Ebay Stops Web Sale of Tamiflu (Zdnet.com, Reuters)

[CoffeeCat]

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5899413.html

Internet auction site eBay pulled the sale of the Tamiflu drug from its Web site Tuesday, after prices topped 100 pounds on growing fears about the spread of the bird flu.

A spokeswoman for eBay said the auction, for Roche Holding's flu medicine, had been stopped because the sale of prescription drugs was not allowed under the e-commerce company's rules.

Europe has seen a surge in demand for Tamiflu on the Internet, following the confirmation of cases of avian flu in Turkey and Romania, and a suspected case in Greece.

Bids for a single course of treatment, comprised of 10 capsules, had reached 104 pounds ($174.61) by midday Thursday before the auction was canceled. Some 28 bids were received for the drug, which was advertised as located in Birmingham, England.

(more)

[gulfcoastliberal]

1. Geez. Try google.

Hopefully the physician's assistant brigade won't come after me for saying so.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Trillo]

3. The FDA has been saying that about any offshore pharmacies

for years. i.e., "most . . . meds are fake."

We know who has bought the FDA.

Maybe it's true with ebay and other public auction sites, but ebay is not all that's "online." Not by a long shot.

[northzax]

8. well just think for a second

if there's a shortage, Roche only makes so much of the stuff, right? so if there isn't enough to go around, what makes you think a pharmacy in Mexico actually has a full supply? CVS doesn't have the clout to buy some, but some guy with a website does? I might buy from Canada, but I figure anything from elsewhere is either fake or stolen.

[Trillo]

18. This was one of the things that passed after

9/11, the inability of a citizen to bring meds across the border from Mexico. Prior to that, for personal use it was fine according to Border Patrol. In fact, a Border Patrol agent told me directly that it was part of the Patriot Act that citizens no longer could bring meds across the border legally for personal use. I don't know specifically which laws were changed, he didn't quote a code number.

I've used many medicines purchased in Mexico, and they've always worked fine. Therefore, when someone says pharmacia medicines are either "fake or stolen", I figure they don't know what they're talking about, or they're LYING because they have an agenda or are advocating for something or another.

Personaly, I thank Bush personally for this, even though it was legislators that altered the laws somehow around that general time period.

[hallc]

11. I didnt say "offshore pharmacies"

I said internet pharmacies - you have no clue of what you are getting.

[Trillo]

19. "no clue of what you are getting"

I also know that in the U.S., a lot of the FDA approved drugs are pulled later because doctors and patients, "didn't know what they were getting." I understand that a lot of the corruption started around the time of Reagan, when I heard that people at the FDA were told from "on high" to approve certain things, like aspartame.

Some of the records of this used to be on the Internet, haven't looked for them in awhile, but now there are the issues with the arthritis meds and such being pulled, pharmaco's deliberately withholding side-effect information during drug approval processes, shareholder concerns, etc.

Yeah, right, when my doctor tells me a med is safe, if it's been approved for at least 50 years, I might believe him/her. Other than that, it's pretty much all a crapshoot, emphasis on craps, given the reality of a greed culture.

[Bridget Burke]

4. But perhaps refunds can be arranged....

After the influenza becomes a killer Pandemic & the "Tamiflu" doesn't work. The survivors can collect.

I don't know about "all" medications bought online being fake, but fake Tamiflu sounds like a really good scam. I expect e-mails about Tamiflu sources in Nigeria any day now.

Wouldn't fake Viagra be noticed right away?

[Megahurtz]

5. WTF?

That's a little harsh......."the brigade did come after you smartass" ???

Tell me, was that because of you?:popcorn:

:spank:

[hallc]

6. yes

he was referring to me in his post - thats why it was harsh

[Megahurtz]

7. Sorry,

I just figured it out when I saw both your conversations on a different thread...........oops!
:yoiks:

Now I get it.......:)

[gulfcoastliberal]

9. Yeah, the other poster believes when the pandemic breaks out, our

super competent government and crack healthcare system will have everything under control, providing Tamiflu for the entire populace and absorbing the millions of infected people into hospitals without any problems. No need to take any personal precautions or preparations, don't research anything online - it's all fraud. Everything is juuust fine. Go back to sleep.

