Hi Everyone! It's been a while since I've posted. Not much new. I live a pretty normal life with my limited diet being my only unusual routine.
I'm still taking Entocort at a dosage of 3 mg per day for three days, with 1/2 pill for the fourth day. I'm unable to reduce it further. I've been taking it for ten years now.
Like everyone else, I am astonished at the cost of the Entocort with Medicare prescription insurance, and now that I'm on my last bottle, I need to get more pills. I've read about the compounding pharmacies and know about All Day Chemist.
What I need to know is if any of you have opened the capsule from either a compounding pharmacy or All Day Chemist to see if the granules are encapsulated. My local compounding pharmacy told me their compounded budesonide is not encapsulated. I believe that encapsulation is the reason that budesonide is not systemic and is less harmful as a steroid. Encapsulation prevents the budesonide from being released or activated until it is in the gut.
Because I open a capsule every fourth day to divide it into two capsules, I can clearly see that the budesonide is surrounded by a hard white coating, meaning that it is encapsulated.
Has anyone ever opened their budesonide capsule from either a compounding pharmacy or from All Day Chemist? If so, are the granules coated with a hard shell-type covering? They look somewhat like beads the size of the small circular cookie decorations that are hard-coated in red and green at Christmas, only encapsulated Entocort has white beads.
I can post a picture of the budesonide if needed.
Thanks!
Gloria
Is Compounded or All Day Chemist's Budesonide Encapsulated?
Moderators: Rosie, Stanz, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Is Compounded or All Day Chemist's Budesonide Encapsulated?
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Hi Gloria,
I can't speak from experience, but I suspect that you're going to find that virtually all compounded budesonide is going to be the same. The enteric coating may be on the capsule. The Budez 3R is much more likely to be "individually" encapsulated because it is sold as an Entocort generic (the compounded products are not). It wouldn't cost much to verify that by placing a modest order with Alldaychemist so that you could analyze the capsule contents. If it turns out that neither of them uses encapsulated budesonide, here's how you can solve the cost issue:
Use Budez 3R or compounded budesonide on the days when you take a full capsule, and on the days when you split it, use the high priced stuff so that you don't have to worry about premature activation. Or maybe you can locate some enteric coated capsules.
Tex
I can't speak from experience, but I suspect that you're going to find that virtually all compounded budesonide is going to be the same. The enteric coating may be on the capsule. The Budez 3R is much more likely to be "individually" encapsulated because it is sold as an Entocort generic (the compounded products are not). It wouldn't cost much to verify that by placing a modest order with Alldaychemist so that you could analyze the capsule contents. If it turns out that neither of them uses encapsulated budesonide, here's how you can solve the cost issue:
Use Budez 3R or compounded budesonide on the days when you take a full capsule, and on the days when you split it, use the high priced stuff so that you don't have to worry about premature activation. Or maybe you can locate some enteric coated capsules.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Gloria,
I ordered Budez CR from All Day Chemist in 2014, but never needed it, I checked and it has many tiny pink coated beads in each capsule. I compared it to Budesonide which has much larger encapsulated white beads in each capsule. The Budesonide is 4 about years old so perhaps color has changed since then. Hope this helps.
I ordered Budez CR from All Day Chemist in 2014, but never needed it, I checked and it has many tiny pink coated beads in each capsule. I compared it to Budesonide which has much larger encapsulated white beads in each capsule. The Budesonide is 4 about years old so perhaps color has changed since then. Hope this helps.
Donna
Diagnosed with CC August 2011
Diagnosed with CC August 2011
Thank you both for your replies.
I checked on Amazon and I can purchase enteric-coated capsules through them. I wonder if the compounding pharmacy would have some on hand and use them if I requested them. I'll call the pharmacy on Monday and see what they say.
I would need a prescription from my doctor, and he, of course, wants me to get a colonoscopy to "see what's going on in there." It's been 11 years since my last colonoscopy, so I suppose I should get one just for the cancer checkup.
It does sound like the Budez CR from All Day Chemist is encapsulated. Their website states they are controlled-release capsules. They contain the following inactive ingredients: ethyl cellulose, tributyl acetylcitrate, methacrylic acidcopolymer, triethylcitrate, Antifoam M, polysorbate 80, talc, sucrose, maize starch, gelatine, and iron oxide. It sounds like it's a powder inside a controlled-release capsule. I'm not sure if I'd have problems with any of the inactive ingredients.
I think I'll place a test order with them as Tex suggested. I've always been hesitant about the manner of payment. Reviews say that payment methods are safe, but I'm just not sure.
I'll post what I find out from the pharmacy.
