Octopus Overlords

Is it a generic drug? Generic versions of a drug from different sources can have significant differences in potency/effectiveness.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:25 pm Is it a generic drug? Generic versions of a drug from different sources can have significant differences in potency/effectiveness.

Yes all my drugs are generic. Im like Kenny from South Park..Im po! If I was in a cartoon Id get killed each episode.

In fact I was looking at my helping thing. SilverScript. It aint helping a bit really. My wife got it years ago and it was helping us with our medicine prices..more her than me. But looking at my latest statement from them they aren't covering a thing. No wonder my muscle relaxer costs so much. I guess I need to teach myself prescription help plans now too .Dangit.

Yeah, I ran into a problem last year when the pharmacy substituted a new generic brand of the medication I take to control my blood pressure. The new version they gave me was so ineffective that I might as well have been taking nothing at all. I was able to get them to switch me back, but in the end my doctor reissued the prescription to specify the exact brand to use and forbidding any substitutions. He told me that he dislikes generics in general because if a drug doesn't work for a particular patient he can't tell for sure if it's because the drug is a bad match for the person for some reason or just that the particular generic is shit.

My wife bought sage hand wipe. Makes me smell like I’ve been washing my hands in turkey stuffing.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 11:01 pm Yeah, I ran into a problem last year when the pharmacy substituted a new generic brand of the medication I take to control my blood pressure. The new version they gave me was so ineffective that I might as well have been taking nothing at all. I was able to get them to switch me back, but in the end my doctor reissued the prescription to specify the exact brand to use and forbidding any substitutions. He told me that he dislikes generics in general because if a drug doesn't work for a particular patient he can't tell for sure if it's because the drug is a bad match for the person for some reason or just that the particular generic is shit.

Sounds more like he is getting a kickback. Pharma reps in their little mini skirts and stockings wiggling around promoting their disease.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 11:36 pm https://costplusdrugs.com

Hmmm. My muscle relaxer is Robaxin..generic Methocarbamol..I pay $25 out of pocket for it . No coverage help. That link shows $17.70 $4.20. That would be some major savings for me.

Do you use that? Im scared to switch . Dont even know how. Ill look into it.

EDIT: I use a local family owned pharmacy. I wonder if they'd accept that.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Jun 07, 2022 12:24 am

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 11:36 pm https://costplusdrugs.com

Hmmm. My muscle relaxer is Robaxin..generic Methocarbamol..I pay $25 out of pocket for it . No coverage help. That link shows $17.70 $4.20. That would be some major savings for me.

Do you use that? Im scared to switch . Dont even know how. Ill look into it.

EDIT: I use a local family owned pharmacy. I wonder if they'd accept that.

Just based on a real quick read...get a new Rx from your doc. Instead of having them send the script to your normal pharmacy, have them send it to this company's network (pills-a-poppin, or whatever it's called). You pay them, and they then deliver it to you. Your doctor is the potential roadblock. They ought to send the script wherever you tell them, but if they smell socialism they might refuse?

I spent literally two minutes looking at the site, so you might want to be a little more thorough.

Max Peck wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 11:01 pm Yeah, I ran into a problem last year when the pharmacy substituted a new generic brand of the medication I take to control my blood pressure. The new version they gave me was so ineffective that I might as well have been taking nothing at all. I was able to get them to switch me back, but in the end my doctor reissued the prescription to specify the exact brand to use and forbidding any substitutions. He told me that he dislikes generics in general because if a drug doesn't work for a particular patient he can't tell for sure if it's because the drug is a bad match for the person for some reason or just that the particular generic is shit.

Around here, the insurance companies won't go for that. If a generic is available, you have to try it and if it doesn't work you have to go through an appeals process through the insurance company and then even if they approve it the deductible on the price of coverage almost always goes up a crazy amount.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Jun 07, 2022 12:24 am

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 11:36 pm https://costplusdrugs.com

Hmmm. My muscle relaxer is Robaxin..generic Methocarbamol..I pay $25 out of pocket for it . No coverage help. That link shows $17.70 $4.20. That would be some major savings for me.

Do you use that? Im scared to switch . Dont even know how. Ill look into it.

EDIT: I use a local family owned pharmacy. I wonder if they'd accept that.

I learned with GoodRX not all pharmacies are equal. I can get my prescription for Omeperazol cheaper without insurance at Kroger than the deductible cost of the same prescription at CVS. Ironically, Kroger is no longer part of GoodRX so they show as crazy expensive but they have their own discounting which still make them cheaper.