BTW, I have bought the stuff online and it is not fake. My dad is a doctor and confirmed the packaging is real. The website I used is inside the US, buying the same Tamiflu from the same wholesalers selling to your local walgreens, etc. The only reason I don't get my dad to prescribe it to me is because I live in another state. But he thinks it's a good idea to have your own supply if/when a pandemic breaks out. The PA doesn't. BTW, more people die from malpractice each year than car accidents. I have a feeling this PAs employer is one of the problem doctors, the type who misdiagnoses someones cancer as a cold or something until it's too late. My dad has done legitimate hard core medical research for over 50 years. I'll trust his and my own research over the PA.

[hallc]

10. OK

and when your "Tamiflu" doesn't work, don't come crying to me about it. There is only a limited supply...where do you think all of these online sellers are getting it from?? Not to mention the market for Tamiflu now has gone through the roof with the panic. I wouldn't trust internet medicine for anything.

[gulfcoastliberal]

14. Here you go, Mr. "Expert":

Tell me this is fake:

[northzax]

21. oooh, a printed box!

I could make that in five minutes in photoshop and have ten thousand printed by Friday. just remember, whatever you do, don't let it get above 70 degrees, it, like all pharmas, degrades in a hurry.

look, I'm sure yours is real (and frankly, the placebo effect is probably just as good) but to encourage people to buy from less than reputable sources is simply unethical. So you have a hook up, that's great for you, the problem is that there is more Tamiflu coming on the market than has ever been made, including the stuff that has already been used. you may not think that the prescription system is a good thing, and have an inside source telling you what to take and when to take it, but for people who don't, taking prescription drugs is simply stupid. No one knows what the long term effects, or the real side effects of Tamiflu are, it's never been tested on a large population. I find it interesting that, for all your slamming of medicine and pharmaceutical companies, you are willing to trust Roche, on flimsy data, with a new drug that has never been tested in wide release. remember all the other drugs that were 'perfectly safe' in small testing, but developed major side effects in wide release?

[gulfcoastliberal]

23. Hey bro, I ain't taking the shit unless this dreaded pandemic breaks and

I get sick with the killer flu. Then I'll take my chances with this antiviral. I got a very nasty case of flu in '97 (I'm almost convinced it was the Hong Kong avian flu of that year) and felt like I was dying for several days - in that case my ex gf gave me some unused vicodin from her roommate who didn't need it and it sure made me feel a whole lot better - like being able to get out of bed for more than 2 minutes to use the bathroom. Look, I hope this flu fear never materializes. But if it does, I'd like to give myself the best odds at beating it as possible.

Ignore the possibility of an epidemic and the collapse of our shaky health system or take the initiative and procure an ounce of prevention for self-preservation. That's all I'm saying. There's a reason governments are buying this shit as fast as they can crank it out. And that's insulting to suggest I photoshopped that. And let me tell you something, a good many doctors out there are unethical hacks who chronicically commit malpractice all the time and never get anything worse than a reprimand. Doctors get in less trouble for killing someone via malpractice than for prescribing more vicodin than the DEA thinks they should. And for people like myself without health insurance - it is not unethical to get medicine however you can. If people are too dumb to understand the directions: that you only take it after you get flu symptoms, well then they shouldn't be allowed to drive a car since they probably can't read stop signs or speed limits. And forget buying booze. Adults should be allowed to buy and use whatever fucking drug they want, pharmaceutical or not, this is supposed to be a free country.

Personally I'd rather smoke some good bud all day long but I'm not living in California right now so I can't. And pot won't save you if this killer flu mutates. Maybe tamiflu will give your immune system the reprieve it needs. I don't know. I'm not shilling for Roche but I think it's prudent to have a survival kit since the WHO says it's only a matter of time before it hits.

