Any advice on buying some back up meds while in Mexico?

Any one here willing to share advice on buying meds in Mexico?

If I'm understanding it right, I can see a Doctor there and get a script for painkillers and can legally bring them back.

I would love to be able to buy an emergency stash so I'm not at the mercy of docs when I'm in desperate need.

Milo,

That's the way I interpret the laws too. You can bring back an amount considered to be a "reasonable amount for personal use."

This is FAR safer than ordering from the online pharmacies that don't require a prescription. They're totally illegal, and if you order from them, you could lose your money or get counterfeit meds. If the postal service suspects a package is from one of those pharmacies, they can legally inspect it, seize it, and destroy it.

Good luck,
Teri

Milo,

I recently visited Mexico...had an old box of Relpax that had been empty and expired for a while..I simply showed it to the pharamacist and he asked how much I wanted...I ended up not buying any because it was still pretty expensive...but, a year ago, my mom brought back 15 boxes of Relpax for me (2 pills to a box) and wasn't questioned at all.

Wow!

Is it I live a long way from Mexico. Is it legal for a friend to obtain the meds from Mexico and mail them to me?

By the way, I once asked about getting medications from Canada or Mexico at a health insurance meeting conducted by my employer, and my boss blatantly yelled it was ILLEGAL. Embarrassed me to no end. I was just wondering if insurance would cover meds we obtained from another country. I know there are many people that do it, especially elderly people on a fixed income (and I don't blame them).

What's legal and what's illegal? I would not be comfortable ordering from an online foreign (or even domestic, unless it's approved by my insurance and with a prescription) pharmacy.

Becky

Bringing meds into the country is supposed to be legal only when you have a prescription for them and purchased them from a verified pharmacy that sells them ONLY with prescription.

It would be legal for your friend to mail you meds ONLY if you send them a prescription, and they take it to a verified pharmacy to be filled.

Most insurance companies won't pay for meds from foreign pharmacies unless you're traveling and a need arises.

It's really a shame, but the people who started these sham pharmacies overseas, selling all kinds of meds without prescriptions and the REALLY bad ones actually selling counterfiet meds have made it a serious safety issue. That brought about lots of government regulation.

Teri

tecky wrote:Wow!

Is it I live a long way from Mexico. Is it legal for a friend to obtain the meds from Mexico and mail them to me?

By the way, I once asked about getting medications from Canada or Mexico at a health insurance meeting conducted by my employer, and my boss blatantly yelled it was ILLEGAL. Embarrassed me to no end. I was just wondering if insurance would cover meds we obtained from another country. I know there are many people that do it, especially elderly people on a fixed income (and I don't blame them).

What's legal and what's illegal? I would not be comfortable ordering from an online foreign (or even domestic, unless it's approved by my insurance and with a prescription) pharmacy.

Becky

Thanks so much, Teri.

Becky

You're quite welcome, Becky!

tecky wrote:Thanks so much, Teri.

Becky

Hmmmm...I think I read that you cannot have them mailed.

I am going anyways, so I figured why not see a doctor for twenty bucks, then get a script to bring a supply home.

I have purchased many meds in Tijuana, Mexico over the years. I live in Southern California and it used to be real easy to cross the border and get pretty much anything you wanted. I will not go over the border now because the border states have become extremely violent and many Americans have been killed or kidnapped. Contrary to the myth that drugs are very cheap in Mexico, drug costs have risen sharply and you will not save as much money as you imagine.

Don't drive into Mexico. Park in a lot on the US side and walk over. Expect a long wait. I have waited to get back for 3 hours and lines are patrolled by Federal Police with machine guns.

You need a passport or passport card to enter and exit Mexico now.

The State Dept. has issued a Traveler's Alert for Mexico.

Check the State Department website:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_970.html

The purchase of controlled medications requires a prescription from a licensed Mexican physician; some Mexican doctors have been arrested for writing prescriptions without due cause. In those instances, U.S. citizens who purchased the medications have been held in jail for months waiting for the Mexican judicial system to decide their fate. The Mexican list of controlled medications differs from that of the United States, and Mexican public health laws concerning controlled medications are unclear and often enforced selectively. To determine whether a particular medication is controlled in Mexico or requires a prescription from a Mexican doctor for purchase, please consult the website of the Mexican Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios - COFEPRIS).

