Price of Prelief......

[Misery]

I think the price of this Prelief is outrages to say the least.I know from my own personal experience it has helped me alot, but when you take between 15 or more pills a day, well you do the math frown.gif It doesn't take long to go through a bottle of 120 tablets, which coast me
abaut $12.00 dollar's mad.gif and I would not be surprised if the coast only will go up, becouse it's surply in demand !!!!!

<img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[cussing]" /> in Destin.....
Christine

[ICNDonna]

I suggest you contact the Prelief folks and ask if they have a program for people who can't afford to purchase it. I think my opinion may be jaded because we don't have prescription coverage and spend so much on medications, but I don't think Prelief is that expensive.

I order the granules via the internet and they do last longer than the tablets.

Donna

[Misery]

It's not that I can't affort it!!!!!
I just think the price on this stuff is ridiculous !!!!!
Christine

[Cawaggi]

I have to agree with Christine, but then if we only took them on occasion it wouldn't seem so expensive. I think the problem is we take them as a preventative measure, and we can't tell when we are really going to NEED them. Or at least that's my problem. I am trying to cut down. For a while, I took Prelief with everything I ate, but now I'm trying to take it only when I eat outside of the IC diet.

[louise]

Hello,

I thought I would help you to put the price of Prelief in the U.S. into perspective. Because Prelief is not available in Canada, I have to order it directly from the company which involves the price of the product, the exchange rate (our Canadian dollar isn't doing too well!!) plus the delivery charge. All of this works out to a heck of a lot more than $12.00 a bottle.

I have contacted Prelief to see if the product will be available at some time in Canada but it doesn't sound like it will be happening in the near future. So until then I make the decision to order it from the U.S. and pay a considerable amount of money because Prelief does give me some relief from my IC symptoms.

Louise

[nccarol]

I have found the prelief to help and notice when I am not on it. I showed it to a friend of mine and she tried some for cutting acidity cause she gets acid reflux She mentioned the two main ingredients in it Calcium glycerophosphate and magnesium stearate may be sold sperate in larger quantities cheaper. Do we know though exactly how much is in each tablet and if we take as much as needed without side effects maybe its worth trying if its cheaper. Just an idea to toss around.

[Cawaggi]

I've read about others in Canada...isn't there anything we can do to help them out? Can't we send them Prelief, or is that illegal? I'm not sure how we would handle the money exchange though... And nccarol, LOL! IC is going to turn us into a bunch of mad scientists trying to create our own concoction! Personally, I will continue to use Prelief when I feel it's necessary, like with that ham and cheese omelette that I ate this morning, but for the most part, I'm trying to stick closer to the IC diet and take less Prelief.

[louise]

Hi Cawaggi,

Thanks for your reference to us Canadians and trying to make Prelief more accessible. I believe that the company that makes Prelief has approached our health department here in Canada and are doing all they can to make it more accessible and therefore affordable to us. I'm not complaining because I am appreciative that there is such a product like Prelief that makes eating and drinking more comfortable for us IC sufferers.

Thanks for your kind thoughts.

Louise

[Cawaggi]

Glad to hear that Louise. I hope things work out for Prelief and Canada...it does make me feel better to know that I can take it if I want to, and I'd hate to think that it is inaccessible to people who might need it. Keep us posted!

[Claudia]

nccarol, I think your idea is a good one. I thought the same and had looked in various vitamin catalogs trying to locate those things. I couldn't. However, my brother and sister-in-law are pharmacists and I will ask them.

There are other familiar, calcium based antacids that do pretty much the same thing. I use them sometimes also. Baking soda works for me too, but so much sodium is not good.

[ICNDonna]

I use mostly the Prelief granules. I do carry the tablets in my purse. I'm truly amazed at how long the container of granules lasts. I tole my husband the stuff must expand every time I use some. Considering how much it's improving my life, it's not expensive at all.

Hugs,
Donna

[sharber]

Hi , I was also wondering why Prelief is not available in Canada. It is really frustrating!!!
Could anyone tell me the reason why it is not available? Sharon

[JOJO]

Hi
They use to sell it in Walmarts for 8.00 a bottle. Then a few months ago they had it for 4.00, I think they were just trying to sell it all out. So I bought the last 3 bottles. They dont sell it anymore. frown.gif And 12.00 is a little ridiculous-JOJO

[louise]

Hi Sharon,

I have talked to Betty at Prelief before as to why Prelief is not available in Canada. She said they are talking to Health Canada but apparently Health Canada does not like the name of the product (it sounds too remedial or something I guess) and that is why Prelief is having difficulty getting it approved for sale in Canada.
Since it is their product name it is a problem for us because of course Prelief does not want to change their well-known name and that is understandable. So it doesn't sound like we will be able to get it here in Canada for a while if at all. I know myself when I order it I usually get four or five bottles at the same time to cut down on the shipping and handling charges.

Louise

[louise]

Sharon,

If you look back on this thread to the subject I started re Prelief on August 21/02, Betty does have some info relative to trying to make Prelief available in Canada.

Louise

[kat]

Just for the record...I stopped taking Prelief about two months ago and started doing the baking soda thing and found it works just as well for me. In many cases I was taking 3 or 4 Preliefs before eating a bit of ketchup or cup or coffee as a precaution because I was so afraid of a flair.

I really can't afford the Prelief along with all my other meds, so I was forced to experiment. I've found I don't need it. Not that I've never flared again, but I flared sometimes even when I did take Prelief. It's a relief not to have to spend that extra $12 when I'm feeling so broke.

Please understand that I've been on Elmiron for two years now and pretty much know what I can and cannot eat, so I'm not recommending everyone stop taking Prelief. But if you're popping them every time you take a bite of something as I was, you might want to try a half tspn of baking soda and see if it helps just as an alternative.

[prbetty]

Dear Kat:

In California Prelief should be available at Albertsons, Longs, Price Less Drug, Raley's RiteAid, Savon, and Walgreens. Many of these stores sell the Prelief 120 tablet for $11.00 or less (suggested retail is $11.99). Several people have also advised me that Costco special orders Prelief for them at a very reasonable cost.

I know that some people do use baking soda, but baking soda contains a lot of sodium.

If anyone would like to contact me direct, please e-mail me at prbetty@akpharma.com or call toll-free at 1-800-994-4711.

Betty

[kat]

Thanks, Betty. It's true that baking soda contains a lot of sodium. I didn't know Costco carried Prelief. When I asked them about it the last time I was there they didn't know what I was talking about. However, since you mentioned it, I'll ask about ordering it next time I go and will find out about the price, too.

[LJ]

I didn't feel that Prelief helped my at all. The cost was too much for me too. We think that we would pay any price to get relief, but the reality is that we only have so much money in our pockets and there are other folks in our families who need things.