Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Lucinda Porter on Hepatitis C Generics

We we're just reading the fabulous Lucinda Porter on her

blog and she was discussing Hepatitis C and your kidneys. 

Before I talk about the article on her blog, I want to say,

we really love Lucinda Porter for her stance on many issues

about our American healthcare.  She really cares and is

probably a "cool" person to have a meal or have coffee

with. 

Alright, lets get in to the article.

The article is a great source to understand about your

kidneys in general and the precautions you must take ovrall

to insure healthy kidneys.  I recommend everyone read it,

it short and succinct.

The take away from the article for those with HCV is that

you have a 52.6% chance of have a higher risk of kidney

failure than those who do not have Hepatitis C virus. 

The difference doesn't seem too large, however, it has to

be taken serioulsy. So, those without HCV have a 38.4%

chance of having kidney failure.

About 1 in 9 Americans have kidney disease, that's about 26

million, quite large compared to those tested positive for

HCV. 

The warning signs are, high blood pressure, too much

protein in urine, blood in urine, any swelling of your

hands, feet and puffiness around your eyes.  Also, if you

get up at night to urinate and its painful or difficult,

then that is something should be taken seriously. 

When you go to your primary care physician, they will help

you determine if you have high risk for kindney related

issues that can prop up down the road.  In the mean time,

please have a kidney function test.  That will reveal lots

of information about your creatinine, blood urea nitrogen

(BUN) levels, and most importantly the GFR/glomerular

filtration rate. 

If you're not aware of the complication of kidney disease

or kidney failure associated with HCV, please talk to a

good caring doctor.  Its their job to help and guide you. 

These doctors official names are Nephrologists and your

kidney is often referred to as a renal organ.  Just a heads

up.


Again, please go to Lucinda Porter's website when you get a

chance.  She's really wonderful.

In regards to your HCV medicines please call us or email us

at hcvmeds@gmail.com or use the contact form on




Friday, August 14, 2015

Bangalore Real Estate, Living in India, Medical Tourism and an Online Indian Pharmacy

I should have been posting but I have been bad.  I posted only 2 times while I was in India.  I lived in Bangalore for almost 5 consecutive years, but visiting it for 20 years.  It was remarkable.  I will be going back again in the next few weeks to months.  It all depends on how fast I sell my house in Austin, Texas.  The market is hot, the weather is hot, it will sell fast, keeping my fingers crossed.

If you haven't gone to India, you must.  It is probably the best place to go in the developing world.  Its developing super fast.  You won't see those low prices anymore.  The cost of living has soared and is continue to soar.  Bought land and built a nice house and sold it 12 years later made over $600K profit.  Spent $140K to buy land and build the house.  If you were to build the same house now, it would cost you over $800K because of the cost of concrete, labor and materials.  Its all gone up.

One of the best things about India outside real estate, is health care.  Its super affordable.  You can get a MRI for about $70.  That's amazing.  When you come to India, make sure you get all your blood tests done, it will only cost you $40 or less.  Want braces it will cost you no more than $400, no kidding.  Its totally worth it.  Prescription medicine is super cheap and affordable, pharmaceuticals are genuine and just as good as the US.  Pack your suitcases and stuff it with prescription medicine for your friends, family and anybody else that needs medicine.

Send an email to hcvmeds@gmail.com and I will give you guidance on choosing a pharmacy and the process.  I know, it can be daunting with all the Online Indian pharmacies and the bad press associated with it.

There is one that I've been using for 6 years SunnyPharma.info

How to Choose a Quality Online Indian Pharmacy?

 This is a very tough task, but it can be done.  I'm living proof of someone that has been getting prescription medicine from India for almost 20 years.

From the press and the blogs that I have read, they often state that there are very few reputable Online Indian pharmacies.

When you go to India, especially Bangalore, there are probably 5 to 15 every square mile.  They exist because the community supports them and they're trusted.  If the pharmacies delivered poor medication or inferior medication they would be shut down in a heart beat.  Not just by the local officials but the customers themselves.  They would pretty much run them out of town.

Choosing an Online Indian Pharmacy is a different story, they can provide "bad/inferior" medicine.  After word gets out they shut down their website and reopen with another domain name or .com.  Yeah, its pretty simple.

There is a way to test an Online Indian Pharmacy:

First, you can give them a call.  Remember, India is 12.5 hours ahead of US time give or take an hour.  When you give them a call, you're going to have a hard time understanding them.  Although they do speak English, they will have a strong accent.  Most Indian people speak one or few of the 500 distinct languages and dialects.  Its difficult for an Indian to communicate with another Indian if they're just from a different part of their own state.  So, imagine speaking to someone in a different state or a different region of the country.

Second, if you can get them on the phone at the right time of their day and understand their accent, you're in luck.  Well, I have to applaud anyone that has made it even this far because it requires quite a bit of patience.

Third, you now have them on the phone, great!  NEVER GIVE THEM YOUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER.  Next, get on their website, make an order without a credit card.  The pharmacy should send you an invoice and reply back with the shipping address for your medicine.  The invoice should also give you instruction on which bank account you have to submit your payment.  Please make sure you're working with a legitimate bank.  Your bank branch will help you verify this.

It will only take a few days for their bank to receive your payment.  You should be able to see the transaction in your online bank account.  There are no risks via this method.  Please verify with your banker.

Fourth, call the Online Indian Pharmacy to verify that they have received the payment associated with your order number.  If payment was received, then ask "What Date?" will I receive my package at the specified address.  You should get an answer from 2 days to 10 days max.  Sometimes, I have heard of people getting their packages even 2 weeks after they order.  India has a lot of holidays and many government and private businesses shut down for days at a time. Your package just may take a bit longer than anticipated. 

I have worked with one Indian Pharmacy for almost 20 years and they have done a great job.  Never, once let me down.  Just recently, I had ordered very expensive medicine, Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), ribavirin and peginterferon alfa, US price $100,0000, India price $5000.  I was nervous about the order not if I would receive it, but if anything would go wrong with customs.  I never had problems with US customs the past 19 years I'd been receiving medicine and there is no reason why I would have a problem now.  Nine days after I made payment it was at my door via registered India Post.  Yeaaay!  My friend needed this for Hepatitis C treatment.

After 12 weeks of the Hep C regimen, he was cured of Hep C.  His blood results came back negative for that nasty Hep C virus.  My friend was so thankful, he donated $8000 to the clinic/pharmacy that supplied his medicine.  The clinic is run by several American doctors who gave up their practice in the states 20+ years ago.

The clinic/pharmacy run by American doctors don't have an online pharmacy website, but they just put up a site for Sovaldi (sofosbuvir), its called SunnyPharma.info.  They can pretty much get all the medicine your doctor prescribes you here in the states.  SunnyPharma.info will call you and find out if you did email to verify you and your shipping address.  They don't take payment online, only via bank transfer.

I wish everyone reading this post the best of luck in finding a good online Indian pharmacy, it just takes some trial and error.  Just try not to overdo the error.  You will eventually find an Online Indian Pharmacy that will deliver.  Please try to follow the guidelines above.  

If you don't want to take any chances, just go with Sunny Pharma they really do a great job.  Just email your prescription or which medicine you want, they will call you back.

You can contact me if you need any further help hcvmeds@gmail.com

All the best and I wish speedy treatment for those afflicted with Hepatitis C.