Importing meds from abroad

[Adey Aychdee]

Has anyone any experience of ordering mail order medications?

 

I am trying to see if I can import some atomoxetine (aka Strattera) from India because it is extremely expensive here - 4,350 baht for 30 tablets!  

 

I have seen this Indian version and am thinking of ordering some, but I have no idea of how to go about it, or who would be a reputable supplier.

 

I might mention that my usual Indian brand of Arcoxia is currently unavailable due to the Covid problems there, but other than that, have all imports been stopped? 

 

And back to the original question, what are the pros and cons of importing meds here?

 

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by Adey Aychdee
Mr Forgetful

[Crossy]

The biggest con will be that it's illegal without a Thai FDA licence (which you won't get). So avoid sending by courier, small quantities sent by regular post seem to get through.

 

There's another thread somewhere about Indian online pharmacies.

[Sheryl]

As above, it is illegal. In practice, customs will usually allow very small quantities through if sent by regular post provided it is not a controlled drug.

 

However atomoxetine is a controlled drug in Thailand,  so not only is it likely to get confiscated but you could get in real trouble.

 

Imports of medication have not been stopped but like everything else that comes by air,  shipments are slower and fewer. There are local Thai made brands of etoricoxib (Arcoxia) so nto reason to buy an Indian brand.

[Mister Fixit]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

As above, it is illegal. In practice, customs will usually allow very small quantities through if sent by regular post provided it is not a controlled drug.

 

However atomoxetine is a controlled drug in Thailand,  so not only is it likely to get confiscated but you could get in real trouble.

 

Imports of medication have not been stopped but like everything else that comes by air,  shipments are slower and fewer. There are local Thai made brands of etoricoxib (Arcoxia) so nto reason to buy an Indian brand.

 

The problem is that the local Thai brands of etoricoxib aren't very good and are still quite expensive.  The GPO version is rubbish, hardly does a thing for me.

 

My excellent local pharmacist knows my medical history almost as well as me and he suggested these from Sandoz in India some years ago.  They work fine and only cost 590 baht for 30 tablets.  I only take them 3 times a week so they last quite a while.

 

On the other hand, the genuine article Arcoxia from MSD which he says are the only ones available at the moment cost 220 baht for FIVE tablets!  

 

So 19.6 baht per tablet for Sandoz or 44 baht per tablet for the branded one.  I know that tomorrow I shall be visiting as many  pharmacies as possible.

[Mister Fixit]

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

As above, it is illegal. In practice, customs will usually allow very small quantities through if sent by regular post provided it is not a controlled drug.

 

However atomoxetine is a controlled drug in Thailand,  so not only is it likely to get confiscated but you could get in real trouble.

 

Imports of medication have not been stopped but like everything else that comes by air,  shipments are slower and fewer. There are local Thai made brands of etoricoxib (Arcoxia) so nto reason to buy an Indian brand.

 

Yes, I am aware of the atomoxetine status, but I just want a small supply as a trial for a couple of months.  I was just wondering if it would be feasible getting them from India because 4,350 a month for a trial that may not work seems a waste of money to me as it takes at least 4 weeks for the stuff to start working.  

 

My pharmacist says that there is no Sandoz etoricoxib available at the moment, to his knowledge, and he only had the branded Arcoxia, so I may well just have to buy a Thai version from somewhere and hope it's as effective. 

[Mister Fixit]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

The biggest con will be that it's illegal without a Thai FDA licence (which you won't get). So avoid sending by courier, small quantities sent by regular post seem to get through.

 

There's another thread somewhere about Indian online pharmacies.

 

Thanks for the info.  Interesting to know.

 

I don't suppose you have a link to that thread about Indian pharmacies, do you?  I did a forum search but got hits on all sorts of irrelevant rubbish!  ????

[Sheryl]

3 minutes ago, Mister Fixit said:

 

Yes, I am aware of the atomoxetine status, but I just want a small supply as a trial for a couple of months.  I was just wondering if it would be feasible getting them from India because 4,350 a month for a trial that may not work seems a waste of money to me as it takes at least 4 weeks for the stuff to start working.  

 

My pharmacist says that there is no Sandoz etoricoxib available at the moment, to his knowledge, and he only had the branded Arcoxia, so I may well just have to buy a Thai version from somewhere and hope it's as effective. 

 

There are at least half a dozen differen t Thai brands of etoricoxib . Also several local brands of celecoxib.

