Generic Drug Prices Skyrocket

a reply to: rickymouse

I work in ophthalmology...

the simplest way to understand the mechanics of glaucoma, if you will, is....when the eye produces too MUCH aqueous....or the drainage system of the eye isn't working to "drain" the aqueous....(trying to find a way to explain it in "layman's terms") There also are forms of glaucoma that are a result of the structure of the eye, (the eye is really short and a person takes cold medicine, gets dilation drops, etc and the drainage system gets blocked) and also "pigment" clogging the drainage system (trabecular meshwork).....at any rate......we sometimes give diuretics to help.....so I suppose if there were natural diuretics..it MIGHT work....

However....glaucoma runs in my family....when I get it...I will try the smoking and report back if it works.....I started smoking at age 30 so that I could stop taking medications for anxiety.....medications for insomnia.....and pain meds...I am 48 years old and it has seemed to work pretty well for THOSE things....now we'll see how bad my lungs get....because after 18 years of smoking @@@, I HAVE noticed I get lung infections easier and can get an annoying cough......

(hope I didn't break any rules talking about @@@ on here.....)

Peace, Ya'll

originally posted by: Noinden
a reply to: PhoenixFreeman

Many of those drugs came from "natural" sources.

Yeah, one is an antibiotic....Good luck finding a natural cure for that....Think about what you are saying here, some medications are really needed and for people to have to pay more because of "lack of competition" is just stupid...People need it, so sell it for less and sell more and you make more money! When you raise the prices, yes a few people will pay but you sell less ideally making less money...Big business will never understand how to make real money...They are too greedy

a reply to: Cornczech

There are a variety of ways to adjust chemistry in the body to keep glaucoma at bay, maybe it can't cure it but it can control it or make it so it does not give us a problem in our lifetime. The information is all over the place on this. I do not have a genetic history of this so I have not spent much time on specifically untangling all the research to see what it all has in common. I have done this with many diseases and conditions that pertain to my family history and spent years trying to identify the possible genetic flaws and researched what can be done so these conditions never become a problem.

Your right about some of the reasons for the glaucoma, I have read about what you said. Trying to decipher possible solutions for it from tons of seemingly unrelated articles is time consuming. I have been more concerned about known possible hereditary problems and also age related changes in metabolism and nutrient uptake. I've probably read fifteen to twenty research articles addressing glaucoma, thinking that my eyes might be getting a little bad from it. It is just staring at this monitor for many hours a day that is causing my problems though. I like to research but it does take a toll on my eyes. So far I have been memorizing patterns and probability and trying to find dietary factors that increase risk so small alterations in diet can be done to keep things from progressing. It would be nice if I could find other people who do the same thing to compare notes. Memorizing patterns and arrays takes a lot of brain cells, so specific names are less important to me. I try to convert what I know to laymans terms.

It sucks that I can real a scientific article or post and understand what it says and how it relates to things. I'm getting afraid that I will get so that I talk over the heads of the people I interact with on a daily basis, people who do not use these kinds of words I study. Maybe this is why I do not want to learn the words, you can't learn something you do not want to learn.

I like your post, I did learn from it on specific processes.

You can find some antibiotics at Aquatic Stores such as
Metronidazole = Flagyl it comes in 250mg tablets. You can also get
some meds through a few Veterinary sources & is the same
as human Cal Vet Supply
I supplied a list on another ATS page a while back that listed
the names as they are different but is the same drug. You can
use Google & find a list...here's a few...
Fish Mox = Amoxicillin 250mg
Fish Mox Forte = Amoxicillin 500mg
Fish Pen = Penicillin 250mg Fish Pen Forte - Penicillin 500mg
Fish Flox Forte = Ciprofloxacin 500mg
Fish Flex = Cephalelxin 250mg
Fish Flex Forte - Cephalexin 500mg
Bird Biotic = Doxycycline 100mg

I don't know if it is less expensive or not. I posted this a while
back on the Survival forum so people could stock up.

Cheers
Ektar

A single payer system will eliminate this problem.

No competition works two ways, and when we finally get it together and tell the drug companies exactly how much we are willing to spend on their medications, the prices are going to come WAY down, or other drug companies will begin to form that WILL make them for the price we set.

Its going to be a good day.

NVM.

a reply to: AgentShillington

That's so ridiculous, it's almost sweet.

originally posted by: ladyinwaiting
a reply to: AgentShillington

That's so ridiculous, it's almost sweet.

