any advice for best places to buy meds?

[- jon -]

i think i mentioned this b4 in previous posts - my health insurance has expired (i'm in the process of trying to get that "fixed" but that's a very long story not for this group)

my prescription for 20mg aciphex ran out, & when i went to refill it i got MAJOR sticker shock!!!

i thought it costs about $100 per 30 day supply (20 mg)

but my local pharmacy wanted $152.00!!!!!!!

i am going to try shopping around at other pharmacys, but i wondered if anyone has any advice for good prices on these meds? how do people afford these without insurance?

i realize that some companies have "assitance" for buying meds, & i even got an application from the link at http://www.needymeds.com/aciphex.html

but the application basically requires you to account for every last cent in stocks/savings/house/etc that you have, and since i am not totally destitute (although unemployed, & severely financially stressed) i doubt that i would qualify for their program

does anyone know any good on-line vendors etc?? any tips appreciated

thanks,

- jon -

[- jon -]

just to share some of my own research on the net regarding this, that i just did...

i found this place that lists several vendors/prices/shipping/etc for aciphex in the USA:

http://www.destinationrx.com/prescriptions/compare.asp?prodid=18550&type=a&Dosage_Size=20MG&Qty=30&name=Aciphex

prices range from $110 to $138 including shipping


i also found this canadian site that ships to the USA:

http://www.canadapharmacy.com/cart/index.cfm?fuseaction=Prescriptions&aid=240

http://www.canadapharmacy.com/cart/index.cfm?fuseaction=product_detail&productid=2127

they sell a month (28 days) supply of 20mg aciphex for $80.00, including shipping


of course i have yet to try any of these services & do not know what the downsides/zingers might be of using them....but savings of up to 50% off i am willing to give them a try

i will report back eventually with my experiences, am trying to order a month's worth from the canadian source now...wish me luck

i find it very ironic that i am going to all this trouble to try to save money/order a drug that i don't even want to be taking!!! sigh...i am glad that aciphex is helping me, but once i get back on a healthcare program i want to try a different PPI to try to shed some of these side effects (see my other posts on that subject)

good health to all,

- jon -

[af]

Jon,

Contact your doctor and explain your financial situation. Aciphex used to give a sample that had a full month's supply. I know because they gave my husband one of these when he started on it.

Your doctor gets lots of samples, believe me. Most of the docs will give these out to patients who are having financial problems. Just be up front, explain your situation, and ask if they can help. Usually they will. You have nothing to lose, the way I see it.

[- jon -]

Originally posted by af
Jon,

Contact your doctor and explain your financial situation. Aciphex used to give a sample that had a full month's supply. I know because they gave my husband one of these when he started on it.

Your doctor gets lots of samples, believe me. Most of the docs will give these out to patients who are having financial problems. Just be up front, explain your situation, and ask if they can help. Usually they will. You have nothing to lose, the way I see it.

thanks for the advice, yes i did do that, and he gave me 2 weeks worth

i'm in the process now of ordering aciphex from the canadien website!

- jon -

[Penny]

I ordered a medication from Prescripnet.com in canada. The ad says it takes 3-4 weeks to process. it was here in a week. My health coverage will not pay for this medication, so I went to Canada. the cost in the US was too prohibitive for me. Also my family doc gave me two months supply of Aciphex when i changed insurance plans. the GI gave me a month supply at a time and told me to call before I ran out- but luckily I now have enough for a few more weeks.

If the US pharmaceutical companies would be more reasonable, we would not have to go to Canada for our prescriptions- but I believe we have discussed this before on this message board and I won't go into it again

Good Luck to you. I lost my job because of GERD- had an impatient boss. Now I work for myself.

[- jon -]

just wanted to let the group know that i had success with the canadien pharmacy link that i noted above

it only took about a week to get the prescription filled, the pills seem exactly the same, and it cost almost 50% less!!!

am working on sorting out my healthcare coverage problems so hopefully i won't have to go through this again, but if i do, i would use this method again to buy the needed drugs, U.S. prices are just TOO high!

- jon -