Getting Medication in Costa Rica

anybody know a good Dr. in Liberia who will write scripts for Adderall?

Have Crohn’s disease, diabetes and arthritis looking for pain medication I take 20 mg OxyContin 3x day . In us I can only get 7 days per visit. Does anyone have doctor names near San Jose ?

You should get a new doctor

What pharmacy? I need adhd meds

LittleBigfoot123........Bring your meds with you.Do not expect Costa Rica pharma to have the exact same medications that you need.

i bought the oil in a little store near our market in HEREDIA..email me from my profile i think its there not ALLOWED HERE GOD KNOWS WHY

/ good luck
pebs

psst the admins may think i am dealing drugs LMAO...

t@davidwwatsonjr  : Dr. Watson I presume?    just joking.  Hard to resist that one.

It’s interesting that most of the people worried about finding drugs here are primarily looking for scheduled drugs like Adderral, pain meds etc….. if you’re in pain try some physical therapy, use anti-inflammatories. This is not Mexico where you can buy Vicodin without a script. Most pharmacies will allow you to get vacation quantities if your doctor writes it in the script and your insurance is told ahead of time. If you think you’re gonna walk into a pharmacy and walk out with Oxy, forget it. You will need to see a doctor, get X-rays or MRI just to get a diagnosis and they may not prescribe opiates like they do in the US. Costa Rica is not in the pocket of big pharma so doctore aren’t pushing the latest opioid.

- @Llholly

@Ziminar It's not easy but you can do it. You may need a doctors help to do it properly. Good Luck to you.

@hellosampham this is exactly my issue.  I've been taking the same amount of pain killers for 8 years.  I don't get that "buzz" unless I take 2 when I'm in severe pain and even them it's only a mild wooziness.  I've never felt the need to increase my dosage.  Cold weather is brutal on me.  I can't wait for the day that I can stop taking them.  That's a huge reason for my move. That environment is perfect for me.  Here in Colorado it may be in the 70s but at night it still dips into the 30s sometimes mostly 40s and I can tell you before I get out of bed how the weather is temperature wise. I don't want my body being a human thermometer.  The fluctuations in the weather here are just too much anymore. I've even moved up my move by a year because I can't handle another bloody winter. I feel for you so much.  I'm going to talk to the Farmacia I went to when I was there last time, next week.  If you get a Dr that works with the Farmacia it may be easier to get the prescription filed,  hoping I can get one.  Or I better wean myself quickly or I'll have to fly back every month.

@kohlerias sorry to hear about your wife. My condolences

@Ziminar see if you can find a doctor that prescribes Suboxone. It's similar to methadone but you take it at home as a pill or film, it reduces or eliminates cravings and blocks receptors so that opioids have no effect. It worked for me, clean 3 years

@ExpatDave I just saw that you needed an Adderall prescription. I prescribed Adderall XR in the states but we are planning to be in CR for 10 months. I’m finding conflicting information online as to if I can even find Adderall in CR (we’ll be in the tamarindo area). I would love any and all feedback you have regarding this. Thanks so much!

In Uvita yay went to the farmacia yesterday. I can get all my meds without a Dr except for Ambien and Percocet so I'm totally happy

- @Ziminar

@LuvsCR You can also see if he can find Suboxone here. A regular medical doctor or psychiatrist should be able to prescribe methadone here. Most likely a psychiatrist. You may have to do some research to find someone who can prescribe these. If you're only here on a 90 day visa you may be able to bring a 3 month supply from the states, I was able to do that and it gives you time to find a local Dr. Buena Suerte

i just got home late last night from my trip to CR.  but I found property!!!!  30 acres about 45 minutes from Uvita. view of the San Luis waterfall, the Whales tail and a river!! Now here's hoping due diligence pans out.  I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.  While I was there I stopped at the farmacia.  I can get all my meds except percocet and ambien straight from the pharmacy.  they just didn't have my med i inject, Victoza.  its a diabetes med, not insulin.  so I'll need to figure out what to do about that one.  but I'm happy enough that all my other meds are easily available.

now to get rid of everything by October so I can move!!

- @Ziminar

@samramon I have read it all.  I don't have a lot I'm giving up to go there.  And yes I'm need to do more research into the one medication.  I keep all of this in mind or at least try to. But thank you for making sure I keep my eyes open!

@ExpatDave hi! I am moving to Costa Rica to teach abroad and I will need to obtain a number of medications for my ADHD, anxiety, and depression (although I’m hoping I can reduce or eliminate some of these doses over time).  You mentioned ADHD medication—how were you able to eventually obtain it? Thanks!

@ExpatDave. 'Mornin, I have not yet needed to see a doctor because my neighbors have all been able to provide their CAJA medication to me on an emergency basis.

But now the time has come for me to find my own doctor though I cannot afford to go Doctor shopping. I could use some advice on finding a reasonable doctor in Alajuela that won't Gringo price me.

So are you able to put me in contact with someone who could help me in this matter?

'predicted it ExpatDave

Johnny Mac

***

@jamesbernieshort.......Those that rely on fancy designer pharmaceuticals are at a disadvantage because the Caja provides only basic life-saving medications...

This has been a great thread for any/all of us to read; whether already living here, considering it, or other.  It also, via the testimonials, displays for us all that everybody's situation is and can be different... from 'luck' with a pharmacy or doctor, or for getting the right information when needed.

