# How Can I Find The Cost of a Drug/Medicine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 30, 2013, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863 "2013-07-30T00:33:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863/21 "2013-08-02T00:06:37Z")
720 ml. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863/22 "2013-08-02T01:05:31Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Injectable vancomycin, which can be reconstituted and taken orally, is dirt-cheap. The capsules are frightfully expensive, and IDK why anyone would dispense them unless they lived in an area with no hospital. Yes, retail pharmacies purchase things from the local hospital all the time, and vice versa. Well being that my mom got c-diff from the place she was getting rehab from - she is in no hurry to get back there. It didn’t work anyway ☹ hopefully something else will. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863/23 "2013-08-02T01:11:58Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] If you’re checking prices, check Walgreens too. Most people don’t know that Walgreens will compound. [/QUOTE] Only some locations - you can search them [here.](http://www.walgreens.com/storelocator/find.jsp?mc=true) ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863/24 "2013-08-02T01:20:56Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Injectable vancomycin, which can be reconstituted and taken orally, is dirt-cheap. The capsules are frightfully expensive, and IDK why anyone would dispense them unless they lived in an area with no hospital. Yes, retail pharmacies purchase things from the local hospital all the time, and vice versa. Thank you for the tip though - if she has to take it again - I will see if we can do the reconstitution thing. My cursory search suggests this shouldn’t be too difficult - if I can get the doc/pharmacy to give us the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863/25 "2013-08-02T02:29:13Z")
This site used to have US pharmacies, now it is pretty much all canadian. I guess the US pharmacies pulled out for whatever reason. > **[Drug Price Comparisons & Online Pharmacy Safety | PharmacyChecker.com](https://www.pharmacychecker.com/)** > > Compare prescription drug prices and coupons. Save up to 90% on prescription medications by shopping at online pharmacies accredited for safety credentials to protect your health. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863/26 "2013-08-02T02:30:40Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > If you’re checking prices, check Walgreens too. Most people don’t know that Walgreens will compound. Unless it’s a 24-hour store, expect to wait several days, if you can get it at all. This compounding thing is just another gimmick, and the stores are horrifically understaffed. An independent pharmacy is your best bet. Actually, dermatologists and veterinarians know where to send people who need complex compounding. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863/27 "2013-08-02T02:35:21Z")
> [@DataX](#): > > Well being that my mom got c-diff from the place she was getting rehab from - she is in no hurry to get back there. It didn’t work anyway ☹ hopefully something else will. There is a probiotic product called [Florastor](http://www.amazon.com/Biocodex-50CAPQB-Florastor-count-250mg/dp/B000NB1OMO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375410744&sr=8-1&keywords=florastor)that may help her, it is a probiotic made of S. boulardii. [http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/31/4/1012.long](http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/31/4/1012.long) > [@](#): > > Recurrent Clostridium difficile disease (CDD) is a difficult clinical problem because antibiotic therapy often does not prevent further recurrences. In a previous study, the biotherapeutic agent Saccharomyces boulardii was used in combination with standard antibiotics and was found to be effective in reducing subsequent recurrences of CDD. In an effort to further refine a standard regimen, we tested patients receiving a regimen of a standard antibiotic for 10 days and then added either S. boulardii (1 g/day for 28 days) or placebo. A significant decrease in recurrences was observed only in patients treated with high-dose vancomycin (2 g/day) and S. boulardii (16.7%), compared with those who received high-dose vancomycin and placebo (50%; P = .05). No serious adverse reactions were observed in these patients. Comparison of data from this trial with data from previous studies indicates that recurrent CDD may respond to a short course of high-dose vancomycin or to longer courses of low-dose vancomycin when either is combined with S. boulardii. > **[Saccharomyces boulardii protease inhibits Clostridium difficile toxin A...](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC174512/)** > > Saccharomyces boulardii, a nonpathogenic yeast, is effective in treating some patients with Clostridium difficile diarrhea and colitis. We have previously reported that S. boulardii inhibits rat ileal secretion in response to C. difficile toxin A ... > [@](#): > > Thus, S. boulardii protease inhibits the intestinal effects of C. difficile toxin A by proteolysis of the toxin and inhibition of toxin A binding to its BB receptor. Our results may be relevant to the mechanism by which S. boulardii exerts its protective effects in C. difficile infection in humans. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863/28 "2013-08-02T16:52:38Z")
So, any ideas what this stuff would be on a cost basis? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863/29 "2013-08-02T16:55:09Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Unless it’s a 24-hour store, expect to wait several days, if you can get it at all. This compounding thing is just another gimmick, and the stores are horrifically understaffed. > > An independent pharmacy is your best bet. Actually, dermatologists and veterinarians know where to send people who need complex compounding. I’ve only had compounding done once, at a Walgreens, took a few hours and wasn’t a big deal at all. A gimmick? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863/30 "2013-08-02T17:42:07Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Auralgan, a local anesthetic ear drop my brother and SIL loved when their kids were babies, was dirt cheap at the time but has since been reformulated, and since it can’t be sold generically, the company can now charge whatever it wants. Isn’t this yet another racket? The patent on a perfectly effective medication expires, so the producers ‘reformulate’ it as NEW IMPROVED and jack up the price. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-can-i-find-the-cost-of-a-drug-medicine/664863.md?page=1)