Guest UESBrindle Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I'll preface this by saying I do realize I live in a city with a high cost of living. William has had diarrhea since Sunday morning. We fasted, put on pland diet, still "D". I call the ASPCA Hospital to ask if I could drop off a stool sample to rule out any virus. $55. It came back negative. I was playing phone-tag with the vet, and finally got a chance to speak with her this afternoon. She said that even if he does have a virus, the test can come back negative-- which makes me wonder just how effective is it if it can show a negative when it's positive!? so what's the point?? Then she that she'll perscribe him 10 pills of Metroniadazole, which I think is another name for Flagyl, which I've heard here before. She said that if he's improved after 3 days, we can stop, but if not, keep giving and if after 10 days, it's still going, to bring him in. This I get. What I don't understand is that when I first looked up what she wanted to give him, a site I went to before for another med I wanted to have on hand just in case, it said that said that for a metronidazole 500 mg pill, it would be 49 cents per pill, which for 10 pills would be about $5 -- very reasonable. I called the Vet's office to ask how much it would be, and they said $19-- which is about a 400% increase! While I have no problem paying $19 for a perscription, I was just shocked to realize how much they inflate their prices. Of course, by the time I would add shipping to the $5, and the time I would have to wait, I would naturally pay the $19 out of convenience, but sometimes I wish they wouldn't take advantage like that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Energy11 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 MOST vets do really increase their RX prices. My vet here, calls all of Curfew's scripts into the human pharmacy, with the exception of his Soloxine, as it is not the same as human thyroid supplementation. Maybe you can get your vet to call in the Flagyl to your local pharmacy, or write a script for it, so you can fill online? Couldn't hurt to ask. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UESBrindle Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Is Flagyl something that can be filled for people too?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Energy11 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Is Flagyl something that can be filled for people too?? Yes, it is! :-)) FYI .... http://www.medicinenet.com/metronidazole/article.htm Good Luck getting it cheaper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedFawnMom Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 We were charged $27 (+ tax) for 16 pills at the E-vet for the same dosage of Flagyl. I'm sure there is a huge markup but she needed it right away and after paying $115 for the vet to look at her, what's another $27....? (Ugh) I know our vet marks up their heart worm meds A TON, too, so I buy them online. I also realized that the SA drug they were selling us was actually generic Prozac. I went from $75/month on that one to....(drumroll please...) $3/month. Seriously. Quote Always missing our angel Lucy, a four year osteo survivor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UESBrindle Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Is Flagyl something that can be filled for people too?? Yes, it is! :-)) FYI .... http://www.medicinenet.com/metronidazole/article.htm Good Luck getting it cheaper! Thank you! I just called my regular pharmacy and they said that 10 -- 250 mg pills would cost $11.99 -- which isn't a huge savings, but I'd be happy to save even just that $7. I called and left a voice mail for the vet and hopefully she'll be happy to help! Note to self: always ask if they can call in human versions to a regular pharmacy! Thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Energy11 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Glad to help! :-)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliforniaGreys Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 The mark ups on meds is really ridiculous, and unless it's something I need to get right that very minute, I buy it online. Wayne's Rimadyl is 156.00 at my vet's office, I but it for 54.00 online at a pharmacy I know i can trust. A lot of vets were losing so much business to online pharmacies that they started price matching Quote Missing my little Misty who took a huge piece of my heart with her on 5/2/09, and Ekko, on 6/28/12 For the sick, the lost, and the homeless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VanillaBean Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 $6.50 for 28 , 250 mg Tablets of Flagyl for my iggie. Written a prescription, took it in to local Drug Store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest KennelMom Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) If you save by not getting the RX's filled at the vet, they'll just up prices elsewhere - office visit fees, surgery fees...they have bills and salaries to pay, so they have to make the money somewhere. That said, there are some "bulk" drugs that I keep on hand here and have either filled as a $4 RX from Target (if it's available) or a drug like Rimadyl is usually always cheaper to order from an online pharmacy. Metronidizole is on the $4 generic list at Walmart and Target. You should be able to get 28 250mg tabs for $4 at Walmart: http://i.walmartimages.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/customer_list.pdf http://sites.target.com/site/en/health/pag...d=WCMP04-040590 When it's all said and done, our vet makes a decent penny off of us, (I often ask them when they are breaking ground on the Vaughn wing of the clinic )so I don't feel too bad about getting some of our RX filled elsewhere. But I don't gripe too much about their mark up at the office. Their other fees are all pretty reasonable. eta: on the fecal front...we don't do too many fecals anymore. It's usually cheaper and easier to run 'em on a course of flagyl and worm them. If the problem comes back, then we'll look into doing a fecal. Kinda depends on the dog, other symptoms and other factors...but we don't do a fecal automatically for Big D. When we did in the past we usually got the same "negative can still be positive" and the treatment result was the same anyway. Edited September 23, 2009 by KennelMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 My vet now just gives me a script when it is an antibiotic I can get free or a drug on the $4 generics list at the pharmacy. They make enough off of me in other areas. I want them to make a profit so they stay in business but buying some drugs from them just isn't cost effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinM Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Interesting that you should ask tis question. I have a script right now for 30 375mg clavamox that I can get with a 10% off from 1800 pet meds for $80 and my vet wants $102. Quote ROBIN ~ Mom to: Beau Think It Aint, Chloe JC Allthewayhome, Teddy ICU Drunk Sailor, Elsie N Fracine , Ollie RG's Travertine, Ponch A's Jupiter~ Yoshi, Zoobie & Belle, the kitties. Waiting at the bridge Angel Polli Bohemian Ocean , Rocky, Blue,Sasha & Zoobie & Bobbi Greyhound Angels Adoption (GAA) The Lexus Project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brandimom Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Right now the only meds/chinese herbs that I give Brandi come from her holistic vet and there is quite a mark up on the meds. Recently got Brandi