Cheapest Warfarin

[yotphix]

I know we've been here before, but I wanted to revisit since prices change. The last time I picked up warfarin it was at a grocery store pharmacy (Pavilions, a Southern California chain) for just $15 per 100 but I just checked and their price is up to $30 per 100. Prior to that, I had been buying them from a Vancouver online pharmacy for about $28 per 100, but with shipping that would be a little more. Interestingly, the pharmacist I was talking to last night suggested that the Warfarin for sale in Mexico is perfectly safe, and the he would probably use that if he didn't have a drug plan. Since I'm going to be there in a couple of weeks I think I might just experiment with that.

What is anyone else paying these days, and where are the best deals?

Paul

 

[dick0236]

The bigger chains(Walmart, Krogers, CVA, Riteaid, etc) have been selling 90 day supplies of warfarin for $10 accross the counter(no drug plan needed) in Kentucky, USA. However, based on your post, maybe that will change in 2012. I hope not, but with exploding drug costs....who knows. At least it is a lot better than when Dupont had patent rights back in the 1970s....I had to pay over $100/month($3+ per pill) for Coumadin.....OUCH:eek2::mad2:.

 

[Bev]

In October I paid about $23 for 200 tablets (2.5mg.) I'll need some more in a couple of weeks, so we'll see how much they've gone up in price.

 

[wcasey5]

$4 per month, 30 tabs. even if I get 60 tabs, it's the same price.

 

[yotphix]

Wow! You guys are finding all the deals. I forgot to check with Walmart here. I have checked CVS and Right Aid, and 100 pill bottles were in the 30-50 range, as I recall, so no where close to affordable.

Bev, where are you buying it so cheaply in Hamilton? When I buy it in Toronto, the dispensing fee alone is $10 per bottle. (I use two different doses, a 1mg and a 10 mg every day.) With the fee, I usually pay about $35-45 per 100 tabs. Good trick though, getting the doc to prescribe in 200 quantity so there is only one dispensing fee for twice as much medication.

 

[yotphix]

Thanks especially for the Walmart tip, Dick. I just called and they are $10 and change per hundred here, with dispensing included. That's my new favourite place. Now to find a cheap doctor, since they won't accept my Canadian prescription in the US.

 

[catwoman]

I get mine at Walmart, get RXs for 10mg and 1mg, and split them. My dosage varies from 5 to sometimes 6mg and this works well for me. My PCP suggested I do this to stretch my money. I may spend $30-$40 or so a year on warfarin. Never had a problem with doing this.

 

[Bev]

Paul I'm buying them at the pharmacy in my local grocery store. The dispensing fee is $8. My doctor just prescribed 200 tablets, I didn't request it. I'm new at this, so I had no idea I was getting the warfarin at a good price. Glad you will be able to get them at Walmart at a more reasonable price.
What about your INR? Are you self-testing or visiting a lab in CA?

 

[yotphix]

Bev that is a phenomenal deal! You're paying 15 for 200. That's just $0.075 per pill. Even with dispensing, it's only $0.115.
I'm self testing with a coaguchek xl. I've been using it now for two plus years. I also dose myself so when I do visit the doc I am just telling him what I need a prescription for. I could send myself for a lab draw here though, if I wanted to. I found a website where you can order and pay for just about any lab test online, then go to one of several nearby labs to have the work done. Apparently they have doctors who will interpret the results for you if required too. I think a PT test is about 15 dollars or so.
Paul

 

[Bev]

Hey Paul, You gotta give me the name of that website for the lab work. If I ever get to Florida, that might come in handy if they have labs there in their network.

 

[bradvo]

Thanks folks, I've learned something here. I'm paying 9 bucks for 30 at local Walgrens.
Very informative info.

 

[Protimenow]

I get mine at Ralphs (Kroger) Pharmacy - $10 for 90. The Walmart price sounds even better. My latest dose is 6 mg/day - so I take a 4 and split another in half. Perhaps I'll try Walmart in the future, if their prices really are that good here (last time I checked, they did the $10 for 90 days, too).

In the past, I was getting my warfarin from India - about 4 or 5 cents a pill -- it's the stuff that much of the rest of the world uses and has always been as effective (and not more or less) than the generics (probably the same pills) you can get here in the U.S. I'm not sure if I can give the name of the pharmacy in India but you can probably send me a private message if you need to know.

