Quote:
Originally posted by Exquisite5
With that said, let me tell you this. Clarinex is kin to Claritin, but there is a difference in the receptor. This may or may not lead to greater efficacy, but Clarinex should at least be as good Claritin. I have not been trained on Clarinex so I don't really know, but seeing as how it is approved by the FDA I am sure it works.
Now, on to Claritin now being over the counter. Let me say this, if you have medical insurance Claritin going over the counter is not going to help you. Claritin, as a prescription drug, costs like $70.00 for a bottle, with a good health insurance plan you probably pay like %20, or around 14.00 and your insurance picks up the rest. I know first hand that as an over the counter drug the Claritin's cost will drop, probably to around $50.00 a bottle, but since it is no longer a prescription drug IT WILL NO LONGER BE ON INSURANCE COMPANIES' FORMULARIES (the list of drugs they pay for) AND THE ENTIRE $50.00 WILL BE UP TO THE CONSUMER TO PAY. With that said, if you have health insurance it will actually save you (the consumer) money to switch to Clarinex. You can pay $14.00 and make the insurance folks you pay anyway pay the rest of the money, or you can come out of pocket for $50. Don't be mad at Schering for bringing out Clarinex; be mad at the OTHER drug companies who want to profit off of Schering's invention and are pusing for non-renewal of Schering's Clarinex patent. Every other drug company now stands to make $50.00/person (and without dealing with an insurance company) by making their own imitation-Clariting generic drug and selling them all at a similar non-competitive prices (around $50.00).
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Thanx, Exquisite 5 and AKA2D for the info! I see I'm not the only sufferer on here!
I take Claritin only when my allergies are really bad (read I can't see b/c I look like I'm crying and it's hard for me to breathe)...Hah!!! I guess I will be switching to Clarinex, cuz my still-in-undergrad-rarely-going-to-work-broke-behind ain't got no $50 to be apying for some medicine!!!! Oh HECK NAW!
And what's sad about that is $50 is cheap!!!
I have medicine that cost $30 for 5 tablets!!!
*Disclaimer: Sorry ya'll, $$$ issues bring out my ethnicity, if you will...
I get the watery & itchy eyes (of which I use prescription eyedrops for), the runny or congested nose, the sneezing (only around dust or the outdoors), etc. My allergies are mostly outdoors (I'm happy I'm not allergic to my cat!
)...My friends never understood (and I didn't either) what I was talking about when I said that grass makes me itch--EVEN if I don't touch it...Now I know it's in the air!