Cheap insulin for Khan at Costco!
The other day I realized that my cat’s insulin bottle was almost empty so I phoned my vet who kindly faxed a prescription over to the pharmacy so that I could buy another vial.
Normally she’d just send it to the nearby Pharmasave, but I have been unhappy with the service I’ve received from the pharmacist/owner for several months now, so I decided it was time to take my business elsewhere.
I’m really low on cash this month so a good deal was essential! I normally paid $84.99 at Pharmasave and figured I could find a lower price elsewhere so I phoned every pharmacy in the neighbourhood and asked them for a price quote on a 10 ml vial of Lantus insulin glargine. The Willingdon Costco quoted me $63.60 – the best deal in North Burnaby.
Costco is a bit out of the way for me. To get there I have to take two buses, cross a busy road, climb under a bridge, and then navigate my way through 300 metres of busy parking lots. It’s not pedestrian friendly! Still, I felt the savings made the hassle worth the effort. That $20 difference meant that I could eat this week, so off to Costco I will go!
I don’t have a Costco membership but the friendly pharmacy technician assured me that I didn’t need membership in order to use the pharmacy. However, I’m not sure if that included all pharmacy products such as Tylenol or vitamins or if it was just limited to prescriptions.
When I went to check out the total came to $71.23 – $7.63 more than the quoted price! “We have to charge HST since it’s for a cat,” said the pharmacy technician. “If it was for a person there would be no HST.”
Oh! Well, it was still a good deal!
I purchase my cat’s insulin from diabetes express. They deliver it to my door and each 10 ml vial costs me 27. Shipping is $9.00 so I usually buy a few vials at a time.
We have a cat that was diabetic and we managed to wean him completely off insulin through correct diet (Wellness grain free canned food) and following the protocol of this vet: http://www.yourdiabeticcat.com/protocol.html
Just thought you might want to check it out for your kitty…
I would like to know who has the costco cards?
It’s standard practice to add cat or feline and usually quotations to note a pet’s name. We also use the surname of the owner 🙂 Khans’ rx would have been listed under your phn and then there is a selection to indicate it is for a pet when it processes to Pharmacare. It also normal to be charged tax.
Happy Happy Joy Joy on the savings. Just remember.. the dispensing fees may be lower but the hours of operation and level of service are not as great.
Proud of you!
Of course Khan has your last name! I call him “Mr. Khan ‘Kittypants’ Christopher” in my head. Also, Costco looks the same in Canada as it does in the States!
Yeeah! They go for uniformity across the board, I think! Although the brands and food products probably reflect regional tastes and so forth.
That Costco hotdog looks so unappetizing.
It was filling though!