If at all possible, avoid going to Mexico to buy meds. Just my opinion!!

I think it depends on what you want to buy. I live in So. CA as well and have travelled to the CA/Mexico border to buy Imitrex. Have never had a problem. And have never paid exhorbitant prices either.

I paid $20 for 5 100/mg tablets, which is a good price. That was 2 years ago. I'm sure prices have gone up, but right now I pay $180 for 9 100/mg tablets here, so I'd be willing to bet I'd still be saving money buying Imitrex in Mexico.

Travelling in Mexico still requires caution, but the travel advisories issued have greatly exaggerated the situation. I think if one uses common sense and visits during the day, one is fine. If you don't speak Spanish, bring someone with you who does. Go in, get what you need, and leave.

I would not advise purchasing controlled substances, visiting a dr., or getting anything stronger than what the corner drugstore sells. And unless things have changed recently, the corner drugstore does sell Imitrex.

Definitely park on the US side and walk over, and do be prepared to wait to cross back. Take a passport or passport card, you can't cross back without it. And don't buy an excessive amount of anything, it will raise suspicion. When I went, they didn't even look in the bag, just asked me what my purpose was in visiting Mexico. I said, shopping, they saw I had a very small bag to bring back, and that was it.

I have never had a problem buying medicine in Mexico.

Imitrex is not a narcotic and does not probably even require a doctor's prescription to buy in Mexico. Anything to do with pain medication is very tightly controlled in Mexico. As far as bringing it back across the border I know nothing about that.

I am not advising anyone. I am just passing along my experience. I had need of a doctor 2 different times when I was traveling in Mexico. True, my Spanish was pretty good then, but I don't think it would have made much difference in my treatment.

On one occasion I had dysentery. It was pretty bad. I was in a hotel. I asked the hotel to recommend a doctor. The guy came to the hotel. Can you imagine, a house call? He was as nice as he was sharp. He gave me a prescription which my companion filled at a near-by pharmacy. It was a thick liquid that tasted like bananas. I wish I had paid more attention to it and what the name of it was. It was, by far, the best thing I have ever taken for diarrhea and vomiting. Whereas I had been sick for hours, this med had me feeling better in about 1/2 an hour.

The other time (different city) was my one and only experience with hives. It was probably the produce, which I couldn't leave alone in spite of my better judgment. This time I found a Dr's office. Again the Dr was great, much more patient friendly and helpful than many American doctors are. I forgot what he prescribed for the hives but again, it was very effective.

Then there was the case of a couple of other Americans I met in Mexico. They were both under 21, had a terrible auto accident in which they both were seriously injured, killed a cow which is a legal issue. Both the owner of the hotel where we were all staying, the Mexican emergency and medical personnel who were involved, and Embassy people were outstanding in their professionalism and humanitarianism.

I would not hesitate to go to a legitimate doctor while in Mexico. Both my experiences and those of the Americans I met in Mexico showed medical treatment to be excellent. But then, that's me.


Chris

No, Imitrex is not a narcotic. That's why I mentioned you can buy it at any one of the corner drug stores you see as soon as you cross the border.

My point is that if you're just interested in buying non-narcotic migraine medications, like Imitrex or tramadol, don't let the travel advisories or the overblown news stories scare you. There is violence to be aware of, but if you go during the day and exercise caution - don't wander off down deserted streets, and don't go with anyone alone to buy anything, for example - you should be fine. You can literally park, cross over, and see a pharmacy by turning left or right. Walk in, and get what you want. If you want to walk a block or two down the main street to do some price comparison, it should be safe to do so.

Those travel advisories warning of violence have been in effect for the last 3 or 4 years, btw. They aren't anything new. When I was there 2 years ago, I did not see any signs of violence. It looked almost the same as South Central Los Angeles. A little seedier, a little more primitive, but otherwise, not much different. In fact, I'd be more nervous walking down the street in South Central LA.

I went with my dad, who speaks fluent spanish (I don't) and felt safe enough. We walked a few blocks, did a little bit of shopping, and got what I needed at two different pharmacies. Then we left. It took about 90 minutes to cross back over the border.

I definitely would not drive over, plus you can't really drive down the streets where the drug stores are, anyway.

Seeing a doctor and trying to get a prescription for stronger pain meds is a whole other situation and one I'm not at all familiar with, so I can't offer any advice there. It's not something I'd feel comfortable doing.