EcuadorTopic Title: Receiving prescription meds in Ecuador
Author celt51
Date Posted: 11/25/2018 7:05 PM
anytime a Doctor tells me to not stop taking , something I stop. I was prescribed Allopurinol and colchicine. the colchicine was $150.00 didn't pick that one up. the Allopurinol gave me leg cramps, I stopped that one. I have not had a gout flare up in 12 years. remember its a "business" follow your gut instincts . I was told cholesterol meds for life? I stopped that one and 15 years later my numbers are 179? these guys don't know everything, but here is my disclaimer? Its my life! do your own thing.
Author boatmax
Date Posted: 11/18/2011 5:51 PM
LuckyDawg, I agree with you on Planet Drugs, as I have used them for years, as I have a few prescriptions where I can buy less expensive in Canada, than my insurance co-pay in the US.
Author luckydawg
Date Posted: 11/18/2011 5:37 PM
Rebe;
Regarding your question about an Ecuadorian shipping agent, You should be using a shipping agent wherever you are moving from and they will make local arrangements. You really don't want to be another cook in the kitchen.
Author Rebe
Date Posted: 11/18/2011 4:10 PM
Thanks Luckydawg! This is great information. Rebe
Author Rebe
Date Posted: 11/18/2011 4:04 PM
Hello Kbeth,
I was going to use a service called USA2ME, but decided not to. I am not able to tell you from experience, but most mail-forwarding services say they can do this. You just have your pharmacy mail them to your mail-forwarding address, they will send them to you. Wish I could be more help, but we decided to use friends for the few pieces of mail and prescriptions (if I have trouble getting the meds in Ecuador). Best of luck! Rebe
Author luckydawg
Date Posted: 11/18/2011 1:51 PM
I believe the pharmacy you are looking for is: Planet Drugs Direct. planetdrugsdirect.com.
They are a New Zealand based company with US operations located In Houston. I've been buying prescription drugs from them for over 6 years. They have both brand name and generic drugs. They ship fairly quickly, with no taxes and free shipping. The drugs will home from all over the world, wherever they get the best price for comparable drugs. I am very happy with this company and highly recommend it.
Hope this helps
Author kbeh
Date Posted: 11/18/2011 11:42 AM
I would like to know the name of the mail service in Texas that ships Rx medications without any problem. Also, if anyone else has had some successful ways of sending their medications from the US. We cannot find substitutions or equivalent medications for several different Rxs. We have followed the guiddelines for being able to import them here: An EC MD's Rx, letter to Director of something (can't recall right now) in Quito, but thhe whole process will take too long. Flying someone here to bring them seems too expensive! Thanks
Author gettininfo
Date Posted: 10/27/2011 9:46 PM
Anyone know if quinapril hctz (for high blood pressure) is available with or without a prescription & how much it is? Thanks.
Author Rebe
Date Posted: 10/25/2011 11:40 AM
Thanks Ray for the great information! Glad to hear that BC/BS would cover the cost if a prescription is written for the meds.
I also appreciate the considerate and civilized comments from folks on this thread.
Rebe
Author jakeintampa
Date Posted: 10/23/2011 8:50 PM
Hello Ray,
Thank you for the great information, Very good and to the point. O love this site lots of good information. I am happy to see all of the BS and bickering that was going on a while back has stopped, and those in the know are providing useful information. I will be on the coast hopefully the 2nd week in November. Flying into Quito November 1st, I figure I will spend a week There checking out the city before going to the coast.
Thank you again, Ralph
Author hroygentry
Date Posted: 10/23/2011 2:09 PM
Thank you for your info. and you are right some meds word better for diff. people she likes the Methadone because it works for her better than the oxy. If you would not mind sharing more do you get these in EC and what is the cost, can you sign up for health ins. in EC and get a break on meds?
Thanks again.
