Medication in the Philippines
Many potential expats thinking of living in the Philippines are interested in the state of prescription drugs in the Philippines. The news about prescription drugs in the Philippines is basically good.
The biggest problem with prescription drugs in the Philippines is that some of them are not available here. However, my doctor is quite good at dealing with this. My limited experience with other doctors is they are all well armed in this area. They have a little book they quickly whip out and find a suitable alternative in most cases. The alternative is usually a generic and cost a great deal less than what I paid for the original in the USA.
If you have to go with a brand name drug, the cost of the drug will be about the same here as it is in the USA. Sometimes it is a little more but the difference is usually minute and not really worth a second thought. My medication bill went from over $1100 a month before insurance to a bit less than $200 a month in the Philippines.
Many drugs in the Philippines can be obtained without a prescription. That includes prescription medications. When the drug is addicting or very dangerous people are usually not able to get it without a prescription. However, I’ve even known one person buying methotrexate without a prescription. That is a dangerous drug actually. In high doses it use to be common treatment for some kinds of cancer. In much lower dose it is used for auto-immune disorders like lupus. It can cause liver failure and those taking it need to have blood test every six weeks. I would not take that drug if the proper blood test were not being done. So be careful, you can hurt yourself with the wrong meds.
I nearly bought an antibiotic once that could have killed me. It had a black box warning when combined with another drug that I was taking. A black box warning is the highest warning as far as i know. If I had not done extensive research, I wouldn’t have known this and it could have caused death.
There is some problem with fake drugs in the Philippines but usually you’ll avoid that if you stick with the big chains like Mercury and Rose Pharmacy. I think they are located in all regions of the Philippines. I love to be able to support the small and pop shops but when it comes to meds, I recommend you stay with those two or perhaps another national chain.
The other problem I run into is that like most things in the Philippines sometimes there are outages. Sometimes I have not been able to get my medication. This rare but it does happen. I no longer take one drug because of this. Twice I couldn’t get it and it is one of those that causes severe distress if you suddenly stop taking it. I had quit smoking for two months when I found I couldn’t get this all of a sudden. That’s when I started smoking again and have been unable to quit. The drug has a sedative effect and would probably make me stop smoking easy. However, I don’t want to have to get off the drug again. I’d rather just smoke. Stopping that medication is horrific and it also raises blood sugar a bit when I’m on it.
Last month, Jessie saw people having trouble buying insulin. That is a very bad situation. It really makes me angry. That shouldn’t happen. I don’t know why it happened though and I try to not be critical but it is hard. So you should make sure you have extra of everything you take and order long before you run out.
Medical Treatment in the Philippines
I’m not yet sure what I think of medical treatment in the Philippines. What I’ve had so far is okay but there have been some concerns. I suspect I’ll know a great deal more about that in the coming days. More on that once I have more information. I went to see the local dermatologist yesterday and he told me it was time for me to go to see my doctor in Cebu. One problem with living in the rural areas is adequate medical treatment. I can see a time that I may have to move back to Cebu City for easier medical treatment. That may come sooner than I want it too.
Medication has not been much of a problem for me though and it is unlikely that it will be for you. It will be difficult to find out exactly what you cannot get here before you arrive. If you have a critical medication, you might want to ask your doctor about that before you arrive.
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Tagged with: Cebu City • Living In The Philippines • Medical Treatment In The Philippines
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hi rusty,i spent 10 days in the hospitol in manila for a blood clot in my leg and was put on blood thinner meds called coumadin/warfarin.
When i was released from hospitol i was issued a prescription and went to 3 mercury drug stores in manila and they were all out of stock,i ended up going back to the hospitol and purchasing the coumadin there but they only gave me enough for 5 days because they needed it for there in house patients.
When i got back to dipolog city the next day i went to mercury and they didnt have any and i finally found some at rose pharmacy.I will be on this medication the rest of my life,it is very cheap but damn hard to find so when you do find it buy all you can.
There was a major typo in this article as originally posted. I left out the word NOT. One usually cannot get a medication that is addcitive or very dangerous without a prescription.
Scott,
I too take coumadin. I’m sure you know about avoiding grapefruit juice, green tea, etc., etc. Also is a drug monitored monthly with blood tests.
Yeah, I’d like to know if he is getting those blood test. I’m getting ready for a likely hospital stay and I wonder if I wouldn’t be better off going back to the USA for a month to get caught up on my medical care.