I will say, since it wasn't mentioned a lot; that being a member of the Caja (which you MUST do in order to obtain legal, official residency) has its Positives and Negatives and I am proof that using both the Caja as well as the occasional private healthcare is reasonable and appears to be 'considered' by many, as a good mix.   Of course... with Caja membership, you are not required to leave the country every 180 days... which is a personal choice for some.  It used to be every 90 days and there are people who did border runs; etc.  But I, personally, am not interested in leaving on a regular basis.  I have pets, I teach English, etc...  I just don't want that 'date' to become a monkey on my back... especially when I'm No Longer a young-ish retiree.  Plus... one must consider where they live and how long/far of a trip it is to the border... as well as what the 'situation' can be at the border... Nicaragua is not always 'calm'... I was living there in May of 2018... it was not anything 'but'.

I have used the Caja and for the most part... it was just 'OK' and there was $0 out-of-pocket expense.  My 'bad' Caja experiences usually are the 'wait in line' part...  I live somewhat rural and you have to get there before 5 a.m. to be one of the first 15 persons in line... anybody not in that number, most likely, will not get a chance to see the doctor... but you can ask to see the nurse.  Also,  senior citizens (65+) don't have to wait in line... so even if I am there at 5 a.m. and I'm the 9th person in line.... by the time 7:00 a.m. rolls around... 7 old people have shown up and I'm bumped out.  I won't go on about that... it's something that my village needs to address, en mass, with the system.   Only once did the doctor screw up... he told me that my 'rash' was an infected 'insect bite'... (the go-to excuse for many things here, it seems) but I did my own due diligence realizing that the ointment he gave me was crap... only to see 10,000 photos of rashes just like mine!! on the internet... I had Shingles.  I returned to the clinic and told him, in Spanish, that I had Shingles.  He shrugged and said he didn't necessarily 'agree' (I showed him the photos on my phone?)... but nonetheless, he changed the ointment and included an anti-viral.  Good thing I was able to diagnose the illness... ????

But I also used the Caja, A Lot, when I had Dengue Fever.   I never paid for Ambulance, both hospitalizations (3 days, and 5 days), or any medications.  I'm guessing that paying 'cash' for that, in an area where there are ZERO private hospitals, would have been a lot... and I tend to think of things in terms of Colones because that is 'how' the locals think, not dollars.  I was not an easy patient and Dengue is messy.  They even had a specialist look at my face (I had fallen multiple times due to fever; etc.; and had a broken nose and severely cut lip; plus broken collar bone); and after I went home... our local 'moto' nurse (from our EBAIS clinic) stopped by 3-4 times until he saw that I was up and about.  I paid nothing.  (luckily, i have good Tico friends and neighbors, as well).  Not only does the 'moto' nurse look in on you when you are ill; but he has come to my house to give me Covid boosters; and regular shots for a REAL insect bite that happened during Covid so it was nice to not be around a bunch of people.  All free.  He even looks in on the elderly who haven't been seen by the doctor recently.  Wow.  The nearest private doctor, over in Quesada, would not have been able to provide that... not for FREE; if it all.

I did use a private clinic when I had a detached retina and subsequently, a private eye surgery in San Jose for both the retina and cataract surgeries.  It required far too many Pre and Post checkups, out of pocket prescriptions, travel and lodging; and the bills stacked up... all in, I paid around $7,500.00 (US)  At the time, I was new to CR and my Spanish was bad... if I needed to do it again... I would trust the 'system' and use Caja. 

So there are pros and cons to any 'care system' that you may choose and hopefully a person can read all of the posts, testimonials, and advice...  and can then process the information as it best fits their own situation and level of comfort with your new Country.  My guess is that most prescriptions are 'possible' here, regardless of means... it just depends on the frequency they are prescribed here; as to how easy they will be to get... I have friends in the Caja system who still have to pay an out-of-pocket 'extra' for special meds that aren't that common here.  Costa Ricans get sick too!!

Pura Vida all

rain again,

this is Mike ,

am I on the forum. 

@max4urmoney

that all sounds great to you, but when you're using critical medications that you cannot stop because of severe reactions, you can't wait for weeks for Ticos to get their act together. That's the part that doesn't make sense to me. Waiting for hours on long lines and all of the rest of what I've heard about. Plus one of my critical medications is not available in CR at all, generic or otherwise. Can't figure that one out yet, other than flying back to the US once a year and buying a year supply for $1000. Medical care needs to be prompt, and it doesn't sound like it's very prompt at all. It all sounds like a great deal of trouble and a great deal of waiting. especially for the elderly and especially those of us with complicated relationships to medications because of allergies. It's very hard to convince an American doctor that I cannot take their prescriptions. I cannot imagine how I'm going to explain that in Spanish. My plan will be to avoid the medical system at all costs and just die in my bed if I have to.

@sporto505

cool! I wonder if my medication is available in Nicaragua, since it's not available in CR

@ExpatDave

I know of a lot of people who use US scripts to get medications in Costa Rica. I'm having a conversation right now via email with a CR compounding pharmacy and they told me they would be happy to accept my American prescriptions for those. They also recommended I find a doctor in Costa Rica but they don't care if the script comes from the US.

A couple of points . . .

First, many (maybe most) medications are available from pharmacies in the public sector without any physician's prescription. If you know what you need, just ask the clerk for it.

Second, almost all medications are available to licensed physicians. If you need something that's not available in the farmacias, ask your doctor to order it. It won't come overnight, but it will come to him or her. (Nobody said "cheap".)

Third (yeah, I said two), like many other commodities, medicines are subject to the laws of availability and economics. In order for a medication to be imported to Costa Rica, the importer (who has an economic interest) has to get an import permit which will include at least a review by the Ministry of Health. That takes both time and money, and no one will undertake the process if they're not confident that a market for that particular medication exists in Costa Rica. And the importer has to have a source.

In the U.S., the seller of a medication has a population of some 330 million potential purchasers. In Costa Rica, that number is about 5 million and many of those folks are wedded to the CAJA, so the potential buyer pool is pretty small.