Author Summersmist
Date Posted: 10/23/2011 11:13 AM
hroygentry, I also have Fibromyalia. Over the years I have tried many different medications, including Oxycontin, but none of them gave me much relief. I tried Lyrica which is made specifically for Fibromyalia but I had a bad allergic reaction to it. Now I am taking Relafen (Nabumetone Tabs 750mg) twice a day and Flexeril (Cyclobenzaprine 10 mg) twice a day and can function better than any other drug has given me. Be ware, flexeril is a muscle relaxer and can make you sleepy. But what is really nice, I can now sleep without those awful nagging pains. You just have to experiment until you find something that works for you. My doc wanted to increase the dosage of Oxycondin but it is so highly addictive I refused to let him. I was already on 20mg twice a day and it didn't deminish the pain as well as the flexeril does. Good luck in finding something that works.
Author Summersmist
Date Posted: 10/23/2011 11:13 AM
hroygentry, I also have Fibromyalia. Over the years I have tried many different medications, including Oxycontin, but none of them gave me much relief. I tried Lyrica which is made specifically for Fibromyalia but I had a bad allergic reaction to it. Now I am taking Relafen (Nabumetone Tabs 750mg) twice a day and Flexeril (Cyclobenzaprine 10 mg) twice a day and can function better than any other drug has given me. Be ware, flexeril is a muscle relaxer and can make you sleepy. But what is really nice, I can now sleep without those awful nagging pains. You just have to experiment until you find something that works for you. My doc wanted to increase the dosage of Oxycondin but it is so highly addictive I refused to let him. I was already on 20mg twice a day and it didn't deminish the pain as well as the flexeril does. Good luck in finding something that works.
Author bentparrot
Date Posted: 10/21/2011 6:51 PM
For anyone without insurance, it would be easier to visit a doc here and get a prescription, or just buy them over the counter without one. As it happens I have drug coverage through my retirement pension so my co-pay is less costly.
From what I've heard you can buy just about anything without a prescription except narcotics. Methadone would most certainly fit that category.
Allopurinol is readily available; I'm not sure about colchicine. The FDA pulled colchicine from the shelves a few months back. Supposedly, the manufacturer had put codine in it. Now, in the U.S., you're forced to buy the brand drug Colchrys at 10X the price. I don't know if Ecuador followed the U.S. If you PM me with your email, jakeintampa, I'll let you know because I take it too.
The doctors will give you a written prescription for anything they prescribe, even if you can buy it without one. The pharmacist will return the prescription to you after filling it. This should satisfy BC/BS or any other carriers requirements.
Ray
Author hroygentry
Date Posted: 10/21/2011 5:30 PM
I don't know what you put in that texas chili but I think I know how you ride those bull's now.
Author Rebe
Date Posted: 10/21/2011 3:30 PM
While I have not yet had meds sent to Ecuador, I plan on getting 3-month prescriptions automatically sent to a mailing service in Texas who will send the meds to me in Ecuador. They say they do this regularly.
My prescriptions in Ecuador would cost 10X (at least) what I pay in the US with my prescription plan. Also, my meds do not require a prescription in Ecuador, which means that my international BlueCross-Blue Shield might not pay for them. Anyway, check and see if it is in fact cheaper to buy in Ecuador.
It seems like including spices, and most especially taco mix, in the shipment is a bad idea. I am sure that spices for making Texas chili would be an absolute mistake! Hope that this helps!
Author hroygentry
Date Posted: 10/21/2011 11:52 AM
Whilst on this subject , my wife has Fybromyalgia for a lot of years and for the pain her Dr. prescribed low dose's of Methodone , it is less harmful to the body than Oxy and all of the other script's , anyone out there know if it is available in the Pharmicia's or can I contact them and find out the avaiability of the different drug's available.
Thanks
Author boatmax
Date Posted: 10/21/2011 10:21 AM
I simply put all of my prescription drugs in a small container, and put that in a checked bag. I had no problems at all. Just be sure that everything is in the original container with the prescription label attached.
