Topic has been posted to death but need medication help

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cheerio

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Jan 23, 2014
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I have been a lurker for a long while. I moved to Sosua a few weeks ago. I, like an idiota, figured I could get my migraine meds here. I cannot. I was told I could go to Sosua Pharmacy and pay a man RD500 for a script for my meds but that seemed shady to me (maybe because I am new here?) and the said man seemed to not exist once I arrived. Where are these doctors that can write a script for my migraine meds (they contain a benzo- its called Fioricet) and some anxiety medication that I also stupidly did not refill? Do these drs exist and I have international insurance...does this cover any costs of medication? I have searched every thread on this and still haven't received a satisfactory answer. I have been having migraines (the knock down, stay in bed all day and cry even though I am right next to the beach in paradise kind of pain) and I have tried some of the Dominican remedies and they have all made me throw up or have made my migraine 100x worse.
Plus- I am not used to being in a vehicle around here yet. Everytime my husband drives, I am pretty sure I am going to need a freaking lorazapam to calm me the eff down because that **** is going to take a while to get used to. Anyways- any help is appreciated. All my other meds I know I ca buy OTC, its just these two that I am having issues with. I am sorry to bring up a topic that has been discussed frequently. I'm a newb.
 
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charlise

Bronze
Nov 1, 2012
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Very hard to get anything stronger that Tylenol or Ibuprofene around here, even with a prescription. I suggest maybe you can try to have someone from your family send you some of your regular pills ?

They sell some anti-anxiety pills OTC in some pharmacies. I got some Sedoxil to help me sleep but it's not strong enough since it's only to control anxiety.

Go visit some big pharmacies and ask around. Good luck in your search. I feel you, I used to suffer from migraines, but since living here, most of it are just a memory.
 
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j&t's future

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Mar 6, 2007
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Cheerio, pop into CMC Hospital and make an appointment to see one of the doctors there, explain your problem and tell him the medicine you need requires a perscription, I'd be suprised if he didn't write you one on the spot.

Good luck.
 
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localhistorybuff

New member
Aug 6, 2013
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I was also going to mention Kava Kava; no, it's probably not going to do what Ativan (Lorazepam) does, but in the interim, it might be worth a try, as it's over the counter:
Kava Kava (Piper methysticum) - Social Anxiety Forum
I'm actually shocked your migraines are still so bad in the DR b/c I've been reading about health refugees - people who flee places in the US with lots of bad triggers for autoimmune conditions/migraines, and several of them report improved health in the Bahamas and the DR and Cuba, despite the tropical storm systems that would seemingly be a detriment to those who are sensitive to barometric changes.
 
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dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
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my migraines in DR are insane. never been worse in my entire life, i had to be taken to the hospital several times already. you will not be able to get good quality migraine meds here that easily. you can get some triptanes like relert (eletriptan) but it will cost you about 1,000 pesos per packet with 2 pills that treat one attack. forget your international insurance too. even with local insurance this medicine would not likely be covered and seeing that the ambulatory limit is normally a pitiful 3,000 pesos even a full coverage will not help you much.

i suffer from mega migraines and deal with them by taking cheap meds, several pills at a time, in a combination that one day is going to make my liver walk out of my body, strangle me and then ask to be acquitted on the account of suffering years of abuse. consider combining some medicine in order to make it work for you. this hit and miss situation. some of the medicine i take is ibuprofen, gabapentina, pregabalina, amitriptilina, cinarizina, mirtazepina and more.

anxiety pills... i don't know. they are available but not easy to get, i would visit a local psychiatrist to get a prescription.
 
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windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
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dv8 has is our resident expert on what meds are available here. You will have to do the best you can an improvise since as she says "real" pain killers do not exist here.

My wife takes Sumigran for migraines and that helps her tremendously.

I am sorry to hear about anyone that suffers from migraines. I had severe migraines as a child, but grey out of them for the most part. The ones I get now are very mild in comparison.
 
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dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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real pain meds do exist but it is a pain to get them. i know a vet in POP and he says he had gringos come to him and beg him for meds like morphine, diazepam and other drugs uses in animal surgeries. he orders those from SD and they are very controlled. hospitals have great pain medication as well, again for surgeries. but after i had hysterectomy my post operative pain management was diclofenac ;) so don't expect miracles.
 
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jinty05

Bronze
Feb 11, 2005
925
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A bit off topic but can someone suggest a courier service that will transport prescribed medication?
 
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puryear270

Bronze
Aug 26, 2009
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Cheerio, from which country do you come? How often do you travel back?

I have three medications (blood pressure, cholesterol, and acid reflux) on a regular basis that are mailed to me here from the US and are paid for with my US health insurance. For others, my doctor will write me a prescription when I am in the US and I purchase and bring with me. He usually writes for double the dosage so that I was have extra. He does this when I fly go to him for my yearly physical.

I also stock up on Advil every time I am in the US because it is my pain medication of choice, and I cannot find it here. All of my neighbors love it and ask for it when they have a headache or hangover. The also love the Alka Selzer Cold Medicine that I bring back, because it is much better than locally purchased OTC options.

If you are travelling to your home country any time soon, I would recommend stocking up. If you are here to stay, then you may be able to have some meds sent to you, but no one knows what customs will do with them. My meds are labeled vitamins by the courier service so that customs lets them through.

I wish you good luck. I have only had two full blown migraines since I have been here, which I treated with Advil, sleep, and a walk on the beach.
 
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MsGreenEyez

New member
Jul 21, 2013
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I have horrible migraines as well. Until you can get your hands on some real meds, you might try 3 or 4 advil with 2 benadryl. When I do not have my prescription, that is what I take and it usually does the trick. Feel better soon!
 
Xavier_Onassis

Xavier_Onassis

Gold
Aug 6, 2006
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I am glad that you posted this, because I know someone afflicted with migraines, and there is a lot of useful info here. By the way, ibuprofen is the generic name for Advil. Ibuprofen is available in 200mg, but stronger than that requires a prescription. That does not make a lot of sense, since 800mg (a typical migraine dosage) is simply 4X 200mg. I suppose there is a placebo effect involved in both the name and the dosage.
 
Bronxboy

Bronxboy

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2007
14,107
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Last time I was in DR, they were selling Tramadol in a few pharmacies.

Tramadol was not a controlled ssubstance in the states until a few months ago.

Tramadol is a synthetic opiate.
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
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South Coast
Bronxboy said:
Last time I was in DR, they were selling Tramadol in a few pharmacies.

Tramadol was not a controlled ssubstance in the states until a few months ago.

Tramadol is a synthetic opiate.
Click to expand...

It's now controlled???? I wasn't aware of that. I don't find it strong enough when I have "real" pain.
 
Harleysrock

Harleysrock

Gold
Nov 4, 2012
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Gaspar Hernández, Espaillat, Dominican Republic
If you go to a lot of different pharmacies you may be able to find meds somewhere. I used to get clonazepam and Ativan at a
pharmacy in sosua but another poster mentioned they don't sell them there anymore and I haven't checked in a while.
I can get certain pain meds in a local Gaspar Herndez pharmacy in a barrio. It's a crap shoot I find that takes a lot of luck and
searching!!
Good luck in your search it is frustrating as hell!
 
Bronxboy

Bronxboy

Well-known member
Jul 11, 2007
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AlterEgo said:
It's now controlled???? I wasn't aware of that. I don't find it strong enough when I have "real" pain.
Click to expand...

Yep. I have a cousin who went through toture trying to get off them. Before the drug being scheduled, the emergency rooms and detox centers were being flooded with overdosed parties.
 
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