Gloria
Gloria
I checked on Amazon and I can purchase enteric-coated capsules through them. I wonder if the compounding pharmacy would have some on hand and use them if I requested them. I'll call the pharmacy on Monday and see what they say.
I would need a prescription from my doctor, and he, of course, wants me to get a colonoscopy to "see what's going on in there." It's been 11 years since my last colonoscopy, so I suppose I should get one just for the cancer checkup.
It does sound like the Budez CR from All Day Chemist is encapsulated. Their website states they are controlled-release capsules. They contain the following inactive ingredients: ethyl cellulose, tributyl acetylcitrate, methacrylic acidcopolymer, triethylcitrate, Antifoam M, polysorbate 80, talc, sucrose, maize starch, gelatine, and iron oxide. It sounds like it's a powder inside a controlled-release capsule. I'm not sure if I'd have problems with any of the inactive ingredients.
I think I'll place a test order with them as Tex suggested. I've always been hesitant about the manner of payment. Reviews say that payment methods are safe, but I'm just not sure.
I'll post what I find out from the pharmacy.
Gloria
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Hi Gloria,
Perhaps open a credit card with a limit of $500.00 that you use only for the purchase from India. I think it would make the risk smaller.
It is ridiculous that American's have to purchase our drugs from India but my friends seem to be hassled more about their prescription drug purchases now that we are on Obama Care. So many of the prescription drugs are not covered.
Perhaps open a credit card with a limit of $500.00 that you use only for the purchase from India. I think it would make the risk smaller.
It is ridiculous that American's have to purchase our drugs from India but my friends seem to be hassled more about their prescription drug purchases now that we are on Obama Care. So many of the prescription drugs are not covered.
Hi Sunny,
It's nice to see a picture of you! You look great!
I don't know if we can get prescription drugs on Amazon, though I wouldn't be surprised if we can. What I found were empty enteric-coated capsules that the pharmacist could use to fill with budesonide.
Tex,
All Day Chemist does allow (and encourages) an e-Check, but I have to investigate further to see if it's the same thing as using electronic Bill Pay through a bank. I didn't see them listed in the Bank of America list of accounts. I have a feeling it's more like wiring money, for which banks charge. A post in the reviews section implied that they don't accept charge cards anymore. I need to do more research because there may be some other options with my bank.
Gloria
It's nice to see a picture of you! You look great!
I don't know if we can get prescription drugs on Amazon, though I wouldn't be surprised if we can. What I found were empty enteric-coated capsules that the pharmacist could use to fill with budesonide.
Tex,
All Day Chemist does allow (and encourages) an e-Check, but I have to investigate further to see if it's the same thing as using electronic Bill Pay through a bank. I didn't see them listed in the Bank of America list of accounts. I have a feeling it's more like wiring money, for which banks charge. A post in the reviews section implied that they don't accept charge cards anymore. I need to do more research because there may be some other options with my bank.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Compounded Budesonide
I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner. I had to finish creating a new website for my county genealogy society before the annual workshop tomorrow. I've been managing their website for thirteen years and it was time to redo it. It took a longer amount of time and learning than I expected.
I just called the compounding pharmacist. They can't make the pill to be precisely 3 mg because of copyright laws, so it would be 2.8 mg. or so. It is a powder, but they can order acid-resistant capsules for the actual pills. They think that the acid-resistant capsules might be slightly less effective at preventing the capsule from dissolving until it reaches the intestine or colon.
I asked what their pricing would be. A few years ago when I called them, it was $1 per pill. Today they quoted me a price of $100 for 30 pills, which is $3.33 per pill. Yikes! They, too have more than tripled their price. My cost through Walgreens would be $3.46 per pill. The difference in price is negligible. I won't bother with the compounding pharmacy.
Next I will look at my payment options with All Day Chemist.
Thank you for your suggestions.
Gloria
I just called the compounding pharmacist. They can't make the pill to be precisely 3 mg because of copyright laws, so it would be 2.8 mg. or so. It is a powder, but they can order acid-resistant capsules for the actual pills. They think that the acid-resistant capsules might be slightly less effective at preventing the capsule from dissolving until it reaches the intestine or colon.
I asked what their pricing would be. A few years ago when I called them, it was $1 per pill. Today they quoted me a price of $100 for 30 pills, which is $3.33 per pill. Yikes! They, too have more than tripled their price. My cost through Walgreens would be $3.46 per pill. The difference in price is negligible. I won't bother with the compounding pharmacy.
Next I will look at my payment options with All Day Chemist.
Thank you for your suggestions.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Gloria, I recently bought and received an order from All-Day Chemist, using their e-check without any problems. I think I used that last time too. It's getting tougher for them. My thyroid supplier had credit cards and paypal cut off from them. I had to use Western Union for them and they reimburse those costs.