Ruca

Megan, after spending 13 years working in Optometry Offices and Ophthalmology offices (total of 18 years experience as an ABO/NCLE certified Optician/Contact Lens Tech before moving on to get an English MA and an MBA, also working as a University Lecturer), and having a father who is a licensed Psych Tech and LVN for over 40 years, I am not only quite familiar with Allergan, Lumigan, Latisse, and the ways in which Allergan manipulates the system in order to keep their prices higher, but I am also extremely familiar with the politics revolving around the FDA, product liability laws, and other such nonsense that prevents US citizens from obtaining inexpensive medications, both eye-related and general medicine-related; I did my homework on the product before taking any "risks" on it, and the fact is, Sun Pharmaceuticals is a fully legitimate and even common company outside of the US. My bottles arrive with more superficial sterility protection on them than my old Latisse bottles did. To my knowledge, Sun Pharmaceuticals follows all the guidelines of any US pharmaceuticals company as standard protocol, much like all the major pharmaceutical companies do internationally. Not every country is subject to the often ridiculous standards of the FDA that can be 100% the result of our own country's wealthy pharmaceutical companies' lobbyists who prevent US citizens from having access to affordable generic medications.

Let me ask you, if you were on a trip in India for 2 weeks, and you fell ill from a local bug going around and found yourself in dire need of antibiotics, would you just allow yourself to die from the bacterial infection rather than swallow medications from an European or Asian pharmaceutical company? Probably not. Believe it or not, the FDA does not set global standards, and many international pharmacies are actually quite safe and trustworthy.

Are you aware that Lumigan and Latisse are the exact same product, but Allergan slapped a different label on it after inventing a new diagnosis when their patent ran out on Lumigan? Do you think hypotrichosis of the eyelashes" was even a valid diagnosis before they lost that exclusivity on Lumigan? How about how many US doctors refuse to admit that Lumigan is the same thing as Latisse, let alone that Careprost is, too, only produced by a non-US company, yet they are more than willing to prescribe Latisse to be used off-label for eybrows, too? In fact, I was prescribed Bimatoprost for both brows and lashes (which is why I go through a bottle per month), and the difference in my lashes AND brows from the past year of use for both PRESCRIBED reasons (one "standard" and one "off-label) is outstanding. At the same time, I'll be the first one to admit that "hypotrichosis of the eyelashes" is an absolutely ridiculous diagnosis for a "condition" that is clearly not a real concern, it is purely a political label allowing Allergan to re-market an old product as a new one, thus gaining another decade of exclusivity rights, and keeping the costs of a $10 bottle of eyedrops up to $100.

It is always wise to do as much research as possible, not only on the products and medications you use, but on the very real politics that surround the system in the United States. The Bimatoprost drops I receive from overseas are just as safe as the ones I used to get here, but they are not subject to my country's government regulations. I'm on bottle #10, and I'm just as happy as ever--absolutely no negative side effects, and no change my results from when I used the outrageously priced Allergan product.

That said, I would say, in my professional opinion, that the lower standards throughout most of Asia on spectacle lenses are often dangerous compared to the US standards on our labs when dealing with high index GLASS spectacle lenses; I have seen more eyeglasses with lenses from Asia that had center thicknesses below .5 mm than I care to think of, any of which run a constant risk of shattering directly into the eye. I may not agree with many of the FDA regulations and restrictions on drugs, but I am a strong proponent for vision safety in general.

You know what, Chrispuch? I finally gave up. After nearly a year of waiting for Allergan to make good on the BOGO, and nearly a year of the laser center I bought it from giving me the run-around, I'd had enough. Husband and I had appointments scheduled with the laser center that we had to miss (injury took us to the emergency room) and they refused to reschedule us unless we paid $35 each for missed appointment fees! I told them that since they had never delivered this bottle of Latisse I paid for, it seems like a wash to me. They wrote off the debt (erroneous, at that), and I stopped bugging them for my missing bottle. Meanwhile, I've done just as well with Careprost now that I've been using it for 10 months! I used 3 bottles of Latisse and I compared the ingredients--everything is the same, right down to the inert ingredients. A local medispa prescribes Careprost for a rather inexpensive rate, but I prefer to get mine in bulk from India for $10 a bottle. I can't believe I paid $100 a bottle for Latisse when I can get 10 bottles of the same thing in the generic, and I don't have to be treated like a jerk like I do with Latisse, who promised me my bottle was "at the pharmacy" all the way back in JUNE of 2011!

This is helpful for me, as I just had my 1st injections last Wednesday evening, making today almost 5 full days post-injection, and I still have substantial movement, although the worst areas are perfectly frozen (as they should be).

Butterfly, I have a question for both you and Barbie: Do/did either of you experience a sort of "bulging" effect post injections, or has your forehead(s) been the same size/shape as before treatment? I'm not sure if what I am experiencing is a normal side effect of Botox, or if it is just residual swelling, and so far, the doctors have not responded to the Q I posted in Q&A (with photos). To be fair, I posted over the weekend. Still, I would like answers, be it from a doctor, or from other Botox patients.

TIA

I got ONE free one back in May, but not the other. It's 1 per patient, but both my husband and I go to the same laser center, so one of the BOGOs was for him, technically. The doctor prescribed it to him, and the 1st bottle was sold to him. He has not received the email yet, like the one I got last May, and you obviously got, too. It's none of their business if he actually uses it or if he chooses to give it to me once the doctor has written the Rx for him since I have an Rx for the same thing from the same doctor... it's Latisse, not Oxycontin lol

I think it's time I called that 877 #. I STILL don't have my BOGO bottle! I've called the laser center where I paid for it LAST APRIL several times, but this has gotten me absolutely no where. I called again last week, and still haven't heard back. I even told them I have switched to Careprost because of the price and the bad service from Allergan. 5 months, and they can't deliver 1 bottle of Latisse? RIDICULOUS! I got 6 bottles of Careprost shipped from India in 10 days! I am beyond frustrated.