The internet has offered couples experiencing infertility, and the hefty cost of fertility drugs, an alternative, as well as a way to enjoy deeply discounted fertility medications. But is it safe? There are enough horror stories abounding on conception and IVF forums to indicate that one size does not fit all and that all online fertility medication pharmacies aren’t alike. The FDA recently noticed that this is a growing trend, and has offered guidelines for couples to follow when considering a purchase from an online pharmacy selling fertility medications.
The Difference between Fertility Medications and Fertility Supplements
Each year the FDA estimates that thousands of couples and women suffer from the effects of taking fertility supplements (herbal or otherwise) thinking that they are medications. Supplements are not regulated as medications are, so purchasing them does not come with the same standards or guarantees.
Avoid Online Pharmacies that Don’t Require Prescriptions
The FDA urges extreme caution when a pharmacy claims it can fill your order without a prescription. Very often these medications are generic, or worse yet, not even the real medication you are requesting. Credible online pharmacies will have a number of guidelines and protocols that are designed to protect you as a consumer and as a patient. Those that have a full time healthcare professional looking over the prescriptions and consulting with consumers are the best in the business.
Don’t Buy Fertility Medications Unless they Have Been Prescribed
There are a number of websites where patients are reselling their leftover IVF drugs or fertility medications. Some of them think they are getting around the legal issues by ‘donating’ them to a group who will dispense them. This is risky at best, the FDA warns. Unless the doctor has examined you and prescribed the medication for you, do not take the medication. Your body’s chemistry is delicately balanced, and where fertility issues are concerned, that balance makes all the difference when it comes to conception.
Red Flags for Online Pharmacies
If an online pharmacy does not have any way of contacting them directly, run far and fast away. Secondly, avoid pharmacies that claim a quick fix and a 100% success rate. None exists. Lastly, many of the medications MUST be kept cold, or stored in specific ways. If the company makes no provision for shipping those medications in a safe manner….avoid them like the plague.
Finding a reputable online fertility drug pharmacy is not difficult. Finding a good one, with a sterling reputation, is. Only a handful have been around for more than 10 years, but you can bet that the ones that have been, exist and have a track record for a reason: they do what they say they will do and provide an honest service with the best of all possible products. Because of the strict regulations and care that must go into the dispensation of these types of fertility and IVF medications, companies such as this, if they want to last for any length of time, must have as its core mission a desire to help couples achieve their dream of becoming parents, and are willing to partner with them to make this happen. When you find such an online pharmacy, they can become another ally in your journey toward parenthood.