Ambien Sleeping Pill?

[tonititan]

Hi,

I have searched all the old posts, and now I'm even more confused about my question. I am wondering if it is possible to get Ambien, or the equivalent, over the counter in a pharmacy like Boots. Some people have said you need a prescription, and other posters have said it's OTC. Does anyone have any recent experience or knowledge on this matter? Thanks!

[Nowhereman60]

I have never seen Ambien here in Thailand what they have is Stilnox about the same thing. But I have never seen it in any pharmacy here. I asked this same question and people say you can get it here or there, when I go to these places they say no you have to go to a hospital. I have gotten Stilnox from Bumrangrad a few times, but of course you have to pay for a doctor visit plus the pills.

[tonititan]

Thanks for the helpful information. I'm really not looking forward to having to go to the hospital for it, but I guess I'll have to suck it up and just go. Maybe I'm just dreading it so much because of a past experience. It's actually kind of funny looking back ....

I used to take a daily medication as a preventative tool for chronic headaches. This was prescribed by my general doctor in the States after a great deal of blood work, case history, physical examination, consultation with a neurologist, and MRIs. When I moved to Thailand and needed a refill I found out that I had to get it at a hospital. I was clueless about how things work, so I just walked into the hospital (Samitivej) and asked for the pharmacy! Silly me. They sent me up to General Medicine, where I explained my situation to the nurses. They told me to sit down and wait, then proceeded to whisper back and forth while looking at me strangely. Then they were on the phone, still whispering (which is funny since I spoke zero Thai!), and still eyeing me. A doctor walked up, and they whispered to him and kind of gestured at me. I waited some more, and then some lady with a clipboard walked out and sat down by me. It turns out that she was a social worker of sorts. She started asking me all kinds of personal questions and treating me like I was mentally unstable or something, and then told me that the nurses informed her that I was trying to get a sleeping pill. Umm...no, it's for headaches. She said that it's a sleeping pill in Thailand. Funny, since it never affected my sleep. She said I'd have to see a doctor, and I said great, can I do it today? When I went into the doctors office, he started asking a lot of questions that seemed strange, like if I'm happy in Thailand, if I am able to function at work, if I cry a lot when I get headaches, if I cry at work, how I feel right now (emotionally), if I've ever thought about hurting myself, etc. I was thinking that it was a little strange, then I started looking around at the plaques and posters on his wall. He was a psychiatrist! I couldn't believe that they sent me to a psych for a headache medicine refill. He wanted to give me a 10 day prescription, so I explained that I took it daily and would have to come back in 10 days. After a little negotiation, he gave me 2 months work. On my way out the door, he nervously said, "Now, don't take it all at once, ok?"

[FBN]

Sedatives are scheduled drugs in Thailand and is (legally) only available on prescription and, as you have had a first hand experience of, not easily come by.

It may be available at some pharmacies but then it would be an "under the counter" rather than OTC procedure. This is illegal.

[ihunnieibee]

To my knowledge ambien is also considered a sleep pill in the US. I believe that they had some kind of recall on it.... after people who took it woke up and sleepwalked or something doing crazy things that they didn't remember. Honestly, I can say a few years back that I took Ambien, and it wasn't prescribed to me by a doctor...and that night I felt like I was dreaming but I was doing things, it was really strange and kinda freaked me out...so yeah I never took it again after that...

I can totally see why they had you see that type of doctor. I've even seen Ambien commercials in the states saying that it is a sleeping pill..so I really can't believe that you didn't know that is what it was....I mean maybe you personally can take it for your headaches but to my knowledge...it was designed to be for pepole who have trouble sleeping ...

[tonititan]

Oh, sorry, I guess I wasn't clear. I said I took "a daily medication," but I guess I never explained what it was. The medicine I took for my headaches was NOT Ambien. I fully understand that Ambien is a sleeping pill, which is why I am looking for it. And I have had a prescription for Ambien from a doctor in the past, so I know that it does not cause me to have the side effects you experienced. I just don't have the prescription with me in Thailand, and I was just hoping to avoid a hospital visit.

Oh, and I also was not surprised that I'd need to see a doctor. I completely expected that, and was happy to see one. I was just surprised to see a psychiatrist for a headache medicine I had been prescribed by a general practice doctor, and that the doctor did not want to talk about my medical history, only the emotional/psychological aspects. The story about the headache medicine was just to illustrate why I was dreading going to the hospital to ask for Ambien. If they considered the other one a sleeping pill and were so suspicious of me asking for it, I was thinking that it might happen again.

Edited January 14, 2010 by tonititan

[ihunnieibee]

o sorry bout the confusion ;P i hope that u get what u need =)

[Farma]

Sedatives are scheduled drugs in Thailand and is (legally) only available on prescription and, as you have had a first hand experience of, not easily come by.

It may be available at some pharmacies but then it would be an "under the counter" rather than OTC procedure. This is illegal.

Just to add to the confusion.

Pharmacies need a special license to stock and sell some of the restricted medications. A prime example is brown cough mixture which contains opium.

This partly explains why certain items are available from one pharmacy but not another. Some pharmacists prefer not to obtain the license or hold stocks as it reduces the risk of break-ins and robberies.

[tonititan]

o sorry bout the confusion ;P i hope that u get what u need =)

No problem! Sorry I wasn't clear in the first place...it made perfect sense in my head, though. That's what I get for being in a hurry.