According to this you can free delivery of Robaxin to your home for $4.20

https://www.goodrx.com/robaxin

Daehawk wrote: ↑Tue Jun 07, 2022 12:19 am

Max Peck wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 11:01 pm Yeah, I ran into a problem last year when the pharmacy substituted a new generic brand of the medication I take to control my blood pressure. The new version they gave me was so ineffective that I might as well have been taking nothing at all. I was able to get them to switch me back, but in the end my doctor reissued the prescription to specify the exact brand to use and forbidding any substitutions. He told me that he dislikes generics in general because if a drug doesn't work for a particular patient he can't tell for sure if it's because the drug is a bad match for the person for some reason or just that the particular generic is shit.

Sounds more like he is getting a kickback. Pharma reps in their little mini skirts and stockings wiggling around promoting their disease.

If you mean my doctor, the problem he has is the same thing that I (and others I know) have encountered: generic drugs from different suppliers are inconsistent. I suspect that it is due to a race to the bottom to come in at the lowest bid for supply contracts. There are real quality control issues with at least some generic brands. The drug I'm taking (Sandoz Valsartan/HCT) is a generic, but it works exactly like the equivalent brand-name drug (Novartis Diovan HCT). I know that from personal experience, because I was originally taking Diovan and was switched to Sandoz Valsartan when the Diovan patent expired, because my insurance provider wanted the less expensive option. Since Sandoz is the Novartis subsidiary for generic drugs, their Valsartan is probably just Diovan without the fancy packaging. Anyway, the restrictions on the new prescription were at my request, not because my doctor was pushing any particular brand. I know that this particular brand works extremely well for me, and he agreed that this was the best way to ensure consistent results going forward.

If you mean the pharmacy, then you're not far off base. They own their own generic brand (Sanis), so unsurprisingly they want to switch people over to their in-house brand in order to maximize the amount of money they capture. They don't actually manufacture the drugs themselves, though. They buy them from whoever can provide the cheapest supply, which brings us back around to the question of what corners the actual manufacturers are cutting to come in with the lowest bid for the supply contracts. The pharmacy has filled prescriptions for me for two different drugs over the last 3 years with their in-house brand, and in both cases their drugs were almost entirely ineffective.

PBS

People searching for cheaper alternatives to high priced prescription drugs have a new and perhaps unexpected option. It's an online pharmacy founded by Mark Cuban, a billionaire businessman, Shark Tank star and owner of the Dallas Mavericks. His new direct-to-consumer company, Cost Plus Drugs, offers more than 100 generic medications at discounted prices.
...
we'll show you our actual cost, we'll mark it up 15 percent, we'll add $3 pharmacy handling fee and $5 shipping, and that's all you ever pay.

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Tue Jun 07, 2022 10:31 am PBS

People searching for cheaper alternatives to high priced prescription drugs have a new and perhaps unexpected option. It's an online pharmacy founded by Mark Cuban, a billionaire businessman, Shark Tank star and owner of the Dallas Mavericks. His new direct-to-consumer company, Cost Plus Drugs, offers more than 100 generic medications at discounted prices.
...
we'll show you our actual cost, we'll mark it up 15 percent, we'll add $3 pharmacy handling fee and $5 shipping, and that's all you ever pay.

Worked like a charm! I had a medication no longer covered by insurance. CVS was charging me $190 with insurance. Cuban charged me $34, including shipping, for the exact same product. Will check this out as other refills come up.

I accept donations.

Do I get a Pride shirt, or an Ally shirt ?

Got a spot storm over me right now. Its pouring an hellacious amount of water down. Smells like watermelons out there.

What in theeeee F. My medicine has me dancing funky like to Brick House by The Commodores.

EDIT: Uh oh here comes ELO

Didn't get my phone bill for two months. Got cut off including the internet. For some reason I'm not getting mail addressed to my wife's maiden name. So I had to go down and get it changed to my name. Went to my local post office but there is no problem there.
I guess I need to do that with the electricity even tho I pay it online.

From Dubious Quality - a teacher talks about cheating in their college class - how they learned of it, how it was done, and what the consequences were. Really interesting. My favorite line -

At my most mystified, I proceeded to release a class announcement warning students not to plagiarize the academic integrity assignment.

I found out that Pinball museum in downtown Chattanooga has the biggest pinball machine ever made. Its called Hercules and instead of a normal steel ball it uses a cue ball.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 10, 2022 5:18 pm I found out that Pinball museum in downtown Chattanooga has the biggest pinball machine ever made. Its called Hercules and instead of a normal steel ball it uses a cue ball.

