# How to get prescription filled in Mexico



## 2canadians

My husband and I are traveling through Mexico and Central America for 10 months.(from Canada) I will need my prescription filled at some point. I assume an English prescription will be worthless in Mexico. What do I need to bring with me to prove my condition to a Mexican doctor? What is the easiest way to go about this? I have limited Spanish.


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## RVGRINGO

Unless it is a narcotic or some antibiotic, you only need the name of the medication; the generic name will make it simpler and often much less expensive.
farmacias similares, Dr. Desquento, farmacia ahorros, and others, are discount pharmacies.


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## Longford

2canadians said:


> My husband and I are traveling through Mexico and Central America for 10 months.(from Canada) I will need my prescription filled at some point. I assume an English prescription will be worthless in Mexico. What do I need to bring with me to prove my condition to a Mexican doctor? What is the easiest way to go about this? I have limited Spanish.


Bring your prescriptions from home. Make certain they're printed or written clearly so that someone reading them can understand them. Then, when you need the priscription filled make an appointment with a physician in Mexico and show him what you have. I don't think you'll have any problems, except if you're asking for something that's a controlled or scheduled substance. It's becoming more common than ever for some pharmacies, discount pharmacies, to have a physician's office attached or close by and the pharmacist will refer you. If it's not clear, just stop at any farmacia and ask who they recommend.


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## joaquinx

The only medication that you would need a prescription for are antibiotics and those containing narcotics. Most farmacias will have your medication by brand name or a generic. If generic, you will need the name of the primary ingredient in Spanish.


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## 2canadians

Thank you, it's easier than I thought!


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## cuylers5746

*Foreign Prescriptions filled in Mexico*

Not only is is simple, it's logical and makes a whole lot more sense than in the USA, maybe even Canada too?


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## mes1952

I buy all my medicines for my dogs at the Farmacias Similares who tend to be the less expensive as they use generics. I use the human version and reduce the dosage. Many drugs in the U.S. that require a prescription do not here in Mexico such as anti-inflammatories, many pain meds, antibiotics, etc. You can even buy the generic for Tamiflu here at a greatly reduced price compared to the U.S. because it is in generic form. 
When I need a specific med and do not know the generic I simply find the generic name on the web.


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## HolyMole

2canadians said:


> My husband and I are traveling through Mexico and Central America for 10 months.(from Canada) I will need my prescription filled at some point. I assume an English prescription will be worthless in Mexico. What do I need to bring with me to prove my condition to a Mexican doctor? What is the easiest way to go about this? I have limited Spanish.


Your questions have been well answered.
I would just add that if you intend to claim prescriptions purchased in Mexico from a Canadian health insurance plan, you'll have to ask for detailed receipts from the farmacia, especially if they're for medications that don't require a prescription, i.e. over-the-counter. For most OTC medications, you either won't be given a receipt at all, or it won't show any of the information your insurer will require. 
My own plan insists that I obtain a prescription from a Mexican doctor, even though I've explained that all the medications we require are available in Mexico over-the-counter....therefore seeing a doctor is a needless expense. As a result, we purchase our 6 months of prescriptions before we leave Canada.


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## mickisue1

HolyMole said:


> Your questions have been well answered.
> I would just add that if you intend to claim prescriptions purchased in Mexico from a Canadian health insurance plan, you'll have to ask for detailed receipts from the farmacia, especially if they're for medications that don't require a prescription, i.e. over-the-counter. For most OTC medications, you either won't be given a receipt at all, or it won't show any of the information your insurer will require.
> My own plan insists that I obtain a prescription from a Mexican doctor, even though I've explained that all the medications we require are available in Mexico over-the-counter....therefore seeing a doctor is a needless expense. As a result, we purchase our 6 months of prescriptions before we leave Canada.


That would SO not happen in the US!

The cost of meds here is much too high, even with copays for those below retirement age, to make that practice reasonable. And if you're a retiree, and you've hit the dreaded doughnut hole in the RX coverage written into Medicare by the drug companies, well, fuggedaboutit.


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## HolyMole

mickisue1 said:


> That would SO not happen in the US!
> 
> The cost of meds here is much too high, even with copays for those below retirement age, to make that practice reasonable. And if you're a retiree, and you've hit the dreaded doughnut hole in the RX coverage written into Medicare by the drug companies, well, fuggedaboutit.


I'm a retired federal government employee, but our healthcare plan is by no means "gold-plated", by Canadian standards. Our plan considers a "normal prescription" as a 3 month supply, or 100 pills. We are allowed to purchase more, but must first telephone for approval, which comes within 2 days, and is never denied. We routinely purchase a 6 month supply for our winters in Mexico. The plan pays 80%, after satisfying the annual $60 per person/$100 per family "deductible".


