Note from ICNDonna: Please see my post below.
Just to let you know about my phone calls yesterday.
History:I am on Ponstan, generic: Metefemic acid, in USA called Ponstal, it is a NSAID but it is designed to target the pelvis area, I have Arthritis in my lower back which goes nuts when I have a flare or a UTI. For me this drug has worked wonders for my back, and it does not bother my bladder, drawback is it is an older med so it take 2pills 4x per day, for me this is actually better I don't do well with meds which are slow release I get side effects from them such as not sleeping.
Well last January there was a manufacture shortage so I was unable to get this medication any more, and still can't get it, the pharmacies say they have no expected date to be getting this med.
So yesterday I started calling online Canadian pharmacies to see if I could get it. I had already checked out pharmacies in India and they have it, the pills are 5 cents each, if order is over a certain amount shipping is free. But I know these orders can get held up at customs and then they send you these nasty letters saying it is available in Canada go get a rx for it from you dr. and by Canadian meds so you are sure to get the right meds with no extra additives. I would be only to happy too if I could get it in Canada.
So as I said I call one online pharmacy she said yes they had it just to fax them my script, they would get the order started and then mail the original to them. I asked how much this was going to cost as I would have to pay for it out of pocket and then apply to my insurance to reimburse (which I am not sure if they would being bought out of Province) She told me the price would be $361.00 for 400 pills. I explained that I wanted her to check availability before I went through this, she said oh we order all or meds from India and they have it for sure. I asked if that meant they were ordering it from India and then sending them to me so they would get through customs, she told me no they would be sent straight to me from India.
Now I am no math wizard but 400 pills at $361.00 is 90 cents per pill and still no guarantee they will get through customs. If I order straight from India 400 pills at 5 cents per pill is $20.00. I think I would rather risk losing $20 than $361.00.
I only write this to let others know that a Canadian online pharmacies is not necessarily a Canadian Pharmacy at all.
I don't know if I will order from India or not, I actually think we should get our meds from where we live but that is just my opinion. But I know some people in the USA order some meds from Canada that they can't get in the states, just want to warn them they may not actually be getting them from Canada.
I called another Canadian online Pharmacy and established that they infact were a Canadian pharmacy, they too told me there is a nation wide shortage of this med, but they gave me the manufactures name so I looked them up and email them and explained that I need this med and since I had tried at least 20 different pharmacies in BC and Washington and they were all sold out, I must not be the only relying on this med. They did emailed me back and said they did not know when they would start making it again.
So now i am thinking more seriously of tiring to order some from India, until it is being made again.
For thought of you who wonder why I don't just use a different NSAID, I am trying the third one right now, they first one caused retention this is already a problem for me, and caused my bladder to burn, the ceound one i didn't sleep and caused my bladder to burn, now i might not have slept because of my bladder burning. My Dr. say's this Ponstan is a different chemical makeup from other NSAIDS and nothing else is the same.
I have a doctors app this week, I will discuss this with him before I do anything.
I just thought I would post this to let people know Canadian online pharmacies may not What they seem to be.
Sorry this got so long winded, but I wanted to people know about this.
MG
Just to let you know about my phone calls yesterday.
History:I am on Ponstan, generic: Metefemic acid, in USA called Ponstal, it is a NSAID but it is designed to target the pelvis area, I have Arthritis in my lower back which goes nuts when I have a flare or a UTI. For me this drug has worked wonders for my back, and it does not bother my bladder, drawback is it is an older med so it take 2pills 4x per day, for me this is actually better I don't do well with meds which are slow release I get side effects from them such as not sleeping.
Well last January there was a manufacture shortage so I was unable to get this medication any more, and still can't get it, the pharmacies say they have no expected date to be getting this med.
So yesterday I started calling online Canadian pharmacies to see if I could get it. I had already checked out pharmacies in India and they have it, the pills are 5 cents each, if order is over a certain amount shipping is free. But I know these orders can get held up at customs and then they send you these nasty letters saying it is available in Canada go get a rx for it from you dr. and by Canadian meds so you are sure to get the right meds with no extra additives. I would be only to happy too if I could get it in Canada.
So as I said I call one online pharmacy she said yes they had it just to fax them my script, they would get the order started and then mail the original to them. I asked how much this was going to cost as I would have to pay for it out of pocket and then apply to my insurance to reimburse (which I am not sure if they would being bought out of Province) She told me the price would be $361.00 for 400 pills. I explained that I wanted her to check availability before I went through this, she said oh we order all or meds from India and they have it for sure. I asked if that meant they were ordering it from India and then sending them to me so they would get through customs, she told me no they would be sent straight to me from India.
Now I am no math wizard but 400 pills at $361.00 is 90 cents per pill and still no guarantee they will get through customs. If I order straight from India 400 pills at 5 cents per pill is $20.00. I think I would rather risk losing $20 than $361.00.
I only write this to let others know that a Canadian online pharmacies is not necessarily a Canadian Pharmacy at all.
I don't know if I will order from India or not, I actually think we should get our meds from where we live but that is just my opinion. But I know some people in the USA order some meds from Canada that they can't get in the states, just want to warn them they may not actually be getting them from Canada.
I called another Canadian online Pharmacy and established that they infact were a Canadian pharmacy, they too told me there is a nation wide shortage of this med, but they gave me the manufactures name so I looked them up and email them and explained that I need this med and since I had tried at least 20 different pharmacies in BC and Washington and they were all sold out, I must not be the only relying on this med. They did emailed me back and said they did not know when they would start making it again.
So now i am thinking more seriously of tiring to order some from India, until it is being made again.
For thought of you who wonder why I don't just use a different NSAID, I am trying the third one right now, they first one caused retention this is already a problem for me, and caused my bladder to burn, the ceound one i didn't sleep and caused my bladder to burn, now i might not have slept because of my bladder burning. My Dr. say's this Ponstan is a different chemical makeup from other NSAIDS and nothing else is the same.
I have a doctors app this week, I will discuss this with him before I do anything.
I just thought I would post this to let people know Canadian online pharmacies may not What they seem to be.
Sorry this got so long winded, but I wanted to people know about this.
MG
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