Prescription medication in the Kingdom ?

[Loptr]

How does your friend stay upright while taking all these opiates? Holy cow, morphine sulfate, morphine hydrochloride, Valium, etc...

[jackflash]

> He is concerned about the legality of buying his medications here

He has quite a few possiblities:

- Take his prescription or a letter from his Aussie doctor. This will cover his having the pills in the rare event he is searched.

- His Aussie doctor can give him a letter to the Aussie pharmacy to issue sufficient to cover his stay in Thailand.

- Most any Thai pharmacy will issue the pills if they see the empty bottle, no questions asked.

- Failing all of the above, he can go to a Thai hospital and get a perscription (but take Aussie prescription to show doctor).

One warning: One time when I returned to Oz, my blood pressre was way up, and I assumed I had been issue some ineffective (or fake) pills in Thailand.

Edited November 8, 2013 by jackflash

[cassde]

I am on 3 meds and from the UK. Before I left for Thailand , my doctors surgery provided me with a printed list of the specific meds. When I needed them in Thailand, I went to the local hospital showed the doctor the form and he issued a prescription for the hospital pharmacy to fulfill.

The printed form is also useful in the event that Customs stop you at the airport. Maybe Australia doctors surgeries have the same type of form.

[Sheryl]

He can bring in a maximum of 30 days supply, must be in prescription bottles with his name on it and he also needs a doctor's letter certifying that he has been prescribed these drugs.

If he is here more than 30 days:

Efexor is available OTC, less expensive brand is called Valosine. note that both brands are the sustained release form.

Imigran, Nexium, Lyrica and Coversyl are available OTC. Imported so expensive. Covrix is same as Coversyl and may be less expensive as locally made.

Diclofenac no problem, many local brands, sold everywhere, cheap.

Claratyne is available but so are much cheaper local barnds of the same thing (lortadine)

Panadol forte and panadol osteo are just paracetemol in high doses. He can easily buy paracetemol (many brand names, including panadol but that is costly, just a local brand instead) and just adjust the dosage.

The morphine (ms contin, ordine) and valium will be big problems. they are strictly controlled in Thailand, can only be legally obtained at a hospital pharmacy, and thai doctors hesitate to prescribe. With a doctor's letter from home stating he needs them there is a good chance he can get a refill but no guaranatee. Just how "extended" a visit is planned?

[stoli]

I used a very specific medicine for my migraines in the US (Butalbital), but they DO NOT sell that medicine in Thailand so I had to go a doctor in Bangkok who specialized in headaches and the best he could do was prescribe Tramadol, which is on it's way to being a restricted drug in Thailand only to be sold by hospitals by prescription. Tramadol also has a couple of irritating non-serious side affects and doesn't come close to working as good as my original prescription in the US.

So some medicines ARE NOT available here, but most common ordinary ones are and as long as it can not be abused as a narcotic then you can almost certainly get it without prescription at almost any pharmacy. Tramadol is really a narcotic and I'm surprised it was not already restricted.

For my high blood pressure and cholesterol medicines I buy them at a local pharmacy. And virtually any antibiotic is available without prescription at local pharmacies.

As everyone else said, be specific about what drugs.

Tramadol is a synthetic narcotic, not a real narcotic.

[harrry]

He can bring in a maximum of 30 days supply, must be in prescription bottles with his name on it and he also needs a doctor's letter certifying that he has been prescribed these drugs.

If he is here more than 30 days:

Efexor is available OTC, less expensive brand is called Valosine. note that both brands are the sustained release form.

Imigran, Nexium, Lyrica and Coversyl are available OTC. Imported so expensive. Covrix is same as Coversyl and may be less expensive as locally made.

Diclofenac no problem, many local brands, sold everywhere, cheap.

Claratyne is available but so are much cheaper local barnds of the same thing (lortadine)

Panadol forte and panadol osteo are just paracetemol in high doses. He can easily buy paracetemol (many brand names, including panadol but that is costly, just a local brand instead) and just adjust the dosage.

The morphine (ms contin, ordine) and valium will be big problems. they are strictly controlled in Thailand, can only be legally obtained at a hospital pharmacy, and thai doctors hesitate to prescribe. With a doctor's letter from home stating he needs them there is a good chance he can get a refill but no guaranatee. Just how "extended" a visit is planned?

Product Description

Panadeine Forte comes as a white

capsule shaped tablet, marked PF.

It comes in boxes of 20 or 50 tablets.

Each Panadeine Forte tablet contains:

Active Ingredient

• Paracetamol 500 mg

• Codeine phosphate 30 mghttp://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcmed.nsf/pages/swcpanaf/%24File/swcpanaf.pdf

The only Panedeine and Codine here I have seen is the lower streangth version with 15mg codeine.

increasing the number of tablets of these taken is dangerouse because of the sharp cutoff between safe and dangerous for panadeine.

[Sheryl]

I believe Panadol Forte is not the same as Panadeine Forte.

Panadol Forte is enteric coated high dose acetminophen (tylenol, essentially same as paraectemol) . Panadeine Forte is as you say, tylenol + codeine. But he said Panadol Firte not Panadeine....

[harrry]

I believe Panadol Forte is not the same as Panadeine Forte.

Panadol Forte is enteric coated high dose acetminophen (tylenol, essentially same as paraectemol) . Panadeine Forte is as you say, tylenol + codeine. But he said Panadol Firte not Panadeine....

OK Sheryll. I did check mims and there is no listing for panadol forte. I am sure if you say it is what it is there is such a thingh. Paneidine Porte is commonly used in Australia but is very restricted there as doctor only and only one week supply.

I am nervous of people adjusting doses of paracetamol as I knew a couple of people who died through attempted suicides which were probably cries for help which onloy invoved about 20 tablets.

Not many drugs wwhere 12 a day is safe and 20 can be dangerous.

[thaiexpat21]

I believe Panadol Forte is not the same as Panadeine Forte.

Panadol Forte is enteric coated high dose acetminophen (tylenol, essentially same as paraectemol) . Panadeine Forte is as you say, tylenol + codeine. But he said Panadol Firte not Panadeine....

OK Sheryll. I did check mims and there is no listing for panadol forte. I am sure if you say it is what it is there is such a thingh. Paneidine Porte is commonly used in Australia but is very restricted there as doctor only and only one week supply.

I am nervous of people adjusting doses of paracetamol as I knew a couple of people who died through attempted suicides which were probably cries for help which onloy invoved about 20 tablets.

Not many drugs wwhere 12 a day is safe and 20 can be dangerous.

I do not intend to enumerate the many medication which are "dangerous" if dosing instruction is not followed/adhered to.

No such thing as a "safe" medication" always strictly adhere to the instructions !

[Sheryl]

A number of off-topic (and in some cases referencing illegal activity) posts have been deleted. This thread is in no way about Viagra.

[GinBoy2]

As scary as this is, I've never been asked for a prescription for any drug at a pharmacy.