Generic Budesonide Gluten Free?

[courtneykay]

Hi Everyone-

I'm new to this group and have Celiac, Microscopic Colitis, and Eosinophilic Esophagitis. So grateful to find you all as i'm really struggling right now. My doctor just started me on Entocort but it's extremely expensive so he suggested I get it through Canada Pharmacy. I called them and they can only confirm that the brand name Entocort is gluten free. The Budesonide they carry come from India from Sun Pharma which I have been unable to confirm is gluten free. Don't know if I trust a trust a generic coming from India by way of Canada but it's about 1/4 the price...does anyone have any experience with Canada Pharmacy or generic Budensonide from India?

Thanks so much,
Courtney

[tex]

Hi Courtney,

Welcome to the board. Believe it or not, most of the generic drugs sold by the big-name companies here in the U. S. are made by Sun Pharma. The difference is that Big Pharma charges big bucks for the drugs when they sell them over here. Most members in your situation order them direct from India. They get the same drugs sold by the Canadian pharmacies, except that they cost about 40 % less when you order them straight from a pharmacy in India. Here is where many members get their budesonide (Budez CR):

https://www.alldaychemist.com/1447-budez-cr-3mg.html

Just remember that you can only order up to a 3-month supply (270 capsules) at one time. If you order more at one time, Customs may confiscate the package because their current instructions say that anything over a 3-month supply may be going to a dealer, and it is illegal to resell imported drugs without a license, so they confiscate larger orders.

Again, welcome aboard, and please feel free to ask anything.

Tex

[Sheila]

Hi Courtney. Welcome! I have been getting budesinide for the past 2 years from a Canadian Pharmacy. The last two prescription refills came from India. So far, I've had no problem with this medication.

Good luck,
Sheila W

[wmonique2]

Courtney,

I've dealing with canada pharmacy for several years for my husband's meds and then in the last 2 years for myself where I bought budesonide and mesalamine.

I never had any problems with them. Meds are good. No issues.

About the price you're getting with them. I usually shop at other online pharmacies and if I see the same meds but cheaper, I tell them about it and they honor the competition's price in order to keep you as a customer. You'll have to do it each time before the order but it's worth the few minutes you spend looking online. I like dealing with only one pharmacy but sometimes their prices might be higher than other sites.

I bought the 100 pack of budesonide. Can't tell you about the gluten aspect of it but the prospectus inside should say something. Or call them up and ask to speak with their pharmacist. They pretty good about it.

Good luck.

[courtneykay]

Thank you all so much! I just ordered 100 capsules from Canada Pharmacy. I'm nervous since i'm not 100% sure it's gluten free but seems as though all the online pharmacies are getting it from the same place, Sun Pharma. It was only $62 dollars versus $196 for the brand name Entocort. I'm so grateful to have found this group. I have many questions!

Courtney

[wmonique2]

Sounds good to me, the price that is.

Always allow 3 weeks before ordering but I always got them in 2.

BTW, you can call them and ask to give you the email of the pharmacist to ask a medical question and they have always answered me.

Monique

[tex]

Courtney,

If it's marked Budez CR, it's gluten-free. I've never heard of any brand of budesonide that was not gluten-free, so you shouldn't have any problems with it.

Tex

[wmonique2]

Tex,

alldaychemist charges $25 for shipping and handling. More than anybody else. So you end up paying the same since their shipping is so ridiculously stratospheric.

The other pharmacies charge $10 and they waive it if you sign up to be a regular customer.

I was going to order from them and it ended up that the shipping was more expensive than the meds.


Monique

[courtneykay]

I have two other questions for you if you don't mind. I've been reading several blogs and saw that some people with MC have luck with Low Dose Naltrexone....do you guys know about that or any other more natural treatments?

Also, I know I am having reactions to other foods besides gluten (celiac). What is the best clinical way to find these out? I went to an allergist but she was not helpful at all. I know I have an oral type allergy to some foods...nuts, bananas, etc. Does that mean those things are affecting my MC as well?

Again, thanks so much for your help!
Courtney

[wmonique2]

Courney,

We just had a very long thread about LDN. One member (Leslie) says that it made a huge difference for her. Naltrexone is not a natural treatment. It is a drug for addicts and they take usually 50 mg.

Read about it at lowdosenaltrexone.org

I have been considering it myself but worried about the sleeplessness so I haven't done anything about it yet. Most docs know nothing about it. In order to find a doc that prescribes it, I called a compounding pharmacy and asked them the name of docs who prescribe it. Naturopaths and functional medicine docs prescribe it.

What the drug does is lower your serotonin at night for like 3 hours and then "resets" your immune system. Serotonin turns into melatonin at night, hence the insomnia.

I am sure Tex will send you some links or just plug LDN and the links will be there for you.

Monique

[tex]

Monique,

The reason why shipping from India is so much more expensive is because they are 9,000 miles away. Canada is just across the border. The way you justify the shipping cost is to order enough to justify the cost, because the shipping cost will probably be about the same regardless of the cost of the order.

I ordered a cell phone from England a couple of years ago, because it wasn't sold here. The shipping cost was over 35 bucks, and England is less than 5,000 miles away.

Tex

[wmonique2]

Tex,

Your reasoning is logical except that none of the "canadian" drugs come from Canada. I have yet to receive a canadian drug from Canada. They all come from somewhere else. I get stuff from India, England, Australia...name it I got from somewhere else except Canada.

All the canadian pharmacies are nothing but middlemen because of our wonderful medical system.


Monique

[tex]

Yes, but the Canadian pharmacies don't order drugs from India in the same quantities that you do. They order them in ocean-going container lots, and the shipping cost per item is virtually nothing. Canada marks up the drugs they sell by 40%.

Order a 3-month supply of Budez CR from India, and the same amount from Canada and compare the total costs, and you'll see what I'm talking about. You have to order enough to make it worthwhile, otherwise all your money goes to shipping costs. That's true for virtually anything.

Tex

[wmonique2]

OK, OK, OK Tex,


I SURRENDER, I CAPITULATE, I RAISE MY WHITE FLAG


You're right if you want to buy a three months supply and you're on maintenance drugs. I wanted to buy naltrexone and didn't want to commit to 3 months in case I couldn't take the drug. So the drug was $16 and the shipping was $25.

Love,

Monique

[tex]

Yep, that pharmacy works best for people who are ordering expensive drugs (but I thought that's what we were talking about here).

I once considered ordering clopidogrel from them, after Plavix got to be so expensive, but about that time a generic version became available in the U. S., and (due to the shipping cost) since that was the only drug that I was considering ordering, I would have saved only a few bucks over the local cost.

Incidentally, I did note that the brand of clopidogrel they sell is the same brand that my local pharmacy uses to refill my prescription, so a lot of that propaganda that we see over here about imported drugs being contaminated, or weak, or risky for whatever reason, is pure BS, promoted by Big Pharma, in the hopes of scaring people into using their overpriced stuff.

Love,
Tex