I was wondering what would be the path of least resistance in obtaining Accutane in Bangkok. I'm travelling now and currently on the medication but will run out in a few weeks when I'm in Thailand. Do you have any suggestions on the simplest way to purchase it? In particular, is there any pharmacy you know of that will sell it without a local prescription? Or, do you know of any physician/dermatologist who will prescribe it with minimal time and fuss (e.g. avoiding having to wait 2 weeks for blood test results)? Is it easier or advisable to just take a quick flight over to, say, Cambodia instead? Any help would be greatly appreciated as there is much conflicting and dated information out there and I don't want to do anything outright illegal.

(I'm taking low-dose Accutane under physician supervision outside of Thailand so please avoid moralizing and fear-mongering on the dangers of the medication, as people are wont to do on forums.)

By law, Acccutane requires a doctor's prescription and any purchase without one is illegal for both buyer and seller.

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In addition to being illegal, in my expereince when prescription-only drugs are sold OTC in Thailand (especially around tourist areas) they are often fakes...a dodge which among other things ironically protects the pharmacist from prosecution.

It does not usually entail much hassle to get the prescription. If you can assure the doctor you have had your liver enzymes checked in the recent past and they were within normal range s/he may agree to dispense with it (especially if you need only a limited supply). Even if not, the blood test takes only hours, not days so if you go in the early AM should still be able to get results and script the same day or worst case the day after (at a private hospital..government would be a more drawn out affair).

A few years back I took my niece to a dermatologost at Phayathai 2 Hospital (near Victory Mionument) and we got the script same day. But I think pretty much any place would do.

(If you truly have not had a liver panel recently then you should...tests is inexpensive and the consequences of continuing the drug if you are starting to have any adverse effects on liver function are severe).