Receiving Prescriptions in Mexico

[Jdornick]

Hi All,
We’re going to be heading down to Mexico this fall for a year or more and wondering if any of you have experience with getting prescriptions while you are there? Do you just ship them from the US? Do you get new prescriptions written and filled in Mexico? I’m a little concerned how we are going to handle this.
Thanks in Advance,
Joy

 

[mvweebles]

Hi All,

We’re going to be heading down to Mexico this fall for a year or more and wondering if any of you have experience with getting prescriptions while you are there? Do you just ship them from the US? Do you get new prescriptions written and filled in Mexico? I’m a little concerned how we are going to handle this.

Thanks in Advance,

Joy

Many US prescriptions are OTC in Mexico. A friend takes high blood pressure medication and a cholesterol (Statten) medication. He just walks into a farmacia and gets the name brand version (Lipitor is one, in forget the other).

FYI - he seeks out a farmacia authorized in 'Patent Medicines' which I presume means they get the name brand medications.

Good luck

Peter

 

[heysteve]

Yes, most drugs are simply over the counter meaning no prescription necessary. Anti-biotics tend to require a prescription (due to abuse) and anything narcotic related is virtually unobtainable. You need a tetanus shot? No problem, you'll get the syringe and can do it yourself if you want.

Note that a BIG difference in MX is that the people behind the pharmacy counter are simple sales people with virtually no knowledge of drugs (unlike US). So you get EXACTLY what you ask for. If you want generic Lipitor you need to ask specifically for atorvastatin ($) otherwise you'll get Lipitor ($$$).

Like most of MX, personal responsibility is the name of the game.

 

[ksanders]

I live in La Paz Baja California Sur, and just go to my local pharmacy. No prescription needed.

Yesterday I bought more Crestor for cholesterol. The name brand was about $80 for 30 tablets, and the generic was around $15.

 

[dennisspain]

Do not send medications from the US to Mexico via UPS , FedEx, or other transit. It will be intercepted by Mexican Customs and require lab analysis at your expense ($$$) before maybe releasing them. Most likely returned to sender. Been there done that…