I noticed from this site’s stats that a few visitors are searching for ‘Pharmawest Pharmacy’, and I assume y’all are wondering if they are for real, and reputable. After all, who isn’t nervous ordering medications on the internet? (I won’t even go into the visions/nightmares I have in my head about this. Bottom line, I order basically no medication & supplements online.)

But once you make the decision to start looking for meds in Canada, well, you can’t help but ask questions. You should ask questions!!!

One, YES, they are a real company in Canada. Their website is NorthWestPharmacy.com. I have ordered from their site numerous times and every order has been handled by a real, live person with a distinctly Canadian accent. :) I always seem to talk to the same older lady on the phone, and she is a pleasure to work with.

The address on my bottle label is 101-20560 56th Ave., Langley, BC V3A 3Y8 with phone numbers 1-866-539-5330 and 604-530-0745. The label is professionally pre-printed, it is not the shoddy product of some kid’s laser or ink-jet printer. It’s an ordinary pharmacy-class label just like you’d see at your own local pharmacy.

Two, YES, the meds are real. At least mine are. I get the Canadian version of Wellbutrin XL. It comes in the original sealed bottle sent diretly from the manufacturer. This med is made by BIOVAIL® and the label has a legitimate-looking Lot # and Expiration date. (Looks identical to U.S. labels) The contents listed are Bupropion Hydrochloride, USP Extended Release Tablets. The contents are listed in English and French.

Three, YES, they are dispensed by a Canadian doctor, in concert with your U.S. doctor. You must have an Rx from your U.S. doctor, and you or your U.S. doctor must fax or snail-mail the Rx to Pharmawest. They will not fill your order without a real, live, U.S.-doctor issued Rx on file. They won’t even send a refill of an existing med if they don’t have a refill order on hand from your U.S. doctor. They are really tight and proper about this.

How I handle it: I have my U.S. doctor fax my Rx to Pharmawest. Pharmawest has my order already on-hand (I ordered online, and they telephoned me to confirm it) so when the Rx arrived there, they filled the order and sent it out.

Shipping: My meds are sent in a padded envelope via regular Canadian post. (Whatever they call it.) It arrives here in Wisconsin usually in 5 business days. Five!! which I think is crazy-fast. Their website says to plan on like 8-21 days, and that is what I plan on.

The ‘Don’t Freak Out’ Factor: Some meds will kick up side-effects when you change brands. Wellbutrin is one of those meds. Even though they are technically/theoretically the same drug, clearly there are manufacturing discrepancies between companies, so no 2 makes of the same med are identical. When I switched from the U.S.-original Wellbutrin to BIOVAIL®’s Wellbutrin, I had a mountain of side-effects crop up for 10 days straight. This is normal. It was not a sign that I got bad meds. I get the exact same reaction when I mis-count my pills, forget to re-order in time, and have to take my back-up generics from Walmart.

Overall, I have been very pleased with the service I’ve received from Pharmawest. I’ve never had any billing problems, my meds have always arrived, and my orders/refills are always handled promptly and professionally.

Go for it. :)

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Filed under: Meds & Supplements

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