What's the availability of Mexiletine at the moment?
Hi!
I'm asking about the evergoing issue of availability of Mexiletine, specially in Europe but also in USA/Canada.
I used to take Mexiletine for decades but for few years it has not been available in Finland. Lately I've neen on flecainide (Tambocor) with dose of 200mg+150mg per day. That has been pretty nice dose, as I've been able to start going to gym/yoga and survive small daily things like stepping to a local bus.
Today I had a cardiac stress test which showed that my heart beats "expand" somehow so that there's a risk of arrhythmia(?) and my heart specialist told me to go back to 200mg+100mg. Unfortunately that dose is not enough to help me survive daily tasks.
Thus I've started to think about if there's any way to get Mexiletine to Finland. The problem is that according to Finnish law, medicine can only be ordered from EEA (European Economic Area) countries. From USA and Canada I can carry 3-month-dose with me, and with the flight prices it's not cheap... however, I'm also thinking about regular visits to USA/Canada to get better medication.
So: Does anybody know if there is any European country that would sell Mexiletine? If not, how much does Mexiletine cost in USA when bought by a foreigner?
Re: What's the availability of Mexiletine at the moment?
We have no trouble getting it in the US and Canada. There are a couple of reputable online Canadian pharmacies. Here is a link to mexiletine on one of them:
http://www.canadadrugs.com/group/Mexitil%20200mg/13916/
You do have to allow extra time for shipping and going through customs. I would not trust any pharmacies that don't require a prescription and that are not registered and licensed.
As far as I know, the company Teva (Novapharm) is the only one that is still manufacturing mexiletine. They are located in the US and Canada. Their worldwide headquarters is in Israel, but I can't see any listing for mexiletine as a product available in Europe, only North America.
Sometimes you can get exceptions and import medications not available in your country through a compassionate use program. You might ask your pharmacist if there is any way to apply for something like that.