Buying Loxicom online vs at the vet

[PippaXY123]

Hi so my guinea pig is on long term Loxicom and my vet charges £24 for a 10ml bottle and she uses about 2 bottles a month yet when I look online it’s only £6. Is it possible to just buy it online? Obviously would be a whole lot cheaper for me

 

[Swissgreys]

You will need a prescription from your vet, however most places offer this service, although there is usually a fee involved.

 

[piggieminder]

A lot of members here do buy it on line. The prescription from my vet costs £20 so by the time I added that and the cost of postage buying on line wasn't worth the extra hassle. I now get 100ml bottles from the vet that work out a lot cheaper than the 32ml ones. My guinea pigs (2) that are on regular Metacam have to have 2 - 3 monthly health checks anyway so we can pick the meds up then.

 

[Wiebke]

Hi so my guinea pig is on long term Loxicom and my vet charges £24 for a 10ml bottle and she uses about 2 bottles a month yet when I look online it’s only £6. Is it possible to just buy it online? Obviously would be a whole lot cheaper for me

Hi

Medications in the UK are classed in several categories; POMs (prescription-only medication), freely available medication and thirdly food supplements, like glucosamine for arthritis or urinary tract problems which you will have mentioned on here fairly regularly.

Loxicom (UK brand variant of metacam/meloxicam) is classed as a prescription-only medication, which means that you will need your vet's prescription (against a fee) to order it online in the UK and then also add in the postage, so it is very much a weighing up of cost.
Ordering online makes sense with larger bottles or very expensive medication as well as chronic issues; for most one-off medication, especially run of the mill medication it won't make much of a difference. You have to also be aware that unless you buy from open places likes ebay or amazon the quality of your order is not necessarily guaranteed.
Cat loxicom is unfortunately only available in 10 ml bottles but perhaps your vet would be prepared to prescribe 30 ml of dog metacam, would last you a lot longer and would work out for an online purchase?

PS: Regulations are much looser in the USA where many POMs are freely available. The difference in handling the medications issue between Europe and the USA can however be very confusing for new owners who are not aware of it; especially since vet access is much more limited and difficult in the USA. As a UK-based forum we have to follow the rules in the country we are based in.

 

[eileen]

i get larger bottles of loxicom from uk online vets, that have stringent procedures,and are bound by the same laws as vets pharmacies.There is a charge for the prescription from your vets,mine is £20,you need to find the costs differences yourself.For emergency medicine its best to get from your vet.also uk law says vets cannot deny you a written presciption.

 

[Sue and Smartie]

I buy meds for my ponies online, with a prescription from the vet. The vet will only be allowed to prescribe six months' worth at a time, so you might find it's cost effective if you're buying six months' worth at the time. Ours charge £23 per prescription.
Gosh I just worked it out, you could save loads if you did this! At vet prices you will be paying £288 every six months. If you bought online it would be £72 plus the prescription cost & postage. Don't feel embarrassed about asking your vet for this. Loads of people do it now, and in fact it was the vets who suggested I did this.
I use 365vet and have found them to be very helpful and efficient. You should not have an issues with short use by dates or medication quality if you use a reputable supplier. There are lots of them.