A $22 price difference for a prescription. But I'm ahead of myself. As I have stated here previously, I am a patient of Interfaith Clinic. Early in the week I was feeling fatigued and sick to my stomach, Wednesday I woke up well past the sort of, maybe state of being sick. I was afraid I might have the flu, so I called and got an appointment for that afternoon. Long and short, no flu but there's also a nasty virus going around that has some of the same symptoms. We're going through the vitals check, and the doc listens to my lungs. She stops, and has the pre-med student who is making rounds listen. It was to demonstrate what asthma sounds like. I've never had asthma, but the doc says it's probably viral, since I've never had "attacks" and no one has ever expressed the possibility to me. The air comes in fine, but I'm wheezing when it goes out. More on the jump. She says this is why I feel so tired. May be contributing to my poor concentration and achiness. I've had pneumonia a couple of times, and bronchitis half dozen or so times, but this freaks me out a bit. I mean just because asthma is common in these parts doesn't mean I want it. But I know from the other respiratory ailments that recovery takes a while. I'm given a prescription for Albuterol and am told my minor symptoms should go away in a couple of months. Then because it's not one of the meds the clinic stocks, someone at the clinic tells me that patients have reported paying between $29 and $80 for Albuterol. The cheapest place I'm told is Wal-Mart. Since I haven't been in a Wal-Mart, but three times since 1985, that's not an option. So, I call the four drug stores between the clinic and my North Knoxville house. In order, here's what I got: CVS -- $29 something Walgreens' - $41 something Kroger - $36 something Belew's - $19.67 I got the script filled at Belew's, which has done me good before, and must say that I can tell a difference in my breathing. Now, let's hope that I do get better in a couple of months. So, the question is are these other places charging so much because there's such a high occurrence of asthma in these parts? Do they charge the same in other areas? If this little family-owned business can sell it for $10 less than the closest competitor, why can't the competitors -- all part of large chains -- charge less or why don't they do so? Also, although the internet tells me that viral asthma is out there, has anyone else heard of it, and does it indeed go away? Pam