Two of my 5 are now on meds for life as well - one for thyroid. I never thought about doing that - good idea. I will check into it on her next refill. She's on soloxine (sp?)

The other one is on phenabarb for seizures. She has to have 3/4 of a pill so I do lots of pill splitting. Make sure you buy a splitter if you don't already have one. WAY easier than trying to cut them with a knife, which I foolishly did for too long! lol

Thanks for the suggestion SG

Where did you get the pill cutter? My old gal's phenobarb has been reduced because she has lost weight. She has to take a 1 1/2 dose a.m. and p.m. I am cutting them with a paring knife. DH suggested a pill cutter, but I thought he was kidding.

Thanks!

You should be able to get a pill cutter at your local drug store or perhaps the grocery store in the pharmacy dept.

I use a very sharp knife.

SG

Yes, I got mine at my grocery store's pharmacy area. I think it was less than $4... and worth every penny! lol

Some of the $ stores also carry pill splitters. Either way they are not that expensive anyway.

It pays to shop around, even with vets.

We have a female dog on Proin for spay incontenence. It is by prescription only, and we found one vet charges double the price of another. We like and use our primary vet, and we get that single medication from the other office.

Don't be shy about asking vets for a prescription to be filled elsewhere, or asking various vets to supply the maintenance medications.

I'm so glad you put this post on here SG...I have to tell everybody what I learned and found out. I started getting a catolog in the mail called "Doctor Foster's and Smith" (I think thats what it is called lol), anyways it has all kinds of stuff in it from Frontline to Pj's for dogs!! They have medicine, toys, food, treats everything including prescription medicine. Well I never looked into getting a prescription filled anywhere then my vet but I got online to check it out. What I found was a MUCH cheeper price for medicine!! We are talking like more then half cheeper!!!! Anyways, I went to my vet (who I love, just they are sooo expensive) and asked her if I could have a script of StarLites medicine (she takes 2, one for her weak bladder and one for pain and antinflamitory for her hip displacia, sorry sp) which is Rimidiyl & Phinipropalimene (sorry sp again. She said yeah she would do it, but she asked me why and I told her. She said Elycia, We will match that price for you! I couldn't believe it!! It is worth the shot to just ask your vet if they will match competitor prices. My vet will even match the Frontline price which we all know how spendy that stuff is!! So instead of paying 85.00, 55.00 for her meds and about 50.00 for Frontline, I pay $48.00, 19.00 for her meds and 35.00 for Frontline. Its a good deal. If you can't get your vet to match the price just go to their website. Hope this helps everybody!!

Thanks, Elycia

A friend of mine did the same thing - his vet matched the price on heartworm meds from 1800petmeds.

Last time I checked Drs Foster & Smith their price for my dog's thyroid meds were the same as my vet. I haven't checked out the phenabarb - will have to do that.

We also tried her on liquid phenabarb and for that had to go to the pharmacy. Unfortunately it tastes horrible so we had to go back to pills. Its just a pain to have to get 3/4 of a pill - the pills are very small so having a splitter really works best for me.

Wow, really?? That's crazy that they were the same price!! Well I guess different medicine is different! lol

Thanks, Elycia

Gosh, you think you got it bad, I have to cut my cat's pills into 1/8ths! They're so small, I feel very fumble-fingered. I use the pill cutter to cut them into halfs, and then into quarters, and then use my husband's nose-hair clippers to cut those quarters into half again. Works great. Doesn't thrill him, though ;)

I also am very tempted to order meds form Foster and Smith or another company that offers lower rates.

For some reason, I don't like the process. Because you must have your vet send information to the company, this I think this could be a sensitive thing for the vet.

I started thinking about it. The vet generates revenue from the meds. Forget for the moment that they cost you lots of money. This is the way they do business.

I talked first to a vet tech who I know really well and asked if my vet would be offended if I did this. She said no. Then I talked to the vet and got a different impression. In the end, I'm getting double the strength pills that I can cut in half through the vet.

