# Tetracycline cost-WTF? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 7, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051 "2020-09-07T18:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/1 "2020-09-07T18:38:16Z")
I had an upper endoscopy in August and was diagnosed with H. pylori (bacteria that can survive in stomach acid) gastritis. Most common therapy can include 1 or 2 of 4 antibiotic classes, an acid reducing medication, and bismuth (think Pepto Bismol) Well, one antibiotic class has severe interactions with one of my heart medications, and another class has severe interactions with one of my antidepressants. That leaves me with 2 antibiotic options. So I get prescribed Metronidazole and Tetracycline. With my insurance, the Metronidazole is $3.00. The pharmacy called me and said the Tetracycline prescription would be $500.00 for a 2 week supply. FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS for a generic antibiotic that has been on the market for 63 years. I’m wondering WTF ?!?!?! I do a search and find [peoplespharmacy.com](http://peoplespharmacy.com). “We cannot say for sure that tetracycline has been caught up in the price fixing scandal.” Well, I CAN SAY FOR SURE THAT IT HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN A PRICE FIXING SCANDAL. This goes far beyond what I think is a “reasonable profit”. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/2 "2020-09-07T18:46:18Z")
It’s been like that for at least four years. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/3 "2020-09-07T18:47:06Z")
That’s awful. Have you checked prices on GoodRx? I recently had a script filled that was cheaper with it than with my current insurance. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/4 "2020-09-07T18:48:18Z")
This gives you some idea of what Tetracycline _should_ cost without price fixing. [https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/t7660](https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigma/t7660) This is obviously not rated for human consumption, it’s for laboratory cell culture. But the purity and freedom from toxic contaminants required for cell culture is stringent, so the cost of production here would be similar to what would be required for human consumption. The cost via that link is about $5 per gram. From a quick Google, I think the highest dose is 500mg per day? So the cost for a 2-week course at 500mg per day should be something like $35. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/5 "2020-09-07T22:45:05Z")
Ask your doc to change it to minocycline or doxycycline. They’re cheap. I haven’t prescribed TCN in ages and ages as a result. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/6 "2020-09-07T23:35:02Z")
What is wrong with this country that this can happen? Shameful. My insulin cost has doubled in a years time. And I’m looking at another increase soon. Ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2020, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/7 "2020-09-07T23:41:12Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > What is wrong with this country that this can happen? Sick people are a goldmine. Just think how much money could be made if, say, you let a pandemic run wild. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/8 "2020-09-08T02:28:38Z")
How is this possible? Didn’t our dear leader promise to do something to bring prescription drug prices down? What a racket. It’s disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/9 "2020-09-08T03:35:14Z")
I was curious about the price in Canada, where prescription drug prices are regulated. For comparison purposes only, I found [this site](https://www.canadianpharmacyworld.com/generic/Tetracycline+Capsules/250+mg) where tetracycline is $27.99 for 100 250-mg capsules, or 28 cents each. I cannot attest to the quality of this particular product or vendor, but that’s probably in the ballpark of prices at regular pharmacies. I do know that the blood thinner Brilinta, which is still under patent and only available by brand name, is (IIRC) somewhere around one-tenth the price in Canada compared to the US. I don’t remember the exact price differential but it was something like that. I remember looking into it because it was quite expensive even here, and was astounded at the difference. Also, check this out: > **[Why desperate Americans are driving to Canada in caravans for insulin | CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/americans-diabetes-cross-canada-border-insulin-1.5125988)** > > As the cost of insulin continues to skyrocket in the U.S., people are making the trek north as an alternative to paying thousands of dollars to stay alive. And it could have consequences for the insulin supply in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/10 "2020-09-08T08:04:10Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > Have you checked prices on GoodRx? In my area the default suggestion by GoodRx is for 56 capsules (500mg each) is about $94 at Costco or local grocery store pharmacies. Still FAR too expensive for such an old generic drug, but far short of $500. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/11 "2020-09-08T12:35:48Z")