 

I have taken Zobrex brand celecoxib (locally made) with good results.

[Mister Fixit]

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

There are at least half a dozen differen t Thai brands of etoricoxib . Also several local brands of celecoxib.

 

I have taken Zobrex brand celecoxib (locally made) with good results.

Yes, I know about the Thai brands but wasn't impressed, especially with the GPO version.

 

Thanks for the name but it's celecoxib and I was prescribed etoricoxib. I know that they are both are COX-2 inhibitors, but I wouldn't want to change the meds without consulting my doc at Phramongkutklao first. 
I only saw him 2 weeks ago so it's a bit late.  My next appointment is August so I will wait until then and ask him if he thinks I should change the meds, but he's never suggested anything else over the last 10 years.

 

However, I'll go looking for celecoxib tomorrow just in case.  What sort of price is it?

 

He did suggest Lyrica (pregabalin) if I get a recurrence of the sciatica I had 6 months ago, and I have bought some in case it flares up again, but I don't think I should be taking that instead of the etoricoxib.

 

 

[carlyai]

'He did suggest Lyrica (pregabalin) if I get a recurrence of the sciatica I'

My back specialist's Registrar said Lyrica takes about 2 weeks to work properly. 

[Why Me]

Yes, it's possible to import drugs from India by courier. I used DHL. My report is here.

DHL will do the FDA clearance for you provided they have all the docs: complete description of the drugs (I provided pics of the box, tabs, info booklet, etc.) AND a med cert. from a Thai doctor specifically saying you need the Indian drug.

 

Call DHL and they will assign someone to your case whom you provide all the docs. They'll run these by their import team to see if approval is possible (as Sheryl says if it's proscribed/controlled you'll be told so and that's that). If you get the green light then it's simply getting someone in India to make the purchase and ship it from a nearby DHL office.

 

Incidentally, I've found DHL to be very efficient. It takes a while here for the FDA clearance, two weeks in both instances in my case, but you just sit and wait while DHL does its thing.

[Sheryl]

57 minutes ago, Why Me said:

Yes, it's possible to import drugs from India by courier. I used DHL. My report is here.

DHL will do the FDA clearance for you provided they have all the docs: complete description of the drugs (I provided pics of the box, tabs, info booklet, etc.) AND a med cert. from a Thai doctor specifically saying you need the Indian drug.

 

Call DHL and they will assign someone to your case whom you provide all the docs. They'll run these by their import team to see if approval is possible (as Sheryl says if it's proscribed/controlled you'll be told so and that's that). If you get the green light then it's simply getting someone in India to make the purchase and ship it from a nearby DHL office.

 

Incidentally, I've found DHL to be very efficient. It takes a while here for the FDA clearance, two weeks in both instances in my case, but you just sit and wait while DHL does its thing.

He won't be able to get FDA clearance due to (1) controlled drug and (2) available in Thailand. Your situation was quite different.

 

Also, his only reason for doing this was to get it cheaply, and the costs of  the DHL import process would defeat that aim.

[lopburi3]

1 hour ago, Why Me said:

Incidentally, I've found DHL to be very efficient. It takes a while here for the FDA clearance, two weeks in both instances in my case, but you just sit and wait while DHL does its thing.

And what did you pay DHL for this service?  Maybe worth if for a very high value order but not for normal purchase IMHO (I was quoted about 1,600 baht without tax).   And I was to provide paperwork in Thai.   This was not a drug but medical item, ostomy bags, so not sure if required any special clearance.

Edited May 11, 2021 by lopburi3

[Why Me]

39 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

And what did you pay DHL for this service? 

A lot:-) INR 5000 in Kolkata shipping,. THB 2000 here clearance fees etc. Much more than the cost of the meds. But worth it as I had zero other option.

[Adey Aychdee]

On 5/9/2021 at 6:15 PM, carlyai said:

'He did suggest Lyrica (pregabalin) if I get a recurrence of the sciatica I'

My back specialist's Registrar said Lyrica takes about 2 weeks to work properly. 

One to two weeks is what I was told when I had a 3 week bout of sciatica, but I wasn't told about it until after a week of pain.

 

It did work somewhat though, in the sort time I took it.  

[carlyai]

6 hours ago, Adey Aychdee said:

One to two weeks is what I was told when I had a 3 week bout of sciatica, but I wasn't told about it until after a week of pain.

 

It did work somewhat though, in the sort time I took it.  

Horrible stuff