Depakote?

[wrdwillie]

I have a seizure disorder which requires me to take 6  250 mg tablets of Depakote daily.  I want to move to Thailand to retire, but the major stumbling block is the price and availability of my medication.  I have not had good luck with the generic brands, so I want to stick with Depakote.  Can anyone give me the answers to price and availability?  Thank you.

[Oxx]

Until someone can come up with more specific information, Depakote (AbbVille) is not available in Thailand.  Depakine (Sanofi-Aventis) is.  However, it comes in 200 mg tablets, or 500 mg slow release tablets.  Don't know the price, but it's going to be expensive as an imported drug.  On the plus side, it can be sold at larger pharmacies, so you won't have the usual hospital mark-up.

[Sheryl]

As above.No Depakote brand. Depakine is the soel import and it is expensive --  say 10% more than if bought in Canada, Australia or Europe. Which is still less than the retail price in USA, but far from cheap. This pretty well holds true for all imported drugs. It is only locally made that is cheaper here.

 

Several  inexpensive Thai made generic equivalents.

 

If thinking of moving here, don't consider only the drug you now need to take - -consider also future medical needs, health insurance etc. People always focus on their known health problems but it can be the unexpected accident, or newly developed problem (heart attack, stroke etc) that creates a major problem for those not adequately insured.

[wrdwillie]

Thank you both for your replies.  It gives me options to contemplate for my future.