Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a 17 year old Chihuahua who as been on heart medications for the past five years. She has congestive heart disease. The medications have done pretty well for her, as attested by the fact that she is still with me. She has blood work done quarterly, and her doctor adjusts her meds from time to time to try to balance the risk of damage to her kidneys against the slow and steady advancement of her heart disease.
Her monthly medication costs have escalated steadily over the years, to the point that I'm looking for alternative sources. I fear she doesn't have too many months more to live, but for whatever time she has remaining, I would like to find a less expensive supply.
She takes Pimobendan (Vetmedin), Furosimide, and Enalapril. My monthly cost for the Pimobendan has risen from about $45 five years ago, to $68. The Enalapril has gone from $16 per month, to $43. The Furosimide hasn't changed hardly at all over the years, and so I don't worry about it.
I've bought meds from the vet and from Walmart. Walmart was less expensive than buying from the vet in the beginning, but now they're nearly half-again as expensive, so I've temporarily gone back to buying the meds from the vet.
Are there any less expensive alternatives, such as reputable mail-order meds suppliers for dogs that I could check out?
If anyone has some suggestions for how to deal with my girl's escalating medication costs, I'd greatly appreciate it.
My Mastiff is one all 3 of those, plus several more for his heart issue.
I get his Pimo from a mail order compounding Pharmacy, Wedgewood out of NJ, I get 300 pills and with shipping it runs just under 190.00, he does take 4 per day, I also think his dosage is a little higher than average, want to say he gets 20mg
His Furosemide (80mg) and Enalapril (20mg) both come from Costco and he gets a 90 day supply of both, the Furosemide runs 14.42 and the Enalapril runs 88.00, so if you have a Costco near you might want to check them out...they do also offer Pimo, but not in the dosage he needs.
Thank you. The Costco is right next to the vet. I'll talk to them.
I think the dosage amount is tied to body weight, mainly. I am so glad that Delilah is a little 10 pound Chihuahua, actually a bit overweight, and not a Mastiff! She takes 2.5 mg per day of Pimobendan, 3.125 mg per day of Furosemide, and 5 mg per day of Enalapril.
Katie, when the vet adjusts, it's always after doing blood work, and I get a new set of prescriptions at that time. The vet will call in a prescription to any pharmacy I want to use. My vet's price on furosemide is better than any place else I can find, so I buy it from them. (No one makes a small enough dose for my Chihuahua. It would be a lot more expensive to have a compounding pharmacy do it.) Right now, the vet is lower than Walmart on the other two meds, but I feel it is worth looking around for a better price, if I can find it.
You are lucky you have a vet that writes prescriptions. Mine didn't - so it was buy from him or go without.
Sometimes you can buy off-shore meds without a prescription. In times past I have done this and it was cheaper and made by the big names too.
Can anyone tell me about instructions on giving this med ( VETMEDIN). I know it’s in 2 doses but if I put it in a pill pocket she will take it but she won’t. Chew it by itself!!!!.....SO, is she getting all the benefit when I give it to her with a pill pocket?.....Also, what about taking it on an empty stomach?If anyone can help with this I would greatly appreciate it!
I use Pet Value Mart. It’s not a lot cheaper if any at all BUT they let me buy her heart worm medicine one dose at a time instead of the 6 months supply everybody else was offering.
Can anyone tell me about instructions on giving this med ( VETMEDIN). I know it’s in 2 doses but if I put it in a pill pocket she will take it but she won’t. Chew it by itself!!!!.....SO, is she getting all the benefit when I give it to her with a pill pocket?.....Also, what about taking it on an empty stomach?If anyone can help with this I would greatly appreciate it!
Absolutely she is getting the full dose if she eats the filled pill pocket. The pill itself does not need chewing since the stomach juices will dissolve it.
Vets will often match the price of legit online pharmacies if you ask them about it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
