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#726788 - 07/11/08 07:01 AM
Re: Buying HIV meds online..good or bad idea??
[Re: RNB007]
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chemsynth
Threadhead
Registered: 11/07/05
Posts: 978
Loc: MA
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i don't know that buying HIV meds online is "bad" per se, but there are a couple of other issues to consider. The first issue you have already hit upon. how confident is anyone that the medications that are shipped are of high quality and purity? basically, are they bogus? there is no great way for an analytical laboratory to identify them--they can, but most commercial labs like mine use existing computer libraries of chromatographic data, and they are not easily found for HIV meds. so you'd have to worry about purity of med, which matters b/c they suppress viral load, which leads to better outcomes.
second, many HIV meds have profound adverse effects like a metabolic acidosis which can be detected easily only with laboratory testing. so IF anyone decides to go the route of online purchase, the patient MUST have close followup with a clinician who can interpret the results/change doses and meds/reassess effectiveness.
in reality, this is not a "take matters into your own hands" kind of deal. i would never consider buying HIV meds online. too much at stake.
hope this helps,
chemsynth
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#743863 - 08/08/08 02:13 PM
Re: Buying HIV meds online..good or bad idea??
[Re: PacManGirL]
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NotBillGates
GRAND Pooh-Bah
Registered: 01/15/04
Posts: 2535
Loc: 867-5309
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There have been many reports in the media over the last year that has shown expensive bunk meds coming from China, India and Russia. They look like the real med. That's what I am concerned about for RNB007.
No country is immune from counterfeit drugs. The WHO estimates that 10% of medication globally is counterfeit. The criminal trade in counterfeit medication is more prevalent in developing countries with weak drug regulation, control and enforcement, and where basic medicines are scarce or irregularly supplied and unaffordable. The situation is endemic in southeast Asia and Africa , where the amount of counterfeit pharmaceuticals in circulation is over 50% in some countries. While the prevalence of counterfeit pharmaceuticals varies widely between developing and industrialized countries, there are increasing numbers of incidents of counterfeit medication globally.
According to the WHO, in developing countries, the most counterfeited medicines are those used to counter both infectious and serious diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, as well as basic infections.
New, expensive medicines such as hormones, corticosteroids, cancer drugs or anti-retrovirals are the most frequently counterfeited medications in industrialized countries. Other commonly counterfeited types of drugs in industrialized countries are:
• lifestyle drugs which treat such conditions as sexual impotence, baldness or obesity, and
• psychotropic drugs which include opiate-based pain-killers, tranquillizers, stimulants and depressants.
_________________________
“Choosing Obama is a great opportunity for Americans to show the world they can change, be humble and learn from their mistakes." - Nelson Mandela
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#743913 - 08/08/08 04:39 PM
Re: Buying HIV meds online..good or bad idea??
[Re: martind]
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OldandWorn
GRAND Pooh-Bah
Registered: 09/21/03
Posts: 6842
Loc: Among the 58 million.
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IMO seeing how important and complex the HIV medications are, I doubt they would be bunk. However, i have not ordered from or heard of PharmacyGeoff, are they on the IOP list? On the contrary, because antiretroviral drugs are so expensive and, in some countries, hard to get, they are exactly among the ones most likely to be counterfeited. Buying these medications online would be a terrible approach to treating HIV/AIDS.
I agree. suicide.
_________________________
Give me a secret,
Bring me a sign.
Give me a reason,
to walk the fire.
See another dawn,
through our daughter's eyes.
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#746205 - 08/13/08 11:20 AM
Re: Buying HIV meds online..good or bad idea??
[Re: Dennit]
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NotBillGates
GRAND Pooh-Bah
Registered: 01/15/04
Posts: 2535
Loc: 867-5309
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RNB,
I have to agree wholeheartedly with Dennit. Did you ever see the epic, Angels in America? It’s about the Aids Crisis during the Regan era. Two characters, Prior and Louis are a gay couple. Prior has full-blown AIDS and Loius leaves him because Louis can’t deal with the sickness of Prior. Prior gets even sicker because of the resentment he holds towards Louis. But once Prior forgives Louis, Prior actually gets physically and mentally stronger. Their relationship is never the same. But they remain friends.
I’m Buddhist, so every thing must be kept in balance. Our belief is that negative thoughts bring upon outward physical manifestations. Even in the Christian Faith, Mother Theresa told us, “If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.
Alexander Pope once said, "To err is human; to forgive, Divine." Believe it!
Mahatma Gandhi told us, “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
Forgiveness works! It is often difficult, but it works!
We often think of forgiveness as something that someone who has done us wrong must ask of us. There is always another way of looking at something. The Buddhist’s thoughts on forgiveness suggest that you focus on offering forgiveness to the person who has wronged you. To not forgive them is like taking the poison (continuing to suffer for what they did or didn't do to you). Believe it!
Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself. It is not something you do for someone else. It is not complicated. It is simple. Simply identify the situation to be forgiven and ask yourself: "Am I willing to waste my energy further on this matter?" If the answer is "No," then that's it! All is forgiven.
