Buying Medications Outside Of Vet

[mikameek]

I know there are pharmacies that people trust outside of their vet to get the medications that they require.
I was looking at Allivet.

Does anyone have any opinions on buying medications outside of the vet? Are there any pharmacies people trust?

Does it depend on the medication thats being given?

 

[silkenpaw]

I get some of my meds from Roadrunner Pharmacy, 877-518-4589. I also get stuff from Skip’s Pharmacy, 561-218-0111, but they may be for local (South Florida) business only.

Plus you can get animal medications at your local pharmacy. They are usually cheaper there than at the vet’s.

 

[sabrinah]

I get everything from 1-800PetMeds

 

[1 bruce 1]

To cut costs, I probably would.
But I never have, only because if there's a poor reaction I want my vet to know immediately what they sold me and what the lot # is, etc.
I've heard good things about a lot of the online pharmacies, my opinion is about 25 years old =P

 

[mikameek]

To cut costs, I probably would.
But I never have, only because if there's a poor reaction I want my vet to know immediately what they sold me and what the lot # is, etc.
I've heard good things about a lot of the online pharmacies, my opinion is about 25 years old =P

Yeah, the vet I was getting Mika's ursodiol through was charging me an arm and a leg basically. Then tried to up charge me. Needless to say I don't want to go back to get it there and I've noticed it fairly cheaper on some online pet pharmacies. Can't exactly ask a vet about them though considering they make money off of their prescriptions.

 

[weebeasties]

All I can say is I have been using Allivet to buy cyclosporin(atopica generic) for a few years and have had no problems.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Yeah, the vet I was getting Mika's ursodiol through was charging me an arm and a leg basically. Then tried to up charge me. Needless to say I don't want to go back to get it there and I've noticed it fairly cheaper on some online pet pharmacies. Can't exactly ask a vet about them though considering they make money off of their prescriptions.

I agree!
What's weird is we use a local pharmacy to compound our asthmatic cats medicine and the price is like double but the vet recommended them. The compounding makes it flavored and syringing medicine is SO much easier this way.
If these pharmacies online can't sell you stuff without an Rx from the vet, there's really no way the vet can refuse, am I right?
(I'm old, I'm still amazed by the wheel so this online pharmacy stuff still kind of makes me go "woah!") =)

 

[sabrinah]

The vet can make it as difficult as possible to get the prescription for the online pharmacy though. For example, the clinics here refuse to interact with any online pharmacy. They make you pick up a paper prescription and mail it in yourself. Twice now I've had issues with the vet lying and saying the clinic will work with online pharmacies, forcing me to drive back to the vet to get a paper prescription after trying to order the meds and being denied. I've also had issues twice with the vet writing the wrong prescription, so when I go to pick it up I have to sit and wait for 15-20 minutes while a vet rewrites it. It all makes me that much more determined to give them as little of my money as possible.

 

[silkenpaw]

sabrinah Sounds like you need to change vets. My vet’s reaction to asking about a med is often: “You don’t want to get that from me. It’s cheaper at store X.”

 

[sabrinah]

sabrinah Sounds like you need to change vets. My vet’s reaction to asking about a med is often: “You don’t want to get that from me. It’s cheaper at store X.”

I switched clinics and both have the same practice. The goal was to see a new vet because I didn't like the first one we saw, but apparently, I'm cursed because we ended up with the same vet at a different clinic in a different city. There are very few options here, especially since the "emergency vets" will only see animals that are already patients at that clinic. If you aren't a patient your pet gets to die apparently.

 

[Margret]

If you aren't a patient your pet gets to die apparently.

* * * * * *
​

This should work at any pharmacy in the U.S., including online pharmacies, and should help greatly with the cost: GoodRx for Pets - GoodRx When I had no health insurance I was using GoodRx for my prescriptions and was very pleased with it.

Margret

 

[catlover73]

Years ago one of my friends got her cat's diabetes medication through one of major grocery store chains. It was on their $4 medicine list. It was a lot cheaper than at the vet. Her vet was open to going that route with her because she had a job that required travel and long hours. I cat sat when she was traveling or working long hours. She had it set-up with the store where I could pick up the medicine and it would be charged to her credit card on file. I am not sure if this $4 medicine price still exists any where now. She was using Dominick's which no longer exists.

She did give her vet regular updates about her cat. I would call when she was traveling or working a lot with the updates and she would call the vet herself. She did have paperwork on file at her vet's along with a credit card on file. We also had a signed release form on file in case there was any reason I needed to take her cat to the vet when she was not available. The vet also had my phone # in case they got stuck playing phone tag.

