Prescription Drugs

[broken ed]

If anyone as ever looked at you a bit strange because you go to Mexico for your prescription drugs, you may want to read or listen to this article on the People's Pharmacy.

I've checked (because of this story) at at least one of my U.S. mail order drugs is produced in India. It does not appear to be  under a recall, although plenty of lot numbers for my brand are.

I believe trips to Mexico for prescription drugs and some health care is in my future.

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2019/05/02/show-1163-should-you-trust-your-prescription-drugs/

 

[crofter]

NOT Great news, I am taking recalled drugs. How do you really know where your pills come from? And where have they been? Odds are, overheated in a shipping container somewhere.

My big drug rant today is about cost though, not quality or purity.  I thought I had one year left of low prescription costs, and I choose to take the cheapest meds I can find, but today I spent an extra $75 for cheap meds that I usually pay $10 for a 30 day supply. 

Silly me, I agreed to have the script sent to a US pharmacy, so I do not have a paper copy to take to Mexico and buy the drug. Then I wind up with something labelled in Spanish, I bought a dictionary to translate. 

Will the Mexican pharmacy fill it off a copy or do they need the original? 

Will my doctor ditch me if I bother them , yet again, to have prescriptions sent to the Mexican pharmacy? 

Will I really save money buying  the drugs in Mexico? 

Does my insurance work there? (Does not work in US as I paid the cash price today) 

End of rant. I hope some knowledgable person here has answers to my questions or at least a miracle cure. My blood pressure spikes every time I have to wrangle more blood pressure pills out of the pharmacy.
-crofter

 

[WanderingRose]

Did you know that generic medications are required to have only a certain percentage of the active ingredients of the name brands?

Drug manufacturers often give free or reduced cost medications to those with financial hardship.

I’m not certain how this works, but have a friend who gets her insulin this way.

You could talk with your pharmacy about how to apply.

 

[B and C]

If you go into mexico to get your meds, no prescription is required unless it is classified as a narcotic. Gp straight to the pharmacy and ask. Drugs are much cheaper there and no, I haven't tried or looked into if our insurance works there. Coming back into the states, you are supposed to have no more than a three month supply.

 

[highdesertranger]

I have used that prescription discount service before. it's called "Good Rx" they saved me a boat load of money in the past.

https://www.goodrx.com/?kw=price&ut...acro&msclkid=83b01c9de4031e3622ea43bc9a2e21ba

highdesertranger

 

[tx2sturgis]

If you spend some time in or around Quartzsite during the winter months, or anywhere in that area, its a fairly easy drive to get to the parking lot just on this side of Algodones, and walk over the border to get your medicines.

You will need a passport to come back across the border, although some folks get back across with a driver's license and a convincing smile and explanation.

The requirements on 50 doses, or 3 month supply, are not really enforced, in my experience, as long as what you are holding and what you are declaring look about right. If you are carrying 10 bottles of liquor, 10 cases of cigarettes, and 50 bottles of a variety of pills and declaring a three month supply of 'medicine'.....that could be an issue....in fact, it WILL get you in trouble.

Just use common sense.

 

[crofter]

I have used that prescription discount service before.  it's called "Good Rx" they saved me a boat load of money in the past.

https://www.goodrx.com/?kw=price&ut...acro&msclkid=83b01c9de4031e3622ea43bc9a2e21ba

highdesertranger

Thanks for the heads up HDR. I found a pharmacy that will save me over 90% and uses the good RX. Looking at the price comparison, I had managed to find the most expensive pharmacy on the list. oops.

Thanks for all the good info everyone posted. Now I am all signed up for discounts!
~crofter

 

[Qxxx]

Will my doctor ditch me if I bother them , yet again, to have prescriptions sent to the Mexican pharmacy? 

Maybe you can go to a local walkin clinic, and get your BP prescription there, crofter.

My local doc makes me come in twice a year just so his assistant can measure my BP.

 

[Tony's Dream]

I am very glad to be a disabled vet, I get my meds from the VA for $13.00 per prescription per month.

 

[tx2sturgis]

I am very glad to be a disabled vet

First, thanks for your service, but still, that's an odd thing to be thankful for....

