Malorone

Four of a kind

Anyone know how much a 3 month supply of maloron would cost?

mac123

a lot...i cant remember exactly but i got enough for about 3 weeks and it cost me around €80 i think. id get a different one if i was you.

bringitdown

3 months!

Can the DPS apply?

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/health/entitlement-to-health-services/drugs-payment-scheme/?searchterm=DPS

dory

Yes it can, but you have to find an accomodating pharmacy. One I found gave me a summer's worth for €80, another time I got 6 months free because my parents always pay the max amount and then I went in once a month for 6 months to get mine after they got theirs.
Technicallly it's a holiday drug so not seen as necessary, but they found loopholes.
Also, Malarone is the best, wouldn't advise cheaper ones. Been known to make people get sick, have crazy nightmares etc.

crisco10

Can you take malerone for 3 months? I thought the max was 4 weeks or something?
I got my (3 week) supply down in the pharmacy where my dad pays some contribution thingy. Didnt cost me a cent. sweet.

dory

Yea, there's all sorts of things about not taking any malaria medication for long periods of time because it wears off sort of thing, but you're taking a chance if you don't at the same time. Also, I've been to a few doctors getting prescriptions over the years and none said anything about 4 weeks. Not saying you're wrong, just pointing out every Irish doctor has had no clue of tropical diseases. They were well off on other matters too. I always found it best to ask a doctor in the country you're going to when you get there.

rod flanders

Malarone is bloody expensive. I paid about €3 per tab. I also heard that 4 weeks was the max to take it for but met people that were taking it for 6 months.

Four of a kind

there's way to much confusion over it tbh. the doc in the tmb yesterday told me that maloron was the best and to take it for the whole 3 months. But if its costing €2-€3 per tablet then thats just mental. Going to see about this drup refund thing. If its classified as a holiday drug then it won't apply

I ain't getting malaria.

LaMer

28 tablets will cost you €125, fact.

crisco10

Four of a kind wrote: »

there's way to much confusion over it tbh. the doc in the tmb yesterday told me that maloron was the best and to take it for the whole 3 months. But if its costing €2-€3 per tablet then thats just mental. Going to see about this drup refund thing. If its classified as a holiday drug then it won't apply

I ain't getting malaria.

Yeah, but afaik for some reason anti-malarials get through a loop hole on the drug benefit scheme thingy. Like my da pays x a month and for that he gets up to €130 drugs free a month. So the month I got my Malarone, I just used up his complete monthly allowance. he didnt mind.

lemon_of_old

Another problem with Malerone is that if your bag is nicked with your supply you'll find it hard to get replacements. As far as I know the only way you can get Malerone in malaria regions is if you actually have malaria and they'll give you a higher dose of it as a treatment. So you'd have to switch to something else then. It is really really expensive. I'm using doxycycline with absolutely no side effects. I got E20 worth in Ireland before I left which did me for a month and a half, then stocked up in Chiang Mai for a quarter of the price. My travelling buddy is using another one, lariam, which gets a lot of stick about side effects, but she's had no problems at all at all. All of them have pros and cons, so you just have to decide which one suits you the best. But use something, I've already met a few people who's had malaria and were lucky to survive. They described it as being as close to hell as you could imagine. Mosquitos really really suck ass.

youcancallmeal

LaMer wrote: »

28 tablets will cost you €125, fact.

I paid 90euro for 30 tablets 3 weeks ago in a pharmacy in Dublin city center, fact!

The pharmacist did me a pretty good deal. He got me to fill out an emergency drug payment scheme claim form. As far as I gather if your paying PRSI and you are on the DPS then you don't have to pay more than 85euro a month on prescription drugs. I got my prescription from TMB and they also gave me a prescription for imodium, dioralyte, motilium and fucibet. Some of that stuff obviously isn't prescription drugs but the doctor in TMB knows the deal with the DPS. So I went in with my prescription for malarone, immodium, dioralyte, motilium and fucibet and got it all for just 90 euro!

SheroN

youcancallme>al wrote: »

I paid 90euro for 30 tablets 3 weeks ago in a pharmacy in Dublin city center, fact!

