Other Pharmacies that Defy will use??

[JerryMc]

I started TRT Sept. 2018 and feel so much better and am off the anti-depressant.
Since I'm on a very limited income and my current Dr.'s at Kaiser won't prescribe TRT, I have to pay for everything out of pocket.

I have found cheaper meds at local pharmacies that have and dispense T, HCG, and anastrozole.

When I inquired about this to Defy, the answer I received was, "Our doctors are only licensed in FL."
Strange because Empower is in Texas....?

Bottom line. Is it legal for a doctor/clinic to force a patient to use their contracting pharmacy ONLY?
I realize T is a Class 3 controlled substance, but so is morphine and I got that for pain management when I had cancer.

I'm almost out of HCG and T and want to begin getting them locally. (cheaper and faster)
Costco, Walmart, Walgreens, etc... all dispense these meds. now.

Thank you for any input.

 

[Cataceous]

I also had Defy say that they must prescribe testosterone only in Florida. But no problems sending a prescription for anastrozole to my local pharmacy. I'd guess that hCG would be ok too. But they do charge a $25 fee for this as I recall.

 

[JerryMc]

I also had Defy say that they must prescribe testosterone only in Florida. But no problems sending a prescription for anastrozole to my local pharmacy. I'd guess that hCG would be ok too. But they do charge a $25 fee for this as I recall.

I find it odd that Empower is located in Texas though...

I guess I may need to begin seeing a Dr. in the Palm Springs area...

 

[Cataceous]

I find it odd that Empower is located in Texas though...

I'm not sure how that works. This Defy page says

All compounded Hormone Replacement Therapy medications ... must be ordered at Defy Medical using one of our approved Florida compounding pharmacies.

 

[maxadvance]

Reality is they say you must use them for prescriptions because to be able to get such reasonable fees associated with your TRT at Defy, they make some of the profit on the meds you buy. That's not a terrible thing, and I get where they're coming from. Their fees are very reasonable. Go to that clinic in Palm Springs and good luck. Most of the bullshit wellness centers in California want $250-$500 a month. Some of the MD's in my area in Socal that do TRT insist on pins by the staff only, no self pins. Defy is a great option to avoid getting runarounds. But if you can get scrips for your local pharmacy from Defy for an extra $25, that would be a no brainer for me.

 

[Vince Carter]

I too get my Empower supplies thru Defy so there must be some caveat or the website is just wrong.

I don't know if you can do it with testosterone but Defy has given me scripts that I get filled locally for Exemestane with a $25 fee to call it in.

 

[Deleted member 16042]

I think there are some differences state to state. I am in Colorado and receive prescriptions from Defy Through Empower. I also get HCG overseas, and recently due to NDT shortage, had them write a script for their $25 fee and had it filled under insurance locally.

 

[user_joe]

If you need their expertise you are going to have to pay for it If not, you just need to find a dr who will write scripts for you. It's that simple.

 

[Gman86]

Reality is they say you must use them for prescriptions because to be able to get such reasonable fees associated with your TRT at Defy, they make some of the profit on the meds you buy. That's not a terrible thing, and I get where they're coming from. Their fees are very reasonable. Go to that clinic in Palm Springs and good luck. Most of the bullshit wellness centers in California want $250-$500 a month. Some of the MD's in my area in Socal that do TRT insist on pins by the staff only, no self pins. Defy is a great option to avoid getting runarounds. But if you can get scrips for your local pharmacy from Defy for an extra $25, that would be a no brainer for me.

Ya I feel bad sometimes, just because their services are so cheap. I feel like the service I get is worth way more than what I pay throughout the year. It doesn’t get better than defy though. I just thank god they exist.

 

[DragonBits]

I started TRT Sept. 2018 and feel so much better and am off the anti-depressant.
Since I'm on a very limited income and my current Dr.'s at Kaiser won't prescribe TRT, I have to pay for everything out of pocket.

I have found cheaper meds at local pharmacies that have and dispense T, HCG, and anastrozole.

When I inquired about this to Defy, the answer I received was, "Our doctors are only licensed in FL."
Strange because Empower is in Texas....?

Bottom line. Is it legal for a doctor/clinic to force a patient to use their contracting pharmacy ONLY?
I realize T is a Class 3 controlled substance, but so is morphine and I got that for pain management when I had cancer.

I'm almost out of HCG and T and want to begin getting them locally. (cheaper and faster)
Costco, Walmart, Walgreens, etc... all dispense these meds. now.

Thank you for any input.

I think it's a complicated subject.

As examples, I can get Percocet oxycodone phoned into a pharmacy when I use an orthopedic doctor, but my periodontist cannot phone it in because it’s a narcotic, she can only issue a written script.

Same meds, both local doctors, two different policies. I could argue about it, but it’s doubtful I could get them to change their policies.

I used to have a script written in Thailand for Nebido that I could use to order Nebido from London, the script would expire in six months. Apparently, the National Health Service (NHS) changed their policy and they will no longer accept a script written in another country, so now I would need to do telemedicine and get a script written locally by a doctor in the UK, send them blood work, pay a $30 fee, kind of like Defy, and then you can order it. No idea about testosterone cypionate or other esters of testosterone, I get the feeling they don’t offer it, but I have never tried to find a source.

I am sure you will not get Defy to change their policy on dispensing T. The reason they gave you for that policy may not be the real / best reason, but they aren’t going to change their policy.

Without insurance, I don’t think for me HCG / anastrozole would be any cheaper locally, it might end up a lot more expensive. Especially HCG.

As mentioned, for $25 you can get a script phoned into a local pharmacy, but not for T, no idea about HCG/ anastrozole. I tried this for NDT, it worked BUT my insurance would not cover it, that made it a lot more expensive than from Defy, though I suppose I could order it internationally from a slightly dodgy source. I also suppose I could determine what my prescription drug plan would cover then order that script from Defy, assuming they agree.

If you really want to cut costs and have no other choices, you could cut out HCG and only use it when you wanted to return to full fertility. You could try changing your T dosing protocol to lower your E2 and not need an AI.

But I think Defy Medical is fairly reasonable everything considered, you could get cheaper but it will be a lot more work for you to find it and policies can change leaving you back at first base.

 

[captain]

If you was a doctor and every male patient you had was on Testosterone it probably wouldn't look too good. Regular pharmacies may have to report to the DEA and compounders may not. I don't know I am guessing. I was told by Crisler he wouldn't do insurance prior authorization for Testosterone because this is how they get in trouble.

 

[SilverSurfer]

Testosterone is a DEA controlled schedule III medication. Having you run around BFE 1,200 miles away from FL to your local pharmacist who probably will start asking questions creates a PIA for the doctor and staff. If they do it for you, then 200 other patients will want to as well. Imagine the call volumes if all those pharmacists start calling Defy’s doctors for verification, much less if Johnny DoGooder Pharmacist starts whining to the DEA. Count your blessings, and live within the program or go out and find your own local TRT doc. Pretty simple really.