BajaNomad - Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) in BCS?

Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) in BCS?

oladulce - 6-8-2013 at 04:48 PM

Is Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) available in BCS?

tiotomasbcs - 6-8-2013 at 05:18 PM

I've just started using Atorvastina (Lipitor) here in TS from Similares. Gone generic and costs about $100 p for 20mg. 20 tablets if I remember. I cut them in half. Hope my cholesterol is lower as I have just started using. Available in CC, no doubt. Suerte, Amiga. Tio

SFandH - 6-8-2013 at 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by oladulce
Is Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) available in BCS?

You could stop eating cholesterol and not need to take the pill every day for the rest of your life. Just one of those wacky vegan ideas.

dpwahoo - 6-8-2013 at 06:56 PM

Thats no fun. :cool:

CortezBlue - 6-8-2013 at 07:01 PM

Do some research on Red Rice Yeast.

My wife swears by it

We had to put an insurance policy on her and the only bad thing she had was high cholesterol

SO before the physical, for about a month or two, she took red rice yeast and it did the trick.

Brought down her cholesterol into the normal range, all be it on the high end but it worked and got us into the lower risk factor and a lower premium.

DENNIS - 6-8-2013 at 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SFandH

You could stop eating cholesterol and not need to take the pill every day for the rest of your life. Just one of those wacky vegan ideas.

Sometimes the body makes excessive cholesterol.

SFandH - 6-8-2013 at 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by SFandH

You could stop eating cholesterol and not need to take the pill every day for the rest of your life. Just one of those wacky vegan ideas.

Sometimes the body makes excessive cholesterol.

In that case it's even more important to stop eating it. But you're correct. The liver produces cholesterol, all that's needed and sometimes too much. But I think that's rare.

[Edited on 6-9-2013 by SFandH]

Paula - 6-8-2013 at 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tiotomasbcs
I've just started using Atorvastina (Lipitor) here in TS from Similares. Gone generic and costs about $100 p for 20mg. 20 tablets if I remember. I cut them in half. Hope my cholesterol is lower as I have just started using. Available in CC, no doubt. Suerte, Amiga. Tio

Dr Edgar Cuevas, a very good cardiologist in La Paz, advised my husband not to buy essential medications from Similares because the quality control is unreliable. So for your blood pressure and cholesterol meds, and other heart meds, etc. shop at Benevides, ISSTE, or Famacia Especialidades. Pills that treat depression and other non-life threatening conditions can be bought from Similares.

I am not an expert in this matter, but if Dr. Cuevas gives this advice I think it is worth following-- better safe than sorry! I think the generic is available at these pharmacies at a fairly reasonable price. ISSTE ans Especialidades are on th ecorner of Madero and N Bravo, near La Fonda restaurant in La Paz. Benevides is downtown, but I don't know the street name.

Paula - 6-8-2013 at 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SFandH

Quote:

Originally posted by oladulce
Is Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) available in BCS?

You could stop eating cholesterol and not need to take the pill every day for the rest of your life. Just one of those wacky vegan ideas.

This is bad advice. Although bad eating habits may raise your cholesterol, the problem is basically genetic. If your liver manufactures too much cholesterol you've got a problem, no matter how healthy your diet might be. Some studies have shown that dietary intake of high cholesterol food plays only a small role in blood cholesterol levels. So we avoid eggs and shellfish, among other things, and miss out on nutritional benefits of these foods. Blood chemistry is a complicated issue, and simplistic ollowing simplistic "rules" is not always effective.
Red rice yeast is a better solution than just "don't eat cholesterol", though research hasn't proved the benefits or disproved them.

I am not a doctor, have never played one on TV, and didn't even stay in a Holiday Inn last night. But I am pretty good at using goole to find answers to my questions :saint:

willardguy - 6-8-2013 at 07:55 PM

but, but, doctor simi has balloons!

Paula - 6-8-2013 at 07:56 PM

He is very cute, isn't he?

Mulegena - 6-8-2013 at 09:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by willardguy
but, but, doctor simi has balloons!

Dr. Simi graciously held my dog's leash all the meanwhile dancing on the sidewalk whist I whisked into the good doc's pharmacy to fill a (non-life-threatening) script.

