Cheapest Atorvastatin brand

[Bang Bang]

I have to take Atorvastatin 10mg./day. Lipitor is expensive. What's the cheapest generic in Thailand? Thanks.

[Oxx]

I believe Chlovas is the only locally manufactured brand, so will almost certainly be the cheapest.

 

However, have you already tried and been unable to tolerate Simvastatin, which is much, much cheaper, chemically almost identical, and works by the same mechanism in the body?  You would need to take 20 mg/day for dosage equivalence.

[Bang Bang]

Thanks, Oxx.

Yes, I know that Simvastatin pretty much works like Atorvastatin and the Bestatin brand is ridiculously cheap at about a baht a 20mg.tab. However, what I understand is that even though the two are both statins they are different drugs.

 

In my case I've been taking Atorvastatin forever now and getting good results so thought if I could get the product here at a price even a bit more than Simvastatin I would be happy. I'll look into Chlovas and see what it costs. Currently, I get my Atorvastatin brought in from India where it costs nothing.

[mark5335]

I buy Sandoz brand Atorvastatin, and a box of 30 x 10mg pills costs 900 baht at pharmacies in Bangkok. It's made in Slovenia and imported into Thailand by Novartis.

[Bang Bang]

16 minutes ago, mark5335 said:

I buy Sandoz brand Atorvastatin, and a box of 30 x 10mg pills costs 900 baht at pharmacies in Bangkok. It's made in Slovenia and imported into Thailand by Novartis.

Thanks but that still comes in at 30b/10mg. vs. 1b/20mg. for Bestatin. I'll check the pharmacies around my place. If they're all that expensive then I guess I'll have to stick to shipments from India.

 

Btw, just curious if you don't mind. Did you ever try replacing Atorvastatin with Simvastatin?

 

[mark5335]

I hadn't tried substituting Atorvastatin with Simvastatin, since at the time (9 years ago) I was looking for a generic that was more or less identical to Lipitor, Atorvastatin seemed the best match then at about half the cost. However, I didn't bother checking this with a doctor as a Thai doctor would no doubt just recommend/dispense the pill with the higher profit margin for him/the hospital.

[Oxx]

11 minutes ago, mark5335 said:

a Thai doctor would no doubt just recommend/dispense the pill with the higher profit margin for him/the hospital.

 

I do hope you're not buying your medicines at a hospital.  That's a sure way to pay over the odds.  Buying it at an outside pharmacy would save you a lot of money.

[mark5335]

Thanks for your concern, however, as mentioned I buy from the pharmacy, and don't bother with the Thai doctor/hospital. Lesson was learned already.

[richsilver]

I buy 20 mg tablets and cut them in half with a pill-cutter.  Save quite a bit that way.

[ThaiPauly]

16 hours ago, richsilver said:

I buy 20 mg tablets and cut them in half with a pill-cutter.  Save quite a bit that way.

 

If you are talking about Atrovastatin it's not a good idea to cut them in half. In fact any tablet that does not have a split in it which deems it OK for cutting is a bad idea. I take Atrovastatin and I have just checked a pill, there is no split line on it which means you have to take it whole.

 

My doctor explained to me that all the ingredients of a tablet that is whole are not in the same place so sometimes you might be getting 5g and other times 15g.

 

I hope that makes sense, can you not get a 10mg tablet if that's all you need to take?

Edited May 15, 2018 by ThaiPauly

[JAS21]

2 minutes ago, ThaiPauly said:

 

If you are talking about Atrovastatin it's not a good idea to cut them in half. In fact any tablet that does not have a split in it which deems it OK for cutting is a bad idea. I take Atrovastatin and I have just checked a pill, there is know split line on it which means you have to take it whole.

 

My doctor explained to me that all the ingredients of a tablet that is whole are not in the same place so sometimes you might be getting 5g and other times 15g.

 

I hope that makes sense, can you not get a 10mg tablet if that's all you need to take?

You are correct ....

[lopburi3]

51 minutes ago, ThaiPauly said:

 

If you are talking about Atrovastatin it's not a good idea to cut them in half. In fact any tablet that does not have a split in it which deems it OK for cutting is a bad idea. I take Atrovastatin and I have just checked a pill, there is no split line on it which means you have to take it whole.

 

My doctor explained to me that all the ingredients of a tablet that is whole are not in the same place so sometimes you might be getting 5g and other times 15g.

