Prescription drugs on the camino

[Jim McMurtrie]

I searched the forum for this and found that the information was dated. Do the pharmacist recognize prescription from U.S. doctors and are the common drugs available in Spain?

 

[Waka]

Not sure what drugs you are mentioning, I'm type 2 diabetic and just took a 7 week supply with me, I also had a letter from my surgery, when I put them though the machine at Gatwick they never turned a hair, even so it's best to be prepared.

I'm sure that someone will come along shortly with a definitive answer.

 

[Rick M]

Take a supply of meds with you that will last through your Camino. In case something unexpected happens, take a copy of your prescriptions with you as well. There are pharmacies in all the main towns, marked with a big green neon cross. They are a little different that what you are used to. They focus on selling meds and medical supplies, rather than dog food and disposable cameras. I did not take an inventory, but my impression was that they would have any common prescription on hand. They are mostly staffed by a single person who is a real pharmacist that is helpful and can get you what you need. Not to worry, Spain is a first world country from a healthcare viewpoint, and if you have a problem, you will be able to find help.

Buen Camino

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I suggest that you get your doctor to write some generic drug prescriptions for you if you use a non-generic at home. Then, if you can't find what you want, you have a backup. There may not be a problem with the Spanish pharmacies giving you a similar drug to one you are looking for but why take chances.

 

[oursonpolaire]

My experience has been that my (Canadian) prescriptions were easily filled. Most drug companies are international and, in all three instances, their products were on the pharmacy shelves. They were filled on the basis of the empty bottles' labels but I have always scanned my prescriptions and saved them as attachments in my drafts folder should I need to get hold of them. And in all three instances, I was charged less than half of what I would have paid in Canada. Spanish pharmacists could almost always speak English or French, and are great resources on the Camino-- they are well accustomed to pilgrim ailments, and can administer first aid, as well as many medications which in North America require a prescription.

As well, I always suggest to anyone with a complex medical condition to have their GP or specialist write up a one-page protocol of diagnosis and treatment; take it to a professional medical translator to turn into medical Castellano-- should anything untoward happen, the Spanish professionals will have it on hand and easily comprehensible, which may save some very valuable time in an emergency. Do not google-translate this! Your local medical academy will have recommendations. In Canada, most provinces will not cover these protocols or translations, but supplementary insurance plans might. In any case, a few hundred dollars could be money very well spent.

 

[mspath]

Indeed, pharmacies often offer much more than medecine!

Walking into Molinaseca early on a frosty Sunday morning November 2014 I met another woman pilgrim who was worried since she had run out of funds. Upon arrival in town all appeared closed as we searched high and low for either an ATM or for someone to ask; nada.

Luckily one pharmacy was open 7/7 and the multi lingual pharmacist directed us to the village ATM hidden on the elementary school facade! Her gentle kindness will be long remembered.

 

[WGroleau]

If it's thyroid replacement, you may have to settle for a different dose. I don't metabolize T4 into T3 very well, so my doctor had me on both. But T3 is not available in Spain, so the pharmacist and I did some research and came up with the idea that we could multiply the T3 dose by four and make the T4 dose that much bigger. My doctor agreed (by e-mail) and although it put my levels off a little, they were still reasonable. Interestingly, I did not need to show the prescription, and it cost less than my U.S. government-subsidzed dose. That pharmacist (and another I visited) had a huge book cross-referencing the names of drugs in different languages.

 

[HeidiL]

Many pharmacists in smaller villages along the Caminos also have strong opinions about how to treat blisters - ampollas.

I remember having a long talk with one who wanted to show me his own (made in-house) anti-blister cream, and when I didn't need any, asked me about my own anti-blister remedies (nylons under woollen socks) and took notes to share with other pilgrims. Then we discussed the physiology of backpack fitting and his own desire to travel more...

I have the impression that this guy was the one academic in the village, and liked having a scientific discussion with someone.

 

[t2andreo]

There is very good advice above about bringing enough medication to last the duration of your Camino, plus travel time on both ends. I do that. But, on occasion have made errors in counting.

In addition to doing that, I use this handy method to bring copies of the prescriptions with me. I take six medications daily for a variety of chronic problems. Hey, if you live long enough, something or another will chase you down and jump on your back...

What follows is actually a LOT easier than it sounds. In my usual manner, I tend to over explain things...

When I exhaust a prescription bottle and obtain a replacement from my local pharmacist, I carefully peel off the label from the empty bottle before I recycle the plastic bottle. I have a piece of clear plastic (a clear sheet protector) that I affix the removed label upon. This makes removing the label later easier. Also, I arrange the labels on the clear plastic sheet in alphabetic order by name of medication.

As I process through successive refills throughout the "off-season," I update the label by removing the previous label and affixing the new label from the most recently empty bottle in it's place.

As I make my final preparations to leave for my annual Camino, or my month-long volunteer stint at the Pilgrim Office in Santiago, or to travel anywhere for a week or more for that matter, I take the plastic sheet protector with prescription labels affixed and make a copy of it on my multi-purpose printer. I also scan the sheet with labels into a .pdf file, stored on my iPhone, using an app called Scan+. Just making a photo of the sheet of labels will also work.