One issue with my Indian source is that, besides the fact that I pay not much more for generics at my local market, the Indian pharmacy charges $25 to ship the medications, regardless of the quantity. Unless I buy a lot of other generics, this doesn't make a lot of financial sense.

It's great to be able to get warfarin very inexpensively - 10 or 15 cents a day. It would be nice if the meters somehow drop in price, so more people can self-test.

 

[yotphix]

Hey Paul, You gotta give me the name of that website for the lab work. If I ever get to Florida, that might come in handy if they have labs there in their network.

I don't remember which one I was looking at before but I just googled "order blood tests online" and got dozens. This one looks to be nation wide and wants $27 for PT (INR). It's not exactly free, but not too bad for a once in a while thing.
https://www.directlabs.com/OrderTests/tabid/55/language/en-US/Default.aspx

 

[yotphix]

ProtimeNow: Yes, it would be nice if the meters, and the strips, would drop in price. It seems inevitable that they will, with self-testing slowly gaining traction as it is shown to be both less expensive to the system and more effective. I'm watching for the first one to release a smartphone based testing system. There is no technological reason not to do it, so the only barriers will be economic. I'd bet that it will start as a bulky plug in which uses the strips we already have, but with an app which can be configured to send the results into a dosing clinic, or even to automatically dose based on results and history. There are already smart phone apps in development which use the highly sensitive capacitance detection screens for diagnostic purposes, and another which communicates wirelessly with a glucometer to track BloodSugar trends and suggest insulin dosage. Ours won't be far behind, I'm sure. There are a lot of us out there!

 

[Protimenow]

Yotphix:

I have my doubts about ever being able to get a meter that doesn't require a drop of blood -- the blood has to be given some time to coagulate in order to run the test.

I don't see smart phones doing the actual testing -- there may not be a large enough market for this.

HOWEVER - today's meters (and most assuredly tomorrow's meters) have data ports. I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't USB or WiFi adapters that can link the meters to the smartphones, and would be surprised if there aren't applications (soon) that can record the INR from the meter, and, if you're reporting the value to a clinic or doctor, that will be able to text or call it in.

There may even be applications that can help manage and track dosing and INRs. It may even be able to ask about non-standard changes to your activity during the test period (illness, travel, antibiotics, more activity, etc.). These factors may help to decide any dosing changes.

I wouldn't even be surprised if some smart pill dispenser may not eventually come in to play.

(I feel like I've just given away a few million dollar patent ideas...)

The technology we have today - and the technology that we'll undoubtedly have tomorrow - should make INR testing, reporting, and management more easy and efficient.

I just hope that it will be AFFORDABLE to EVERYONE who needs the testing and management.

 

[wcasey5]

I just got a data cable for my InRatio2 + the software to record the data. It is crappy software but can be transferred to excel real easy. Writing an application to e-mail it to the doctor should be a piece of cake. If the dosage is known, then this could be the automatic feedback needed to recommend changes.

 

[Protimenow]

You wouldn't happen to have a pin diagram for that cable, would you?

 

[drivetopless]

I just got 90 pills (5mg) for $5 copay at Walgreens--my insurance is pretty good.

 

[wcasey5]

You wouldn't happen to have a pin diagram for that cable, would you?

Check your in box. Better than a diagram. It uses a funky round connector anyway.

 

[yotphix]

"Yotphix:

I have my doubts about ever being able to get a meter that doesn't require a drop of blood -- the blood has to be given some time to coagulate in order to run the test."

Aha! You assume that the only way to know the time to clot is to observe it! There is no particular reason to think that clotting factors can't be measured by refraction or some other such technology. We are just now on the cusp of a revolution in diagnostics and there is no telling what the future holds. As to their not being a market for smart phone processors standing in as the brain of a testing device, why not? What makes the new phones so useful for such a wide range of purposes is the relatively low development cost to bring new apps to market. Don't expect Roche to develop it, but look to some clever med students, hoping for their 'facebook' or 'paypal'. (Or really, their 'Angry Birds'.)

That's all the forecasting I'm willing to put out there today