 

I hope that makes sense, can you not get a 10mg tablet if that's all you need to take?

There is no reason Atrovastation can not be split (other than loss of drug firm income and a slight bitter taste).  Have been doing so for years.  What you do not want to split are some combination ingredient type pills.  But Atrovastation is one medication and can be safely split.  It has been tested and no adverse findings (per Consumer Reports).  

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/03/is-it-safe-to-split-my-statin-cholesterol-drug-to-save-money/index.htm

[richsilver]

My doctor said it was perfectly fine to do so.  People have been splitting 100 mg Viagra for 20 years now and it is not scored!  I believe it's only time-release pills you have to be concerned with.

Edited May 15, 2018 by richsilver

[Oxx]

1 hour ago, richsilver said:

People have been splitting 100 mg Viagra for 20 years now and it is not scored!

 

Though presumably they have.

[ThaiPauly]

6 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

There is no reason Atrovastation can not be split (other than loss of drug firm income and a slight bitter taste).  Have been doing so for years.  What you do not want to split are some combination ingredient type pills.  But Atrovastation is one medication and can be safely split.  It has been tested and no adverse findings (per Consumer Reports).  

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/03/is-it-safe-to-split-my-statin-cholesterol-drug-to-save-money/index.htm

Well I am wrong then.....I will have to thank the doctor next time I see her for feeding me bullshit

6 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

There is no reason Atrovastation can not be split (other than loss of drug firm income and a slight bitter taste).  Have been doing so for years.  What you do not want to split are some combination ingredient type pills.  But Atrovastation is one medication and can be safely split.  It has been tested and no adverse findings (per Consumer Reports).  

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/03/is-it-safe-to-split-my-statin-cholesterol-drug-to-save-money/index.htm

 

Edited May 15, 2018 by ThaiPauly

[Bang Bang]

I am no doctor but let's say that the ingredients in a 20mg. pill are, in fact, distributed unevenly. So, worst case, if you cut in "half", instead of 10mg. a day you are getting 20mg. every 2 days, which I can't imagine takes much from the action.

 

Which if true, of course, means that taking 10mg. a day should be equivalent to popping a 20mg. tablet every two days (but that can be hard to remember).

[Oxx]

10 hours ago, Bang Bang said:

I am no doctor but let's say that the ingredients in a 20mg. pill are, in fact, distributed unevenly. So, worst case, if you cut in "half", instead of 10mg. a day you are getting 20mg. every 2 days, which I can't imagine takes much from the action.

 

Your logic is wrong.  Atorvastatin has a half life of 14 hours, so if you take a 10 mg pill, after 24 hours 3.0 mg is left in the body.  (Then you top up again.)  If you take a 20 mg pill, after 48 hours only 1.9 mg is left in the body.

 

Putting it a different way, with the 20 mg pill, the level in the body falls to 3.0 mg after 38 hours.  For the remaining 10 hours until the next pill you have a lower level of the medicine in the body than the lowest level in the body if you took the 10 mg daily.

 

(The above is a simplification of the actual calculation and ignores overlapping doses and the effects of metabolites.  The logic, however, is sound.)

[elektrified]

On 5/14/2018 at 1:23 PM, mark5335 said:

I buy Sandoz brand Atorvastatin, and a box of 30 x 10mg pills costs 900 baht at pharmacies in Bangkok. It's made in Slovenia and imported into Thailand by Novartis.

Ouch!

 

I buy a brand made in Thailand (40 mg. tables which I cut in half). I pay 480 Baht for 30 X 40 mg. tablets which last me 2 months.

[anthoma]

11 hours ago, elektrified said:

Ouch!

 

I buy a brand made in Thailand (40 mg. tables which I cut in half). I pay 480 Baht for 30 X 40 mg. tablets which last me 2 months.

Is the name of these tablets Chlovas? May i ask were you buy them? I use atorvastatin named Xarator made bye Pfizer. 30 tablets 40 mg cost 950 baht in a pharmacy in Ubon. Checked 3 pharmacies in Ubon and the price was very different, but the cheapest was 950 baht for å box of 30 tablets. Same price as in the big goverment hospital were  my cardiologist is. Asked the local pharmacy in our village to check the price on Chlovas but she said that the price whas almost the same as Xarator. 

