There was a discussion about the expense IVF meds about a week or so ago, specifically a few users wanting to know if anyone had experiences with IVFPharmacy.com. I had just ordered some Bravelle from them. My order arrived today. Below, I have noted my experience. I also ordered from IVFMeds.com but the order was delayed and only just shipped 9/10, so I will have to keep you posted on that one.
IVFpharmacy.com I ordered on Tuesday Sept. 4, 2012 - Order was shipped out Thursday September 6. - Order arrived - September 12, so it was pretty quick despite the fact that they say to give them two weeks to be safe. *Okay, first off, I love this place! They sacrifice a larger profit margin to truly make IVF accessible. The proprietor informed me that he started this online pharmacy after encountering friends in the US struggling with the cost of IVF Pros - Their prices are outstanding and without a doubt the best on the web. Their shipping charge is even more outstanding ($18.00) They can be reached by phone and online; they are in Israel so be mindful of the time difference. Your card is not charged until the order is shipped My order arrived in excellent condition and as advertised. Cons - You must buy in the quantities in which the products are packaged in that country. So if you need 35 vials of a product and it is sold in boxes of 10 then you must buy either 30 or 40 vials. You must prepare to wait at least 2 weeks for your order's arrival. Mine arrived in 6 days but they are really firm on allowing 2 weeks because you never know what could happen in transit; there's they odd chance that you may have to liaise with Customs to declare that your order is for personal use. I had no problems with Customs. There is no Express mail service. They can't provide syringes but I can tell you that the Bravelle comes with syringes in the box from the manufacturer. By the way, it is from the same pharmaceutical company that produces this product in the US. It sucks that they charge American woman so much over here for the same product. NOTE FOR BOTH: advise your credit card company of the forthcoming charge for your order in advance s there is no delay as your card company may flag the charge for fraud since it is from overseas. OTHER NOTES/Bravelle: the only thing different than the US packaging is that the manufacturer includes the syringes and the sodium chloride vials look different. They're more like ampules so I'll have to figure that one out with the directions. I'll keep you posted on the IVFmeds.com If anyone wants to see what they look like just email me and we can arrange to Skype so you can see: greatjeenz@yahoo.com |
Okay so I have to add to my previous post. The IVFpharmacy.com meds I ordered from Israel are from Ferring in Germany. The glass ampules of sodium chloride that come with the Bravelle and Menopur are easy to open. We're accustomed to the vial but seriously the ampule is not rocket science. If it seems too daunting to just follow the directions included in the packaging, the following YouTube link shows you everything (copy and paste it in your browser if clicking on it doesn't open the link), and what it shows is exactly what the ampule looks like. I disagree with one thing though. The video says that the blue dot on the ampule (spelled 'ampoule' in Europe) indicates that it is the area that breaks the easiest. I have not found that at all. The break point is the narrowest part of the ampule, the neck. It is pretty effortless and you don't need to apply great pressure. The top snaps off easily when you apply light to moderate pressure. Use a tissue or the empty alcohol packet to cover the top of the ampule when you break it off to protect your fingers as there is no ampule cover included in the package. I actually didn't use anything but it is probably best to use something. You can practice on a few sodium chloride ampules since you won't be using all of them anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFSi983sal0 |
WHAT?!?
YOU ARE ORDERING DRUGS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES????? JEEBUS. IF YOU ONLY KNEW... ---Signed worked for a generics company abroad. |
keep us posted on your ordering. |
Hey, all the fertility drug companies, Ferring, Serono, and Organon are European companies so it's okay to order from a European pharmacy.
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I think it might be illegal to order prescription drugs from other countries. I'm not 100% certain of that, but thought I should mention it just in case since OP you have your personal email associated with your order on this forum. |
^^ Never mind. It looks like that only applies to controlled substances and unapproved drugs. Sorry about that. |
How do you know it's a legitimate pharmacy and that you're getting the real thing? I'm asking for real, not to be snarky. |
Hi, I'm Stephanie. This is our second time doing IVF. The first time we used Freedom, but they are so expensive. This time our doctor has changed the protocol- making it ever more expensive with Gonal F instead of Bravelle. The nurse suggested www.ivfprescriptions.com? I know they are based in Israel and are so much cheaper. .. since other patients used them, we are OK going ahead . It is so much cheaper. Unlike other online pharmacies, they answered the phone each time we called. Anyone with other suggestions will help. |
I buy from ivfpharmacy.com (similar to ivfMeds) and the medications sold there are FDA approved. The costs can also be used for tax deductions. |
And dear satisfied customers, how do you know you didn't get a fake medication?
Did you know that this is a big problem abroad? Just like some of the perfumes on Ebay are fakes, what you got online may be either diluted or simply saline solution all together. It's ridiculous what we get charged in the US, but what you're doing is potentially dangerous to your health. |
I am 13:25 poster. I did one IVF where I used medications from US (Prosperity Pharmacy). We got 3 eggs and none of them went to day 5. I did another IVF where I got meds from ivfpharmacy.com at 50% lesser price. We got 11 eggs and 5 became blastocysts.
If you have issues, you can continue using US medications. Nobody is stopping you. |
I think you're marketing a little to hard. You and your 5 sock puppet happy customers. |
Hi - I ordered from IVF Meds last cycle after doing a lot of researching on prices and trying to figure out whether I would be getting the real deal or not.
Here's my experience - I went with IVFmeds (UK-based) rather than IVFpharmacy (Israel) because the medications I needed were several hundred dollars less expensive at IVFmeds. That said, IVFpharmacy got much higher reviews on various forum. Many fo the reviews dinging IVFmeds were becasue the medicine didn;t arrive on time. My ordering experience : I spoke with a polite rep on the phone. When I asked if they had the medicine right now in stock because that would influence my ordering decision, he said yes. They also gave me a promo code for free shipping. After 10 days I called to follow-up and it turns out they did not have the medicine, were waiting for it to arrive. Finally, they gave me a tracking code and it made it from their office to my door in about 5 days (but that's the unpredictable part - I've read it can sometimes get held up for weeks at customs). Only when I started stimulation 10 days later, did I notice they'd only sent me 6, not 26 vials of menopur. I called and the man on the line said, oh yes, sorry, the';d run out of menopur and they'd refund me the $700. My fault for not checking the order, but also their fault for billing me for the entire order and not letting me know the menopur would not be coming. It took two more calls to get the $700 refunded to my visa, butIi did eventually. I also had to make a last minute (and more expensive) purchase from Freedom Pharmacy becasue i didn't have the extra 20 vials of menopur. The medicine itself, after it arrived, was perfectly fine. You don't get needles or syringes or q caps, and the diluent vials are glass ampules which must be manually broken open. But the meds worked as expected. |
What was the customs process like? did they label the contents for what they were on the customs slip? Was the shipment fully insured for the amount you spent on it? |