Repeat Medication Costs

[charlottel0u]

Hi all,

My 5 year old piggie is on Metacam permanently now, and he has this daily to manage pain and some other issues.

We’ve just been getting our usual monthly bottle from their vets, but this costs £36 each time and is getting tough for us to cover.

We’ve just requested a prescription so we can order cheaper online (double the size is half the price online), but the vets charged us £25 for it and will only issue a single-use prescription for the smaller bottle only.

Has anyone else experienced this, and is there I way I could order online with a prescription like that? Or any other solutions? Otherwise, we’re back to £36 a month cheapest when online it’d work out around £10!

We’ll pay what we have to of course, as Fuzz needs his meds, but it’d be great if we could get this cheaper going forward.

*We don’t have the pigs insured so this won’t cover. This was due to a condition that no company would insure, and he’s now too old for us to secure this.

Thanks!

 

[Lady Kelly]

I would suggest speaking to your vet about prescribing the larger bottle if they have determined that it is needed for long term use. If not, I would ask their reasons for this. Generally, if there is only a small price difference it doesn't make buying online worthwhile but your vet could save you money by issuing the larger bottle. My experience has been that vets are happy to from the second bottle once they know that the metacam is effective and needed longer term.

 

[furryfriends (TEAS)]

We get a prescription that can be used three times. The prescription charge is now £32, but it does allow us to get 3 x 32ml bottles of Loxicom/Metacam. When I asked for the 100ml bottle to be prescribed, it was a single use prescription.

 

[Eriathwen]

I agree with Lady Kelly, it's also worth discussing cost with your vet and establishing a good relationship with them as they might be kind enough to reduce the price.
I currently get through a 180ml bottle every 3 weeks or so between my oldies with arthritis, several with interstitial cystitis and one with osteodystrophy. I currently only pay £46 and some change per bottle, which I am incredibly grateful for as I'm sure I'm actually supposed to be paying double that..

I am sure your vet would be willing to help if they can, as they would prefer to see them medicated if they need it, than go without. Definitely have a chat with them next time you're in, worst they can say is no! Unfortunately prices have gone up even for vets from their stockists but it's worth a try.

 

[piggieminder]

My vets are happy to prescribe the 100ml bottle (£72) but I do have 2 guinea pigs on it. I have to take them for a check up every 6 months though to be able to have this as a repeat prescription. By the time I'd paid for the prescription and postage charge buying on line didn't work out more than a couple of pounds cheaper for us so I stick to the convenience of picking it up from the vets.

 

[Betsy]

When I had a couple of piggies on long term Metacam, my vet was happy to prescribe a prescription for 180ml bottle to be used twice. It was so much cheaper for me to buy it online.

 

[charlottel0u]

Thank you all for your advice! We’re going to speak to the vets and establish the best way forward.

We also drive around 30/40 mins to our vets as they are the closest piggy savvy and 24/7 (which we’ve needed before), so it’s a lot to do every 3 weeks or so. Will see if we can get either a bigger amount prescription or larger bottle, etc.

Thanks again all!