Vet prescriptions

Freepost not freeboard

As it's a controlled drug, you'll need to post the prescription to them, as they need the original.
I can recommend Weldricks Pharmacy. It's freeboard to send them prescriptions.

It might be helpful to let us know what is prescribed and costs involved, as we might be able to make recommendations.

if it’s a controlled drug that’s correct. Much stricter regulations on controlled drugs due to the obvious risks of abuse, which does happen otherwise sometimes.

@Blanketpolicy we have a pharmacy next to our vets that sells it fortunately for us. It’s worked great to be honest and god knows how much cheaper!!

Our dog is diabetic and it’s cheaper
to get a vet prescription for his insulin than to buy it from the vet. I pay around £15 for the prescription and they just email it directly through to the online pharmacy, I don’t have to collect a paper one.

With his insulin being a controlled drug through by law the vet has to see him every six months, and our vet will only issue a prescription for 10 weeks worth of insulin.

I’m on a diabetic dog Facebook page and some members have vets who will issue a prescription which lasts for the 6 months between check ups but I had to beg our vet to even do one for 10 weeks.

Yes, I imagine 3 months supply is a lot cheaper to buy overall than 3 x one month. If you've priced it up and would benefit from buying 1x month at a time, ask vet for one month with 2x repeats instead. Hopefully they can do this for you.

However, remember that you will likely have 3 delivery charges this way, rather than one.

It's a balancing act to weigh up the various cost options.

They were trying to help you out I'd imagine - to make it worth your while!

Have you got the price from a website now? What's the medication? Dose / package size?

@Thethruththewholetruth where do you buy it? The vet mentioned that if I cannot get paracetmol tablets into our dog and we are struggling today, but most supermarkets i can see online only have the sugar free version which the vet said to avoid (although I don't see xylitol in the ingredients)

its the child’s one yes but the vet said it’s fine for dogs.

My dog takes calpol 6 plus for her arthritis pain, works great and is obviously cheap!

I wonder if the £44 is for dispensing a month's medication rather charging for written prescription. Perhaps it is more cost effective this way for your medication, or they misunderstood your request as you were unsure of how it works. It seems odd to have different charges for the items otherwise.

My dog is diabetic. He gets three months of insulin on prescription, i then speak to the vet to discuss his symptoms and if no change I get another three months. Every six months he has to have a vet check and fructosamine.

I pay £10 for the prescription and buy from animed directs. It's £30 ish per vial v £70 ish if bought from the vet.

Is it 3 months or 6 months for Apoquel? We are still at 6 months with our vet (in England), so wonder which vet is prescribing according to the law.

My dog is absolutely fine on the drug and doesn't need such frequent check ups.

These are the prescribing rules as per RCVS and the medicines act 1968. Nothing to with individual vets trying to rip you off! If a vet prescribes outwith these rules they can lose their right to practice, so yes your dog needs these check ups in order to comply with the law.

I used to be a vet nurse.

There's usually an admin charge (was about £20 per prescription at our vets), and yes that should last you the entirety of that prescription so if you have 6 repeats this will usually last you 6 months etc.

The prescription will have written on it how many repeats it can have (usually up to 6). More Controlled drugs may only be allowed 3 months etc. for example dog is prescribed 30 x (medication/tablet, usually a months worth), with 6 repeats, (so up to 6 repeats monthly). You may be able to order a few months at a time (using a few repeats) dependant upon pharmacy and what medication it is, or you may just have to order them monthly. It should all be stated on the prescription they give you, but ask the receptionist or vet, they will be happy to explain to you! 😊

If buying online they will usually require you to send them a photograph of the prescription.

I've not worked as a VN for a year or so now so double check with your vets anyway as things change but this is generally what will happen 😊

As posted above check whether prescription is necessary, yumove for example does not need a prescription and I'm pretty sure they have a 30% off on their website atm.

We're on Apoquel for allergies (atopic dermatitis). It's the most expensive drug on the planet and I've had the misfortune of all 3 of my dogs being in the same situation-all from different breeders and different breeds. It now costs £20 per prescription so I can get this medication almost half price online, but to get that I have to take the dog for a 'check up' every 3 months in order to get another prescription (it's a lifetime of this medication). It used to be 6 months and I've been told that the company who own the vets set the 'check up' timescale. So that's another £80 on top of the medication. I think the vets that belong to larger corporations absolutely rip you off as they have targets once taken over. Small, independent vets are often much cheaper and more reasonable/less target driven (greedy), but there are not that many around here. I'm insured but still have to pay a percentage. My dog is absolutely fine on the drug and doesn't need such frequent check ups. Boils my

You say it is a month's prescription. Does it have repeats on it? 1x month and 2 x repeats. This would allow you to get it twice more on the same prescription, at the same pharmacy.

We pay approx £18 for a written prescription. I think it would cover 3 months of medicine as standard, but 6 months if for flea treatment.