Is Asacol/salofalk/mesalamine Available Without Rx?

[sleeper1955]

Hi,

Recently became self-employed and insurance is too expensive because of pre-existing blah, blah, blah.

I have been buying Asacol from internet pharmacies. (AKA Asacol/Salofalk/mesalamine/ Canasa®. Pentasa®; Rowasa®).

Can I get without a prescription in Thailand?

Never checked before as always had insurance before so it was not expensive here (USA).

I only take 2 400mg enteric coated / day so I don't need many, but I don't know if my next internet order will arrive before

I leave for thailand.

Thanks for any help.

Sleeper.

[Sheryl]

Yes, available without presecription here.

[sleeper1955]

Hi Sheryl,

thanks for your reply.

I got a PM reply to this question on another Thailand board from a guy who had a flareup while in Thailand.

He told me there was "not a hope in hel_l" of getting Asacol in Thailand.

Did he just not know were to go?

Where should I look when there? (I know now that mesalamine by any other name is the same).

I have read there are several large pharmacies near Victory Monument, is that my best bet?

Thanks for your help.

Sleeper

[Maestro]

Hi Sheryl,

I got a PM reply to this question on another Thailand board from a guy who had a flareup while in Thailand.

He told me there was "not a hope in hel_l" of getting Asacol in Thailand.

Did he just not know were to go?

That person perhaps did not communicate well with the pharmacy staff in Thailand. While the brand name Asacol apparently is not available in Thailand, Salofalk enteric-coated tablets are available in 250 mg and 500 mg. Seed this entry in the MIMS Thailand drug index:

http://www.mims.com/Page.aspx?menuid=mng&a...mp;h=mesalamine

Just about any pharmacy will carry it, and it is available without prescription.

--

Maestro

[cophen]

It's not quite true that they're all the same. They use different delivery systems and emit their goodness at different places in the gut. I know that Pentasa is available to order from a small pharmacy in Chiang Mai but is not available to order from Boots in the same town. It appears in the small pharmacy MIMS but not in the Boots MIMS!

[Maestro]

Salofalk is sold Thailand as tablets of 100 mg and 500 mg, Pentasa as tablets of 500 mg, Mesacol as tablets of 400 mg.

Salofalk enteric-coated tab: http://www.mims.com/Page.aspx?menuid=mng&a...&h=salofalk

Pentasa Slow-release tab: http://www.mims.com/Page.aspx?menuid=mng&a...b&h=pentasa

Mesacol target-release tab: http://www.mims.com/Page.aspx?menuid=mng&a...mp;h=mesalamine

Whichever brand you buy, read careful the package leaflet and/or the online information linked above.

--

Maestro

[Maestro]

...Pentasa...appears in the small pharmacy MIMS but not in the Boots MIMS!

I have never heard of “small pharmacy MIMS” and “Boots MIMS”

It is possible that one pharmacy may be less inclined than another to order it if it does not have a particular medicine in stock but this is not a question of different “MIMS” (Monthly Index of Medical Specialties), which in Thailand is not published monthly, I believe.

Anyway, the OP does not appear to intend to buy the product in Chiangmai but in Bangkok, as he inquired about its availability in the Victory monument area.

--

Maestro

[cophen]

The MIMS in Boots was thinner than the version in the small pharmacy. The Boots pharmacist show me the entries for mesalamine-based drugs and Salofalk was the only entry. The pharmacist at the small pharmacy actually checked on availability and price of Pentasa (~40bt per 500mG tab - 3 to 5 days delivery).

[Maestro]

It looks like Boots Thailand has its own directory of medicines that the branches are allowed to stock. MIMS is a directory of all medicines registered in Thailand.

--

Maestro

[cophen]

The book in Boots was MIMS. It said so on the cover.

[sleeper1955]

Thanks for all the replies and information.

I should be able to sort it out with the info you have given.

thanks for sharing your knowledge.

Sleeper

[glyph]

Mesacol is SUBSTANTIALLY cheaper than Salofalk.