Thanks Ralph
I will follow up with the derm on Elidel and Protopic.
But when I move to India I won’t have insurance coverage from the
US. And if it is on a permanent basis (a distant possibility) I
can’t really see how I could get these rx’s there even in the long
run. The last time I was there all they had was benziol peroxide,
retin-A, topical antibiotics and hydrocortizones. Older forms of
meds.
The problem is that the international pharmaceutical companies can’t
make a profit on their newer drugs in India (at the costs they charge
here in the west) so they don’t even bother to distribute in India.
When a new drug is no longer protected by patent is when it becomes
available in India. Ranbaxy, an Indian company, is now making the
generic form of accutane for the US. Indian pharmaceutical companies
will then manufacture the same drug for the Indian public. Also,
Indian pharmaceuticals will "reverse engineer" a med and slightly
alter the "recipe" of the drug to be able to avoid patent
infringement with the big conglomerates.
I have thought that I would have to go to Thailand twice a year just
to stock up on meds I can’t get in India.
I’ve actually been on Accutane twice in my mid-twenties when I
developed severe acne vulgaris. It helped get it "under control."
After I was able to be totally clear by using Retin-A. I had the
standard side effects. But I had no serious side effects (unlike
with the general antibiotics I took a year before which I had adverse
liver reation to).
Oh well, we’ll see. I just wanted to not have to be so dependent on
so many products to keep me "normal looking." Especially if I can’t
afford them out of pocket (no insurance) and that they may not be
available.
And yes….I saw on TV that Singulair is available for allergies last
night too. I say give it a try and say your "allergies" are really
bad this year. The worst that can happen is they say no.