Doing this, I can either view, print or attach the image of the plastic sheet with prescription labels on it, as needed. The hard copy rides with my passport and vaccination records, in a waterproof envelope. A copy of the scanned image file also resides on my iCloud account.

On the few occasions where I needed more of a prescription medication, I went into a farmacia and showed the printed or image copy to the pharmacist. I stated that I needed more of this medication. For items for which I had a prescription label, I have never had a problem.

If you need something NOT on your list, simply ask. Farmacists in Spain have amazing latitude to sell you medications that would be by prescription only at least in the US.

I hope this helps.

 

[salmburg]

This year, while on the Camino, I forgot to bring enough of one prescription. Brought the near empty bottle into a Pharmacia in Burgos, and was given a refill straight away. I only needed 15 pills to last until I got home, but this medication was only sold in a box of 56. Also, this medication, made by the same company, but marketed with a different name in Spain is 3.5 X more expensive in the United States.

 

[John Sikora]

I have diabetes and one good group that I fell across was IAMAT http://www.iamat.org . Their membership is trivial cost and they provide reliable information as well as referrals to English speaking doctors around the world. They can easily tell you which drugs are available in which countries (both those requiring a prescription an those that can be bought over the counter). Many drugs that require prescriptions in the US are available OTC in Spain (Latanaprost is good example). That said, the pharmacists in Spain along the Camino are first class and do offer great advice as well as treatment for blisters and other common ailments with little hassle and sometimes great humour. All of the advice above applies. Take enough to last, use IAMAT, take copies of your prescriptions (it may allow you to avoid a doctor's exam). But all in all, you'll find Spain' system easy to use and low cost.

 

[naplesdon]

Lots of good advice here. I live in France up to 8 months a years and I get all my meds refilled in the US before I leave and carry them with me. Like T2A, I have multiple Rx's and have miscounted the number of pills I needed. Generally there is never a problem refilling one in France or Spain but generally the pharmacist want to know the generic name of the medicine or the generic alternative, and yes the prices are anywhere between 1/2 and 1/3 what we pay in the US.

 

[Juliet Clark]

I searched the forum for this and found that the information was dated. Do the pharmacist recognize prescription from U.S. doctors and are the common drugs available in Spain?

Pharmacies are abundant but usually prescriptions are relevant to the country of origin. I take enough prescriptive drugs so as not to encounter any problems with supply.

 

[t2andreo]

Pharmacies are abundant but usually prescriptions are relevant to the country of origin. I take enough prescriptive drugs so as not to encounter any problems with supply.

If you take a prescription drug, more likely than not, it has a generic equivalent. Even if the brand name drug is not available in Spain or elsewhere, the generic form of the medication will likely be. The pharmacist can dispense the generic equivalent.

All the pharmacists I have consulted in Belgium, France, Spain or Portugal, over the years, appear to have a computer database that provides information, and cross referencing, for all prescribed medications, worldwide. If you take it, they can find it. If they can find it they can find a solution to your dilemma.

You will survive...

 

[WGroleau]

All the pharmacists I have consulted in Belgium, France, Spain or Portugal, over the years, appear to have a computer database that provides information, and cross referencing, for all prescribed medications, worldwide.

The two I visited in Spain used a print book, but yeah. liiothyronine, unfortunately for me, is not available in Spain, though the pharmacist knew what it was. Interestingly, though it is available in Italy, the doctor there didn't know what it was.

 

[WGroleau]

I take enough prescriptive drugs so as not to encounter any problems with supply.

I have the same approach, but never assume you can beat Murphy. First time, asked for six months instead of the usual three, and to pick it up instead of having it mail. They mailed it, anyway. Knowing it would arrive at my mailing address too late, I went in and talked them into giving me another. Foolishly didn't check before leaving—it wasn't right. Had to substitute in Spain. Second time, had enough, but somehow managed to pack the wrong bottle. Third time, it disappeared in an albergue and the staff insisted they had not seen a huge medicine bottle.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

This is just incidental to the OP's post but does relate to bringing enough medication with you. Peg volunteered years ago for a five year medical study on vitamins and (fish?) oil. I tease her by saying that she walked for months across Spain carrying cardboard card blister packs of placibos. Just the other day she worried that she might have missed a day. With just two weeks left on a five year study on vitamins I don't think the results are going to be skewed much.

 

[jimmyc]

This is just incidental to the OP's post but does relate to bringing enough medication with you. Peg volunteered years ago for a five year medical study on vitamins and (fish?) oil. I tease her by saying that she walked for months across Spain carrying cardboard card blister packs of placibos. Just the other day she worried that she might have missed a day. With just two weeks left on a five year study on vitamins I don't think the results are going to be skewed much.

I came down with an infection on the Camino and a pharmacy supplied me with antibiotics without a prescription

 

[Bob Chambers]

I worried about my 6 pill a day "habit" in the end I labouriously emptied the blister packs for the whole 5 weeks into one container in Sydney and took that - no problems at customs into spain, France & UK, despite my significant other's worries.