I have ordered online from China Donecept -10 mg (Donepezil Hydrochloride) Mfg by Cipla ltd India I paid $110.00 us for 100 pill 10 X 10 sealed pack I got them today, it took 2 wks.
Repeated articles, news programs etc. warn that foreign drug companies can mislable medicines, misrepresent dosage levels and include other ingredients/drugs that could be impure and/or fatal. What were you thinking???????????? Does your doctor know you took this step...or did you do this on your own. I believe you should let him know what you've done.
The irony of this is that many of our drugs are manufactured in China. I don't know if the AD drugs are, but it would not surprise me. It cost them pennies to make them in china then they sell them for big bucks to Americans.
Entered U.S. Drugs manufacturered in China in Keyword. Many warnings - and bad stories. This is one article that appeared in the Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/16/AR2007061601295.html
"The Government Accountability Office reported that 80 percent of the drug substances used by U.S. manufacturers to produce prescription drugs is imported. The majority come from China." http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24939
I have heard that there will be a generic aricept available in US sometime this coming fall. The cost of Aricept is putting my mom into the dreaded "doughnut hole" quite soon. May be better to wait for the approved generic rather than ordering from china. None of us need any more problems than we already have, if you know what I mean.......
"Mick Deats, head of enforcement at the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said it was a profitable business. “Many of the cases we see now are in large quantities, worth more than £1m. The guys that are involved in this want to make large amounts of money. The packaging and the pills look like the real thing but with forensic analysis you see impurities and we often find that the active ingredient is reduced. They are dangerous.”
"After the pet food scandal that triggered fears over the safety of human and animal foods imported from China, experts say medicines from that country and from India pose a similar risk of being contaminated, counterfeit or simply understrength and ineffective. "
The Drug is not made in China, it is made in India by Cipla ltd. Yes I spoke with my Doctor and he had no issue using Generic.
Do you think the US Drug Companies might want to spread the bad news to you paying the higher prices?
Each pill is sealed, not like the bottle of 90 loose pills I get here and pay more for.
More info on Cipla Cipla has been approved by regulatory bodies such as:
World Health Organization Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia Pharmaceutical Inspection Convention (PIC), Germany National Institute of Pharmacy (NIP), Hungary The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is the UK government agency
They have sales of 8 Billion $$ and 7000 employees This is a Global Company dealing in markets that do not have the Medicare and sell the product for a fair profit.
NancyB I was thinking about paying a reasonable price for the drug and not being raped by the US Drug Mfg that have kept this product from the US market.
then keep in mind as well that there are legal ramnifications of giving a prescription drug that is gained illegally. meaning not thru USA legal FDA standards and requirements.
divvi = I agree with what you said but sometimes people have no other choices: drugs or no drugs. It is really a hard choice and I truly hope the pills are just as good. I basically see no difference than buying from Canada or Mexico except there you need a prescription. But who would want to take aricept that didn't need to? There was an article not long ago about I guy i think in CA that had AD run in his family. He started taking aricept without a diagnosis.
Moorsb, sounds like you've done your research. If they're approved by the FDA, I do not see any downside.
I find all these decisions relating to pharmaceuticals so difficult. We have always viewed pharmaceuticals as a sometimes necessary evil. WIth the emphasis on "evil." My sister dies of breast cancer after taking two replacement hormones. They came out with an immediate warning to stop prescribing the two together when they discovered the combination caused breast cancer. Too late for my sister - she died of breast cancer. My son almost lost his mind taking Zyrtec - who knew an over the counter medication could do that? Even if it's a remote possibility should they really sell that over the counter?
My husband has not yet been diagnosed (his follow-up with neurologist is in 2 weeks). But I've been giving a lot of thought to whether I would counsel him to take Aricept or not. In the end it probably won't matter because if he gets a diagnosis and the doctor recommends it, the terror of the diagnosis would never allow him to say "no" to the doctor. I just am so cautious because MOST people will never say they are SURE that Aricept helped. But once on it - everyone is told - "No. No. You can't take them off. Then they will decline drastically!" SO it seems it is an irreversible decision. I don't like that.
Then there is the anti-depressant decision. My husband and I ahve always been opposed to them just because of our basic mistrust of the pharma industry. But whether he passes his neuro-psych test or not - I KNOW there is something wrong with DH. And one of the issues that EVERYONE notices is his lousy disposition. I just can not imagine him going through the rest of his life so unhappy, For his sake and the sake of everyone around him I hope he let's me go to the follow-up and I can ask the doctor about anti-depressants. I'm fairly sure she'll recommend them regardless of diagnosis - I just hope my husband will be open to the idea.
Charlotte, i am surely not disputing cheaper meds or where to get them but the means by which you get them. most countries who sell valid drugs will require a physicians prescription to sell those drugs. mexico and canada are good points they are cheaper but both require scripts. the danger is if you give a med obtained illegally aka without a valid drs script if its an FDA requirement here, and something happens to that person under your care you could face real bigtime problems if the drug caused issues - of course each person will decide if the risks are worth it.
Mary22033 - It is hard to decide whether to go no the aricept or galantamine. Once diagnosed or suspected they are an automatic RX. My hb has not had trouble with galantamine after the initial acid problem but if they kept up we would have stopped it. He had years of GERDS before surgery to correct it and he has no desire to go back to it. But he did have side effects to namenda that he did not like. We talked about it and we both decided quality of life was better than quantity. When he was first diagnosed the neurologist put him on galantamine and prozac based on a neuropsych testing he had done a few months before. The doctor (a different one) is taking him off the prozac for two reasons: she doesn't like it for dementia patients and she wants to see if he really needs it. I think he will be fine, cause like you hb, my husband and my attitude has improved with the sun. Last week we had cloudy and raining days and we both went down, but the sun is back so I guess we both suffer Seasonal Effective Disorder. This winter if finances allow it, I plan to take us to Nevada where the sun shines a lot.
If he is a little depressed, you may want to consider natually remedies. Someone here recommended 'Serenity Formula' and it has worked good with me.