SFandH - 6-9-2013 at 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paula

Quote:

Originally posted by SFandH

Quote:

Originally posted by oladulce
Is Atorvastatin (generic Lipitor) available in BCS?

You could stop eating cholesterol and not need to take the pill every day for the rest of your life. Just one of those wacky vegan ideas.

This is bad advice. Although bad eating habits may raise your cholesterol, the problem is basically genetic.

From the National Institute of Health:

"Mean and standard deviation for TC were 208.09 +/- 49.09 mg/dl in the group of omnivores, and 141.06 +/- 30.56 mg/dl in the group of vegans (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION:

Vegetarian diet was associated to lower levels of TG, TC and LDL as compared to the diet of omnivores."

TG = triglyceride, TC = total cholesterol, LDL - low density lipoprotein.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17364116

[Edited on 6-9-2013 by SFandH]

Bill Collector - 6-9-2013 at 06:19 AM

Dr Edgar Cuevas, is also our doctor. He told us never, ever take a generic in Mexico for blood pressure, cholesterol. They are about 65% of what they should be.
I've also read Cardiologist from the USA do not recommend generics.

comitan - 6-9-2013 at 06:43 AM

One very simple fact, you get what you pay for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oladulce - 6-9-2013 at 07:41 AM

The Atorvastatin is a new thing for my husband and was prescribed a couple days ago. His cholesterol has continued to rise in spite of attempts to change his diet. So while up here in the US, we've stocked up on as many months-worth as the Rx would allow. But eventually we will run out so I was trying to plan how we'll handle it after we return to Baja.

Thank you for everyone's responses, especially the valuable pharmacy info Paula. Yes we would have gone to a Similares because they are the most prevalent. We'll look for one of the pharmacies you mentioned.

Learned something interesting about drug shopping/pricing, at least in So Cal. At Target the generic Lipitor/Atorvastatin was $2.11 per tablet (about $66 per month). At Costco it was $.29 each ($8/mo).

vandenberg - 6-9-2013 at 07:42 AM

On the other hand, I've been taking Mexican generics for years, for both blood pressure and cholesterol, and they are working perfectly fine.

DianaT - 6-9-2013 at 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by oladulce
....

Learned something interesting about drug shopping/pricing, at least in So Cal. At Target the generic Lipitor/Atorvastatin was $2.11 per tablet (about $66 per month). At Costco it was $.29 each ($8/mo).

We have insurance that covers our meds, but we often need meds for the dogs; sometimes they are human meds. We have compared prices at MANY places, and Costco by far is always the cheapest. And in the US, many Costcos are beginning to carry cannine meds---again, A LOT cheaper than sold at the vets.

Good luck with the Lipitor! I wonder if Costco in Mexico is cheaper?

Bajajorge - 6-9-2013 at 08:30 AM

I've bought generic Lipitor in San Felipe. They don't have the real stuff available. If the generic stuff doesn't work for you because of reactions, take COQ10(100-200mg) size with it. For some reason the COQ10 makes the generic Lipitor side effects go away. I found out about that when I read news item written by a Harvard Medical School professor/doctor.

oladulce - 6-9-2013 at 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DianaT

We have insurance that covers our meds, but we often need meds for the dogs; sometimes they are human meds. We have compared prices at MANY places, and Costco by far is always the cheapest. And in the US, many Costcos are beginning to carry cannine meds---again, A LOT cheaper than sold at the vets.

Good luck with the Lipitor! I wonder if Costco in Mexico is cheaper?

Our insurance does cover the atorvastatin at zero cost to us, but of course that's only a 30 day supply at a time. So now we get to deal with the issue that many of you have dealt with over the years - handling medication/medical issues when living in a foreign country. But this won't be a biggie to deal with and hopefully he'll do well with the lipitor.

Funny how the old-folks boring posts that I use to skip over are now so interesting :rolleyes:

DaliDali - 6-9-2013 at 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by oladulce

Learned something interesting about drug shopping/pricing, at least in So Cal. At Target the generic Lipitor/Atorvastatin was $2.11 per tablet (about $66 per month). At Costco it was $.29 each ($8/mo).

