Prescriptions from American M.D.s filled on route in Spain

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

Has anyone ever had a prescription from an American MD filled at a Spanish Farmacia? I actually did have one filled in Logrono or Burgos (I forget exactly) but when I mentioned it to a veteran pilgrim of many trips to Spain, they seemed to think it was a fluke. Anybody have any experiences with this?

 

[wayfarer]

I was never asked for a prescription for my heart medication in Spain, I offered it once but was told it was not necessary.

 

[MichaelB10398]

Never had any problems in the south of France either; maybe it was a fluke, but I think they have much more liberty at dispensing medication than found in the US.

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

I was never asked for a prescription for my heart medication in Spain, I offered it once but was told it was not necessary.

Thanks for your response. That's encouraging news... May I be so bold to ask what it was? I'm only asking to see if it's similar to what I take. I take a calcium channel blocker for mild hypertension. Thanks again.

 

[newfydog]

We have had no trouble filling them in France. When we tell them how much they cost in the US they fill them out of sympathy.

 

[dustylee]

I was trying to buy some codeine for pain & had an empty prescription bottle from the US so I was able to get it. Also, I got a prescription for prednisone (to deal with tendonitis) because I was able to convince the pharmacist that I had had it previously & knew how to take it properly. It just seemed to require some persistence.

 

[wayfarer]

Asprin, Plavix, Cardiocor. They also have generic equivilents of all of these. Plavix was costing me €75 for a months supply but in Spain this cost €23 or €16 for generic plavix.

 

[Anniesantiago]

There are no problems filling prescriptions in Spain.
Just be sure to take the GENERIC name of your prescription.
Sometimes the names are different.

 

[nreyn12]

In one case I showed my empty pill bottle and in another I simply wrote the name of the medicine on a piece of paper. Both times they were refilled without question. Four different medications from Pamplona to Portomarin.

 

[oursonpolaire]

Just like nreyn12; in one case, I gave them the empty pill bottle. In the other, I wrote out the proprietary name and they filled it (in both cases, at a much lower rate than I was charged in Canada). It is best, however, to have the generic name of the drug. I also suggest to people that they scan their prescription, and save it as an attachment to a draft e-mail. This means that, in case of necessity, they can always print out a copy.

 

[piogaw]

I believe you are all extremely lucky. The spanish pharmacists, in my experience of dealing with them, are much more knowledgeable and have more leeway in filling a prescription. Many times all you need to do is to have a empty prescription bottle and they will prescribed it for you. Laws regarding medicines are all very different in different countries. Many prescription medicines from ireland and the uk do not need a prescriptions to buy them in spain.

However i did notice they will not prescribed antibiotics without a prescription, maybe due to allergy reaction with certain antibiotics to certain patients. I also noticed if you have a prescription from a doctor in spain, you pay very little as compared to a foreign prescription.

Here is one medicine to be careful of, ibuprofen. The normal dosage in spain for adult is 1000mg, and for children is 600 mg. well, in ireland and the uk, the normal dosage is 200 mg. i was advised by doctors not to take more than necessary as it can cause internal bleeding. So break the tablet up into quarters.

 

[Stefania13/14]

I have related questions. Can you get lactaid (to digest lactose)? Also the over the counter decongestants (like original Sudafed) the we in the USA have to get from "behind the counter" but do not require a prescription?
Is there a Spanish website I can go to and get these answers in English?
Thanks in advance for any help
Stefania

 

[piogaw]

As far as i know, you do not need a prescription to buy generic sudafed in spain. Ask for pseudoefedina at the pharmacies or show them the word. This is the generic name for sudafed in spain and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.

As to lactaid tablets, i do not think you can get them in spain or france. However you can buy the lactaid brand of lactose-free dairy products.

The only way you can do is to bring enough lactaid tablets from the us to spain on your camino.

Good luck and buen camino.

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Here is one medicine to be careful of, ibuprofen. The normal dosage in spain for adult is 1000mg, and for children is 600 mg. well, in ireland and the uk, the normal dosage is 200 mg. i was advised by doctors not to take more than necessary as it can cause internal bleeding. So break the tablet up into quarters.

In Spain Ibuprofino is available in tablets of 200mgs, 400 mgs and 600 mgs

 

[Stefania13/14]

As far as i know, you do not need a prescription to buy generic sudafed in spain. Ask for pseudoefedina at the pharmacies or show them the word. This is the generic name for sudafed in spain and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.

As to lactaid tablets, i do not think you can get them in spain or france. However you can buy the lactaid brand of lactose-free dairy products.

The only way you can do is to bring enough lactaid tablets from the us to spain on your camino.

Good luck and buen camino.

Thanks so much for the info. I appreciate it.
Stefania

 

[piogaw]

Hello john,

On my first camino on the camino frances, i ran out of ibuprofen as i gave them to other peregrinos in need, i went to a chemist to buy ibuprofen and she was going to sell me dosage of 1000 mg, i asked her for smaller dosage and she came out with 600 mg. she explained to me that the 600 mg in spain is for children and the adult dosage is 1000 mg. i was also told there are no smaller size for this generic tablets. This was in a small pueblo before burgos.

So i don't really know what is going on. I also met an english nurse telling me that she also bought the 1000 mg as there were no smaller dosage available.

