posted
I am taking mepron for babesia. It is my 5th round.
I just started a new bottle of mepron, and notice that the liquid is thinner than normal and taste "watery." Usually my medication comes in a sealed bottle from the manufacturer, but this time it came in a large orange bottle from the pharmacy.
This is the second time this has happened. The first time I did nothing about it. But I don't want to take watered down medication.
Does anybody know how would I find out whether the medication has been watered down? Who would do a testing on the concentration of active ingredients?
[ 08. December 2007, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: Walnut ]
Posts: 187 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
When it happened to me, I took it back to the pharmacy and told them that it was thinner than normal, that I wanted them to call the manufacturer for an explanation. I did not accuse them of thinning it down ...
They tried to question me on it ... I told them I wasn't ASKING if it was thinner, I was TELLING them it was! I insisted that they call the manufacturer.
Well, the pharmacist disappeared with my Mepron, then came back to "show" me it was the same as the factory bottles.
Apparently when he disappeared, he switched it back because this time when he showed it to me it was the thick stuff.
I switched pharmacies after that.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
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posted
I would also call the manufacturer and report this before you go to the pharmacy. You may also want to call the Department of Public Health so they can investigate the pharmacy.
If there is a problem, you don't want it happening to anybody else. How horrific!
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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cactus
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posted
I had the same problem and took it back to the pharmacy as well. This only happened when they gave me the large orange bottle, not the factory sealed bottle. It definitely happened at the pharmacy.
When you take it back the pharmacy, take six's experience into account (I did) and don't let them walk away with your bottle. This is serious.
Pharmacies can tamper with meds for profit, of course, but I choose (hope) to think that my particular pharmacy did not shake the bottle well enough when pouring from the factory bottle to the orange bottle. I came to that conclusion while watching them handle my complaint. Whatever the reason, it is not acceptable.
From now on, accept only factory sealed bottles. If, as in my case, your insurance only pays for one month at a time, and the pharmacy tries to give you one factory sealed bottle and one "partial" orange bottle - then tell them you want the other part of your scrip filled in the little one dose "packets" (like a ketchup packet). There is a slight difference in cost, but maybe since you've had this problem, the pharmacy should cover it??
I also reported this to GlaxoSmithKline, in the hope that if enough of us report it, they may begin offering factory sealed bottles that would be large enough to cover one month of babs treatment.
For what it's worth, I took 6 months of watery mepron, and YES, I relapsed!!! So beware and be careful!!!
Good luck, and please get this fixed!
-------------------- �Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?� - A.A. Milne Posts: 1987 | From No. VA | Registered: May 2005
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adamm
Unregistered
posted
I've heard a lot about this happening. At which
pharmacies is this a problem usually?
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posted
My wife's Mepron came in the red (or orange) bottle mixed at the pharmacy (CVS). I would say it is not watery at all.
If I pour it into a measuring spoon it "stands up" above the level of the spoon's edge.
She seemed to herx on just a half dose of the stuff.
But do most people get the manufacturer's bottle? Is it the exception to get the red bottle?
Posts: 655 | From USA | Registered: Sep 2007
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The manufacturer's bottle contains 21 days of medication. So for a 30 day supply, the pharmacy will either give you:
1)a manuf bottle PLUS a small orange pharmacy bottle with 9 days of medication;
or 2) one large orange pharmacy bottle with 30 days worth of medicaiton.
Your description of your wife's mepron is exactly what you want it to look like.
Posts: 187 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
Update: I took my mepron bottle, along with my husband, to the pharmacy.
The pharmacists did a little experiment in which he poured mepron from my bottle and mepron from a manufacturer's bottle into two measurement cups. My mepron flowed like whole milk, while the mepron from the manuf. bottle came out in thick blobs.
The pharmacist looked very troubled when he had to admit that the consistency was not the same -- it was not even close. The color was also different. The mepron I had received looked like what you would expect a 21 day bottle mixed with 9 days of water to look like.
The pharmacist immediately offered to exchange my bottle with mepron directly from the manufacturers bottle. Given his reaction, I don't believe that he himself had diluted my mepron, and hopefully he will follow up on the case.
On monday, I will contact the glaxosmithkline, the manufacturer of mepron and report it. In the future I will specifically ask for a manufacturer bottle plus single dosage samples.
It is really scary that other people have also had similar problems with their mepron.
Posts: 187 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Dec 2004
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TerryK
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 8552
posted
Costco will not fill the prescription with anything other than a manufacturer sealed bottle. They apparently have to order it special since they very rarely fill prescriptions for it.
They did not want to split the bottles because they didn't want to be stuck with a partial bottle.
I have mine filled every 3 weeks. A little more trouble but worth the peace of mind after what I read here from others before I started treatment.
Terry
Posts: 6286 | From Oregon | Registered: Jan 2006
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djf2005
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posted
get the factory sealed bottle.
mine are white, and say gsk on them.
they are very thick, like paint, theres no telling it was not watered down.
and for 900 bucks, its no wonder pharmacies are doing this nationwide. its sad. pure greed.
maybe try to stick to a big chain, one that stands to lose a lot by something like this being exposed?
cvs? rite aid, etc...
good luck,
humbly
derek
-------------------- "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."
CaliforniaLyme
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posted
GOOD FOR YOU WALNUT!*)!*)!*! Good job!
-------------------- There is no wealth but life. -John Ruskin
All truth goes through 3 stages: first it is ridiculed: then it is violently opposed: finally it is accepted as self evident. - Schopenhauer Posts: 5639 | From Aptos CA USA | Registered: Apr 2005
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-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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AliG
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posted
My LLMD used to write the Rx for 21 days with refills, so they always dispensed the MFG bottle. Maybe ask the LLMD to write it that way to avoid Pharm problems? That would equal 5 Rxs for 4 mos?
