# Availability of narcotic drugs?



## Missouri Bob (Feb 12, 2018)

Just wondering about the availability of drugs in the Philippines. I mean legal, prescription drugs. I regularly take Tylenol Codeine for arthritis and some old joint injuries. Recently I had to have open heart surgery to repair a valve.* So I've been taking OxyContin and some Percocets. 

Some ten year old blog post say that the Philippines won't prescribe narcotics even for major surgery.

Has anyone had experience with maintainer pain meds? Or pain medications after major surgery? I can't imagine trying to recover from heart surgery without narcotics for a few weeks.

Thanks.

*I went in for a simple echogram (ultrasound) of my heart. When it was done the doctor said that it would be a really bad idea for me to go home. They were already working on getting a hospital room for me and alerting Admissions that I would be on my way.


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

They do not believe in pain killers here. They are scared of all drugs. I asked for codeine one time (the Tylenol junk) and the doctor acted like I asked for heroin. My father in law got sent home from the hospital to die from liver cancer and they gave him paracetamol and tramadol - may as well take M&Ms. 

I asked for lorazepam once and the pharmacy girls freaked out. I looked it up later, on a Filipino medical site and they have it listed as a date rape drug ha ha They are totally screwed up on their meds here. 

If you need codeine, you best bring some with you. Long term... good luck...


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## Rebaqshratz (May 15, 2016)

I am on a system where my meds are mailed to me. They are the drugs prescribed to me by my US Doctor I send them to US Global a well know mail forwarder. I simply list them as medicine for the customs form and them sent via DHL to my front door. No problem other than I need a yearly exam to have them re-upped for the next year. I get a 90 day supply each time so only need to forward 1 time every quarter...


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## Manitoba (Jun 25, 2014)

Tukaram said:


> .....
> If you need codeine, you best bring some with you. Long term... good luck...


I am not sure about here but if you tried to bring that into Dubai, even with all the doctor's documentation on it you would be looking at some serious jail time.

There they will even lock you up, minimum 4 years any drug charge, if youhave the by products of a proscribed drug in your system. 

Here they just shoot drug dealers , They may just want to make an example of a rich foreigner who tried to bring an illegal drug into the country.

For something this serious, medically and legally, I'd get a professional opinion or two over the opinions of random strangers on the internet.


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## Tukaram (Dec 18, 2014)

I have brought in meds, with a prescription, which is according to Philippine law. I know enough not to go to a Filipino jail ha ha 
Source: BRINGING MEDICINE INTO THE PHILIPPINES


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## Maxx62 (Dec 31, 2013)

Missouri Bob said:


> *I went in for a simple echogram (ultrasound) of my heart. When it was done the doctor said that it would be a really bad idea for me to go home. They were already working on getting a hospital room for me and alerting Admissions that I would be on my way.


If you had an echocardiogram done here in the PI, I'd be hesitant to follow the doctor's recommendation to get immediate surgery. A few months back I went in for a regular checkup, and they convinced my wife that i needed to have an echocardiogram done as well. After they looked at the results of my echocardiogram they told my wife and I that my heart was in bad shape, and that I needed surgery to fix a blocked artery. I completely ignored their advice, it's been almost a year, and I feel fine. 

If you think that you're not feeling good due to heart problems, then the thing to do is to a Western hospital, and avoid going under the knife over here unless it is a matter of immediate life and death. 


Also, my 83 year old mother-in-law was recently diagnosed with cancer, and they told her to go home and take over the counter pain medication. I guess that forty years ago they used to be lax with prescription pain medications over here, but these days you can't even get a prescription for codeine cough syrup. Good luck, hope everything works out.


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## Missouri Bob (Feb 12, 2018)

Tukaram said:


> They do not believe in pain killers here. ..... If you need codeine, you best bring some with you. Long term... good luck...


I was thinking that if they do not prescribe drugs then they would not allow you to bring them into the country. Like Manitoba said about Dubai in one of the replies.



Manitoba said:


> I am not sure about here but if you tried to bring that into Dubai, even with all the doctor's documentation on it you would be looking at some serious jail time.


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## Missouri Bob (Feb 12, 2018)

Manitoba said:


> I am not sure about here but if you tried to bring that into Dubai, even with all the doctor's documentation on it you would be looking at some serious jail time.


That's how I assumed it would work.



Manitoba said:


> For something this serious, medically and legally, I'd get a professional opinion or two over the opinions of random strangers on the internet.


You got that right. I have no desire to risk going to prison. I am just curious about if other people have handled this issue.


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## Missouri Bob (Feb 12, 2018)

Maxx62 said:


> If you had an echocardiogram done here in the PI, I'd be hesitant to follow the doctor's recommendation to get immediate surgery. A few months back I went in for a regular checkup, and they convinced my wife that i needed to have an echocardiogram done as well. After they looked at the results of my echocardiogram they told my wife and I that my heart was in bad shape, and that I needed surgery to fix a blocked artery. I completely ignored their advice, it's been almost a year, and I feel fine.
> 
> If you think that you're not feeling good due to heart problems, then the thing to do is to a Western hospital, and avoid going under the knife over here unless it is a matter of immediate life and death.
> 
> ...


Even here at a world class hospital I had my daughter (who is a nurse) review the echocardiogram movie before the surgeons cut into me. Basically I had a blown valve and a tremendous amount of backflow/leakage. Even I could see that it was not right. 

But the ongoing agony during recovery made me wonder about pain meds in the Philippines. I told my asawa that I love her so much that if she ever had to undergo this operation I would just shoot her so she could avoid the pain.


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