Equipazalone cost doubled in price??

[Melandmary]

Afternoon all, I was hoping a few people on this forum might give me an idea of what they are paying for their equipazalone bute from their vets as I just had an itemised vets bill and was shocked to see that for 100 sachet box it was £187.40 inc vat which is approximately double what I had payed for it from another vet for a different horse. I chose that brand based on it being cheaper than Danilon and the horse in question will need a sachet a day for pain management, she is elderly with arthritis. I rang the practice and questioned it and whether they had perhaps charged for the wrong drug but their reply was that everything has gone up. Frankly I am a bit miffed that 1 vet has charged me double. Online prices show it should be around 0.85p per sachet. Is this just my vets that have doubled the cost.? i would be glad of any others that I can compare, Thankyou

 

[SOS]

As for a written prescription from your vets and order it online.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Vets make their money on drugs because most people accept that "drugs cost what drugs cost" and question other bits of their bill instead. Some vets take the absolute poss though.

One round here tried to charge me £75 for a bottle of penicillin. They got told where to stick it.

 

[Melandmary]

I will be doing that next time for sure, I was just interested to know if others are paying that price from their vet? A couple of months ago I had a different vet out who could bring portable X-ray machine and my itemised bill from him showed it was as expected about 89pence per sachet inc vat. Just a bit disappointed that this vet has charged me the equivalent cost of danilon . I specifically asked for equipazalone “because it is cheaper” . At that point I would have expected her to say actually is now x amount per sachet

 

[hairycob]

My vet will match the online price but you need to pay for the prescription

 

[hairycob]

But I did notice the online prices had gone up last time I got some

 

[meleeka]

My vets normal price is about the same. They will price match, but you have to ask. I feel sorry for the people struggling that don’t know that.

 

[olop]

I bought a box of a 100 from my vet yesterday and they’ve charged me £89. Your price is extortionate!

 

[Melandmary]

I bought a box of a 100 from my vet yesterday and they’ve charged me £89. Your price is extortionate!

Exactly, I actually feel like they are taking my pants down and wondering whether to speak to someone other than the receptionist about it.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

100 bought last month was £90. Daniolon last summer was around £115 for 60 sachets.

My vets have two prices. The lower price is order and pay on collection. The higher price is on account and paid within 30 days.

£189 is daylight robbery.

 

[Melandmary]

100 bought last month was £90. Daniolon last summer was around £115 for 60 sachets.

My vets have two prices. The lower price is order and pay on collection. The higher price is on account and paid within 30 days.

£189 is daylight robbery.

I always pay within 7 days as you get a slight discount for that. Vet came tues and I rang for my bill today. When they gave me the price I was shocked so asked them to email the itemised bill. I am going to ask to speak to someone there tomorrow and if they don’t resolve it I will go to another practice.

 

[Annagain]

I've just paid £89 for 60 sachets of Danilon online (+ £25 for the prescription from my vet) There was a delay in getting the prescription as my vet had to see my horse as he hadn't seen him for a year and technically, he can only prescribe for horses "under his care". He couldn't come for a week as he was going away the day (he's a one man band) he told me he'd have to see Archie before giving me another prescription so I had 8 sachets of Danilon from him to see me through as I was running out. They cost me £20!

I understand why you've gone for the cheaper option but if my horse was on it long term I'd go for the Danilon as it's kinder on the stomach.

 

[criso]

Just a bit disappointed that this vet has charged me the equivalent cost of danilon . I specifically asked for equipazalone “because it is cheaper” . At that point I would have expected her to say actually is now x amount per sachet

Depending on the practice, the vet may not know the price of individual drugs. I was getting a prescription for domosedan and when i told the vet how much i would save, they hadn't realised how much it cost.


Just checked as i needed a few bute before Christmas, not enough to get a prescription and I paid about £1.40 a sachet. My vets are expensive for drugs but some procedures are cheaper than other vets.