Even the smallest bit of research will keep you from looking ill-informed.

www.huffingtonpost.com...
en.wikipedia.org...
www.pbs.org...
www.commonwealthfund.org...
www.socialsecurity.gov...
www.drugwatch.com...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov...
www.fool.com...
www.nytimes.com...

This should be a nicer primer for you to begin your education.

A bunch of us already get our meds from Canada because, frankly, its worth the plane ticket to go, have a nice weekend in Toronto, pick up my meds, and spend -less per year- than if I had bought them in the states.

a reply to: DontTreadOnMe

It's pretty scary that this price increase is affecting antibiotics. Sadly, everything is about turning a profit. From my understanding, antibiotics are big money right now because of the increasing amounts of antibiotic resistant bacteria. So the ones that do still work, are going to become very expensive.

Now, when I put on my tin foil hat, I can't help but wonder if there is any correlation between the following:

1. Increased price for doxycycline (used to treat respiratory infections, among other things)
2. Obama's executive order about quarantines and respiratory illness
3. Obama's recent executive order establishing a task force for tackling the problem of antibiotic resistance

I dunno. It's just scary, antibiotics are one of the more important drugs. People have a hard time affording health care as it is, without having to worry about the costs of generics rising too much to be able to afford.

a reply to: Noinden

Great post, and I totally agree with your points. This isn't about Obama, or our healthcare system, it is about capitalism.

I'm a consultant, and one of my largest clients is a very large generic Pharma company. Pharma companies are now going through the same things that other companies went through over the last 10-20 years, and that is consolidation.

If you are small, more than likely someone is going to come around and gobble you up. What this does is create artificial monopolies, where even though the drug is generic, there are only 1-2 suppliers of that drug. All about supply/demand people, the less people who can supply things, the more the prices will go up. This isn't evil per-se, it is just what happens in a Capitalist economy.

You can't go around and blame Obama for this, if anything more governmental controls to oversee the acquisitions all these large companies are doing, and what that will mean to the eventual supply monopoly picture.

We saw this in Consumer products, we have seen this in wood products, we have seen this in food products. We all just don't realize it. Production costs are lower than they ever have been for anyone that makes products. So why then are we paying more for stuff than we did 10-20 years ago? Sure transportation costs have risen dramatically over that time, but not at the rate that the consumer is paying.

a reply to: DYepes

Thanks. It definitely wasn't an easy task by any means but the alternative was to keep increasing the dosages thereby increasing my slavery and dependence and all too often I would run into issues with scrips not being refilled on time so it was a point of no return with decreasing dividends on my end. the risk vs reward scenario didn't pan out and if I was out life was miserable not just for me but everyone in my house. if I were a real scumbag I could've detoxed and kept the scrips rolling in and flipped them because upstate NY isn't much better than Florida was.it just didn't get the publicity you guys did. Up here I cant count he personal friends Ive buried as a result of prescription issues or worse, when buying other peoples scrips got too expensive they switched to the street version. its a lose lose spiraling cycle.

a reply to: Cornczech
Paraphrasing the old Bond (007) movie:

BOND: "Do you expect me to pay your exorbitant drug prices?"

GOLDFINGER: "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"

a reply to: mzinga

I never blamed Obama, mainly because when I was in the US I'd lived under him and Bush and could not vote (I'dve not voted for Obama, but only because he had no substance to him).

But the big Pharma companies are much like the Big computer companies of the 1990s Pfiser is the Microsoft of then (its so huge no one challenges it) and honestly has the problems Microsoft had (and has)... its pipeline is abysmal, but its got the big player drugs (little blue pill boys?).

I remember working 18 hour days near the end of my time with my last company over there, to try and compete with the Chinese costing. I brought one raw material with in $5 a kilo of the Chinese price and much much purer, but that was not enough to save the group. Our equipment (We had the most advanced process development lab in the US at that stage) was worth more than us. So our last job was to dismantle the lab we'd built, move it 45 minutes north, and set it up for the group they kept up there.

Westerners expect a high level of health care. This includes pharmaceuticals. I never balk at the cost, because having made some of the drugs (if you ever get leukaemia you will probably have one of them) it is intensive work, with crazy levels of compliance (I work in that area now its a "growth industry"). Its just a shame that these costs mean people go with out. Money is not everything, but the west seems to think that it is.

i think all meds on the essential medicines list should be bottom dollar once they go generic..
before generic they should be affordable and not price gouged

a reply to: Grovit

I wish you luck with that

originally posted by: Noinden
a reply to: Grovit

I wish you luck with that

thanks...
im going to need it cause what i said i want will never happen..
still. thats how i think it should be

originally posted by: eisegesis
And yet the generic drugs still remain cheaper than their name brand counterparts. They would have never gone up if the price of designer drugs didn't skyrocket as well. Thanks Obama!