The pharmacist did me a pretty good deal. He got me to fill out an emergency drug payment scheme claim form. As far as I gather if your paying PRSI and you are on the DPS then you don't have to pay more than 85euro a month on prescription drugs. I got my prescription from TMB and they also gave me a prescription for imodium, dioralyte, motilium and fucibet. Some of that stuff obviously isn't prescription drugs but the doctor in TMB knows the deal with the DPS. So I went in with my prescription for malarone, immodium, dioralyte, motilium and fucibet and got it all for just 90 euro!

How long does 30 tablets last?

Four of a kind

lemon_of_old wrote: »

Another problem with Malerone is that if your bag is nicked with your supply you'll find it hard to get replacements. As far as I know the only way you can get Malerone in malaria regions is if you actually have malaria and they'll give you a higher dose of it as a treatment. So you'd have to switch to something else then. It is really really expensive. I'm using doxycycline with absolutely no side effects. I got E20 worth in Ireland before I left which did me for a month and a half, then stocked up in Chiang Mai for a quarter of the price. My travelling buddy is using another one, lariam, which gets a lot of stick about side effects, but she's had no problems at all at all. All of them have pros and cons, so you just have to decide which one suits you the best. But use something, I've already met a few people who's had malaria and were lucky to survive. They described it as being as close to hell as you could imagine. Mosquitos really really suck ass.

This will be the route i'll go down i think. pharmacy told me today that 8 weeks supply of maloron would cost €350. So its doxycycline or lariam for me.

Arcee

I've used Malarone a few times now on various trips to Asia. Pros: no side effects unlike Larium and doxy. Cons: expensive and hard to find if you need to pick up more out in Asia. My doc wasn't keen on prescribing it for over 2 months but I did some research online and there's no hard and fast proof that long term use is dangerous.

The drug refund scheme covers all prescription drugs whether they are to stop you from falling over dead or just for your hols so you should have no problem just paying €80 at the chemist for whatever size supply of Malarone you need. Use a different chemist if they give you any probs because Malarone is definitely covered. Your biggest prob will be getting a doc to prescribe that much. I told my doc I was moving around and would only need to take it for the first 3 weeks then a break then another 3 weeks etc...

Also, where exactly are you going? Malarone is not the best anti-malarial for some countries.

Anyway, not to put a downer on your trip but you're much more likely to get Dengue fever than Malaria. It's far more common and there are no preventative drugs available but no one talks about it for some reason..... just stock up on the DEET and don't get bitten.

Four of a kind

Arcee wrote: »

I've used Malarone a few times now on various trips to Asia. Pros: no side effects unlike Larium and doxy. Cons: expensive and hard to find if you need to pick up more out in Asia. My doc wasn't keen on prescribing it for over 2 months but I did some research online and there's no hard and fast proof that long term use is dangerous.

The drug refund scheme covers all prescription drugs whether they are to stop you from falling over dead or just for your hols so you should have no problem just paying €80 at the chemist for whatever size supply of Malarone you need. Use a different chemist if they give you any probs because Malarone is definitely covered. Your biggest prob will be getting a doc to prescribe that much. I told my doc I was moving around and would only need to take it for the first 3 weeks then a break then another 3 weeks etc...

Also, where exactly are you going? Malarone is not the best anti-malarial for some countries.

Anyway, not to put a downer on your trip but you're much more likely to get Dengue fever than Malaria. It's far more common and there are no preventative drugs available but no one talks about it for some reason..... just stock up on the DEET and don't get bitten.

Hi,

Myself and girlfriend are heading to Tanzania for three months independent volunteer work. we'll be working in orphanages and general backpacking trips around the country.

so you reckon if the doc in the tmb prescribs maloron for us for a period of three months each then the drug refund scheme will def cover us?

Arcee

Malarone should be fine from Tanzania from what I've read. So long as you are eligible under the drug refund scheme (I think you have to have paid tax for a while or something) then I see no reason why you wouldn't be covered. That's just going from my experience anyway. Are you based in Dublin? PM me if you want the details of the doc and chemist I used in August this year....