Blergh

[lizbee]

I went to the doctor about mah belleh. She agreed that it was very likely lactose intolerance, but I'm also being tested for coeliac and other allergies, and vitamin deficiencies, and some other stuff.

In the meantime, she prescribed an OUTRAGEOUSLY EXPENSIVE prescription antacid ($35!!!), so it was nice knowing my budget while it lasted (also expensive - cleaners for the old flat).

"This stuff is great," said the pharmacist as I handed over an absurd and unreasonable sum. "There are no side effects."

Later, I opened the packet and read the little information booklet inside. "Possible side effects include nausea, headache, tiredness, etc." So, nothing I'd actually notice as being out of the ordinary.

Later, on an increasingly desperate search for a vegan veggie roast to serve guests tonight, I discovered vegan cat food. Which is possibly the single worst thing I've seen all day, since a good percentage of it had been manufactured in a laboratory, and it seems rather unfair to take an animal with no choice in the matter, and force it to eat unnatural food. I did google around when I got home, in case my initial reaction was merely the result of prejudice, but everything I found was either vegan petfood sites, or forum posts that basically went, "I fed my cat on a vegan diet, but it got sick, so now we're back on meat until it recovers enough for further experimentation."

Granted, Harvey likes to dine on human flesh, so attempting to introduce him to veganism would essentially be a suicide attempt on our parts, and possibly my self-preservation instinct is what drives my instinctual revulsion. But, um, no.

Comments

[isilya]

That's because the PBS caps the price of drugs at $33.30 (despite some drugs costing much more to the government, such as Nexium at over $50 per script).

[lilacsigil]

Not all PBS drugs are capped at $33.30, though - there's brand premiums and therapeutic premiums, too, which might have taken it up to $35 instead of $33.30. (Some antidepressants have truly ridiculous brand premiums, considering that's one of the few drugs when more than the occasional person is affected by a brand change.)

[lizbee]

No, I did pay $33.30, I just rounded it up to save remembering all those extra digits. IT STILL SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF MONEY TO ME, even though now I feel like a chump for bitching when it was as cheap as it could go.

I am, however, pissed off that the pharmacist didn't offer a generic, but that particular pharmacy never does.

[lilacsigil]

Depending what it is, and whether it's off patent yet, there might not be a generic, and depending on your pharmacy it might not be as cheap as $18!