I also take Coumadin. The test you speak of is called an INR. I rarely take it. You can tell after awhile if it is working properly. If you get cut and clot like a normal person you are okay. If you keep bleeding you are probably taking too much LOL. As for meds. I get them in Italy and if not Italy there are online sites to order from. All of them much cheaper than the Philippines. Only cozzar is cheaper that I have found in the Philippines.
Richard, you’re taking rat poison. You need test to make sure you’re liver is not failing.
That looks like a good link you left thanks. You did nothing wrong but I can’t post a link to an online drug company.
Need to take a blood thinner or I will die. No choice accoring to my Doc. You have other alternatives to keeping my blood preventing a clotting situation???
Am I speaking Tagalog or something? I didn’t say you should stop taking it. I didn’t say anything close to that.
Rusty. I am fully aware of the meds I take and the risks associated with each one. Coumadin is no diferent than other meds in relation to potential damage to the liver. With your health issues I would strongly suggest you not drink and smoke any longer. Seriously. BTW, do you speak Tagalog LOL
Richard,
my (alleged) use is to lower my blood pressure that has always been low. Couple of weeks ago I was 106 over 68 with a 63 pulse rate !! As I am 71 guess it is working.
My pulse is very high, usually around 100.
BP under control with three or four meds, I’ve lost count. 
powerful drug for blood pressure. It is working though. 
rat poison it is,and i do monitor it at the clinics in the pi and here in the states.I myself will be on it for life because i have hyperhomosystemia which means my blood clots to easilly causing potentiol blood clots.
I am fine with taking it,its cheap and i want to live long and not die due to a clot in my heart.I have changed my diet radically,i weigh 184 lbs and want to keep it there.
I for breakfast eat high fibre cereal or oatmeal with a bannana cut up and mixed in,i use powered milk in the pi and in the states i use one percent milk and NO sugar and then a glass of orange juice.
For lunch i have half a piece of wheat bread and put peanut butter on it and put chopped almonds on top and with it a half an apple also with peanut butter on it and almonds on top.Then i drink a glass of V-8 vegatable juice.
Dinner is chicken where i peel off any skin,i only eat the meat not the other crap on it,or tuna fish which i eat alot,also some nights i will have eggs,my dinners are boring but healthy,for dessert i have a kiwi fruit chopped up in a bowl and i put chopped almonds in it with a glass of water.I am 50 years old and will sacrafice my taste buds desire for a healthy body.
Rusty,come back to the usa and get checked out,get a tuneup give yourself a break from the pi for 2-3 months,breath some fresh air,just be sure to bring a jacket,winters knockin on the door.
I’m glad your not sticking yourself to see how much you bleed as a means on monitoring the microscopic things that need to be monitored on that drug.
Scott, I think that is what I need to do, It may be what I do. Though three weeks ago that didn’t seem like something I’d even be thinking of. Lot of things have changed. If money wan’t an issue, that is what I’d do. I’m in quite a state of confusion right now. And now depression may have set in. That is probably the last thing I need.
I can’t sleep. I was planning on going to the doctor in Cebu today but couldn’t sleep last night. I finally slept for about three hours and hope I’ll go back to sleep soon. Just took another benedryl. (Sp) I’ll wait to see what the doctor has to say but right now, I’m leaning to a trip back to the USA for a month or two. Kind of wishing I hadn’t taken that trip to Palawan, could have used that cash about now. I had no idea it would cost me over $1000 though. It might be one of my last adventures though. So perhaps it was for the best.
I haven’t been able to walk at all for the last couple of weeks because of what is going on with my feet.. I would have to say that’s really not a good sign. huh?
Rusty I know what you are going through and it truly sucks. You sound like a direct person and to be direct with you, YOU MUST FOCUS!!! 100% on your health. No more beach resorts, no more drinking and smoking, no more trips. Nothing other than you health. You have a supportive gal in Jessie so she will be there for you. Do the right thing and don’t be an Ahole about it. Just focus on your health.
I don’t drink
Funny man you are. Stay healthy. Philippines would be so boring without your blog.
I’ve pretty much consider all medications poison. If you take too much of them they will screw you up.
For that matter, I consider food poison. I wish I could go without eating it.
I found this comment on another post. It was my original comment to you and it ended up as a comment on pacman. I have no idea how it got there:
Yeah Scott, it is a widely used medication in the USA and probably here too. It has been around for a long time and it is a serious blood thinner. I take a blood thinner but it is just a full strenght aspirin every day.
Hate you have to be on that. Try to keep an extra month on supply. you don’t want to run out of that! But you know that. Thanks for sharing that information!