Have you been there? I'd love to go sometime, but I suspect my wife could not care less.

Fardaza wrote: ↑Fri Jun 10, 2022 6:14 pm

Daehawk wrote: ↑Fri Jun 10, 2022 5:18 pm I found out that Pinball museum in downtown Chattanooga has the biggest pinball machine ever made. Its called Hercules and instead of a normal steel ball it uses a cue ball.

Have you been there? I'd love to go sometime, but I suspect my wife could not care less.

No. Its one of the places I want to go. Just haven't since losing my wife. Maybe next year or so. If I go I want to spend the day and eat at some place nearby and such. Make a day of it.

I done ate a whole can of Campbell's Jambalaya Chunky Soup. I think they musta scraped the bottom for that one as it was hot hot hot. Ill probably shit a campfire tomorrow tent and all.

People who eat hot hot hot food are nuts and deserve what they get.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Wed May 25, 2022 2:07 pm Seth Green Can No Longer Make His NFT Show After His BoredApe Was Stolen

Seth Green Pays $300K to Recover His Stolen Bored Ape Ethereum NFT

Green reportedly paid 165 Ether (more than $295,000 at current prices) for the NFT, after it was sold on to a collector.

The whole thing smells like it was staged to generate publicity.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Apr 05, 2022 2:59 pm Oscar made it through the night. He was still drinking as of this morning, although we didn't catch him eating (and we counted the grubs we gave him - none were gone.) Still, the drinking is a good sign, and he was even preening this morning, which is a better sign. We made the trip this morning, and dropped him off with the rehabber out of Bloomington. She was very happy with how we'd handled his injuries, and I have high hopes that he'll make it and be releasable. I am a little worried that the depth and location of the wound - on his shoulder, right across his pectoralis - might keep him from being able to fly. But the woman rents her facilities from a rescue organization that has a variety of unreleasable animal ambassadors that they use for education a few times a year, including a female wood duck named River (who's a bit of a celebrity that we've seen in more than one story over the years), and she suggested that he may become a companion for her if that's the case.

And, of course, he's a bird. Ducks are fairly resilient, but he's not out of danger yet. They'll keep us informed one way or the other.

So, godspeed, Oscar. I'm glad I got the chance to get to know you.

So, about a week ago the rehabber called me. Oscar's wing had healed enough for release. The problem was that it's baby everything season, one of the busiest times of the year for rescues, and she just didn't have the time to handle his release. She asked us if we'd be willing to drive up, pick him up, and do the release ourselves. We drove back to a secluded site not far from where we found him and did that this morning.

Good luck, Oscar!

Ive watched this multiple times over and over. He is so much smaller than I expected a duck to be.

Wood ducks are very small ducks. With a mallard:

Great job man. Thanks for caring.

Of course mallards are one of the bigger ducks. Good job!

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:00 am Of course mallards are one of the bigger ducks. Good job!

Thank you!

I found a comparison with a mallard they're the one wild duck that most people have actually seen, so they give a more meaningful perspective. And even then most people don't ever see wild ducks close enough to get a sense of scale. Park/domestic ducks are considerably larger than their wild cousins.

I had a couple of big white ducks as a kid. They ruled the neighborhood. Dogs and cats didn't have a chance against them. And when we moved away we ate them.

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:42 pm I had a couple of big white ducks as a kid. They ruled the neighborhood. Dogs and cats didn't have a chance against them. And when we moved away we ate them.

Son, your cheese done slid off yer cracker.

Its hot & humid today. Im drinking one of these ice cold on the porch half shade half sun. Getting some VitD in.

Daehawk wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 1:41 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sun Jun 12, 2022 12:42 pm I had a couple of big white ducks as a kid. They ruled the neighborhood. Dogs and cats didn't have a chance against them. And when we moved away we ate them.

Son, your cheese done slid off yer cracker.

Then we moved to California and the house we rented came with a Banty hen. It became my personal pet. I would take it for walks with a rope tied around it's neck. The neighbor called and complained my chicken was chasing it's dog all over the yard. Oh how we had fun together. When we moved we ate it.
My dad was really a fun person.

Any more movings and you might not of made adulthood.

This is good water juice. I may pick up some rum tomorrow.

Man, Oscar was not waiting around for good-byes.

Why must everything on the internet be described as "broke" or "broken?" Case in point: Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem is called "The man who broke math." He did nothing of the kind.