Buying Generic Medicine Online [SOLVED, PLEASE CLOSE]

tardcore · January 2012

I have anxiety and am prescribed to Effexor. Another problem of having anxiety is having erectile problems. My doctor gave me a small prescription for Viagra, Cialis and Levitra and told me to try them out and see if they work. I tried them out and they all worked pretty well. Problem is, insurance doesn't cover them and they are expensive as hell. Now, I've seen some websites that offer generic versions for MUCH less. Are any of these sites reputable? Am I really able to order these online? I know this question is better suited for my doctor, but I have to get an appointment and pay out of pocket $100+ just to even speak with him again, so I was wondering if anyone had any advice before I do go talk to him in hopes of saving some money on a visit.

Edit: Is there any cheaper alternative if there are no "generic" versions?

iRevert · January 2012

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/31/earlyshow/health/main4142407.shtml

Usually the doses are not what they say to be, many ingredients are swapped out with other things that have similar effects, not controlled by the FDA so they can put whatever they want into pills.

Avoid the shady online drug dealers, not to long ago there was story about one of those using ground up drywall as a filler for the pills they sold.

Its better to pay more and be healthy, rather than save a few bucks and possibly be doing more damage than good.

nataliepi · January 2012

Have you tried asking your doctor to prescribe the generic versions? Or if he can recommend something cheaper that will get the job done?

psyck0 · January 2012

In Canada, at least, your pharmacist can substitute generic versions for trade versions if you ask, and frequently they do so on their own initiative without ever telling you because it's the same damn drug and it saves people money. Go to a pharmacy and ask.

Jasconius · January 2012

I'm pretty sure all of those are under patent, which means any "generic" you buy is either illegal or mislabeled. (Viagra may be just emerging from patent but I am not sure, the point is you or your doctor should already know that). A pharmacy will ALWAYS tell you for sure, because they'd much rather sell the generics than the much lower margin brand stuff.

So if you feel like gambling with your health and possibly your life, certainly, buy a dubiously labelled drug from the internet for cheap

what could go wrong

Dark Raven X · January 2012

I gotta echo these dudes and say in the strictest possible way; don't do that.

The kind of crazy shit you can get in online medication is not worth the cash you could save.

I have no idea how the US medical system works, but here in the UK pharmacies have a choice of where they buy stock from; the generic brand from the manufacturer being infinitely cheaper of course, but not necessarily the one they go for. This makes no difference to the patient, cause they don't really get a choice, they'll get whatever version the pharmacy has in stock (not necessarily the cheapest one, since the NHS loves burning money. >.>)

Uh, my point is; see if YOU can buy direct from the manufacturer? I don't know if that's possible, but it is definitely worth a shot before trying online medication.

Ruckus · January 2012

I used to work for a legit online pharmacy, it looks like they've been bought out by someone else: http://www.hometownmeds.com.

Feral · January 2012

None of those drugs are available in generic form. Viagra is the first drug in that class, and it might become available in generic form later this year, pending a court decision, or it might not be available in generic form until 2019.

What Jasconius says here is generally correct: "I'm pretty sure all of those are under patent, which means any "generic" you buy is either illegal or mislabeled."

Some online pharmacies make their business by importing drugs in a country where drug prices are negotiated by the national government and then illegally exporting them back to the US. While pharmaceuticals purchased from such an online pharmacy are unlikely to harm you, they are likely to be flagged by customs on their way in to the US.

(In light of Ruckus's post, I feel the need to point out that there are legitimate online pharmacies, like drugstore.com or walgreens.com, and you might be able to find some modest savings that way. Just don't expect miracles.)

Given all that, you basically have two legal options:

1) Contact the manufacturer of each drug and inquire about their patient assistance programs. Basically, every pharma company has some program where they might help defray the cost of your pills - usually by sending you a manufacturer's coupon or voucher giving you a discount on the prescription in question. The discounts can range from paltry to substantial.

As far as I can tell, the only one of those drug manufacturers that covers erectile dysfunction for people who have medical insurance and aren't on Medicare is Pfizer, for Viagra: http://www.pfizerhelpfulanswers.com/pages/Find/FindAll.aspx

However, it might be worth contacting Eli Lilly (1-855-LLY-TRUE) to see if you're eligible for patient assistance for Cialis.

2) Try a different antidepressant. That might be a little extreme, since sexual dysfunction is one of the most common side effects across all modern antidepressants, there's a good chance you'd have the same problem on another antidepressant. However, it's worth an inquiry with your doctor. Specifically, Pristiq is a derivative of Effexor, so there's a good chance that Pristiq would also work for you (even though there's also a strong chance it would give you the same problems with sexual dysfunction).

zepherin · January 2012

If your close to Canada or Mexico you have those options as well.

Penny Arcade

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Buying Generic Medicine Online [SOLVED, PLEASE CLOSE]

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