Hey, there's a "new" drug out for morning sickness! It's called "Diclegis" and it costs about $570 per 100 tablets. Each tablet is a combination of 10mg pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) and 10 mg doxylamine.
The cost of these two medications, if purchased over-the-counter separately -- a few DOLLARS. (Doxylamine is "Unisom", in a 25mg tablet --- hint: break it in half!)
The DrugMonkey has covered this kind of stuff thoroughly in his newest book, "The Pharmacy Rip Off List", but wow, this one took my breath away. Maybe because even the Pharmacists Letter felt that it deserved a mention (although they did put the quotation marks around the word "new.")
We waste so much money and resources on this kind of silliness. I can't believe we're still seeing it.
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What company decided that they needed to spend the money to get this crap patented and approved by the FDA? A better question though is going to be what insurance company is even going to remotely cover this? I can just see the arguments with some of my customers over them "needing" to have this regardless that they can get the same thing in two tablets over the counter. Of course some will also expect the state medicaid to immediately cover this while my store takes a hosing in remimbursment from the state. We will also end up with a bottle with 80 tablets or some crap left in them to expire if the patients come in with those discount cards and decide they don't want any more once the card has been used up and the insurance gives a big "HELL NO!" to the prior auth request.
Oh for the love of doG, that is disgusting.
Big Pharma can suck it.
Just like that prescription for 800mg of Motrin-nah, I'll just take 4 of the OTC pills that I can buy in the 99 cent store. /vent
Years ago (30+) it was available as a brand name of Bendectin by Merrill ( I think) but was taken off the market as "unsafe" for pregnant women..
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go figure that it is now "safe" once again...
Sounds a lot like the Makena fiasco. Been making this, plus ginger, for years.
Off-topic question: What's your take on benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome? Would you be surprised if you were told someone experienced blackouts, seizures, vertigo, increased urination, increased sensitivity to sound and light, and many more symptoms about 2-3 days after going to 0mg Lorazepam/Ativan? Even after decreasing the dose slower than her psychiatrist prescribed? And would you be surprised that these symptoms (and more) lasted four months?
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