I would suggest for ease of your prescriptions, get your doctor to prescribe you a years supply in one fell swoop and just "out of pocket" that cost and bypass your prescription drug plan who only pays for a max of a 90 day supply.

365 tabs at .29 per is $106 bucks and with a quantity of 365 tabs, it may well be less than that.

measomsan - 6-9-2013 at 09:24 AM

Glad I saw this discussion...In the states i take crestor, down here they gave me rosuvastatina.....asked my US doctor and they do not know it. but said buy as much as you can... it is really cheep in comparsion. So safe you guys say ? Yes ?

DaliDali - 6-9-2013 at 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by measomsan
Glad I saw this discussion...In the states i take crestor, down here they gave me rosuvastatina.....asked my US doctor and they do not know it. but said buy as much as you can... it is really cheep in comparsion. So safe you guys say ? Yes ?

If you have a good relationship with your US doctor and explain to him/her that you live in MX and cannot be running back and forth to the US to get your 30 day or 90 day supply.....go the Costco route with a years (365 tabs) supply of the less expensive Lipitor equivalent.
Just out of pocket that cost and your all set for a year!!

I have been taking the generic Lipitor for years and every time I get my tests ran......the doctor always says..."good job, your levels are in the normal range"

Same with the BP med generic Lisinopril.

For years, I tried to explain to my now estranged brother-in-law, to forget the insurance coverage for the Lisinopril.
He was paying MORE for a 90 day supply than I was for a year's worth.

[Edited on 6-9-2013 by DaliDali]

DENNIS - 6-9-2013 at 11:01 AM

Quote:

http://tinyurl.com/mpxxt3h

Rosuvastatina

EnsenadaDr - 6-9-2013 at 11:22 AM

I have been reading this thread and decided you guys have been doing a great job with the discussion but I must comment on this post. Rosuvastatina is the generic name for Crestor or the generic rosuvastatin sodium in the US. If you remove the a at the end of the name of the drug it becomes the generic name in the US. I had a problem with Crestor in that I would get stomach cramps when I took it but most people do not have that problem. The problem with statins (and this is according to the latest and greatest Doctors that are teaching students for the current US medical boards) is that statins might delete Coenzyme Q and cause muscle cramps. The doctors on the US Medical boards recommend for patients that are having muscle cramps to buy CoQ10 which will alleviate this problem. Concerning Generic drugs in Mexico. I was on Lisinopril and I was getting my stock from the generic medication in Mexico. I wasn't controlling my blood pressure adequately and I just happened to run out of my medication in the states when I was there for an extended period of time. I took the medication from the US and felt sort of dizzy, so when I checked my blood pressure it was much more controlled than it had been on the medication I had been taking in Mexico, so if you aren't getting the results you want you might want to try the Brand name drugs instead of the generic.

Quote:

[Edited on 6-9-2013 by EnsenadaDr]

[Edited on 6-9-2013 by EnsenadaDr]

EnsenadaDr - 6-9-2013 at 11:27 AM

I would go and have my cholesterol checked at a lab in TS and see if the medication is working. Generally, a three month period is sufficient to retest. I would be very interested to know your numbers before and after, to see if the medication is working adequately, as I don't know the requirements for quality control of medications sold by Farmacias Similares.

Quote:

EnsenadaDr - 6-9-2013 at 11:32 AM

The only way to know is to have a vegan, vegetarian or someone who eats a low cholesterol diet check their triglycerides, HDL, LDL, and total cholesterol to see if indeed your diet is sufficient to control your cholesterol. Everyone is different and you cannot generalize. The numbers don't lie.

Quote:

Originally posted by SFandH

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by SFandH

You could stop eating cholesterol and not need to take the pill every day for the rest of your life. Just one of those wacky vegan ideas.

Sometimes the body makes excessive cholesterol.

oladulce - 6-9-2013 at 12:58 PM

I agree DaliDali, our doctor is great and BigWooo's Rx was for a 9 month supply but we cleared the shelves and bought all that this Costco branch had available. Next time we travel NOB we'll deal with medications early in the trip to give them time to re-stock so we can get get his full prescribed amount. This is all new, so we're learning.

Ensenadadr, thanks for clarifying with the specifics about the statin side effects and CQ benefit.

Everyone's input is appreciated.