.

That's horrible. Do you remember the name of the pharmacy so we can put it on our blacklist?

 

[Cort]

Thanks Who Me - I will put your recommendations in the post.

Some pharmacies use Canada as a front. One legit pharmacy is River Pharmacy which was the only place years ago to get immunovir. It clearly states on their site that things get shipped from India.

You can usually tell when you go to the site if it's not really based in Canada.

When dealing with a new pharmacy I always call if there is a number to see if someone answers. I also email them before I order and ask questions. If I get a reply, that at least tells me there is a human.

Most Indian pharmacies don't require rx's. And some pharmacies will give better pricing and allow different payment methods if you have an rx.

 

[Megan K]

Thanks Who Me - I will put your recommendations in the post.

I have been using goodrx.com which has really helped me since I have lost my "affordable healthcare insurance" and they do use local pharmacies in the US. Key word is cash paying for your meds. Check it out, you can enter your meds, dosage,quantities and it gives you your pay options. The only one I havent been able to find is the LDN, they only have it for larger doses and I need 3.4 mg. now paying for 3 mo. @ $95.00 so if anyone knows of a less expensive compounding pharmacy please send it my way. Thanks

 

[Stephanie 'Stevie' Stultz]

I've used inhousepharmacy.vu for years with not a single problem or issue. Their previous site was inhousepharmacy.com. They ship out of Vanuatu and do not require a prescription for any meds. Their shipping is free and I've never had an issue with customs.

The package usually arrives in 10-14 days. I even get Heartgard and Predisone for my dog from them, as well as antiobiotics, Armour thyroid, generic hydrocortisone and estradiol 17b gel. I usually know when I need or don't need an antibiotic and I keep meds on hand for those infrequent bladder infections.

I can't tell you how many times it has saved me a from having to go to the doctor or clinic locally, which is very difficult because of my severe ME/CFS. They are more expensive than my co-pay on my insurance, but for me it's worth it.

Most of their meds are made in Australia or New Zealand by all the major drug companies and always come in the orginal sealed packaging.

The one thing that has changed is their credit card policy. It's handled by a Chinese company. So I got a dedicated credit card for off shore purchases and ones that don't take Paypal that I feel might be 'iffy'.

 

[Remy]

I've used inhousepharmacy.vu for years with not a single problem or issue. Their previous site was inhousepharmacy.com. They ship out of Vanuatu and do not require a prescription for any meds. Their shipping is free and I've never had an issue with customs. The package usually arrives in 10-14 days. I even get Heartgard and Predisone for my dog from them, as well as antiobiotics, Armour thyroid, generic hydrocortisone and estradiol 17b gel. I usually know when I need or don't need an antibiotic and I keep meds on hand for those infrequent bladder infections. I can't tell you how many times it has saved me a from having to go to the doctor or clinic locally, which is very difficult because of my severe ME/CFS. They are more expensive than my co-pay on my insurance, but for me it's worth it. Most of their meds are made in Australia or New Zealand by all the major drug companies and always come in the orginal sealed packaging. The one thing that has changed is their credit card policy. It's handled by a Chinese company. So I got a dedicated credit card for off shore purchases and ones that don't take Paypal that I feel might be 'iffy'.

I too have good experiences with inhouse. But I'm bummed that they don't take credit cards any longer. The e check option did work fine but I only feel comfortable using that option with an account that I only keep limited funds in, just in case.

 

[ClaireKnowles]

I used PlanetDrugsDirect from Canada to buy Xifaxan. It came from India via Singapore and the outer packaging looked grubby, plus the tablets and coating were darkish orange (scary if you have mast cell issues) and the package said "for sale in India only". That being said, I took maybe 125 pills total (2 weeks at 3x per day followed by 5 weeks at 3x per day) with no problems or side effects. In the US, this much Xifaxin would have costs thousands of $$. I had to give them my bank routing number, but what the hay, I don't have much money in my checking account anyway (I actually moved some into a separate account just in case, but there were no issues whatsoever). PlanetDrugsDirect was totally honest about their products coming from India, they told me this before I ordered, and I asked them if they met Canadian standards for purity and QA/QC, and the people on the phone assured me they had to meet Canadian drug standards (who knows how well this requirement is actually enforced, but I didn't have thousands of $$ to try American Xifaxan, so I held my breath and went for it).

 

[Merida]

Wonderful thread. Thanks everyone.

 

[Sarah R.]

This is such useful information! Thank you to all who have contributed and to you, Cort, for starting this thread. Yes, so many of us are desperate. And who wants to pay many times more for drugs than we have to, even if we aren't desperate financially.

 

[Cort]

Glad to hear it Sarah. I hope it saves you some money!

This is such useful information! Thank you to all who have contributed and to you, Cort, for starting this thread. Yes, so many of us are desperate. And who wants to pay many times more for drugs than we have to, even if we aren't desperate financially.

 

[Toni Campbell]

That's horrible. Do you remember the name of the pharmacy so we can put it on our blacklist?

Yes, it's 'Global Pharmacy Canada'. Based on some responses here, I will take back that we wouldn't use a Canadian pharmacy again,,,it seems there are some that are well run, so one experience doesn't mean all are bad. Back at the time we did the initial order we just 'trusted' that our doctor knew what he was doing....we seldom just go with that idea any longer

 

[Cort]

Thanks for letting us know.. I could not find them on CIPA's list of approved pharmacies - thank goodness for that (lol).