Re: Testim availability and cost

[Guest guest]

Here is a way to buy your prescription at prices the HMOs pay.

www.SavRx.com is a mail order company that sells Testim for $149.21

and Androgel for $160.58. To access this pricing you have to join a

discount club. The best prices plan I found was through

http://www.abenefits.net/c4_order.htm at a cost of $49.95 a year for

the prescription plan.

> Thank you to all of you who have written to me thus far,

especially

> the messages I received directly. I look forward to more

information.

> However, I have difficulty in finding Testim -- probably because

it

> is relatively new on the market and not distributed everywhere

yet.

> If those of you who are using Testim can tell me where to buy it,

it

> will be a great help. Thanks. Also, I noticed some guys mention

great

> price differences, ranging between $183 to over $200. Because I do

> not have health insurance and have to pay for medication out of

> pocekt, I would obviously prefer to be at the lower end of the

scale.

> One personal comment to the guy who wrote that his excellent

> insurance allows him to buy a three month supply for only $9.

Friend,

> you have no idea how fortunate you are, and I urge you to never

take

> it for granted. You are the envy of those of us who have to take

care

> of our families and pay everything out of pocket.

[Guest guest]

since you pay cash, ask your MD for sample doses (only Testim) and

coupons (both gels)--they have them here in MA and they'll save you a

bundle.

also, make sure your MD avoids the 7.5g RX with A-gel; the 2.5g and

5g doses cost exactly the same for a box of 30 (at least at CVS and

Walgreens in MA). They're both combined to make a 7.5g RX, so for a

7.5g RX of A-gel, you'll pay the same price as a 10g RX (might as

well have him write 10g/day).

wonder what the average monthly dose of A-gel is across the

nation... I'm assuming it's 7.5g or else Testim wouldn't be

advertizing their " 5g Testim($149) = 7.5g A-gel($326) " message so

heavily.

there's lotsa money being spent when people have their doses raised

up to 7.5g for a-gel. that drives up insurance costs for all of us.

> Thank you to all of you who have written to me thus far, especially

> the messages I received directly. I look forward to more

information.

> However, I have difficulty in finding Testim -- probably because it

> is relatively new on the market and not distributed everywhere yet.

> If those of you who are using Testim can tell me where to buy it,

it

> will be a great help. Thanks. Also, I noticed some guys mention

great

> price differences, ranging between $183 to over $200. Because I do

> not have health insurance and have to pay for medication out of

> pocekt, I would obviously prefer to be at the lower end of the

scale.

> One personal comment to the guy who wrote that his excellent

> insurance allows him to buy a three month supply for only $9.

Friend,

> you have no idea how fortunate you are, and I urge you to never

take

> it for granted. You are the envy of those of us who have to take

care

> of our families and pay everything out of pocket.

[Guest guest]

> since you pay cash, ask your MD for sample doses (only Testim) and

> coupons (both gels)--they have them here in MA and they'll save you a

> bundle.

Coupons are 1-time use.

Manufacturer says testim is priced under a-gel but wal-green wants $40

more for the same amount (which my insurance doesn't cover...)

> also, make sure your MD avoids the 7.5g RX with A-gel; the 2.5g and

> 5g doses cost exactly the same for a box of 30 (at least at CVS and

> Walgreens in MA). They're both combined to make a 7.5g RX, so for a

> 7.5g RX of A-gel, you'll pay the same price as a 10g RX (might as

> well have him write 10g/day).

Really. Though there are reasons to be conservative and prescribe the

minimum dose to achieve an effect.

> wonder what the average monthly dose of A-gel is across the

> nation... I'm assuming it's 7.5g or else Testim wouldn't be

> advertizing their " 5g Testim($149) = 7.5g A-gel($326) " message so

> heavily.

Testim's claim to fame is that it is better absorbed. They use a

permeating agent called pentadecalactone.

PDL has a strong musky scent that is commonly used in inexpensive

cologne. I felt as if I had poured a whole bottle of aftershave on

myself. It's so strong my sense of smell was overwhelmed, couldn't

smell anything else but that and it made me nauseous. My wife and

boss noticed it too. Two days was all I could take. I am sending the

rest back for refund.

