Medications in the United States are SO crazy expensive. One of my asthma meds costs over $200 an inhaler, and one inhaler is only good for 60 days. Another of my asthma meds costs over 50$ for less than a one month supply.
Ten or twelve years ago, I was prescribed a medication for the MS called Low Dose Naltrexone Or LDN. Because it’s a low dose of a drug already available, it needs to be compounded. LDN was a brand new protocol, and most pharmacists were unfamiliar with it, which made it difficult for me to find someone willing do compound it. The person who prescribed the med suggested an Indian pharmacy. I checked them out, and I’ve been using them for all my medication needs ever since. That $200 dollar inhaler I mentioned above costs me about 14$, the $50+ a month breathing machine med costs me about $10. I’ve made one or two medication orders every year since I discovered All Day Chemist, and never had a problem.
Well.. until Covid-19, that is. Back in March, I tried to put in my normal 6 month medication order. After four tries, conversations with their on-line chat support, several phone calls, and some heated discussions with my bank the order still would not go through. Nobody could seem to figure out what the problem was. Bank said it was the company, company said it was the bank. I finally gave up and moved my order to a different on-line pharmacy. The second pharmacy has a PayPal link for US customers to use, and my order was paid, processed and ready to go out in the mail the very next day. I was super impressed, and more than a little relieved.
…Or was it?
Unknown to me, this was the day before air travel restrictions were put into place between India and the US. My medication order STILL sits in a warehouse somewhere in India, packaged, postage-paid and ready to ship. Except their offices are closed. My husband spoke to the rep who is in charge of my account. He said their entire operation is completely locked down. They have not even been allowed in the building since the day after I made my order. Not their fault. And, I am still happy with their prices and service.
To get me through, I went to a local doctor for a prescription of my needed medications. She was nice enough, but didn’t give me what I needed. I walked away with a prescription for two months of inhaled steroids, one inhaler, and less than one month of breathing machine meds. No refills. Honestly, if I were to have an actual asthma attack, I’d have to go to the emergency room to be admitted because, for the first time in over 10 years, I don’t have enough medication on hand to handle it. Luckily I’ve been fine, but the last place I want to end up in the middle of Covid-19 is an ER.
Today it was time to think about the next prescription. I absolutely can NOT run out of my inhaled steroid. I don’t want to need it. With all my certifications in herbal medicine, naturopathy, and the like, you’d think I’d find something that controls my asthma. Nope. I need inhaled steroids even WITH herbs, supplement, aromatherapy, and occasional homeopathy.
The first thing I did was check on that order I made two months ago. They had a flashing warning at the top of their page saying they were not shipping anything until at least May 20. Since that’st today, my husband called them. I’ve already told you how that went.
The idea of shopping for another doctor during the on-going pandemic just does not appeal to me. In my opinion, doctor’s offices are not safe places to be. That’s where sick people go. Maybe I’m simplifying things a little, but my general thought is to stay away from doctor offices right now as much as possible.
So I checked in with All Day Chemist again. I was hoping they had fixed whatever the problem was with my previous order. Unlike the other pharmacy, ADC did not have any kind of warning that they can’t ship anything. Their company Covid-19 warning said to please allow 40 days for delivery, as opposed to their typical 15. Since they are located in India, just like the other pharmacy, and since I have no working understanding of geography, politics, and how these things would be determined there, I used their on-line chat to ask if they were *really* shipping to the United States.
Turns out, they are.
Also turns out they fixed whatever glitch in the system was sucking my previous payment attempts into the Internet black hole. I was able to make my order with every few problems. My bank has verified that the order went through just fine. All Day Chemist was out of stock of two of the medications I needed, but they had alternatives, so I have a work-around. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier.
No, this really isn’t meant to be an advertisement for All Day Chemist. They are certainly not paying me write this. (They do have a referral program, but I don’t use it.)
I’m really just hoping that hearing my experience with ADC during this difficult time for all of us, might help someone. I personally know people who are struggling to pay for needed medications because they are just so expensive here. Some have insurance, some don’t. I also know people who have been denied their regular prescriptions for chronic health problems because of Covid-19 related shortages. If you’ve having either of those problems, maybe now you have an alternative.
