I have tried to make a couple of preliminary phonecalls to a couple of border pharmacies to determine whether a trip would be a wasted effort, but unfortunately I’m receiving mixed signals.
The first phonecall with a pharmacist suggested that the pharmacist would write the prescription there, that it would cost me $30 (Canadian). But she stipulated that I would require a prescription from a Canadian doctor. She was very nice and tried to warn me that the cost would be really high without any benefits. Again, $30.
The second pharmacist suggested that I could pick it up, that it is technically an over-the-counter drug, but that I should bring a prescription. When I asked whether I could just bring my US prescription, she suggested that would suffice—and seemed to indicate (If I was reading between the lines rightly) that the prescription was mainly to give the pharmacist peace of mind about dosing. That it wasn’t absolutely necessary. I plan to give it a try this weekend, if not sooner. My insured cost for Humalog is $112/vial. That’s 20% of the contracted cost my insurer pays.
I don’t think that getting a prescription is actually gonna happen with my NP this week (but I will try). I will also take screenshots of the walgreens pharmacy records of prescription over the last 3 months. Any other suggestions for what I should bring along? Anyone know whether verio test strips are available in Canada and if the price differential is the same for strips?
@Irish You really don’t have to physically go to Canada. I just received a vial of FIASP from Mark’s Marine with absolutely no hassle. All it took was a prescription and they asked me how much I wanted. I just emailed a photo of the prescription to them. Shipping was quick and the whole cost was only $90.
Good to know, @docslotnick. The rx is the problem, I think. I’m trying to limit the items I request from my NP, since even acquiring Metformin from him required a demonstration of need over a 3 month period (and even then he encouraged me to take it only half the weeks of the month). I’m saving up to make a case for afrezza. I did write to request an rx from my NP, told him we were traveling internationally. I hope he complies with that. I’m not holding my breath. But I am glad to hear that Mark’s Marine went so smoothly for you.
The Canadian border is actually really close to us, and I’ve been wanting to go anyway. It’ll be our first excuse to use all 6 of our passports.
I was going to say the same thing as Doc. Mark’s is great.
But if you have to fight for scripts, it might be time to look into finding a new Endo. There are enough hassles that come with D. You shouldn’t need to fight for every single medication.
Thanks, @Eric. I’ve been thinking the same thing lately, but the hassle of finding a good one prevents me from trying. In our neck of the woods, you either have an np or an endo. Even if they share an office. If I wanted to see the endo who oversees my NP’s cases, I would have to “leave the practice” of my NP and switch care entirely. It’s so weird. This has applied to both endo offices I’ve tried.
Eric, know anything about Canadian test strip pricing?
I haven’t found a better deal in Canada on strips. There might be one, but I haven’t found it yet.
The best ones you can get for super cheap are only $0.22 per strip. On Amazon, the Contour Next One, if you buy them in big batches (like 200 or more), they are cheap. And the Contour Next One is a quality meter!
I will tell you what I think is life-changing. Keep your current guy, but find a different Endo you like that is more reasonable, and have two Endo’s.
And you would only need to see him once a year. So maybe you would have to drive an hour or two once a year. That’s no big deal.
You can even call them and screen them a bit too. Just be up-front, say you don’t want to hassle over diabetic baby-talk, that you want to be treated like an adult and be able to try things like Metformin or Afrezza without a having to make a federal case out of it.
Or you can just see an Internist or GP and get scripts. You’d still see your Endo once a year or whatever you need to, but you can get scripts from a different doctor to try.
Once they have the confidence to try things a bit, I really encourage people to step out on their own if their Endo is not supportive.
Following with great interest-- may I suggest you attempt to purchase without a prescription first and see how that goes? Then only cough up the prescription if they insist? Just for the experiment value?
i also buy my test strips on AMAZON. its less than 1/2 the cost of going through the pharmacy. i can get three hundred (or more) for $120 . i didn’t need any prescription and i could buy as many as i wanted. i am on the pump and have Medicare, and Medicare pays 100% for 300 strips (only the ones made by ONE TOUCH (any of their strips) per month. but i test about 20 times a day (since i have been swimming) Medicare requires that i give the pharmacist a hard copy written prescription from my endo, but going through AMAZON, all i need is my credit card .
oh, and btw, i take a drug called Donperidone for GP and it is not approved by the FDA, so i have to buy it in Canada. all i need is a prescription from my GI md, and they will ship over as much as the doc has prescribed for (like if he prescribes for 6 months, they will send over 6 months worth. it an amazing drug and has helped me with my GP to the point where i can eat everything i want w/out the terrible physical side effects and messed up BGs) the only problem is that it is expensive, b/c you must pay OOP , but it worth every cent and has been life changing.
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