[CoffeeCat]

26. I couldn't agree more...

I say it's wise to be prepared.

I don't listen to Bush. I don't listen to the MSM. For more than a year, I've been reading about bird flu and keeping up with medical journals and reading "Nature", "Science" and other scientific information.

If this bird flu strain mutates--a pandemic will happen. No one knows whether or not it will mutate, but has everyone read the research on the cadaver that was recently dug up in Alaska? Tissue samples from a person who died from the 1918 pandemic flu were used to re-create the genetic make-up of the virus. Scientists agree that the current bird flu virus is similar to the 1918 strain--before it mutated. They are genetically very similar. Read the article.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,3605,1585976,...

After what we've all seen with BushCo's handling of Katrina--how can you not be prepared? At the very least, sit down and read the real research.

Please don't let Junior dissuade you from taking this seriously. Plenty of virologists, biologists and medical experts have been discussing bird flu seriously for months. Plenty of reputable organizations, including the WHO, are very concerned.

[Megahurtz]

12. If that's the case, then

maybe the other poster hasn't worked in the medical field long enough to know
that it can be almost as big of a bureaucracy as the government....
:hide:

I know that the government will most likely screw up if there is a pandemic,
so I agree with you there.
We need to prepare ourselves and do our own research, and get information from sources that we trust.
I have dealt with "problem doctors" (as well as our "super competent government")
so I won't wait around expecting them to protect us.

It's probably a little naive to believe that all medicine aquired online and/or from wholesalers is fake.

[Raster]

13. I have bought drugs online (no, not tamiflu), and they were just fine.

I too have been considering stocking my personal supply of tamiflu for our own usage. I have used tamiflu before, and know how to use it. Chin up.

[mahina]

17. Which website did you buy from, if you don't mind my asking?

Just wondering, I waited too long and meds4yourhealth is out.
Thanks!

And as to the other conversation, why does everybody get so pissy over the least thing? Geez.

[gulfcoastliberal]

20. Try this one

http://dreampharmaceuticals.com/Tamiflu_online.html

Bought 6 packs from em over the last 6 months, enough for me, GF, Mom, & Dad.

Check out my pics of the package downthread.

[CoffeeCat]

22. Me too...I purchased Tamiflu...

...a pandemic may happen, it may not.

However, I've done extensive research on bird flu and have read the science--while avoiding the hype from the MSM and the inane, pseudo-concern from the pResident.

If there's one thing I learned from Katrina--it's that we are on our own.

I am not paranoid. I don't sit around thinking about bird flu. However, I will have 10-day doses for each of my four family members before the end of the year.

This flu may break into a pandemic. It may not. I'm prepared in case something does happen--just like someone would use common sense to prepare for an earthquake, hurricane, tornado, etc. You don't live your life with disaster on your mind, but it's using good sense--especially with Junior at the helm--to prepare.

[gulfcoastliberal]

24. Amen Sparkles. We're on our own if it goes down. Better safe than sorry.

I hope we don't have to take it. But if we do, at least we'll have a chance. BTW, I bought 2 boxes because they say you should take 2 a day for 10 days if you get the killer bird flu.

[CoffeeCat]

25. I read that the 10-day dose is better at fighting the flu...

...than the 5-day also.

Unfortunately, my doctor would only give me the 5-day.

She did not want to give me the Tamiflu and tried to talk me out of it.

She wasn't very cooperative, but I persisted.

I read some research on Tamiflu, and from what I read--the flu tended to come back with only a 5-day dose, but the 10-day dose was very effective. It sounds like you heard the same thing.

[Voltaire99]

15. Surely New Orleans suggests...

...just how much readiness we can expect from BushCo.

We live in a laissez-faire society that doesn't care whether you live or die. Plan accordingly.

[gulfcoastliberal]

16. For the record, here are portraits of my Tamiflu bought online:

I'll leave it up to you to decide if it's "fake". I assure you, it isn't.