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## mickisue1

HolyMole said:


> I'm a retired federal government employee, but our healthcare plan is by no means "gold-plated", by Canadian standards. Our plan considers a "normal prescription" as a 3 month supply, or 100 pills. We are allowed to purchase more, but must first telephone for approval, which comes within 2 days, and is never denied. We routinely purchase a 6 month supply for our winters in Mexico. The plan pays 80%, after satisfying the annual $60 per person/$100 per family "deductible".


I'm not yet at retirement age. But my first experience with the doughnut hole was standing in line at the pharmacy behind an elderly lady. She was crying. I'd have cried, too. She'd just been told that her meds, which she'd thought would be about $75, were going to cost her over $1000. 

For a month's worth.


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## Hound Dog

_


mickisue1 said:



 I'm not yet at retirement age. But my first experience with the doughnut hole was standing in line at the pharmacy behind an elderly lady. She was crying. I'd have cried, too. She'd just been told that her meds, which she'd thought would be about $75, were going to cost her over $1000. 

For a month's worth.

Click to expand...

_I Presume this happened in Canada. It sure as hell didn´t happen in Mexico.


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## Quetza

mickisue1 said:


> I'm not yet at retirement age. But my first experience with the doughnut hole was standing in line at the pharmacy behind an elderly lady. She was crying. I'd have cried, too. She'd just been told that her meds, which she'd thought would be about $75, were going to cost her over $1000.
> 
> For a month's worth.


 

That's really sad, poor lady. Where did that happen? 

Also, something I had been wondering, what kind of medical programs or social security do the US has for the elderly people and how efficient is it?


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## TundraGreen

Quetza said:


> That's really sad, poor lady. Where did that happen?
> 
> Also, something I had been wondering, what kind of medical programs or social security do the US has for the elderly people and how efficient is it?


It would probably be more appropriate to ask that question in the section dedicated to expats to the United States. America Expat Forum for Expats Living in America - Expat Forum For People Moving Overseas And Living Abroad

You might find more people there interested in discussing it.


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## Quetza

You are right, Tundra Green. I was just curious about how social security in Mexico compares to those available in other expats homelands and I assumed most come from the US. I should have worded my question better. 

Would it be ok for the question to remain here if I edit my post or would it be better if I delete that part?


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## alexdz

HolyMole said:


> I'm a retired federal government employee, but our healthcare plan is by no means "gold-plated", by Canadian standards. Our plan considers a "normal prescription" as a 3 month supply, or 100 pills. We are allowed to purchase more, but must first telephone for approval, which comes within 2 days, and is never denied. We routinely purchase a 6 month supply for our winters in Mexico. The plan pays 80%, after satisfying the annual $60 per person/$100 per family "deductible".


I'm a retired fed too and have been wondering about how best to make use of that in Mexico. Sorry about the thread hijack, but I'm just curious what other FEHB types consider the best plan to go with. I've done a lot of googling on the topic and found surprisingly little, and what I've found generally is by people who stuck with BCBS. That's one of the more expensive plans available and I'm not sure that with the cost of care in Mexico it would be worth the extra expense. I wonder what you or others think of the various options? I know it can't be an HMO, but the main national plans seem to have similar overseas coverage.


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## HolyMole

alexdz said:


> I'm a retired fed too and have been wondering about how best to make use of that in Mexico. Sorry about the thread hijack, but I'm just curious what other FEHB types consider the best plan to go with. I've done a lot of googling on the topic and found surprisingly little, and what I've found generally is by people who stuck with BCBS. That's one of the more expensive plans available and I'm not sure that with the cost of care in Mexico it would be worth the extra expense. I wonder what you or others think of the various options? I know it can't be an HMO, but the main national plans seem to have similar overseas coverage.


As I think I indicated, I'm a retiree from the Canadian federal public service, so terms like FEHB, BCBS and HMO are Greek to me.
Our federal government health care plan (for retirees residing in Canada) covers us only for the first 41 days out of Canada. We can purchase coverage if we live permanently out of Canada, but it's expensive, (by Canadian standards), at around $175 - $200/month for a family of two, and has lots of exclusions and "ifs, ands and buts".


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## alexdz

HolyMole said:


> As I think I indicated, I'm a retiree from the Canadian federal public service, so terms like FEHB, BCBS and HMO are Greek to me.
> Our federal government health care plan (for retirees residing in Canada) covers us only for the first 41 days out of Canada. We can purchase coverage if we live permanently out of Canada, but it's expensive, (by Canadian standards), at around $175 - $200/month for a family of two, and has lots of exclusions and "ifs, ands and buts".


Yes sorry, I did forget that you were talking about Canada, but maybe somebody else reading the thread knows something about FEHB plans (that's the US program overseeing health insurance for federal employees and retirees). That $175-200/month you mention sounds like a good deal for us, although the coverage we get--even overseas--appears to be fairly comprehensive.


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## m109pilot

Thanks to all, this is some good info. I was a little worried how I would get BP meds here but it sounds like its pretty easy. Will see when the time comes


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