Getting prescription drugs from Canada. Anyone doing this?

After being told that a medication I need is over $700 per month and that is AFTER insurance pays a (tiny) portion, I started to research alternatives. There is no generic available in the US, the drug company has done some incredible maneuvering to extend their US patents beyond the normal period including re-registering patents on an Indian reservation. Yes, really.

So at almost every turn, I’m encountering the advice: Just get it from Canada. So I looked at prices at some Canadian pharmacies and get this. 1) Both the brand name and generics are available in Canada. 2) The cost is $125 a month. For either generic or name brand, same price. 3). Everyone asks would I like to order. As if I’m ordering a pair of pants or something.

Has anyone in IDO Nation ever ordered Rx from a Canadian pharmacy? Can you really just get it mailed to your door?

I am also unclear as to if this “Canada route” has to involve seeing a Canadian doctor and getting them to issue a Canadian Rx? Online research makes this point very unclear.

And just to cut off the inevitable chicken at the pass, no I am NOT attempting to get wacky weed or any form of pain killer for that matter.

Thank you for any help you can provide.

I know a few people who do that but on our southern boarder. Not the northern one.

I’ve never ordered human prescription meds from Canada. I have ordered canine meds from Canada with great success. No need to visit, shipment of brand name medications to my door is prompt and the meds are exactly as advertised. Cost savings are not quite what you were quoted but still exceeded 50%. Prescription medications are a complete scam in the U.S., Big Pharma and doctors coopted the FDA to their own financial advantage. The rest of the world laughs at us.

Looks like it is right at the top of the list.

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I’m assuming the company is Allergan? Or are other companies jumping on this idea now?

One of our senators takes (used to take before COVID) a bus over the border full of people to get prescriptions filled, so its legal.

I’ll be following this. My step-daughters medication to keep the cancer away is currently running $14k/month. Thankfully, both and and her biological father have decent insurance so she’s double covered. Yet, she’ll turn 26 next year and we’ll no longer be able to carry her…so we’re researching alternative options for getting her meds.

My general understanding is that bigcrappie is correct, by and large. In that it’s legal. Unlike here, many other countries refuse to grant or honor patents and regulate or negotiate drug prices with the pharmas.
Besides the simple answer of “because capitalism” or “socialism is bad”, I don’t understand why we do almost nothing of the kind here.

I am pretty sure you need to get a prescription from a Canadian doctor. For 10 years I was in Toronto a few times a month for my job. One time while I was in Canada my US doctor tried to place a prescription for me to pick up at a pharmacy by my hotel and was not able to do that himself. The pharmacy told him they could only fill orders from Canadian physicians.

I do believe that the pharmacies that you would be looking to work with either have some sort of workaround or have a Canadian physician that can replicate the US physicians medication order.

If I were you I believe I’d try it and report back. Without researching it, I’d bet that there is little or no potential downside to giving it a shot.

I would try it and order the name brand. The pills should match the ones you have been using. Also you can use this website

https://www.webmd.com/pill-identification/default.htm

or other similar ones to identify drugs based on their markings and physical characteristics.

I have done it for my father. I have not ordered from Canada in almost 4 years though. I have since went the Mexico route as it was almost 50 percent cheaper for same pill.

I have been ordering Cialis from Global Pharmacy Plus in Canada for about 10 years. I send an email of my doctors prescription to them, use a MasterCard and have never had a problem. It’s all on line. You can call too. They might take bit to ship, but it’s always gotten to me and always works.

https://www.globalpharmacyplus.com/

BTW-hope everyone knows the Canadian government does not FORCE these poor companies to sell at the lower price, they just tell them sell at price ‘x’ or we will not protect your patent, because this other company will make a generic and they seem to believe they can make plenty of money selling at ‘x’ amount. We will not protect a patent so you can then gouge Canadians.

munchy wrote:

I’m assuming the company is Allergan?

So you’ve heard of them, eh? Complete and utter BS.

Okay, thanks for all the replies, guys.

FYI, I called CanadaDrugstore.com and CanadaOnlinePharmacy.com and the story I’m getting seems to be pretty much the same from both of them:

Q: Can I order an Rx from Canada to be delivered to the US.
A: Yes. However, you “may” need a Canadian doctor to “review” the Rx or not depending on what it is. TThe pharmacies seem more than happy to arrange this “review” but in the case of my medication, both told me it is not required so I didn’t go into detail on this. I have read online that at most you have to pay for a consultation and it’s not much at that.

Q: Is this legal under US law.
A: No. However… Both companies read off the same script almost exactly. While this is small-i “illegal” as in not allowed under US law, for the past 6-8 years there has been no interest on the US side in enforcing anything as long as it’s for personal use and is not a narcotic. The Canadians don’t care. One nice lady at a Canadian pharmacy literally told me that they are a Canadian pharmacy in name only almost since the vast majority of their Rx fills actually are headed for American patients and she had never spoken to anyone who had any issues.

Q: So I just email you my Rx and pay with a credit card and that’s it?
A: Maybe. They were a little vague on this. They wanted to see the Rx and then it may actually have to come from a doctor’s office. They said just send it and we’ll go from there. Not sure why they are so vague on this point, but both said either way it takes about 10-14 days to get everything sorted the first time. Refills if authorized by the doctor are no problem.

BTW, this is not ED medication. Which, BTW, went totally over the counter when I was in Europe 2 years ago. There were shelf-end displays of all the heavy hitters, even in supermarkets and ASDA, which is like Walmart. And just a wild guess, but the price wouldn’t be anything near what we would pay here, even with insurance.

So I guess I’m going to go for it. Hopefully, you guys will hold a fundraiser if I need bail money right? Guys? Right? Guys are you there?

So now I get to try to wrangle the actual Rx out of my doctor’s office.

I just go up there to get the sweet sticky weed!

Just to close the loop on this topic and hopefully this info can help somebody else out.

In the process of getting a physical copy of my prescription such that I could send it to a Canadian pharmacy per above, a very helpful nurse (I believe) after learning of the situation asked me, “Have you tried a compounding pharmacy?”

A what????

So long story short, it appears with some medications, these “compounding pharmacies” can (essentially) mix up their own generic version of some Rx medications. I don’t know what the legalities are that allow this, but this can be done in the US and apparently it doesn’t violate patents somehow.

After a very quick internet search, she said here’s one that will do it for you. We use this one all the time, your Rx is listed on their website.

I called this “compounding pharmacy” which was in New York state. My price went from over $700 PER MONTH to $155 for 3 months and free shipping. The drs office sent my Rx by email to this place and the prescription arrived in my mailbox in 3 days.

Somebody out there in IDO nation I’m sure knows all the ins/outs/details of these “compounding pharmacies”, but here’s the question to ask your doctor if you get socked with a high Rx cost on a med that has no generic:

“Is this available from a compounding pharmacy?”

You might need to research it yourself, but the bottom line is this route turned out to be easier, faster, and about the same price and having to go the Canadian pharmacy route.

Thanks for the info.
Unfortunately, I think this info will be very helpful for me someday…
Until then,

Wow, great info Grouse thanks for sharing!

Good luck, Grouse. I don’t envy your situation and I wish you the best on your wellness journey!

WTG Grouse. Lots of research and hoops to jump through and BIG PHARMA knows that most people won’t go through that much effort. Let us know if your “compounded drug” works as well as your name brand $700 rip off drug.

Just remember compounding pharmacies are not FDA approved or go through the safety or quality checks before being sent out. There have been outbreaks and deaths linked to contaminated drugs from compounding pharmacies. It’s definitely a better deal however the risk is greater as well. Like everything in life do your research to see if the risks outweigh the rewards.