My partner has to take Midodrine 5mg 3-4x each day to function (long-covid), which the government refuses to put on PBS despite it being a generic medication.
Each month costs us $100 for 90 tablets, even after price-checking dozens of regular and compounding pharmacies to find the best price. We've tried cheaper alternatives suggested by the specialist but none of them work nearly as well, the difference between being able to work full-time vs struggling to get out of bed, can't afford to not take it. Already blown through our private health non-PBS rebate for the year.
However in the US and Canada, Midodrine costs 1/3 of what we pay here, and apparently it's 1/10 the price in India. Made me wonder if we can import it to avoid being ripped off?
The TGA website says we can import 3-months worth of medication from overseas with a prescription, so the idea seems legally above-board.
I found a reputable Canadian pharmacy that's selling 300x tablets for $120 AUD and accepts international prescriptions, but international shipping to Australia is $125 AUD, which really kills the savings given we can't order in bulk. Indian stores seems to have it at much lower prices, but I'm not sure which companies are above-board or what shipping would be like.
Has anyone done something similar? Any recommendations for stores that accept Australian prescriptions with reasonable shipping costs?
Thanks!
I'd just buy it from India but in a small amount (basically a test), people buy a lot worse things that get through no problem. It's a gamble though.