on soloxine 3 mg twice a day and the vet charged $40 for 120 count as I wanted to get her on it immediately. I re-ordered through Omaha Vaccine and got 250 for $20 so half the cost. Also she is on Bioprin for pain reliever and found another site to buy it and saved about $10 for the exact 90 pills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Energy11 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 If any of you have Publix stores in your areas, they fill most antibiotics FREE!!! When Dh Was in Orlando in Aug., Dr. B, wrote scripts for Amoxicillin, Keflex, and Cipro. ALL FILLED FREE every 30 days! My DD lives near that Publix, and she gets them for me and sends them here! I love having them on hand, in case of a suspected UTI, skin or foot injury, or "zapping" Staggerlees Gingivitis as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest suzye Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 (edited) WAY too much mark-up. When Jazz had her final emergency, I took her in and left her at the vet for half a day. They gave her a SINGLE dose of Benazepril and charged me NINE dollars! If I knew I could have simply dropped off her bottle of pills WITH her, and paid nothing for it. This prescription cost me $4 for a MONTH supply at Wal-Mart. By the time it was all over I was paying for euthanasia and cremation so I didn't bother arguing about $9 pill, even though I gave them all her meds for them to donate, so I had a very good argument for them to strike it from my bill. If it's a drug that's readily available as the same for humans, and the price difference seems extremely high at the vet, I will always ask for Rx to fill it somewhere else. Edited September 23, 2009 by suzye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UESBrindle Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 We don't have any Publix stores-- but they sound WONDERFUL! Free antibiotics-- amazing!! It turns out that when I got home, our dog-walker replied to a note I left saying that "He's having stomach issues" that she said he was absoultely fine. When I took him on a walk towards the vet, he "went" and it was normal, so we ended up walking to the vet and saying we don't need it anymore. I guess it would be something good to have in the future, but we didn't need to buy anything today. I almost wonder if it was the boiled chicken and rice that was keeping him in the "D" because as soon as a switched him to kibble this morning, he seemed fine. Thanks again for all of your input, sharing experience, and always wondeful advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest VanillaBean Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Meijer Grocery stores also have the free antibiotics. When my iggie was on pulse therapy with Amoxicillian, I got it there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sheila Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I once did some research on some meds one of my dogs was on (he needed one pill a day as a maintenance med) and wondered if my vets mark up was to high. I took my research to the vet and asked him about it and this is basically what he told me. That he got this particular med at a 'human' pharmacy in town and sold it to me at the regular retail price. That way he could give me a guarantee about the meds being what they were labeled as. He said he would gladly write me a script to any place online or elsewhere if I wished, but his guarantee for the meds purity only came from the meds he dispensed. He agreed that he did have a markup on the meds that looked excessive when compared to other places I had found, but that he was a brick and mortar provider and had overhead, equipment, employees etc to maintain and he had to make a profit somewhere and the meds were one place he made it. He then said since I was a very loyal and long term client he had no problem selling the meds my dog needed at his cost. It still wasn't as cheap as I could find them elsewhere, but it helped considerably. When I factored all of the above in addition how reasonable his regular fees for other services, and the fact that this man has come in at all hrs of the day and night in emergencies it was (for me) an easy choice. I only buy meds from my vet now. For an example of how reasonable his fees are, my dog Sammy was in the other day for a dental and a lump removal. While on the table they also found a lump on her inner eyelid and removed it too. Total bill (including 5 days worth of pain meds at retail price) was $201 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhndz Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Depending on whether a med is available at a human pharmacy, or is only sold for animals and has to be purchased at a vet's office or vet pharmacy, here's what I do: For human meds, I have them called into Target or Walmart if they're on the $4 formulary. I do this for both short-term meds like antibiotics, as well as long-term maintenance meds, which are $10 for 90-days. But many pharmacies are becoming competitive and offering their own discount plans. If you have a Hannaford near you, they have an excellent discount plan for $7/year, which offers free antibiotics (up to 14 days' worth, and has to be on their discount formulary), the $4/$10 discount comparable to Target and Walmart, and also discounts all other meds. I've actually found their prices to be even better than Costco's. But I've also heard from some of the pharmacy techs that you can go to your own pharmacy and ask if they'll meet the price offered by Walmart and Target, and very often they will. I see that CVS and Walgreens are offering their own discounts now, so this is the time to start shopping around. For dog meds, I use EntirelyPets.com and I try to buy in bulk with a script from my vet. For some meds, I also use KV Vet. I'm lucky to have a great working relationship with my vet's office -- and it helps that my vet and another vet there, as well as the office manager and some other staff, are patients at my practice. I try to take good care of them, and they take good care of my pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greytlucy Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 All the vets we currently work wtih(3) consistently offer to call prescriptions into people pharmacies and compounding pharmacies to save us money. They always suggest it first and indicate it will be much cheaper than if i purchase through them. Maybe because most of the drugs we're using are long-term at this point. I didn't realize this was really that unusual and thought maybe the industry had shifted that way. (our old vet was resistant to allowing us to fill prescriptions elsewhere...which is one of many reasons they're our old vet).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicocat Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 The vet treating Cutie for lupus checked right away to see if her meds were available at WalMart. For all the other meds and heartworm/flea products they will match any online price. Quote Ann Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kydie Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 For emergency meds, I go with the vet, I don't care what the cost, but for long term meds, I get them at the local pharamcy, in generic form Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAVED2 Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 THEY LEARNED TO DO THIS BY LEARNING HOW OUR SENATORS RUN OUR GOVERNMENT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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