Your only as healthy as you can afford!

Link

Generic drugs are copies of brand-name drugs that have exactly the same dosage, intended use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and strength as the original drug. In other words, their pharmacological effects are exactly the same as those of their brand-name counterparts.

A pair of Nike's doesn't make you run faster of jump higher. They just satisfy your ego and make you feel like you got the most for your money.

Generic drugs are only cheaper because the manufacturers have not had the expenses of developing and marketing a new drug. When a company brings a new drug onto the market, the firm has already spent substantial money on research, development, marketing and promotion of the drug.

Although this is what they say is true, I have found that the generic of what i take are absolutely not the same as the name brand. Which is why I get name brand. I take adderall xr (prescribed)--as does one of my close friends who has been on it since childhood--when I've tried the generic, it felt noticeably dirtier. I suspect that the quality of the amphetamines is lower or the additives are worse for you. Either way, there is something different. And that something makes a huge difference in effectiveness. With adderall specifically, many have reported this. Therefore, I am leaning on believing that it is not in my head. Too many people report the exact same thing. Just goes to show: you get what you pay for.

And no, it isn't just because of wanting a name brand or whatever, but I get where you are coming from. In cases like this where the onset of effects literally feel markedly different/less potent/more unpleasant even when it is supposed to be the same thing, I feel that the generic likely skimp on quality. It just makes sense. Perhaps the amounts of substance aren't measured as precisely or something. Whatever the case, i can tell you within a couple minutes if the pill i took was generic or not. The generics also seem to poop out faster, so you then need to take more. Feels like the generic batches suck overall.

However, with regards to things like olamaprazole (acid reflux med), I dont think that the generic is bad at all. Ditto with other generics.

It is only with the adderall generic (Amphet. Salts) that I have a major problem.


Your nike comment isn't really legit though, to be fair: a pair of Uggs feels a lot better and lasts longer than a knock-off from Payless. Not saying there's something wrong with shoes from payless but it is apples and oranges. Because that is true, it leads me to wonder if adderall is the only med that isn't truly the same in its generic. Likely, they are all a bit different (lower quality drugs/cut with things) but being different doesnt mean it doesnt work--just works differently or not as well. Meaning that effects might be less reliable in generics.



There is a fair bit of debate on ADDForums by people more versed in body chemistry and psychopharmacology than I.

a reply to: rukia

When it comes to shoes, women don't think about the price, lol!

I found a pair of nice looking shoes at Sears for $20. The are an obvious knockoff but actually rated high and quite comfortable. I bought 4 pairs of shoes at $80 strictly for work and will have a fresh pair of good shoes for the next two years. I believe that comes to or is less than a pair of Uggs.




Boots are harder to come by because they usually cover more of your foot and require more comfort, flexibility and support, especially if they go over the ankle. In your defense I have never found a cheap pair that I liked. There was a mid-boot from Sketchers that I found for $40 that I loved. Comfortable, looked good and lasted a while. Can't find them anymore...plus I'm picky.



To get back on topic, I have heard that quality control plays a big factor in the difference between generic and name brand. The active drug is not evenly distributed across the entire pill and may be more concentrated on one side of the split mark.

What is the point of splitting a pill in half if all the good stuff is on one side? I would imagine this would lead to your body thinking that you skipped a dose when you clearly took half the pill. This could be life threatening in some cases but the drug companies wont tell you that, you have to test it and see for yourself.

I can't believe I just had a conversation about shoes with a girl? on ATS...I hope that's you on my left. No offence, sometimes guys like to use pictures of their girlfriends or other good looking girls.....such as yourself.

God I feel bad after reading this thread. I suck back pills like they are M&M'S :-)
If you don't have work insurance your in big big trouble ........at least for us where we live.
I understand things are much different in the USA right now and its all topsy turvey to say the least.

My med bills right now are about $1500.00 every two months and with our personal insurance they get knocked down to about $195.00 or so. Yes most are generic drugs but we appealed on one medication and got a brand name because I only take half a pill twice a day but these generic pills would crumble when you split them.

As everyone says here on this thread, this is most definitely a racket and I wonder just how can we put the brakes on it?
I am enjoying the thread and learning as I read.
S&F
Regards, Iwinder

a reply to: snarky412

He gets some help from the drug company itself....I just tried to look for Humana Extra Care....not finding it so I wonder if ACA killed it??