 

[Tony's Dream]

First, thanks for your service, but still, that's an odd thing to be thankful for....

I should have read it again before I posted it.  I meant to say....I'm glad that I get my scripts for only $13 because I am a disabled vet. :blush:

 

[B and C]

It wouldn't be much fun here if we didn't make faux pas's every now and then.

 

[jacqueg]

I've been using Costco's online pharmacy for years. They'll mail my prescriptions to wherever I am. Mailing is free if you can wait 7 days for your meds.

Wouldn't be surprised if W*Mart and Target did too.

 

[WanderingRose]

I have all of my prescriptions at my home Walgreens, and just get them filled wherever I’m at when I’m traveling, which has worked very well.

I have also learned that you can call or take a prescription from any pharmacy into whatever local drugstore you happen to be near, and they can and will fill the prescription.

It doesn’t have to be the same chain.

 

[barleyguy]

Maybe not 100% on topic, but I was on a daily prescription. I went to a doctor that got me transitioned from a synthetic to a natural alternative. Then I went from a prescription version of that natural alternative to an over the counter "supplement" that is the same active ingredient. So, I no longer have to have a prescription, so I can order the supplement online, and I also can go to the doctor less often, because I don't have to go just to get the prescription renewed.

The reason I bring this up is that many prescription drugs have either over the counter alternatives or natural alternatives that can be purchased over the counter as supplements. I of course don't know anybody else's medical situation, but if you're planning to be a nomad and seeing your doctor is less convenient, one thing to consider is whether there is an alternative to being on maintenance prescriptions at all.

 

[txmnjim]

If anyone as ever looked at you a bit strange because you go to Mexico for your prescription drugs, you may want to read or listen to this article on the People's Pharmacy.

I've checked (because of this story) at at least one of my U.S. mail order drugs is produced in India. It does not appear to be  under a recall, although plenty of lot numbers for my brand are.

I believe trips to Mexico for prescription drugs and some health care is in my future.

https://www.peoplespharmacy.com/2019/05/02/show-1163-should-you-trust-your-prescription-drugs/

not sure about this particular website, though it looks pretty corporate to me, but i was going to mention this
could be a hit piece by Big Pharma? my wife was taking meds produced in India and she had good results and 
i have researched some and know many say India's quality is good. i would be willing to bet they were at least
as good as Mexico's. anyway, what good is the quality of a drug if you can't afford to take it? anyhoo, here is a
link to a company that at least didn't rip us off; https://www.bigmountaindrugs.com/

 

[barleyguy]

not sure about this particular website, though it looks pretty corporate to me, but i was going to mention this
could be a hit piece by Big Pharma? my wife was taking meds produced in India and she had good results and 
i have researched some and know many say India's quality is good. i would be willing to bet they were at least
as good as Mexico's. anyway, what good is the quality of a drug if you can't afford to take it? anyhoo, here is a
link to a company that at least didn't rip us off; https://www.bigmountaindrugs.com/

The thing about India is that they don't really have the equivalent to the US FDA (I think there's some agency there, but it's not as thorough of a process). That means that things tend to a get approved much faster there (in some cases they get new drugs 5-10 years before the US), and also that the government isn't monitoring quality as closely. So the quality of a drug coming from India is really up to the ethics and quality control of the company producing it, and of course the forces of the free market. The does not necessarily mean the quality is bad, but you could just consider it unregulated.

If a drug makes it to a mainstream pharmacy in the US, it had to go through FDA approval regardless of where it was manufactured. But if you buy something in another country or through mail order, it might also be unregulated.

Again, unregulated doesn't guarantee "bad". But it also doesn't ensure "good".

(We could get into a whole separate political discussion of whether the US FDA is an ethical organization, but I'll just stay away from that other than what's implied.)

 

[NctryBen]

I use express scripts. It’s a mail order deal... I found a lot of prescription costs are the actual pharmacy. I paid thousands at Walgreens where Walmart Pharmacies were thousands cheaper for me, express scripts is the best choice for me. As far as veterans, your prescriptions should be free... thank you for serving.