<p>Has anyone had a good experience using an online Canadian pharmacy? If so, which one? I have to take Lipitor and the websites I have looked at offers a 90 day supply at the same cost or less than a 30 day supply in the U.S.</p>
<p>Make sure it really is a Canadian pharmacy. I recently read that the majority of online “Canadian pharmacies” are actually NOT, and many are complete scams or deal in drugs formulated only God knows where.</p>
<p>Kajon, there are several red flags here. First of all, how do you know that the Lipitor will be coming from Canada? So called Canadian pharmacies may actually be shipped from third world countries. And without the US FDA, how do you know that the tablets actually contain Lipitor? They could actually be cheap inert ingredients made to look like Lipitor tablets. Who polices these websites? What protection do you have?</p>
<p>Your best bet is to try another statin drug, such as simvastatin,that is available generically due to patent expiration. You should be able to buy it in the US for $9.99 for 90 days. Much safer than going the Canada route.</p>
<p>Importing prescription drugs is illegal for a reason.</p>
<p>I am just at a total loss because I have tried 2 other statins and had allergic reactions to them. Lipitor works great for me, but Blue Cross will not cover it even though my doctor wrote them that it is medically necessary. $135 for 30 20mg tabs. I have read 3 U.S. medical journal articles that say if the online pharmacy is verified by Square Trade then it should be reputable. The problem is that Square Trade only verifies that the online company follows the rules on internet shipping - not relating to the drugs. I agree it would be easy to make a pill look just like the real thing.</p>
<p>I did order some thyroid medication online and after doing so became quite nervous about ordering from Vanautu (sp?) but when it came I took it religiously for 30 days and then went in for a blood test to verify it was actually the medicine it purported to be and it was fine, but it is also not so scary as messing with heart meds etc. I would think cholesterol meds could be worth a try.</p>
<p>I did google the name of the firm from which i ordered and I found some sites that review Rx online ordering sites and the one I used (which I do not recall right now) got good marks.</p>
<p>The other thing you can do is run up to Canada and have a walk in clinic doc do your Rx and fill the prescription there.</p>
<p>My mother had great success with Canadian pharmacies, but that was some years ago. You might want to check states that allow reimportation of pharmaceuticals for their lists of approved pharmacies. Here’s a link from Wisconsin that may be helpful: [Prescription</a> Drug Resource Center](<a href=“http://www.drugsavings.wi.gov/]Prescription”>http://www.drugsavings.wi.gov/)</p>
<p>I seem to remember, that the passage of 2003, Medicare D, made prescription drug importation, illegal. One of those deals of that era. A tariff that is not a tariff. And a limitation on Choice and Freedom.</p>
<p>I use canadadrugcenter.com. I’ve ordered meds for my DD and, as a cost comparison, spent $84.00 (which included shipping) for a 3-month supply. Here in the States, the cheapest I could find was $69.00 for a 1-month supply.</p>
<p>The drugs are manufactured in Turkey. They were shipped through the UK in a brown envelope, complete with the customs declaration and return address label of Camberley, U.K.</p>
<p>I pulled up the package picture on the internet, and it is the exact same that is sold all over Europe for this particular medication. </p>
<p>The only issue for us is planning ahead. It takes roughly 2-3 weeks from the time we order or refill to receive the meds.</p>
<p>I am pleased with our experience.</p>
<p>^^^It’s good that you are satisfied, but the fact that they are named canadadrugs.com and are obtaining drugs formulated in Turkey seems troublesome to me. They are hanging on the coattails of Canada’s reputation for safe, inexpensive drugs whose quality is thoroughly monitored, but the drugs have really no connection to Canada.</p>
<p>I guess the important thing is that you are getting the correct drugs/correct dose, but it seems rather deceptive to link Turkish formulated drugs with Canada in that manner.</p>
<p>Actually Turkey has manufacturing facilities for several well-known manufacturers. Their drug licensing standards are similar to that of the EU and, in fact, Turkey is the world’s 15th largest provider of pharmaceuticals. I’m not talking about generics, but name-brand drugs, manufactured by name-brand companies.</p>
<p>This Canadian pharmacy is not on the rogue list. Reputable Canadian pharms purchase drugs that are manufactured in many different countries on a regular basis. Turkey is one of those countries.</p>
<p>We have discussed all of this with our physician who actually encouraged us to go this route.</p>
<p>As a Canadian, I have asked my own pharmacist here, on behalf of American friends, what her opinion is of these so-called Canadian online pharmacies. She said that in the pharmacy community here in Canada, it is well-known that the only connection to Canada that most of these online pharmacies have is their name. She feels that if you’re going to order from them, that it is wise to find out exactly where these medications are being manufactured and then to investigate the testing processes and safeguards that are in place in that country. Do not rely on how drugs are manufactured, prescribed and sold in Canada, because most of these are not being manufactured, prescribed or sold with Canadian standards.</p>
<p>I know that for many years busloads of people would regularly cross the border, see Canadian doctors and fill their prescriptions here because the cost was a fraction of what they had to pay in the U.S. I don’t know if that is still occurring or not but that might be a better option if you are close enough to do so.</p>
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Medicare Part D law said nothing of the sort. An earlier law from the early 90s made importation formally illegal. Another law came about in the late 90s, which states drugs can only be imported into the U.S. if the Secretary of Health and Human Services agrees to it. All of the Secretaries of HHS in the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations have refused to allow drug importations. Allowing for drug importation is risky. They have recently strengthen drug chain of custody laws. When you order medication, you actually get a pedigree with it. You know who has owned this drug since the original manufacturer made it and sold it to the first owner.
An actual Canadian pharmacy is probably safe. Online “Canadian” pharmacies are not safe. You have no idea where the drugs came from.</p>
<p>I use Canadadrug.com for my asthma meds. They get shipped to me from Barbados. It’s half the price of a US pharmacy and just as good…IMHO.</p>
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<p>So why call themselves Canadadrugs.com? Why not Turkeydrugs.com? With lots of information documenting what you have just said?</p>
<p>It’s disingenuous at best.</p>
<p>thankyou, Nova10, for the clarification. I guess it was the D program that highlighted the importation laws.</p>
<p>We don’t want anyone to break the law by giving where and how to do things illegally, never eat acorns uncooked.</p>
<p>How do you know the pills you are getting are pharmacologically sound? Unless you know you are not getting placebos or even worse (remember melamine in milk powder), I wouldn’t get those prescriptions sold online because you have no idea what you are ingesting. Your health depends on it.</p>
<p>I have once purchased from an on-line pharmacy that I believe was in India. I know many other patients who shop from the pharmacy regularly because they can’t afford the prices, even WITH drug coverage, especially when they fall in the “doughnut hole.” They have been pretty satisfied with the products they have received–mostly breathing medications, but also the other meds they take on a regular basis. If you PM me, I can provide the name of the site. </p>
<p>So far, I have not read of anyone having a bad experience with that particular pharmacy in the years that folks have dealt with it, but I have no interest in the pharmacy and have not done a chemical analysis of the things I ordered from them (they did appear to work well, and seemed just as good as the US “name brand” meds to us).</p>