Perscriptions Brought In From Us

[whittler]

I plan on moving to Thailand soon (retirement) I will stay 11 months and go back to the ststes 1 month. While home

I plan on getting 1 year supply on my scripts, covered by insurance, low co-pay. Will this be a problem bringing in

when I come back home to Thailand?

Would there be a problem of having them mailed to me here in Thailand?

And last, if I rent a condo, or house. would mail be delivered there or would I get a P O Box at the post office?

Thanks

whittler

[Humphrey Bear]

Depends on the medication - but if it is prescription drugs, check with a local doctor. Also check local availability and prices.

Do NOT try mailing medication - the Thai authorities have jumped on several people for this.

Your condo or house will almost certainly have a mail-receiving facility.

Do not send anything valuable by mail - it will get lost. On the other hand DHL and similar couriers are very good, if expensive. But they will not carry cash. Don't know about medication, but as the things are Customs checked, not worth the risk.

[thaimate]

Depends on the medication - but if it is prescription drugs, check with a local doctor. Also check local availability and prices.

Do NOT try mailing medication - the Thai authorities have jumped on several people for this.

Your condo or house will almost certainly have a mail-receiving facility.

Do not send anything valuable by mail - it will get lost. On the other hand DHL and similar couriers are very good, if expensive. But they will not carry cash. Don't know about medication, but as the things are Customs checked, not worth the risk.

just to clarify

my daughter has been sending my heart medication prescription for years ,i didnt realise it was not allowed?

[Chang_paarp]

Depends on the medication - but if it is prescription drugs, check with a local doctor. Also check local availability and prices.

Do NOT try mailing medication - the Thai authorities have jumped on several people for this.

Your condo or house will almost certainly have a mail-receiving facility.

Do not send anything valuable by mail - it will get lost. On the other hand DHL and similar couriers are very good, if expensive. But they will not carry cash. Don't know about medication, but as the things are Customs checked, not worth the risk.

just to clarify

my daughter has been sending my heart medication prescription for years ,i didnt realise it was not allowed?

The script should be OK, the medication could cause you problems if your package is checked.

As suggested do a little research and find out the local price for the meds. They may be a LOT cheaper than in your home country and most insurers will jump at the chance for a reduced payout, as a result accepting your receipts in a claim. At worst they will be the same price and the insurer should be OK with paying the claim, check with them on their policy for these things. As was said above, the Thai authorities frown on "grey" importing of drugs they have not approved or taxed.

[gavin hawaii]

Depends on the medication - but if it is prescription drugs, check with a local doctor. Also check local availability and prices.

Do NOT try mailing medication - the Thai authorities have jumped on several people for this.

Your condo or house will almost certainly have a mail-receiving facility.

Do not send anything valuable by mail - it will get lost. On the other hand DHL and similar couriers are very good, if expensive. But they will not carry cash. Don't know about medication, but as the things are Customs checked, not worth the risk.

just to clarify

my daughter has been sending my heart medication prescription for years ,i didnt realise it was not allowed?

The script should be OK, the medication could cause you problems if your package is checked.

As suggested do a little research and find out the local price for the meds. They may be a LOT cheaper than in your home country and most insurers will jump at the chance for a reduced payout, as a result accepting your receipts in a claim. At worst they will be the same price and the insurer should be OK with paying the claim, check with them on their policy for these things. As was said above, the Thai authorities frown on "grey" importing of drugs they have not approved or taxed.

I agree with medication possibly being cheaper in Thailand but just in case bring yur medication in the original container with the original labels and prescription papers. If they are contained in a prescription bottle with a label showing what it is and that it's prescribed to you. I don't think you'll have a problem as long as it's clearly an amount intended for personal use. I would advise against putting them all in one bottle as a mixed bag. I been taking my medication in for years while traveling in Thailand and had them checked before but had no problems when I showed the prescription papers.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I plan on moving to Thailand soon (retirement) I will stay 11 months and go back to the ststes 1 month. While home

I plan on getting 1 year supply on my scripts, covered by insurance, low co-pay. Will this be a problem bringing in

when I come back home to Thailand?

Would there be a problem of having them mailed to me here in Thailand?

And last, if I rent a condo, or house. would mail be delivered there or would I get a P O Box at the post office?

Thanks

whittler

Thai regulations only permit bring in a one month supply of medications. Talk to your Thai Consulate.

[skycop51]

I am retired Military and they will give me only 2 months in advance is what they are telling me now. You are lucky.

skycop51

quote name='whittler' date='2007-12-10 10:45:31' post='1697636']

I plan on moving to Thailand soon (retirement) I will stay 11 months and go back to the ststes 1 month. While home

I plan on getting 1 year supply on my scripts, covered by insurance, low co-pay. Will this be a problem bringing in

when I come back home to Thailand?

Would there be a problem of having them mailed to me here in Thailand?

And last, if I rent a condo, or house. would mail be delivered there or would I get a P O Box at the post office?

Thanks

whittler

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

Depends on the medication - but if it is prescription drugs, check with a local doctor. Also check local availability and prices.

Do NOT try mailing medication - the Thai authorities have jumped on several people for this.

One small problem. The Thai formulary lacks some medications (not brand names the generic forumulations too) that are commonly available in other countries. This somewhat surprised me since Thailand has a quality modern medical system. If the medication is available it is certainly cheaper here. Thai branded generic medication is even cheaper.

[jfchandler]

I had an experience with this recently.

I needed an antiobiotic that was not available in Thailand, but for which I had a U.S. doctor prescription.

I had a 60 day supply filled in the U.S. by my pharmacy there, and they shipped it here to BKK via DHL. Arrived real fast and delivered to my home address here. No problem.

The only item was, I had to pay Thai tax and customs on the retail value of the prescription, which was about $40. So that added a couple hundred baht to the cost. DHL left an invoice at my home stating the amount owed, and then I had them return the next day. They collected the tax and customs amounts from me, and gave me the package.

I ordered a larger quantity than I needed, because I didn't want to have to go through that process and expense every time. But, I wasn't trying to do 11 months worth either, so not sure how Thai customs would respond to that.

But in general, there are many medications here that seem to be much less expensive than even insurance covered meds in the U.S. But some are not, depending on whether something is available as generic or only via brand name.

Another interesting wrinkle here is many meds are available from Thai retail pharmacies without requiring any doctor's prescription. Whereas in the U.S., anything but the most basic over the counter stuff requires a doctor's visit and prescription, which can be a hassle and expense.

--John.

[Beardog]

When I moved up here in 2004 I brought enough prednizone(steroid for mango rash) for 3 years Pain meds for 2-3 years. pennicillin- keflex-Both antibiotics marinol (cannot be prescribed here- for cancer) The U.S. customs do not care as long as you have legit scripts for them. the Thais can't read to well& don't know the latin names anyway.They like the Nascar racing books more!!! Every year I go back to the U.S. & get my pain meds (as they are not available here) and am never questioned. Australia is the only country I have ever been questioned about in 10 countries I have been in.

If you travel with a lot of meds keep some in your carry on & some in your check in. The only thing they checked last year was my common chinese herb. Yin Chao legal in every country. when I got to the new BKK airport I tried to condense my big box & kicked it open- raising suspicion. After 3 soldiers looking at 4 boxes of the herbs they let me pass. They looked at 9 prescription bottles & didn't even bat an eye. As long as your legal & do not appear to be bringing things in for resale you are alright. I have 2 friends that have been doing the same since 2002. More a U.S. issue as they can read English.

Beardog