Budesonide $14 per PILL??

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wombat88

wombat88

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My vet looked into getting Entocort EC in the 3 mg. form today and was quoted $14 per pill as his cost. He had his wife, who is an independent pharmacist, attempt to source it. The generic is cheaper of course, but from what I've read we need the beaded form.

If anyone out there uses it (a search shows many do), where on earth do you buy it? And how much does it cost? Are there any alternative producers of the beaded type, such as Indian pharmaceuticals? I remember reading on an email list somewhere that some bought it from Canada, but don't know where or how. If someone can get me the name of manufacturers or potential suppliers that would be very helpful. We originally had similar issues with ondansetron and anzemet at first but were eventually able to find lower cost sources, but Entocort is way outside of my budget at that price.

I've got to get Shaikha transitioned onto this, because her BG is way too high on prednisolone. We restarted it on Friday at 2.5 mg. BID, and today dropped to half that. Before her infection last week, her normal BG pre-food was usually no higher than 250. Now it is nearly 400 each time, so naturally we've had to increase her insulin to compensate. I was hoping it would be better tonight since she didn't get pred this AM, but it was still 384 before her PM meal so it's still much higher than I like to see. She just doesn't seem to be able to manage prednisolone like she did before she got this infection.

Any information you can provide on where to buy reasonably-priced budesonide would be greatly appreciated. I don't mind splitting the beaded form myself if I can get it cheaply, but not at $14 for a three-day supply. :shock:

Wendy
 
Call the local pharmacies and ask them pricing and availability.

I looked online and Walgreen's has it - so the other chains must have it as well. Walmart or Costco might be cheapest - but, call and see what they say. Then, when you find what you want, get your vet to write the rx.

Good luck!
 
I do plan to call Walgreens, CVS,and Walmart today to see if they have it cheaper. Walmart you'd think is usually cheaper, but I've found on some drugs they are much more expensive. I can get anzemet for substantially cheaper through Walgreens, and even ondansetron is much more expensive at Walmart than the generics my vet's wife can get. Really bizarre how pricing works on some of these things, though I suppose they discount some drugs and jack up the price on others. No Costco around here, unfortunately.

I did see that Thriving Pets had a compounded form. Does anyone know if it is as effective as the beaded type? I'm assuming the compounded form is a liquid, which I'd guess would no longer have the enteric coating on the beads. If that were the case I'd probably just buy generic in the powdered form as I can't see the benefit. Does anyone buy from them and does it work as well?

Wendy
 
The description on the Thriving Pets pages says "(sustained release)" which means tit is beaded and the description says capsules and gives a number, it is not a liquid. Compounding means that the originan; form/quality is changed, not that it is made into a liquid.
 
Okay, I've looked at their listing and it makes sense. What I'm wondering about though is how they come up with a beaded form that is compounded. I wonder if they split the capsules themselves? From looking at several online offshore pharmacies (or Canadian), most seem to sell either a generic or an Astra Zeneca brand. There was a much more detailed description of the Astra Zeneca type at one site and it also says "sustained release" granules that are "gastro-resistant" and micronized, so I'm assuming that means beaded type. I've found some Canadian pharmacies that sell the same brand cheaper, but don't know them and they have very little information on their site that doesn't really describe the capsules they sell. I'm considering either ordering from an offshore pharmacy that I trust (I've ordered other medications from them for years) or just getting the compounded version from Thriving Pets. It costs about 10 cents more per capsule, but it might be worth it to avoid having to split the capsules. As it is I invest a ton of time splitting up a variety of pills into slivers for each of my sick kitties every week and then gelcapping them. I've got it down to a science now, but it is a time sink nonetheless.

Still much better than $14 per pill! Still intend to call Walgreens, etc. today to see what their prices are like.

Thanks for the information!

Wendy
 
Just in case this helps others in the future, Walgreens isn't cheap -- $436 per bottle of 30 with their prescription club, and $479 without, so that's over $14 per pill. Walmart is a little better -- $1400 for a bottle of 100, which is the smallest size they sell it in. Looks like they have the same supplier that my vet found, as he also said they only found it in a bottle of 100 for $1400.

I'm probably going to order from Thriving Pets as I can get a smaller size to try and see if it controls her symptoms. If it works, then I'll either keep ordering from them or may try ordering from an offshore pharmacy I trust.

Wendy
 
We used a compounded liquid from a vet pharmacy. Tasted good apparently, and it was very effective. (Though I did not try any other form, so I can't say if it was as effective as other forms). It ran us about $35/month I think.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
The description on the Thriving Pets pages says "(sustained release)" which means tit is beaded and the description says capsules and gives a number, it is not a liquid. Compounding means that the originan; form/quality is changed, not that it is made into a liquid.
Click to expand...

Larry, have you used the capsules from them? Someone on the IBD list said that many compounding pharmacies use the generic to make their compounded formula. I am trying to figure out how you could take a beaded type and somehow make it lower dose unless you are splitting up the beads themselves. I plan to call and talk to them tomorrow to ensure it truly is beaded. I don't want to spend all that money only to find it can't make it to the right location. Will let you all know what I find out from Ian.

She's having more issues since I cut her pred dose in half (really unformed poops again plus just seems more uncomfortable), but I hate to increase the dose because it will make her BG even worse. She is better at least (no fever), but definitely isn't feeling as well as she did a few days ago. Jumpier too, so I may need to consider adding in some buprenorphine to see if that helps. In the past when she got more skittish it has meant she was having pain.

Wendy
 
The budesonide that I use is beaded with very small beads, The packaging says it is made in India. It seems to work well for my Mitten. When my cats were on 1 mg dose I just took one 3 mg capsule and filled up three #3 gelcaps equally. I drilled holes in a block of hardwood to keep the caps upright. When I changed to 1.5 mg I just fill two capsules equally. When I switched my Bailey from budesonide to prednesolone his feces became more formed and, actually he had more consistent BG after the initial adjustment period.
 
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