Those Friendly Mexican Pharmacies
 

Has anyone shopped for generic antibiotics at the pharmacies in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, or Cabo? If so, how do their prices compare with Costco?

Almost all discount pharmacies sell patent drugs for about 30% less of the "recommended" price, and generic drugs for about 50% less, similar to the prices at Costo, Walmart, etc.

Be aware, there are "pirate" (counterfeit) drugs available in Mexico, and conditions vary considerably in storage - temperatures can get quite warm in non-air conditioned farmacias. Be sure to check the ingredient list - many medications vary in naming, and some sold in Mexico with the same name as US (or other) have the principal ingredients, but may be compounded with other active ingredients you may not want.

While a number of medications can be obtained without prescriptions (e.g. antibiotics,) some medications, particularly anything that could be considered a stimulant, narcotic or depressants - are more controlled than in the USA or Canada, and do necessitate a doctor's prescription (which should be carried with one.) Some medications sold in Mexico may be of any US or European list - one common and popular anti-diarrheal was sold years after they were prohibited in Europe, Japan and the US because one of the potential side effects was blindness (now that's a serious stopper...)

Mexico regulates the maximum prices of medications - "Precio máximo al público" should be on the printed on the box, with the maximum allowable price in pesos. Most pharmacies also have a book similar to the US PDR (Physicians Desk Reference") available, but of course, it is in Castilian, and may have different pharmaceutical or generic names (we do that in English as well - "acetaminophen" in the US is "paracetamol" nearly everywhere else, including Argentina.) Some medications available in the US, Canada, Europe may just not be available in Mexico, either entirely, or in strengths you may be looking to buy; and a number of medications have a different appearance (the paracetamol I purchased last week in Buenos Aires, for example, was a much larger tablet than the comparable strength acetaminophen in the US,) or may be packaged differently - such as in individually tearable packets dispensed in strips from a box.

As well, there are different kinds of farmacias: only "de Primera Clase" have a licensed pharmacist in attendance at all times. Other points of note - many pharmacies have someone on staff who is capable of giving injections - but be sure they are using disposables, as you may not be able to evaluate the sanitary conditions of their autoclave or other sterilization method. Finally, you can still get your meds compounded by hand in some farmacias - but it may be compounded by an ayudante, or totally unlicensed and sometimes unsupervised "assistant."

How do I know this? A number of my family members were physicians in Mexico, and my first jobs after school / summers were translating, selling and working the counters, compounding meds for people and animals (including small doses of "sleeping pills" for drugging parrots to be smuggled into the USA,) unpacking and stocking, etc. at Farmacia Zapata - where medical advice was dispensed and injections given as well (but not by me.) Fuhgeddaboudit - the statute of limitations, if there was any law against it anyway, is long, long expired... ¡Salud!

Actually, you have to use disposables to give injections by law since about 15 years. As I said, most pharmacies sell medications about 25-30% below the "Precio Maximo al Publico", specially patent and non-OTC drugs.

I couldn't remember if that was a law or not - ¡gracias! That takes care of the small pharmacy in "San Ildefonso Itlaxcatlomulco" when I need to get a jab. And, yes, the Precio Máximo al Público" is the highest price that can be charged; lower is better... sometimes the bigger ones, but sometimes one is surprised.

Last month, I strolled from the Marina to the Walmart pharmacy in PV. I bought generic antibiotics, BP meds, and diuretics without a script for the same price charged at my local Walmart. The tabs are individually wrapped and the boxes were sealed. The expiration dates were clearly stamped "Oct. 2009". The stash was declared and US Customs was indifferent.

BTW The PV Walmart has a huge selection of tequillas at very attractive prices. Too bad it's impossible to carry it home through TSA.

I shop significant meds in Mexico as well, for our own needs - but yeah, the caps and tabs are easier to bring back than bottles. ;) And beware of tequila not really 100% from the blue Agave tequilana (Weber,) or lower end stuff - we invented the lime and salt and margarita things to disguise the poor taste of bad tequila, and probably menudo (tripe and hominy soup) for the day after.

10-4!! I prefer the Cruzan 151 from the USVI and Kentucky sourmash. No reverb the next day.

Can I get Ambien without a prescrip?

I remember stocking up on Cipro last time I was in TJ after the anthrax scare. :)

No. It belongs to the benzodiacepin family, and you can get it only with prescrip.

I've stopped looking for Zolpidem in Mexico. Couldn't find it. Are you sure that Ambien (or some form of Zolpidem Tartrate) is even sold in MX?

Valium, on the other hand, is widely available, although some pharmacies do enforce the Rx requirement. I found quotes to be a lot less w/ the Rx.

If you have a prescription make sure you keep it because you will need it if you require a refill. For the controlled drugs, i.e. valium, many farmacias have two prices, the price if you come in with a prescription and the price if you have none. Prescriptions can often be had for a small charge ($50 pesos) that the lower price and prescription fee work out to potentially less than the non-prescription cost. They ask no information about the patient, not even the name, for these *prescriptions for a fee* available at the counter.

Ask for the generic antibiotics. We have found the quality of the common antibiotics, i.e. flagyl & cipro to be comparable. The price is less than our co-pay in the states. We found specialty antibiotics to be signficantly less cost but have a question on potency, specifically Rifaxamin.

Lomotil is an anti diarrheal that is prescription only in the States but on the shelf in Mexico.

It is easiest if you do an Internet search to find out what the drug is called in Mexico. The hardest one we had to fill was thyroid, did not know the Spanish word for thyroid! (Now know the drug is eutirox FYI.)

Be aware, however, that selling controlled drugs without a prescription is illegal. If you happen to carry a controlled drug without a prescription you risk being detained at any inspection point by the AFI or army.

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When I have gotten prescription meds in Tijuana I always got 2 copies of the prescription from the doctor, 1 for the pharmacia and 1 for me to keep. You will need that copy plus a US script for the medication to cross back through the border. I had a time with no insurance and would get a script from my doctor, go to a Tijuana hospital or clinic and for maybe $2 they would write me a Mexican script for the same meds. Went to a respectable pharmacy in Tijuana and got them filled at 50 to sometimes 70% less then stateside. If you go to a border town, be aware of the pharmacias next to the border, higher priced and sometime not too legit.