Forgiveness is an act of the imagination. It dares you to imagine a better future, one that is based on the blessed possibility that your hurt will not be the final word on the matter. It challenges you to give up your destructive thoughts about the situation and to believe in the possibility of a better future. It builds confidence that you can survive the pain and grow from it.
Telling someone is a bonus! It is not necessary for forgiveness to begin the process that heals the hurt. Forgiveness has little or nothing to do with another person because forgiveness is an internal matter.
There is nothing so bad that cannot be forgiven. Nothing!
Be well RNB. And think about forgiveness . . .
_________________________
“Choosing Obama is a great opportunity for Americans to show the world they can change, be humble and learn from their mistakes." - Nelson Mandela
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#749239 - 08/18/08 05:14 PM
Re: Buying HIV meds online..good or bad idea??
[Re: RNB007]
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DanielWA
Veteran
Registered: 02/27/07
Posts: 552
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"I think you knew the answer all along but just wanted some input, right?"
Honestly, yes. When I first found out I was positive I went through a very dark time in my life. As reality sunk in I told myself OK your have it deal with it. Then I started going to the free HIV clinic in my county. I know this is bad but I feel shameful and embarrassed to go there. Not that I feel I am better than anyone else (maybe a little but I think that is just something to help cope) and I gave up on going for awhile and went elsewhere for my other med's. Now the time has come to start the medication regiment to battle the virus. My Tcell/CD4 is 350 and my viral load is over 100,000. I am still trying to get medicaid so I can go somewhere else besides the free HIV clinic.
I think deep down I just need to hear people say..GO TO THE DOCTOR! and not mess around with something so serious via IOP's etc. My family all knows but its a subject that no one likes to bring up. There is just so much that goes along with it mentally and socially on top of the medical issue itself.
I am gay. I was with the same person for a very long time. We both were tested and after awhile started having sex w/o condoms. Little did I know I was being cheated on and now here I sit with HIV. When I go down there I think all the Dr's and Nurses think "whore" or "Junkie who used dirty needle" its just all so complicated in so many ways. I do thank everyone for their input and it means a lot more than you all know to have the feedback and hear what I need to hear so for that I thank you all. RNB
RNB~
Thanks for telling your story..you know you could be gay, straigth or anything in between, and it wouldn't matter. I have a close friend that basically went through the samething very similar with her husband, that cheated. To this day, she continues to be checked out, just to make sure.
I am truly sorry that have to pay for someone elses mistake. Thankfully, there have been so many new meds and approches in that field, that many continue to live healthy and productive lives.
You may have HIV, but try to remember...HIV doesn't have you..unless you let it! Don't let who you are, be skewed by someone elses mistakes! Keep that head up high!
And you know...if this disease would have been out there while I was in college..it could have easily been me or my friends...Take care and all the best!
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#749252 - 08/18/08 05:48 PM
Re: Buying HIV meds online..good or bad idea??
[Re: chemsynth]
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flutegrl
Board Addict
Registered: 07/16/05
Posts: 331
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i don't know that buying HIV meds online is "bad" per se, but there are a couple of other issues to consider. The first issue you have already hit upon. how confident is anyone that the medications that are shipped are of high quality and purity? basically, are they bogus? there is no great way for an analytical laboratory to identify them--they can, but most commercial labs like mine use existing computer libraries of chromatographic data, and they are not easily found for HIV meds. so you'd have to worry about purity of med, which matters b/c they suppress viral load, which leads to better outcomes.
second, many HIV meds have profound adverse effects like a metabolic acidosis which can be detected easily only with laboratory testing. so IF anyone decides to go the route of online purchase, the patient MUST have close followup with a clinician who can interpret the results/change doses and meds/reassess effectiveness.
in reality, this is not a "take matters into your own hands" kind of deal. i would never consider buying HIV meds online. too much at stake.
hope this helps,
chemsynth
chemsynth is, of course, right. If you do go the IOP route, I would seriously avoid places that are really only there to sell controlled medications.
I'm not sure where you live (edit reason: I see you're in Tampa), but I do know of many elderly people in Minnesota who go to Canada to buy their prescriptions that would normally cost 1,000's of US dollars.
On the DEA website, the DEA as well as US Customs and Border Protection takes the stance that the only country they will not seize medications coming in to ports of US entry is Canada. Legit Canadian medications are apparently A-OK, but you HAVE to make sure you triple, quadruple check the website and make sure it's a legit opperation. I'm sure you're not alone in your quest for cheaper anti-viral medications.
If you do decide to go the IOP route, use a verified Canadian website. You know, do not go for the seedy place that sells generic xanax by the truckload and takes WU only. You know that, though.
Also, it might benefit you to get the permit to import medications for personal use.
All in all, I'm so sorry to read your story. I have a ton of gay friends and consider myself a friend and ally of the community. My best wishes are with you.
Edited by flutegrl (08/18/08 05:51 PM)
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RNB