-------------------- Note: I'm NOT a medical professional. The information I share is from my own personal research and experience. Please do not construe anything I share as medical advice, which should only be obtained from a licensed medical practitioner. Posts: 4881 | From Middlesex County, NJ | Registered: Jul 2006
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merrygirl
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posted
I would suspect (although I have no real idea)
That the smaller the Pharmacy the more likely they are to "tamper" with meds to make a profit.
I hope I don't offend-
But why would a Pharmacist or tech at CVS want to mess with your Mepron?
Go to your local mom and pop type place and they must have more of a investment in stuff like that.
Just a thought, I like alig's 21 day RX- That sounds the best to me.
Melissa
Posts: 3905 | From USA | Registered: May 2007
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Aniek
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posted
Melissa,
A pharmacist at a chain has less invested in the employer and may be more likely to steel to sell on the illegal market.
I use a small pharmacy, it's a local chain of 3 stores. The pharmacist knows me now, and I know he keeps his eyes out for interactions because he has told me.
When I used to use a large chain, they would sometimes count the pills wrong. So it's also an issue of competency. Can't help but wonder if a pharmacist only had 21 days and so they made it fit for 30 by adding water.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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lymednva
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posted
My insurance pays for a 34 day rx. If I only get 21 days I still pay the same co-pay, but more often. I
I finally got my LLMD to write my Mepron rx for a month at a shot, and last time he accidentally sent it to my mail-in pharmacy, so I now have a three month supply!
They fill it with the GSK bottles and then one small bottle with the remainder I need. It's all the same consistency.
Locally I use a local grocery chain that has pharmacies. I've been going to this chain for the past 30 years.
I've always had good luck with their pharmacies and their pharmacists are very caring and will go above and beyond if necessary.
My mail-in company is mega size, so there should be no reason for them to tamper. No sign of it so far.
Walnut, that's pretty scary the way you describe it. I would try to find a regulatory agency to whom you can complain also.
-------------------- Lymednva Posts: 2407 | From over the river and through the woods | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
Just because everyone is curious ... mine was a small, local pharmacy, not a chain. I thought I was doing them a favor by supporting them over the big guys moving into town .... but they ended up losing me as a customer. It's a shame because I live three doors down from there ....
I now go to a very large grocery chain's pharmacy. They would just give me three bottles to fill the month ... I guess a partial bottle wasn't worth the trouble to them ... though occasionally they would give me two full and one partial bottle. It's harder for them to cheat you on that small bottle because you will notice compared to the others.
But I think it can happen at a large or small pharmacy.
-------------------- sixgoofykids.blogspot.com Posts: 13449 | From Ohio | Registered: Feb 2007
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tdtid
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posted
I definitely appreciate this heads up. I haven't run across this problem yet, but knowing it's out there will atleast not have me with such brain fog that I just assume it's my imagination.
But no, so far, still getting the factory sealed bottles and it comes out thick. Thanks for the eye opener and hopefully this practice will come to an end if more people are aware of it.
So very sad.
Cathy
-------------------- "To Dream The Impossible Dream" Man of La Mancha Posts: 2638 | From New Hampshire | Registered: Oct 2006
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posted
Pharmacies DO NOT order prescription drugs and devices from the manufacturer. They order and receive most prescriptions from drug wholesalers.
There are three drug wholesalers who distribute around 70%-75% of the prescription dispenses in this country.
Because Mepron is so costly, chances are that it came from a drug wholesaler, likely one of the big three. The high price also makes it a prime target for tampering. These same issues were posted about last year.
1. Ask your pharmacist who their drug wholesaler is.
3. This should also be reported to the FDA. Keep the bottle or have the pharmacist keep it so that the FDA can test it.
4. The Mepron label states that Mepron should never be frozen, so you may need to take extra precautions in the winter months.
5. It might be good to post the state and/or the drug wholesaler. This way people in the same state can take precautions, and it may help get this situation squared away once and for all.
nannie
Posts: 183 | From US | Registered: Feb 2004
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It was a large national-chain pharmacy I got my diluted mepron from.
When I first called the pharmacy about this, the pharmacist told me that they get sealed manufacturing bottles from the wholesaler and that the pharmacey measure out the prescription amount themselves in the store.
After agreeing to exchange my medication, the pharmacist mumbled something about different lot numbers leading to different consistency, but he did not explain any further after I pointed out that none of the at least 10 bottles of mepron I have got over the years had been liquid like this one.
After hearing other people's experiences, I am convinced that the only way to guarentee the correct concentration of active ingredients is the get the medication in the manufacturing bottle supplemented by individual packaged dosages; or refilling the prescription every 3 weeks, instead of every 30 days.
Posts: 187 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Dec 2004
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That is good advice. When I called the pharmaceutical company, Glaxosmithkline, they told me the same thing. The person I talked to said that they would contact the pharmacy and have the pharmacy send them the mepron in question.
Also I learned that the flavor of mepron is "citrus flavor." Who would ever have known? Posts: 187 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Dec 2004
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posted
Oh, citrus! Now that you mention it .... nope, didn't taste like citrus at all!!!
Someone suggested that maybe the Mepron had settled .... well, in my case, I don't think so, they always had to order it in for me ... plus, the one time my was thinned out was the one time they didn't give me any factory bottles.
I think what happens is that the pharmacies that water it down stretch out the two bottles to make the full 30 days.
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