 

[SEL]

Have a look on eVet. It is probably cheaper to get a prescription and buy elsewhere

 

[Widgeon]

I paid £175 for 100 sachets a couple of months ago. It was expensive but given that it's a temporary measure in my case, and our vet is generally pretty reasonable in terms of pricing, I decided not to bother with a prescription or looking elsewhere.

However if he was going to be on it long term I would have to tell the vet I just can't afford that price and could I have a prescription please. That's what I would do in your case.

FYI here are my calcs per 100 sachets:

Via my vet: £175
VioVet: £143 + prescription fee = approx £173 (so no cheaper than vet)
eVetDrug: £70 + prescription fee = approx £100 (winning)

 

[criso]

Bear in mind you you can get up to 6 months prescription from your vet so depending on size and dosage 2 or 3 boxes. At £15 for the prescription, that's £5 a box. The online pharmacies let you put the prescription on file and buy one at a time.

 

[Melandmary]

Thanks for all the replies, will certainly be going down the route of ordering it elsewhere if it is going to be long term option. Viovet are quoting 85p per sachet , now that she has seen the vet I can get them to do me a prescription…

 

[Melandmary]

I've just paid £89 for 60 sachets of Danilon online (+ £25 for the prescription from my vet) There was a delay in getting the prescription as my vet had to see my horse as he hadn't seen him for a year and technically, he can only prescribe for horses "under his care". He couldn't come for a week as he was going away the day (he's a one man band) he told me he'd have to see Archie before giving me another prescription so I had 8 sachets of Danilon from him to see me through as I was running out. They cost me £20!

I understand why you've gone for the cheaper option but if my horse was on it long term I'd go for the Danilon as it's kinder on the stomach.

If it makes a remarkable difference to her quality of life then I would consider that but she is 27 and I don’t think she has another winter in her.

 

[SEL]

If it makes a remarkable difference to her quality of life then I would consider that but she is 27 and I don’t think she has another winter in her.

I did years on normal Bute and lost him due to arthritis not any gut issues. Used to get mine from eVet

 

[Orangehorse]

This is interesting, I will check how much my vet charges for Danilon, I know that it virtually doubled as it cost nearly as much for 60 as previously for 100.

 

[Melandmary]

Just an update, I rang my vets again and asked if I could speak to someone in accounts…I couldn’t. Op and bottom of it was they said what other bets charged for drugs was irrelevant and that was the cost. Lesson learned, I will always ask the vet how much each procedure and drug is before agreeing to it in future. I do think it is shameful that they see fit to charge double for a pain relief drug when people are struggling financially . I will be moving when I get my test results back

 

[ameeyal]

I’ve just bought 12 off the vets for £105 eeek

 

[meleeka]

Just an update, I rang my vets again and asked if I could speak to someone in accounts…I couldn’t. Op and bottom of it was they said what other bets charged for drugs was irrelevant and that was the cost. Lesson learned, I will always ask the vet how much each procedure and drug is before agreeing to it in future. I do think it is shameful that they see fit to charge double for a pain relief drug when people are struggling financially . I will be moving when I get my test results back

That’s a poor response. My vets price match on the most commonly used drugs. The receptionist called them “bread and butter drugs”, so Bute, Danilo, Prascend, etc.

 

[Identityincrisis]

Exactly, I actually feel like they are taking my pants down and wondering whether to speak to someone other than the receptionist about it.

I wouldn’t buy it on principle!! I think it is disgusting the markup they put on drugs. I would ask for a refund and a prescription, I would also consider getting a new vet

 

[Squeak]

It might be worth asking if you can return the unused ones as that does sound like they're taking the mick. A very infuriating response from them.

 

[Melandmary]

I wouldn’t buy it on principle!! I think it is disgusting the markup they put on drugs. I would ask for a refund and a prescription, I would also consider getting a new vet

I already asked as I only wanted 40 and then vet said “ shall I just give you a box”? Extra bute is always handy and I knew that I had payed less than £1 per sachet off another vet so said yes. I asked if I could return them they said no when I got my bill. Boils down to shocking service and what feels now like deliberate upselling.