Finding a Safe Online Pharmacy for Parkinson's Disease Medicine - part I

What if you can't find the PD medications you need for your treatment at a local pharmacy?

For those of us who were born in a time when information on almost everything was not readily available in our homes, it is amazing to be alive when vast stores of knowledge are finger taps away even when we are in our cars or hiking in the park.  When our children were growing, we kept a dictionary in almost every room.  A phone interruption at dinner time was not acceptable but stopping to look up the meaning of a word was encouraged.

When I was a child, there was an encyclopedia set to put one on the right track or just to read, page by page for the fun of learning about anything.  What do you want to know about Anacondas?

Now there is a huge overload of information.  We love that. But not all of it is factual.  Some is poorly edited or not accurate; some is sound- byte brief and some is just designed to separate us from our money. 

Because UCB has not been able to provide positive news about the Neupro patch availablability in the USA as they wait on the FDA, I thought I would continue the search of online pharmacies to see what I could find out there.  I found several online pharmacies which list the patch. I noticed was that the patch is very expensive. Because we had no knowledge of the prior US cost of the patch I decided to compare other medications for which I knew the price. They were expensive...not that expensive but at least 25% higher in price.  Of course there is also the question of the cold storage delivery.  And that is a BIG question.

We began to receive questions about the availability of other medications.   These questions were from markets with which we were not familiar. I just did a check on an L-type CCB, DynaCirc CR, availability and communicated with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) as part of that search.  Turns out that despite the fact that they make the product and have offices in Australia, you can't find DynaCirc in there. You can, however, buy it from an online pharmacy in New Zealand, not to mention Israel, Canada and a few other places where I could not verify the online pharmacy.

I also found an online site which will check for some comparative prices and provide information about the pharmacies.  Therefore I did a domain search online because it is important to know the company trail - how long have they been operating their site - are they here today but gone when you are entitled to a refund or didn't receive the product they didn't really mail to you after charging your card. 

Since this company has been in business since 2002 with a 2008 update, we're passing that backlink along to you with a warning.  Although there are several ways to check for information things at the Pharmacy Checker website be advised, they do not list every bona fide online pharmacy, only their clients, and it is possible that they have some questionable clients on-board or at least did at one time.

This problem means that before you use any online company check the domain and also look for scam warnings. Due Diligence on your part.

Not all scam warnings are valid.  Some are just from customers who didn't read the shipping charges or the estimated wait time for arrival. Other complaints are very serious.  These complaints includethe company shipping the wrong item and labeling it incorrectly; taking  money for the brand and getting a generic which while similar might not be the same. And even worse, counterfeit pills.  Other scams include charging your card while not actually shipping the itemor submitting charges without authorization.

Companies can charge for shipping on a regular basis when you did not authorize such a program. Another danger is that you might receive out of date medication.

If your credit card is charged for any fradulent reason, report it to your card company immediately as this will enable to limit your obligation and in some cases your card company can bill back to recover your funds. If you reach this point, you can help others by reporting the scam and company to lots of online scam reporting sites and to any governing authority.

You need a prescription for prescription medication 
No prescription required is a red flag!

Another cautionary when ordering from a Canadian pharmacy is to look for the seals of accreditation. Some are real and some are fake. Note the seal and check with the issuer.  You can use either of the following links at the Canadian International Pharmacy Association (CIPA) to verify accreditation of the pharmacy you are considering. If you want to verify membership: contact CIPA.  They have a similar link under consumer safety. They will also list known sites which display a fake CIPA seal. There are other seals as well. Individual provinces will also require accreditation. As a matter of fact there is also a seal for the

Pharmacy Checker website.

Things to watch for: 

• Phone and fax numbers. Give them a call on their 800 number ostensibly to verify their mailing address or shipping & handling fees, whatever. But try calling at an off business hour.  Did you get a voice mail?  Anything?  Nothing tells you to move on. Don't leave a phone number or an email address.
• Does the site list an address - although this could be a mailbox company which would provide both street number and suite number they should be a legitimate pharmacy with a regular address.  I'm not so sure about companies which have drop shipping.
• Is their domain check questionable datewise?
• The AARP reported Double Drug Sting - just noticed this one - interesting 
• Do you have online access to the company pharmacist? 
• Do they ask for the prescription - if they don't - let your fingers walk away
• Is the price too low to be believed - don't believe and don't buy!
• Have you done your due diligence?  Are you dealing with a legitimate company? 

We wish that Parkinson's medications were available to all patients everwhere at affordable prices for everyone.  But the sad fact is then this isn't the case.  So we click our fingers on the keyboard and our options are displayed on the screen before us.