Because I'm on my 8th vet in 15 years, and I really love the way she operates her practice, I don't want to do anything that is going to upset things.

On the other hand, meds cost lots of money. I just think one need's to be mindful of all involved when it comes to this type of thing.

SG

The Drs. Foster & Smith Pharmacy convenience and pricing are great. I only use it for meds that I will be giving for a long time (or forever). When I get a new prescription, I ask the vet for 10 days/2 weeks' worth to carry me through, then have them fax the prescription in to the Pharmacy Web site. I always bring in a couple of printed copies of the fax form from the F&S Web site, and pre-fill in all of my own info to make it easier for them. Then I just order or refill myself within a day or two via the Web or over the phone. The small amount of meds that I buy from the vet allows me to start treatment immediately, and I don't have to pay extra for expedited shipping.

My previous vet refused to help me out in this process, but he retired and the new people are OK with it. I've made it clear that it helps me save money, and have brought in printouts of the pricing for presecriptions that we have discussed, so they can match the price if they feel like doing so. (And they can't have ANY complaints about the amount of $$$ I leave in their pockets throughout the year for normal exams, emergencies, and so forth :o)

One point they raised, and I respect it completely, is that they will not fax in any prescription that they feel has any potential for abuse by humans (pain pills, for example.) That's fine with me. Also, the vet whose name is on the practice (and on the prescription forms) is opposed to the online pharmacies and will not use them for any prescription, but she is willing to let other vets in the practice scratch out her name and ID# and write in their own. Be sure to ask if this is an option if one of the vets in a pracice refuses.

And ALWAYS ask for generics!

Susan

Point well made about generics. I will!

SG

You might also try www.absolutelypets.com . I saved $40 for a years supply of Sentinel. My dog's Vet didn't have a problem with writting me a prescription. I have a different Vet for my cat and she wouldn't have any part of giving me one so I ordered the Revolution from www.vetshoponline.com . That's an Australian shop and they didn't require a prescription. The Revolution appeared to be exactly what I had been getting and it came real quickly. Can't remember exactly how much I saved but it was enough to bother with. Both places I ordered enough so I got free shipping.

Speaking of saving $, you might want to checkout Drs. Foster and Smith for their sale on BioSpot for dogs. BioSpot is a less expensive alternative to Frontline. You get a free 3-pack when you purchase a 6-pack. Plus, shipping is only $3.99. Their site also has an article that explains the differences between all the flea and tick meds.

Here is a link that might be useful: Drs Foster and Smith Pet Supplies

KV Vet Supply, a very reputable company, is usually cheaper on prescription meds than Foster & Smith. www.kvvet.com

I believe in some states it's illegal for a vet to force you to by medication from them. If a vet refused, I'd find another vet. To give an example, I was paying $85 for a very specialized drug from a dermatologist. I couldn't find it elsewhere until I asked my general vet to call around - she found it for $15.

Regarding splitting pills - isn't it dependent on the particular medication? I thought some ingredients aren't necessarily equally distributed within a pill.

I am going to keep buying meds from the vet.. heard something that put 2+2 together for me. The dollar amount that we donated to the vet for their trust fund for strays was just a drop in the bucket for what they donate in time and service for their care for stray animals that are brought in. They never asked for a donation but had a modest letter posted to the side of their desk. Upon asking about it they were telling us how expensive it was to care for and relocate animals to new homes. So when the cat and pup had their neuters we donated to the program. I know that I will keep donating to them after the total bill for both cat and dog was just under 3 hundred dollars and they kept them overnight. Its nice to be able to believe in your vet and know they are not gouging you... btw, we had our maltese spayed at a local vet who's total bill came out to just over 700 dollars 8 yrs ago. Yes that included blood work but no kisses *wink wink* Yes this is canadian dollars but still... ouch.
Anyways... I found out that their profit is going to more then just their family... so I will spread the cheer to them..
Lorie