 

[mikameek]

Years ago one of my friends got her cat's diabetes medication through one of major grocery store chains. It was on their $4 medicine list. It was a lot cheaper than at the vet. Her vet was open to going that route with her because she had a job that required travel and long hours. I cat sat when she was traveling or working long hours. She had it set-up with the store where I could pick up the medicine and it would be charged to her credit card on file. I am not sure if this $4 medicine price still exists any where now. She was using Dominick's which no longer exists.

She did give her vet regular updates about her cat. I would call when she was traveling or working a lot with the updates and she would call the vet herself. She did have paperwork on file at her vet's along with a credit card on file. We also had a signed release form on file in case there was any reason I needed to take her cat to the vet when she was not available. The vet also had my phone # in case they got stuck playing phone tag.

I've been told that regular pharmacies might fill pets prescriptions and I'm curious about trying it. I can't exactly go back to the vet that was trying to run away with my wallet though. Being a college student though, I need to be saving money everywhere I can.

We have an appointment with a new vet tomorrow so hopefully they'll be kind enough to write a prescription for Mika's medications that I can fill elsewhere.

 

[catlover73]

I've been told that regular pharmacies might fill pets prescriptions and I'm curious about trying it. I can't exactly go back to the vet that was trying to run away with my wallet though. Being a college student though, I need to be saving money everywhere I can.

We have an appointment with a new vet tomorrow so hopefully they'll be kind enough to write a prescription for Mika's medications that I can fill elsewhere.

I would try being up front with new vet about you situation. Hopefully this new vet will be open to doing this. If they are call around to different human pharmacies in your area. There can be big price differences for the same medications. Another thing to look into with human pharmacies is to see if they have a prescription savings plan that covers pet medicine. You may have to pay a yearly fee but it could drastically lower the cost of the medication.

 

[mikameek]

I would try being up front with new vet about you situation. Hopefully this new vet will be open to doing this. If they are call around to different human pharmacies in your area. There can be big price differences for the same medications. Another thing to look into with human pharmacies is to see if they have a prescription savings plan that covers pet medicine. You may have to pay a yearly fee but it could drastically lower the cost of the medication.

Oh thats great advice, thank you! I'll definitely look into that if I'm able to do it. Crossing my fingers (and Mika's paws ) that it'll work out that way.

 

[Sonatine]

If you're still looking for advice, here's my two-cents as someone who's training to be a pharmacist right now:

I worked at a retail pharmacy that was located next to an animal clinic for three years, and we filled plenty of pet medications; after all, many (but not all!) pet meds are the same thing that a human would take but in a different dose. Just make sure you have a trustworthy vet: most retail pharmacists have limited training or even information about what dosing is safe in animals, so they may not catch prescribing errors the way they would with a human patient.

As for cost... it depends on the med. Some might be cheaper at the vet, others at the pharmacy, but most decent pharmacies will at least try to give you a price estimate, especially since there's no billing insurance involved, and discount cards like some of the ones mentioned above can help. Regular pharmacies are less likely to have medications that are specific to animals, but may or may not be able/willing to order it.

I would be very wary of getting drugs online. The price and convenience is tempting, but many online medication sources are unregulated (and it can be tough to figure out which ones are legit and which ones aren't), and there is a much higher chance of getting a contaminated or even counterfeit product if you're unlucky and pick a bad vendor.

Whatever you decide, good luck to you!

 

[Daisy6]

I switched clinics and both have the same practice. The goal was to see a new vet because I didn't like the first one we saw, but apparently, I'm cursed because we ended up with the same vet at a different clinic in a different city. There are very few options here, especially since the "emergency vets" will only see animals that are already patients at that clinic. If you aren't a patient your pet gets to die apparently.

I recommend reading the staff roster on each clinic's website to make sure all are different practices, not just different buildings.

 

[Daisy6]

I've been told that regular pharmacies might fill pets prescriptions and I'm curious about trying it. I can't exactly go back to the vet that was trying to run away with my wallet though. Being a college student though, I need to be saving money everywhere I can.

We have an appointment with a new vet tomorrow so hopefully they'll be kind enough to write a prescription for Mika's medications that I can fill elsewhere.

I hear you. Mika is already straining your wallet. It probably would be easier to do if her prescriptions are smaller doses of human drugs.

Good luck at the appointment! Keep us updated.

 

[sabrinah]

I recommend reading the staff roster on each clinic's website to make sure all are different practices, not just different buildings.

Each clinic lists completely different staff and has cards for different vets. Apparently, it's all interchangeable.

 

[Daisy6]

Maybe there are some vets who got their DVM degrees from the same school?