 

 

[elektrified]

36 minutes ago, anthoma said:

Is the name of these tablets Chlovas? May i ask were you buy them? I use atorvastatin named Xarator made bye Pfizer. 30 tablets 40 mg cost 950 baht in a pharmacy in Ubon. Checked 3 pharmacies in Ubon and the price was very different, but the cheapest was 950 baht for å box of 30 tablets. Same price as in the big goverment hospital were  my cardiologist is. Asked the local pharmacy in our village to check the price on Chlovas but she said that the price whas almost the same as Xarator. 

 

 

Yes Chlovas 40 mg. (Millimed)

A friend orders them for me.

 

Xarator? Haven't seen that one but Pfizer manufactures Lipitor and that is the most expensive brand out there.  There are other brands in Thailand much cheaper.

[lopburi3]

Here in Bangkok I have paid about 700 baht per pack of 30 - 40mg Chlovas from a very small pharmacy which I believe is about the normal price.

[melvinmelvin]

cutting/not cutting       substitute or not     have no comment on that

 

but

 

cheapest pharmacies (by far) that I find in BKK are those in the small soi beside Siriraj hospital,

the soi leading down to the river and the boat stops

 

 

[anthoma]

www.drugs.com/international/xarator.html

The pharmacies that i bought Xarator also had Lipitor to a much higher price. Why on earth does Pfizer put out two tablets on the thai marked that is the same, only different name and one much more expensive than the other one??

 

Vel, for 700 baht i would only save 250 baht pr month. Not much to bother with, but if i could get them for same price as elektrified i would save almost 6000 baht pr year.

[elektrified]

49 minutes ago, anthoma said:

www.drugs.com/international/xarator.html

The pharmacies that i bought Xarator also had Lipitor to a much higher price. Why on earth does Pfizer put out two tablets on the thai marked that is the same, only different name and one much more expensive than the other one??

 

Vel, for 700 baht i would only save 250 baht pr month. Not much to bother with, but if i could get them for same price as elektrified i would save almost 6000 baht pr year.

Because I believe the patent on Lipitor expired in 2011 and this is a new game they are playing.

[Bang Bang]

14 hours ago, elektrified said:

I buy a brand made in Thailand (40 mg. tables which I cut in half). I pay 480 Baht for 30 X 40 mg. tablets which last me 2 months.

That's 16b. a 40mg. tablet then. Seems a good price. Would you know if they have a 10mg. version? That's my daily dose and I would rather not be slicing up tablets.

Edited July 26, 2018 by Bang Bang

[elektrified]

53 minutes ago, anthoma said:

www.drugs.com/international/xarator.html

The pharmacies that i bought Xarator also had Lipitor to a much higher price. Why on earth does Pfizer put out two tablets on the thai marked that is the same, only different name and one much more expensive than the other one??

 

Vel, for 700 baht i would only save 250 baht pr month. Not much to bother with, but if i could get them for same price as elektrified i would save almost 6000 baht pr year.

Befriend a pharmacist.? My friend assures me that at the price he is charging me that he is still making an O.K. profit. Keep in mind that on some medications made in factories in Thailand, that they buy in large quantity, they get them for something like 5 or 10 Satang per tablet.

[elektrified]

Just now, Bang Bang said:

That 16b. a 40mg. tablet then. Seems a good price. Would you know if they have a 10mg. version? That's my daily dose and I would rather not be slicing up tablets.

No. Millimed Thailand only offers the 40 mg. Chlovas tablet. Nothing else.

[Sheryl]

2 hours ago, Bang Bang said:

That's 16b. a 40mg. tablet then. Seems a good price. Would you know if they have a 10mg. version? That's my daily dose and I would rather not be slicing up tablets.

Chlovas comes only in 40 mg, ans is the only locally made brand.

 

Atorvastatin Sandoz, Lipitor and Xarater all come in 10mg but are much  more expensive as they are imports

 

The Chlovas is scored but only in half so it will be difficult/impossible to get 10 mg exact dose.

 

Probably the most economical approach with accurate dosage would be Xarater.

[alfredoch]

I buy Atorvastatin at the public hospital for around 1000 baht for 4 months 30 x 40g  I could get Simvastatin the same for 120 baht I found that cheaper than from the pharmacy

[sfokevin]

Several years ago when I moved here I was taking 20mg Lipitor... My doctor here suggested I try Bestatin as a low cost alternative... we settled on 40mg which I have used for 5+ years to control my cholesterol - 100 tablets for 330 baht

btw - They sell a 20mg size too...

 

 

Edited August 12, 2018 by sfokevin