Simvistatin and Aspirin need Rx ???

[ChouDoufu]

last time in thailand, found aspirin no longer available at pharmacy without a trip to the doctor for a prescription.

 

currently in china, returning in a few months.  gonna need a stock of SIMVISTATIN and ASPIRIN, and don't relish the idea of multiple trips for prescriptions.  i can buy a year's supply here and bring with.

 

what's the lastest?  can i now get these in the pharmacies without a prescription?

[PPMMUU]

Excuse me. What indication are you using these meds for?

[impulse]

I'm not sure about simvastatin (I used Crestor and Ezetrol, both OTC at Boots), but bring your own aspirin.  As of last November when I visited, it was still scarce in doses bigger than 82 or 100mg.  And 10x as expensive per pill as in the USA. 

 

A WHO "critical drug", more expensive than in the USA.  That's embarrassing...  Or it should be.

 

[Oxx]

No prescription required.  Both widely available at proper pharmacies (i.e. not Boots or Watson).

[Don Mega]

Cannot help with with your Simsvastatin as I take a Rosuvastatin but for aspirin I buy Cardiprin 100, can be found pretty much in any proper pharmacy every where no script needed.

 

 

 

Edited January 5, 2020 by Don Mega

[saengd]

Baby Aspirin, 81 mg, is sold as a product called Aspent in Thailand, ask for that rather than asking for aspirin.

[Oxx]

It's also sold as "Aspilets".

[lopburi3]

2 hours ago, saengd said:

Baby Aspirin, 81 mg, is sold as a product called Aspent in Thailand, ask for that rather than asking for aspirin.

Agree completely - do not, ever, ask for "baby aspirin" in Thailand - you will be deemed a murder on sight and told they do not have.  If you want 81mg Aspirin request by above name or for blood thinning not for giving to babies.  ????  Been there - done that - the looks you get are unbelievable.  Aspirin has a very bad reputation in Thailand (was taken off market when linked to children's deaths) and has never recovered and any mention that infers giving to children will not be taken lightly. 

 

Bestatin is available at any drug store and cheap.

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by lopburi3

[Oxx]

3 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

the looks you get are unbelievable

 

Actually they're really encouraging - they take Reye's syndrome (which causes brain and liver damage) seriously.  Children and teenagers should not be given aspirin.

[lopburi3]

5 minutes ago, Oxx said:

 

Actually they're really encouraging - they take Reye's syndrome (which causes brain and liver damage) seriously.  Children and teenagers should not be given aspirin.

Actually understand that - it is the English term we long in the tooth folks grew up with (calling low dose aspirin Baby Aspirin) although having no intention to provide to a baby.  Current PC name is low dose but not all of us even know that and still consider ourselves fat rather than calorically challenged.  ????

[Beggar]

Simvastatin is no problem to get. In respect of Aspirin my information is that for instance Russians buy whatever they can get because it is cheaper here. This is the reason why it is hard to get. Please correct me if I am wrong, 

 

Edited January 6, 2020 by Beggar

[lopburi3]

13 minutes ago, Beggar said:

Simvastatin is no problem to get. In respect of Aspirin my information is that for instance Russians buy whatever they can get because it is a cheaper here. This is the reason why it is hard to get. Please correct me if I am wrong, 

It has been hard to get here long before there were any Russians visiting.  And has always been rather expensive.

[Sheryl]

Neither of these require a prescription.

 

Both technically require that a grade one pharmacist is on duty at all times.  Seems to be enforced in the case of aspirin especially "baby' (low dose) aspirin. But definitely does nto require a prescription.

 

Where were you told this? apparently there are a number of pharmacies in Pattaya giving out that misinformation.

 

Simva no problem at all. Common good brands are Bestatin and Simvastatin GPO.

[ChouDoufu]

simvistatin is for high cholesterol.  when in thailand i was taking bestatin.  good to know that is still readily available.

 

aspirin (75-80mg daily) is following heart valve replacement. 

i went to half a dozen 'proper' pharmacies in bangkok last summer, at each was told - "no have, need doctor paper, go hospital."  they had neither 81mg heart aspirin nor 25mg 'baby' aspirin available.

 

since i can still get it here, 100*25mg bottle @ 7 baht, i'll just bring a 2-year supply.  simvistatin a bit more expensive, 20*20mg @ 25 baht.

[lopburi3]

14 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

they had neither 81mg heart aspirin nor 25mg 'baby' aspirin available.

81mg is baby aspirin (1/4 of a normal 325mg - 5 grains US aspirin) but you have to call it low dose these days.

19 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

i went to half a dozen 'proper' pharmacies in bangkok last summer

You are not talking the cosmetic showrooms in shopping malls by any chance (UK names?).

 

[ChouDoufu]

i see.  been away from the us so long, incorrectly thought the tiny 25mg pills were considered 'baby' aspirin.  anyhoo, i didn't ask for 'baby' aspirin, but rather 25mg aspirin.