Max
Author jakeintampa
Date Posted: 10/21/2011 6:40 AM
I am flying into Quito on November 1st and I take two medicines for my Arthritis. Does anyone know if Allopurinol 300mg and Colchicine 0.6mg are available in Ecuador. I don't want to try and bring them with me because maybe I will have a problem at customs. I guess I will have to go see a doctor when I get there to get a prescription for them. Any information would be greatly appreciated as the doctor said I should not stop taking them. Thank you, Rajph
Author rm300068
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 7:27 PM
Ray,
Pretty funny, for you not me!Wouldnt it be easier to just go to the Dr. there to get your meds/refills? I take a couple of things Im not supposed to get off, continious meds. If I do get off, I have problems. Just curious. Good luck , sounds like you kept your cool and that was good!
Author bartalemeo
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 5:10 PM
No experience receiving shipments of prescription meds in Ecuador, but have had several friends buy their prescription drugs while visiting me, at a fraction of the cost. One friend was taking medication that was costing him $4 per pill and was able to purchase them in Ecuador for $1.20 per pill. If you give me the name of the medicine and the dosage (100mg, 200mg per pill) etc. I can ask at the pharmacy, just to give you an idea of the cost in Ecuador. It's probably cheaper to buy than to ship.
Author jmc941
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 4:44 PM
I ordered 5 prescription meds from RX World in Canada, had them sent to my box at Club Correos in Miami & all have been delivered to me by Correos de Ecuador. So no problem there.
Author bentparrot
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 3:15 PM
Talk about problems, mine border on being hilarious.
On September 29th, my son picked up three prescription refills for me and FedExed them from Texas. By October 10 they had not yet arrived so I put the tracer on them. Sure'nuff, the tracer says they were picked up on the 29th in The Woodlands, went to Houston, Memphis, Bogota and eventually Guayaquil, where they still sit, "awaiting clearance."
Three days ago I decided it was time to call FedEx. In the meantime I accused the BW (that's my Beautiful Wife) of causing the delay. You see, at the last minute she asked our son to include three envelopes of TACO MIX with the prescriptions and I believe someone from Homeland Security is analyzing this concoction to see if chili powder and amlodipine besylate have the makin's of an IED. Anyhow, Mr. FedEx, after I'm several minutes holding, says it seems I need a "health permit". My response is, "Duh?" Now I figure that's Ecuadorian for a doctor's prescription, nevertheless, an official in GYE will call me and explain.
About thirty minutes later a lady telephoned and informed me I needed an import license (health permit). Naturally, quite unruffled, (hey I'm acclimating) I told her I was not selling the drugs, that they were for me. I even invited her for some tacos but she had no sense of humor. In that case, she instructed, I would have to obtain a local doctor's prescription for the meds, write a letter, an example of which she emailed me but I haven't translated yet, enclose copies of my Ecuadorian ID and my U.S. passport, and send them to her. Then, she could release the drugs.
At this rate, the drugs will be beyond their expiration date when (if) I get them!
And, no, I didn't ask what if I didn't have an Ecuadorian ID because I got my censo within three days of arriving in Quito.
Is there a moral to this story? I don't know. If you figure it out before I do, let me know.
Ray
Author EcuadorBound
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 11:03 AM
Thanks boatmax for the helpful info. Your name is of interest because I run a Bmax outdrive on my boat!
Author EcuadorBound
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 11:03 AM
Thanks boatmax for the helpful info. Your name is of interest because I run a Bmax outdrive on my boat!
Author EcuadorBound
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 11:02 AM
Thank you luckydawg. We found a couple of scrips that don't seem to be available in Ecuador so we're trying to make contingency plans just in case.
Author EcuadorBound
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 11:02 AM
Thank you luckydawg. We found a couple of scrips that don't seem to be available in Ecuador so we're trying to make contingency plans just in case.
Author boatmax
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 10:24 AM
I have heard the same thing, but have yet to experience it.
Max
Author boatmax
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 10:00 AM
I use Planet Drugs, located in Canada. Simply fax them your prescriptions, and give them your credit card info. The drugs actually ship from Venezuela. No problems in years of using them.
Max
Author luckydawg
Date Posted: 10/20/2011 9:41 AM
In Ecuador most Pharmacists can write prescriptions like doctors in the US and the drugs are the same at a fraction of the price,