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

I originally posted this in another thread but did not get much of a response. I am re-posting it here.
Has anyone had prescriptions from American MDs filled while walking this route? What was your experience?

 

[wayfarer]

I think it was pretty much covered in the other thread, most times the pharmacies do not ask for a prescription. Bring your own prescription and I'm sure it will be accepted. Its not like the US where they won't accept European rescriptions. They are not so strict here.

 

[scruffy1]

One other interesting thing concerning pharamcies in Spain, if your Spanish is weak like mine or non-existant the pharmacists are usually the people most fluent in English just about where ever you find them.

 

[t2andreo]

If your U.S. / CDN prescription contains the chemical (generic) name for the medication (e.g. Lexapro (escitalopram oxalate) - a tri-cyclic antidepressant) the pharmacist might not recognize the trade name. However s/he will recognize the generic name. They can consult a medical prescribing reference for any cross-indexing that might need to be done. You might need to obtain a new prescription from the doctor stating both names, just-in-case. Sometimes the empty prescription bottle will have the information printed on the label. That should suffice.

This will work only for those medications available in Europe. Usually everything is available, but not all meds approved for use in the U.S. or Canada are necessary approved in the EU. It also works the other way as well.

In the EU (and Spain) they have formulations not yet approved by the FDA or Canadian equivalent. Be flexible and do take enough of your special prescription medication if it is highly specialized or unique. I take an anti-viral medication that falls into that category. So, I just take more than I can conceivably use in case my return is delayed for any reason. I cannot rely on it being available at any cost elsewhere in the world.

All this said, it works for non-narcotic and pain reliving medication. Rules concerning any opiates, barbituates - including anxiety reducing drugs, amphetamines, and non-opiate-derived pain relieving drugs are just as tight in Europe as they are in the U.S.

I hope this helps someone.

 

[peregrina2000]

My experience has been similar to everyone else's. I occasionally get some horrendous allergy outbreaks on the Camino (never at home) and I was once prescribed some pretty strong drugs in a Lisbon hospital, when my condition got really bad and I had no idea what it was. Since then, I have just carried the boxes of those drugs with me whenever I walk. On the several occasions when the symptoms recurred, I just took the boxes to the pharmacist and got more. Pharmacists are likely to exercise a lot more discretion and flexibility than in the US and seem not to be so heavily regulated. In any event, I routinely get prescription drugs there without a prescription.

As Scruffy says, you're likely to find in many small towns that the pharmacists are the only ones with much formal education and are good resources. In my pre-cell phone years, when a family emergency arose at home, I found that pharmacies typically had internet even in little towns with nothing else. When I explained my problem, they always let me use their computers for contacting home.

Pharmacists in Spain are also much more willing to suggest remedies than US pharmacists, in my experience. They seem to serve a more important medical role for the pueblos.

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences with this. And I have to say that I received a much better response on this page than the others.

 

[Tia Valeria]

Here is one medicine to be careful of, ibuprofen. The normal dosage in spain for adult is 1000mg, and for children is 600 mg. well, in ireland and the uk, the normal dosage is 200 mg. i was advised by doctors not to take more than necessary as it can cause internal bleeding. So break the tablet up into quarters.

In Spain Ibuprofino is available in tablets of 200mgs, 400 mgs and 600 mgs

I think that it is the dosage that is important rather than the mg of the tablets themselves. In the UK as piogaw says the 'normal' dosage is 200mg up to 3 or 4 times per day (max 800mg in 24 hours). However the pharmacy has provided me with 'Pharmacy strength' 400mg which I can take 3 times per day - without other painkillers such as Aspirin as they are similar. This means a total 1200mg in 24 hours, with food, no alcohol and short term only. (This was post minor surgery, not for walking the Camino) I wonder what the daily dosage is for the Spanish tablets. They could well be meant as 1 per day (24 hours).
My take on this would be 'Always read the instructions'

 

[NicoZ]

Yes but you don't always need 1200mg. The smaller 200mg pills might be enough. Those horse pills likely are intended to be broken into pieces (half/quarter) . Personally I'd rather start with smaller pills then rely on my cutting skills.

 

[Tia Valeria]

On the Camino NicoZ I would agree, but this was post-op and yes I did need them - for 2 days.
I don't carry any on the Camino. If my joints ache they are trying to tell me something. I carry a single card of 8 aspirin if I carry anything.

 

[piogaw]

Again i would like to emphasize the importance of checking the dosage dispensed by the spanish chemists and also follow the instruction. Let me stress strongly that spanish chemists dispense very strong dose of ibuprofen. If you have to buy ibuprofen, ask for the smallest dosage of tablet or short of these, split them up.

These nsaid are very dangerous to use indiscriminately. They are mostly used to treat osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. For infrequent usage like walking the camino, use as little as possible. In serious cases they can cause internal bleeding.

I am not a doctor, but i came from a background of family doctors and friends who are doctors. I also have friends and family members using these nsaid to treat arthritis. So take care of your body. I do not expect everybody to agree with me, but to each his own.

Wishing everyone a happy christmas and god bless.

 

[Susannafromsweden]

These two threads about prescriptions are now merged.
Susanna/Mod.

 

[obinjatoo@yahoo.com]

Thanks everyone for responding and thanks for merging the 2 threads. Ireceived many more responses posting it here. And the information has been very helpful...