 

yes, real 'proper' pharmacies out on the street, not in malls.

[lopburi3]

6 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

but rather 25mg aspirin.

Have never seen anything lower than 81mg available here so if you asked for 25mg they probably did not have.

[Don Mega]

46 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

i see.  been away from the us so long, incorrectly thought the tiny 25mg pills were considered 'baby' aspirin.  anyhoo, i didn't ask for 'baby' aspirin, but rather 25mg aspirin.

 

yes, real 'proper' pharmacies out on the street, not in malls.

Should asked for cardiprin.

[ChouDoufu]

7 minutes ago, Don Mega said:

Should asked for cardiprin.

would that have made a difference?

 

i showed them my last foil package strip of thai manufactured 81mg heart aspirin so they knew exactly what i wanted.  

[Don Mega]

3 minutes ago, ChouDoufu said:

would that have made a difference?

 

i showed them my last foil package strip of thai manufactured 81mg heart aspirin so they knew exactly what i wanted.  

Ive been buying it over thou counter for the past 5 years in both Bangkok and Chonburi without issue.

[4MyEgo]

1 hour ago, ChouDoufu said:

simvistatin is for high cholesterol.  when in thailand i was taking bestatin.  good to know that is still readily available.

 

aspirin (75-80mg daily) is following heart valve replacement. 

i went to half a dozen 'proper' pharmacies in bangkok last summer, at each was told - "no have, need doctor paper, go hospital."  they had neither 81mg heart aspirin nor 25mg 'baby' aspirin available.

 

since i can still get it here, 100*25mg bottle @ 7 baht, i'll just bring a 2-year supply.  simvistatin a bit more expensive, 20*20mg @ 25 baht.

I bring back a year plus supply of Cartia 100mg aspirin tablets when I go overseas as all I can get over the counter here are 81mg, but they are readily available.

[ChouDoufu]

same here, until last summer.

 

i heard -- i think on this forum -- restrictions on aspirin came about due to thais self-treating themselves for dengue fever with massive doses of aspirin.

[sfokevin]

Most pharmacies (Not Boots & Watson’s) carry this...

 

[galenjones]

1 hour ago, ChouDoufu said:

i see.  been away from the us so long, incorrectly thought the tiny 25mg pills were considered 'baby' aspirin.  anyhoo, i didn't ask for 'baby' aspirin, but rather 25mg aspirin.

 

yes, real 'proper' pharmacies out on the street, not in malls.

Apirin = acetylsalicylic acid, in low dosage (81 - 100mg) is used as a thrombocyte aggregation inhibitor. It works mostly in the arterial system to prevent strokes or heartattacks. They sell it in Thailand in the low dosage of 81mg. 

[ChouDoufu]

32 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

Most pharmacies (Not Boots & Watson’s) carry this...

 

i'll look for that upon return.  have you bought a bottle recently?

perhaps the dengue fever restrictions have gone the way of no riding in back of pickups?

 

i remember the old bayer childrens aspirin, little pink chewable pills from 20 years ago.   had been living in china for almost ten years, rarely saw the 80mg heart pills.  most aspirin sold in bottles of 100 25mg pills - assumed it was baby stuff.

[Sheryl]

14 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

same here, until last summer.

 

i heard -- i think on this forum -- restrictions on aspirin came about due to thais self-treating themselves for dengue fever with massive doses of aspirin.

 The only restriction is that the rule on having a real pharmacist on duty is being enforced.

 

Many pharmacies don't and for that reason don't carry it. But it can still readily be bought at any pharmacy which has real pharmacist always on duty.

[ivor bigun]

As for high dose asprin ,its handy to carry a couple in your wallet ,in case of heart trouble take two straight away . i just get a friend or relative to bring a couple of boxes over ,

[Sheryl]

16 hours ago, ChouDoufu said:

simvistatin is for high cholesterol.  when in thailand i was taking bestatin.  good to know that is still readily available.

 

aspirin (75-80mg daily) is following heart valve replacement. 

i went to half a dozen 'proper' pharmacies in bangkok last summer, at each was told - "no have, need doctor paper, go hospital."  they had neither 81mg heart aspirin nor 25mg 'baby' aspirin available.

 

since i can still get it here, 100*25mg bottle @ 7 baht, i'll just bring a 2-year supply.  simvistatin a bit more expensive, 20*20mg @ 25 baht.

There is indeed no 25mg aspirin available in Thailand.

 

There is 81mg and 100mg. Ask for it by the brand names othets have mentioned -- Aspent, Aspilets. And stick to large pharmacies as they are more likely to have a real pharmacist.

 

Do not under any circumstance utter the words "baby aspirin" or "children's aspirin".

[ChouDoufu]

thanks everyone.