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Pharmaceutical question - Nitazoxinide
first of all, what the heck? 42? pills or boxes?
this medicine is used as a first choice treatment of few stomach infections (girardia, amoeba and so on). usually it is 2 pills a day for three days which is why in DR is not sold individually but by a box of 6 pills, full course of treatment.
it is available over the counter, in any pharmacy, really. but it is not cheap and such quantity of boxes (7) is hard to find in a single pharmacy. maybe in santiago or SD, otherwise you would have to order it beforehand, accept boxes from different labs or prepare for a long wait as the pharmacy tries to find you the same brand in other places.
in any case, in DR you can buy it under various brand names: nixoran, nitazofin, nizonide, nor-tripar, paramix, paraxin, uniplus, zoxanid and gosh, plenty more.
i checked for you the price of uniplus, 363 pesos per box of 6 pills. 42 pills is 7 boxes = 2.541 pesos. if you find it all in one place and pay cash you should get 10% off. otherwise it's full price for ya.
you will have more luck with 42 boxes, in a way. that would be a special order, most likely needing to be paid in advance. but you'd not get it at retail price (over 15k pesos). most places will offer a good deal with up to 20% off (on cash payment).
this medicine is used as a first choice treatment of few stomach infections (girardia, amoeba and so on). usually it is 2 pills a day for three days which is why in DR is not sold individually but by a box of 6 pills, full course of treatment.
it is available over the counter, in any pharmacy, really. but it is not cheap and such quantity of boxes (7) is hard to find in a single pharmacy. maybe in santiago or SD, otherwise you would have to order it beforehand, accept boxes from different labs or prepare for a long wait as the pharmacy tries to find you the same brand in other places.
in any case, in DR you can buy it under various brand names: nixoran, nitazofin, nizonide, nor-tripar, paramix, paraxin, uniplus, zoxanid and gosh, plenty more.
i checked for you the price of uniplus, 363 pesos per box of 6 pills. 42 pills is 7 boxes = 2.541 pesos. if you find it all in one place and pay cash you should get 10% off. otherwise it's full price for ya.
you will have more luck with 42 boxes, in a way. that would be a special order, most likely needing to be paid in advance. but you'd not get it at retail price (over 15k pesos). most places will offer a good deal with up to 20% off (on cash payment).
miesposo has a pharmacy and i worked there for two years 
i know quite a lot about medicine and how things are handled in DR. long wait is few hours, maybe. a single small pharmacy will carry one or two boxes at a time. they will call to find and have the medicine delivered. but there are not that many pharmacies in sosua or cabarete, some may not have it at all, some may not have the brand and so on.
i suggest you go to any pharmacy and ask about availability. then have them call few other pharmacies to check what they have. state you need 7 boxes and you pay cash. give your address for delivery and what change the pharmacy is going to need. say, all meds, including boxes from other pharmacies, come to 2.874 pesos. say you have 3.000, the pharmacy will send a messenger with medicine and change whenever they are ready.
do not expect any discount when medicine is brought from a different pharmacy. you do not have to tip but you are happy with the services drop an extra 50 pesos to the messenger accompanied with a huge smile.
btw, it is very rare i see this medicine prescribed over such a long period of time. it has unpleasant side effects like stomach pains, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and so on. i suggest you consult a doctor if you should use some stomach protection during this treatment (esomeprazol or something similar). take the whole damn course even if you feel like crap or feel the symptoms go away.
good luck. get better soon.
i know quite a lot about medicine and how things are handled in DR. long wait is few hours, maybe. a single small pharmacy will carry one or two boxes at a time. they will call to find and have the medicine delivered. but there are not that many pharmacies in sosua or cabarete, some may not have it at all, some may not have the brand and so on. i suggest you go to any pharmacy and ask about availability. then have them call few other pharmacies to check what they have. state you need 7 boxes and you pay cash. give your address for delivery and what change the pharmacy is going to need. say, all meds, including boxes from other pharmacies, come to 2.874 pesos. say you have 3.000, the pharmacy will send a messenger with medicine and change whenever they are ready.
do not expect any discount when medicine is brought from a different pharmacy. you do not have to tip but you are happy with the services drop an extra 50 pesos to the messenger accompanied with a huge smile.
btw, it is very rare i see this medicine prescribed over such a long period of time. it has unpleasant side effects like stomach pains, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and so on. i suggest you consult a doctor if you should use some stomach protection during this treatment (esomeprazol or something similar). take the whole damn course even if you feel like crap or feel the symptoms go away.
good luck. get better soon.
dv8, you have been incredibly helpful. Am working with a top parasite doctor in the US but am moving down to the DR in a week. A chronic infection, along with the life cycle of these protozoa make it not easy to get rid of them. Shockingly, the meds in the US is $1700 dollars!!!! US pharmacies don't sell the generic (nitazoxinide) just Alinia. Yes, you are right that the typical PDR recommendation is for a 3-day stint and the die off can be very uncomfortable.
Thank you so much. Can I PM you if need be?
Thank you so much. Can I PM you if need be?
of course you can PM me and if you are willing to come to POP i will organize you the pills while we have a coffee and chat.
with some disease sadly the treatment is really nasty. TB and leprosy can take even two years to treat fully, with constant intake of strong antibiotics and a list of side effects longer than chimpanzee's arm. you have to get worse to get better.
i did not seen alinia here. we have a variety of generics from dominican and south american labs (colombia, mexico, argentina). some are better and some worse quality and a packet of nitazoxanida can be as much as 500 pesos. you will find that most medicine here is sold over the counter and quite often by one pill, however strange it may seem to an american but it saves you on costs of visiting doctors every month, especially with permanent treatments (diabetes, hypertension) or recurring diseases (herpes, acne).
and if you are willing to come to POP i will organize you the pills while we have a coffee and chat.with some disease sadly the treatment is really nasty. TB and leprosy can take even two years to treat fully, with constant intake of strong antibiotics and a list of side effects longer than chimpanzee's arm. you have to get worse to get better.
i did not seen alinia here. we have a variety of generics from dominican and south american labs (colombia, mexico, argentina). some are better and some worse quality and a packet of nitazoxanida can be as much as 500 pesos. you will find that most medicine here is sold over the counter and quite often by one pill, however strange it may seem to an american
but it saves you on costs of visiting doctors every month, especially with permanent treatments (diabetes, hypertension) or recurring diseases (herpes, acne).