> there's lotsa money being spent when people have their doses raised

> up to 7.5g for a-gel. that drives up insurance costs for all of us.

What drives up insurance costs is pharm companies selling drugs for

obscene prices in the US. If you can buy your drugs in Canada you

will find they cost 80% less for the same drugs made by the same

companies with same quality controls and the same gov't standards and

oversight. Canadian drugs are identical to drugs sold in the US.

dd

[Guest guest]

Yeah, the scent can be a factor; " Jovan Musk " if I remember

correctly! I don't mind it--in fact, it's apparantly pretty subtle

on me (no comments from people). PDL has a property in that it has

a slightly different scent and strength on different people. I wash

my hands after every application too so I don't touch my face and

get it near my nose and smell it all day...

I suppose that you could wash the application site a couple hours

after administration (Testim takes only 2 hrs to absorb).

For me, the better absorption is worth it: I figure I get the same

T-levels for using less drug (which also costs less/dose) over my

lifetime.

I've heard of individuals going to different pharmacies with the

coupons in consecutive months without issue.

I had a Walgreens pharmacist insist that Testim costs more, so I

thanked her and left and went to the Walgreens location in the next

town where I bought it for 10% less than A-gel. It's wierd--they

use the same integrated computer system, so why the confusion?

I hear that this retailer hassle happens with every new drug--

Pharmacists are people too: sometimes lazy, sometimes error-prone,

sometimes motivated to get rid of what's on their shelf, sometimes

too busy to care about saving me $40... I'll order via mail from

now on!

Naturally, the " more is better " argument doesn't apply to taking

medications.

Sorry, my point was not clear: if you're already paying the 10g

price, why not just buy the 10g and only take 7.5g? The next month,

you could buy only a 5g dose and use the remainder of your previous

month's RX. I suppose that A-gel's foil pouch is not resealable

like the Testim tube, so stability of the gel over 24hrs after

opening it is suspect...

> > since you pay cash, ask your MD for sample doses (only Testim)

and

> > coupons (both gels)--they have them here in MA and they'll save

you a

> > bundle.

>

> Coupons are 1-time use.

>

> Manufacturer says testim is priced under a-gel but wal-green wants

$40

> more for the same amount (which my insurance doesn't cover...)

>

> > also, make sure your MD avoids the 7.5g RX with A-gel; the 2.5g

and

> > 5g doses cost exactly the same for a box of 30 (at least at CVS

and

> > Walgreens in MA). They're both combined to make a 7.5g RX, so

for a

> > 7.5g RX of A-gel, you'll pay the same price as a 10g RX (might

as

> > well have him write 10g/day).

>

> Really. Though there are reasons to be conservative and prescribe

the

> minimum dose to achieve an effect.

>

> > wonder what the average monthly dose of A-gel is across the

> > nation... I'm assuming it's 7.5g or else Testim wouldn't be

> > advertizing their " 5g Testim($149) = 7.5g A-gel($326) " message

so

> > heavily.

>

> Testim's claim to fame is that it is better absorbed. They use a

> permeating agent called pentadecalactone.

>

> PDL has a strong musky scent that is commonly used in inexpensive

> cologne. I felt as if I had poured a whole bottle of aftershave on

> myself. It's so strong my sense of smell was overwhelmed, couldn't

> smell anything else but that and it made me nauseous. My wife and

> boss noticed it too. Two days was all I could take. I am sending

the

> rest back for refund.

>

> > there's lotsa money being spent when people have their doses

raised

> > up to 7.5g for a-gel. that drives up insurance costs for all of

us.

>

> What drives up insurance costs is pharm companies selling drugs for

> obscene prices in the US. If you can buy your drugs in Canada you

> will find they cost 80% less for the same drugs made by the same

> companies with same quality controls and the same gov't standards

and

> oversight. Canadian drugs are identical to drugs sold in the US.

>

> dd