Post by tomcamp on Aug 10, 2007 8:19:38 GMT -5
Larry,
I have copied Richard as he may also have some ideas about this and specifically may know of a cheaper way to get the Sinemet (carbidopa/levodopa). I have copied Tom because he emails everyone everything so I figured I'd help fill up his inbox, and he may also know which teams have not left for Honduras yet and may be able to help get these together for you.
Needed: Tegretol (carbamazepine) and Sinemet (carbidopa/levodopa).
Regarding the two Hondurans you wrote me about:
Patient # 1 - 14 year old girl with epilepsy (Yorito).
I understand she is currently taking Tegretol CR 400 mg. I am assuming she takes one of these pills twice daily which would be appropriate for a child 12-15 years old. The CR or XR formulation allows you to take the medicine only twice a day and the goal serum level is around 4-12 mcg/ml which could be checked at a hospital if she developed problems with this medicine. The other side effect of note is this drug can lower white cells and platelet counts which would be mainifested by infections or bleeding. Retail for this drug is around $48 for 30 tablets ($60 per month or $800 for the next 500 days). However, Blessings International has generic carbamazepine 200 mg tablets that are inexpensive. The generic is given 4 times per day however sometimes people can take it twice daily without problems. It is the same medicine but a different formulation. She could take one 200 mg carbamazepine tablet four times daily. The cost for 1000 200 mg tablets from Blessings is $46 ($93 for the next 500 days). It is possible that she may tolerate taking two 200 mg tablets twice daily but I would certainly recommend starting out with the one 200 mg tablet four times per day.
Patient #2 - Woman with Parkinson's is on Carbidopa-Levodopa 25mg-250mg. You did not specify how many times a day she has been told to take this medicine. Generally the adult dosing of this would be one of these tablets 2 or 3 times daily. However, the dosing is individually titrated and one dosing schedule does not always last. It is an appropriate drug for Parkinson's though. The retail price is ~ 60 tablets for $34 (around $51 per month). I do not know of a cheap place to get this medicine.
Certainly, in future interactions with those who supply us medicines, I will see if I can acquire these meds; however, I am guessing they will be hard to come by via free channels. The Blessings med should be ordered by the next team using them. They don't readily send orders of just one medicine at a time so it needs to be included in a team order. Being at the end of the season, I don't know who will be ordering from Blessings soon. My team will be ordering again after the first of the year for a trip (probably) in March. I understand Tom is going down next month but I don't know if is ordering anything from Blessings.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
Brad Guffey
205-979-9811 cel
guffey@uab.edu
if you have access to any of this, contact Larry Pitts:
lpahmen2@gmail.com
I have copied Richard as he may also have some ideas about this and specifically may know of a cheaper way to get the Sinemet (carbidopa/levodopa). I have copied Tom because he emails everyone everything so I figured I'd help fill up his inbox, and he may also know which teams have not left for Honduras yet and may be able to help get these together for you.
Needed: Tegretol (carbamazepine) and Sinemet (carbidopa/levodopa).
Regarding the two Hondurans you wrote me about:
Patient # 1 - 14 year old girl with epilepsy (Yorito).
I understand she is currently taking Tegretol CR 400 mg. I am assuming she takes one of these pills twice daily which would be appropriate for a child 12-15 years old. The CR or XR formulation allows you to take the medicine only twice a day and the goal serum level is around 4-12 mcg/ml which could be checked at a hospital if she developed problems with this medicine. The other side effect of note is this drug can lower white cells and platelet counts which would be mainifested by infections or bleeding. Retail for this drug is around $48 for 30 tablets ($60 per month or $800 for the next 500 days). However, Blessings International has generic carbamazepine 200 mg tablets that are inexpensive. The generic is given 4 times per day however sometimes people can take it twice daily without problems. It is the same medicine but a different formulation. She could take one 200 mg carbamazepine tablet four times daily. The cost for 1000 200 mg tablets from Blessings is $46 ($93 for the next 500 days). It is possible that she may tolerate taking two 200 mg tablets twice daily but I would certainly recommend starting out with the one 200 mg tablet four times per day.
Patient #2 - Woman with Parkinson's is on Carbidopa-Levodopa 25mg-250mg. You did not specify how many times a day she has been told to take this medicine. Generally the adult dosing of this would be one of these tablets 2 or 3 times daily. However, the dosing is individually titrated and one dosing schedule does not always last. It is an appropriate drug for Parkinson's though. The retail price is ~ 60 tablets for $34 (around $51 per month). I do not know of a cheap place to get this medicine.
Certainly, in future interactions with those who supply us medicines, I will see if I can acquire these meds; however, I am guessing they will be hard to come by via free channels. The Blessings med should be ordered by the next team using them. They don't readily send orders of just one medicine at a time so it needs to be included in a team order. Being at the end of the season, I don't know who will be ordering from Blessings soon. My team will be ordering again after the first of the year for a trip (probably) in March. I understand Tom is going down next month but I don't know if is ordering anything from Blessings.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best regards,
Brad Guffey
205-979-9811 cel
guffey@uab.edu
if you have access to any of this, contact Larry Pitts:
lpahmen2@gmail.com