Question About Atopica

[Angie]

My vet said I had to get Atopica and could not get a script for Walgreens to fill with cyclosporine. It is much more expensive to go that route. What is the difference?

[Patrice]

Hi Angie,
There are good generics for Atopica and they are available widely. I suspect that the clinic you are using prefers that clients get their medications there and don’t want to give you a prescription so you can buy it somewhere else. Why do they do this? Because they probably feel, as a business, that the overhead of treating your dog is covered in part through the money they generate from prescription meds. They may also claim that they don’t want owners buying fake medications online that could be harmful.

My clinic has a general policy to that effect. However, because I use my clinic frequently for both dogs, they tend to bend that policy with me occasionally without complaint. For instance I use a heartworm product that they don’t carry. They didn’t have this policy when Chance was so ill and Atopica at that time was brand only but they charged me pretty much what the going price was online. But I think, overall, if I had asked for help in trying to keep my costs down (which were extensive), they would have responded to my needs by letting me go online for some items that would be significantly cheaper.

So this comes down to your relationship with your vet. My tactic would be to thank my vet for all the help she has provided to help my dog get better. Then I would ask if they could help me get my overall costs down by prescribing generics. If they don’t carry the generic cyclosporine, might I have a prescription, please, so I can fill it at one of the pharmacies? Then I would show the price that I can get it for to them and give them a chance to offer it to me for that price.

Any compassionate vet is going to respond to an owner who expresses their need this way. If you have been paying right along, it’s not a good time for them to squeeze you for $15. If they are smart, they will understand that.

If you cannot come to an agreement with your vet do you think there are other vets in your area that are not so rigid about this?
my best
patrice

[Angie]

Thank you Patrice. My vet did write scripts for me to get my meds elsewhere and it is nearly 200 dollars in savings a month from what they were charging. My bills are enormous and I had to stop the drain on my bank account. Shopping around my savings on other meds of human equivalency is going to be a big savings too! I wish I had done this from the beginning. I really hate that my Vet did not suggest this. I explained my concerns about finances from the beginning. I have been a loyal customer for 15 years and have invested heavily in their practice so I am disappointed. But, very happy I have been able to find savings at Walgreens, Sams and Valley Vet Supply.
Angie

[Vally]

Well done Angie. Sorry a bit slow on the scene, I’ve been away and am doing a catch up now.

Vally & Bingo