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scole90 |
online meds |
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anybody buying thier medications online? and where. canada maybe. the local drug store is charging way to much and i dont have insurance.
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Andy ZZ |
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This is a great question. I would also like to hear some of the replies.
-andy-
It aint the years, it's the mileage...
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SG123 |
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I'm assuming you're unable to get a generic version of the prescription you require ? Most doctors like to prescribe the latest, most expensive version
of any medication available - which can become a problem even if well insured, since most plans are going to a multi-tier system.
My youngest son was taking a time-release seizure medication that was costing me about $120 a month. I knew the non-time-release version was a generic. One day I asked the doc if the time-release was really required. He said the regular version can upset some people's stomachs. We tried it, and there were no problems. Cost went down to $12 a month. The $4 a month and $10 for 90-day supply generic programs at a lot of U.S. stores have helped many folks afford their meds. Now if they'll just do something to lower the price of having blood work done.
So many
frequencies, so little time...
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StoSoStu |
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Fortunately, down here, we only pay a nominal fee for prescription meds ($5 per item, as I recall), hospitals are free, and doctors are covered by our
compulsory Medicare Scheme, so we don't have to worry about that sort of stuff.
Bob
The road goes on forever and the party never ends |
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SG123 |
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Sounds like your country took care of things before they got out of control. The government and the general public here has let hospitals, doctors, insurers
and pharmaceutical companies charge whatever they want from the beginning. Now the cost of fixing things, along with the prospect of limited profits has made
the job of bringing America in line with the rest of the world more than a major task.
Five years ago a visit to a general practitioner - family doctor - was $45. Now it's $105. I feel like we as a country have been subsidizing the low prices elsewhere with regard to prescriptions. I know for a fact that the uninsured are paying a heavy burden. They are charged full price for everything medical, while the providers accept a significantly smaller negotiated rate from insured patients. Back to the original question, I know that pharmacies can vary in price almost 100% for the same medication. Walgreen's [ thousands of stores throughout the U.S.] is almost always higher than everyone else. Large discount outlets like Sam's Club [ Walmart ], Costco and B.J.'s all have pharmacies, and it is my understanding you don't have to be a "member" to use the pharmacy there. They usually have the best prescription prices on the non-generics in my experience. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So Bob. What about all the horror stories we hear about waiting lists to get procedures performed and doctor / hospital shortages due to the change to a National healthcare system? Any truth to that from your experience ??
So many
frequencies, so little time...
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jbmojo |
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Some meds can't be bought from another country. I have to take adderall and they won't have anything to do with amphetamines last I checked...and they
ain't cheap either, especially the brand name.
Ninty-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
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StoSoStu |
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SG, certainly here in Oz there can be waiting lists, the worst I've heard is about 12 months, but only for non-critical stuff and you can take out private
insurance if you want to avoid the queue. Anything that is critical gets treated immediately.
We had overseas visitors here a while ago and one day when we were at the beach one of the kids got sick, stomach bug of some kind. We took them to the local hospital where we waited for about 10 minutes to see a doctor. The kid was prescribed some meds which were supplied by the hospital and we all left happy. Total cost, nothing. These people were amazed that, even visitors could get that treatment at no cost.
Bob
The road goes on forever and the party never ends |
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Psycho Bass Guy |
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The dirty secret to generics is that while their active ingredients have to be approved by the FDA to perform the same as their name brand counterparts, the
FDA does not regulate their content past the approval process. It's literally possible to get a sugar pill legally sold as a generic drug, although in most
cases pharmaceutical companies make "close" substitutions. One case that I'm personally familiar with is the sleep aid Ambien. The name brand
costs me $72 completely out of pocket, but for a $10 co-pay, my insurance will buy the generic, which has been proven to literally drive people to psychosis.
Google "generic Ambien" and see what comes up.
"I'm the fly in the ointment, the monkey in the wrench, the pain in your ass."
Psycho >^} |
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SG123 |
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I've heard that Ambien in any form can cause episodes of "sleepwalking" in some people - if you want to call it that. People awake, get dressed,
hop in their car and drive somewhere with no recollection of how they got there. Sounds dangerous to me.
I have no fear of generic medications.
So many
frequencies, so little time...
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StoSoStu |
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I use Ventolin for asthma and some time ago the pharmacy started using a generic, Asthmol. I found that I was getting slight dizziness after I used it and made
enquiries. Apparently the active ingredients are identical, but the propellant in the generic is different and that was what was causing the dizziness. I'm
back on the 'real stuff' now.
Bob
The road goes on forever and the party never ends |
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Psycho Bass Guy |
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I have no fear of generic medications.
Neither did I until I tried generic Ambien. Prior to the generic becoming available, insurance would pay for the "real" thing, which I took for years with absolutely no ill effects whatsoever. When the generic came out, used exactly the same way, the medicine not only did NOT work, its effect was exactly the opposite, keeping me awake for days on end. As for Ambien horror stories, my wife is a sleep tech and will attest that EVERY single case she has enountered has been due to misuse, either by not getting the minimum 7-8 hours sleep REQUIRED for the medicine to stop working or by drinking alcohol with it.
"I'm the fly in the ointment, the monkey in the wrench, the pain in your ass."
Psycho >^} |
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SG123 |
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..the propellant in the generic is different... Amyl Nitrite ?
That's unfortunate that things don't work as they should - and that I shouldn't be surprised to hear of problems with generics. I guess the people close to me have just been lucky. My Dad was on about 15 different medications - just about all of them generic and they all worked. Son and wife take generics, no problems. My Mom has tried about 6 different name brand cholesterol medications and has trouble with all of them - either bad side effects, or no effect on her levels at all.
So many
frequencies, so little time...
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StoSoStu |
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I believe that there are generics that are made in the same factory as the original. Sort of Gibson vs Epiphone thing, well as it was back in the 60s anyway.
Bob
The road goes on forever and the party never ends |
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jbmojo |
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The pharmacist told me that the generics for my stuff are made by the same manufacturer but with different compounds, like using sulfuric acid instead of
hydrochloric acid to create the salts , for example.
Ninty-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.
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