Do treat your H. pylori, though. Don’t let it go. I had this infection as a kid, before people knew about it, and got diagnosed with stress-related gastritis, and was treated in all the wrong ways while the infection did a lot of damage. I had to take a pair of antibiotics, one long term for a serious bladder infection several years later, which probably is what finally knocked out the H. pylori, but I went through years of gastric symptoms, and ultimately needed gastric surgery due to tissue changes, and it is also probably the reason I have symptoms of IBS even though I don’t have a full set of blood markers for it. The surgery left me with a tendency toward reflux, heartburn, and random acts of puking. No fun whatsoever. The years I had what they thought was “stress gastritis” were full of pain. I’m sorry you are being jerked around by the insurance companies, but don’t decide not to treat this. ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/12 "2020-09-08T23:00:02Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I was curious about the price in Canada, where prescription drug prices are regulated. For comparison purposes only, I found [this site](https://www.canadianpharmacyworld.com/generic/Tetracycline+Capsules/250+mg) where tetracycline is $27.99 for 100 250-mg capsules, or 28 cents each. I cannot attest to the quality of this particular product or vendor, but that’s probably in the ballpark of prices at regular pharmacies. I found a comparison chart showing what it costs the NHS in the UK: £1.88 for a 5 day course. Socialised medicine, huh? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/13 "2020-09-09T01:31:20Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Socialised medicine, huh? It’s not even that. While in the UK the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) seeks to regulate prices on behalf of the NHS, in Canada prescription drug costs are not (yet) socialized, except for the poor and those over 65. But they are _regulated_ on behalf of everyone by the [Patented Medicine Prices Review Board](https://www.canada.ca/en/patented-medicine-prices-review.html). In short, the UK has the PPRS to regulate drug prices, Canada has the PMPRB, the US has [Martin Shkreli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Shkreli) and a corporate-toadying Congress. There is no effective oversight of prescription drug profiteering. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/14 "2020-09-09T02:07:21Z")
Here’s a good reference for [what it _should_ cost](https://www.payless-petproducts.com/Fish_Cycline.html). This is not rated for human consumption,but it is the exact same product, with a potentially less careful logistics chain. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/15 "2020-09-09T02:19:50Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Ask your doc to change it to minocycline or doxycycline. They’re cheap. I haven’t prescribed TCN in ages and ages as a result. If those drugs will do the job, it strikes me as something bordering on malpractice\* for the doctor to prescribe the massively overpriced one. Do you have any sense of what his/her reasoning might be? \*Yes, I know that wouldn’t actually be malpractice. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/16 "2020-09-09T02:24:17Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > the UK has the PPRS to regulate drug prices, Canada has the PMPRB, the US has [Martin Shkreli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Shkreli) and a corporate-toadying Congress. Why do you socialists hate our freedom? ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/17 "2020-09-09T08:34:28Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > the US has [Martin Shkreli](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Shkreli) and **a corporate-toadying Congress**. There is no effective oversight of prescription drug profiteering. I presume that’s why Obamacare didn’t include a measure to regulate drug prices, despite the fact it would so obviously benefit both insured and uninsured Americans. Has one ever even been proposed? ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/18 "2020-09-09T11:25:45Z")
Huh we were always able to get the veterinary grade stuff (in bulk powder) for peanuts. But we haven’t needed any recently. I see there was a capsule recall back in April, which may be messing with supply. > [@pudytat72](#): > > H. pylori (bacteria that can survive in stomach acid I’ll nitpick here – it thrives and reproduces. Plenty of bacteria survive, else it would be hard to get an intestinal infection. Which is why the notion of ceviche being “cooked” by acid and thus made safe is incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2020, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/19 "2020-09-09T12:12:45Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > If those drugs will do the job, it strikes me as something bordering on malpractice\* for the doctor to prescribe the massively overpriced one. Do you have any sense of what his/her reasoning might be? > > \*Yes, I know that wouldn’t actually be malpractice. Ignorance of the price. TCN used to be cheap as dirt. If his particular organization’s formulary hasn’t been adjusted for cost constraints to automatically suggest a substitute, then the doc may be blissfully unaware, or assume your insurance covers it save for a minimal co-pay. These days so many old drugs are horrendously pricey for those without insurance, but may run $5/script for those who have good health coverage. Yeah, what a system, huh? ---
**Author:** ![pudytat72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@pudytat72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pudytat72)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051/20 "2020-09-11T21:48:12Z")
Here’s the update: I sent a message to my Veteran’s Administration primary doctor to see if I could get the prescription through the VA. He said: “Get a written prescription from your doctor and bring it to me and I will prescribe it for you through the VA system and will have it mailed to you.” So, I called the gastroenterologist office, he wrote the prescription, I drove to his office and picked it up and then drove to the VA clinic and dropped it off. The Tetracycline prescription was filled yesterday and, amazingly (thank you US Postal Service), I got the prescription today. Discussing medication prices with the gastroenterology receptionist, she mentioned a $2,100 cost for another patient’s antibiotic where the patient said: "Hmm, my house payment or my antibiotic?’’ The Republicans hate the Affordable Care Act, and want to repeal it. I say: "What’s your alternative? You have had 10!! (Ten!!) fucking years to come up with a “better system”. (sound of crickets) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tetracycline-cost-wtf/920051.md?page=2)