necessary prescription meds

blondie091

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Dec 18, 2007
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Hi Everyone "
I Have been reading these forums for years now and what a fantastic resource for those of us who are considering relocation to the DR.
I'm pretty sure this is something I wish to do and I take heed to those who highly recommend a long term rental before an actual real estate purchase.
I am interested in the North Coast, Sosua or Caberete area's.
I'll be doing some research on what my money can buy when I head down from Canada to Caberete in April, 2008.
I do think I may have 1 very important hurtle that may make this dream impossible and am asking all of you for any imput you may have regarding this ""
I was involved in a very serious car accident in the winter of 2005 which has left me with some serious and permanent injury. I have to be on antibiotics everyday because I had my spleen and 1 kidney removed from massive internal injury, also my pelvis was smashed and has been rebuilt with rods, pins, plates etc and because of the pain associated with that I am on morphine sulfate contin (MS Contin) for long term pain management.
Both these meds will be necessary for the rest of my life so my doctor's tell me. I am very self sufficient though, and you would hardly know all this by looking at me, besides having a limp, which is minimal.
Since narcotics are a controlled substance I don't know how I would be able to obtain a large enough supply to live adequetly, for say, 6 months at a time without having to fly back to Canada constantly for refills ? The antibiotics are very important as well and wonder if they would be available on the island ? I realize relocators to the DR are all ages, from young to the retired and from all walks of life, so others must have medications that they must take while living abroad. Do you all think my need for such meds is a deal breaker as to me ever entertaining the idea of living down there on a semi permanent basis ? Any info regarding this would be greatly appreciated.
This is the 1 and only problem I see that may stand in the way of my dream.
Thank you,
Sally Rodenhiser **
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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Dear Sally:
1) Bring your medical records --all of the ones pertaining to your accident and follow up treatment- when you come down.
2) Establish a relation with a good internist or orthopedic guy who can write you your script.
3) Antibiotics are available here without Rx from a physician.

HB
 

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
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Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
You can get a Doctor in the DR to provide a prescription based on the same you have now, as for the availability of the drugs in the DR: If they make it out there it's bound to be "available" in the DR. Think that "roids" are not taboo like in the US and other countries, that should give you an idea.

The only thing is that given your medical condition you must take under consideration that you must continue to take trips about every six months to get the regular checkups in your country... Think $$$...

If you want to be sure before you make the jump, just make a 1 week safe trip to the DR and make a visit to the local MDs there. Test the above and see if indeed it can work out for you!
 

marliejaneca

Bronze
Oct 7, 2003
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This was originally posted by Fiesta Mama some time back.

I thought you should consider this as, with your medical condition, you should consider not losing your health coverage. If you have to come back to Canada to maintain your coverage, you could just get all your prescriptions renewed at those times too.

Canadian Health Coverage in Jeopardy

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In doing my research for moving to the DR, I have inquired with OHIP to see what the stipulations are for maintaining coverage in Canada while living abroad (despite the numberous posts about this I wanted to check it out myself). I thought this would be of interest to some others and this is not the information that I have found posted elsewhere on this site (perhaps there have been recent changes).

If you are living abroad and it is not for the purposes of work, study or missionary work, you are considered to be on vacation. When leaving Canada for "vacation" ), you will maintain coverage when you return as long as you return within 7 months (212 days) and as long as you have maintained full-time living in status for the preceeding two years prior to departure. Therefore, if you are absent longer than 7 months your coverage will stop and will not resume until 3 months following your return to Canada on full-time residency. Also, you CANNOT return to Canada every 7 months and maintain your status (which I have seen posted many times). Once you have been gone past 7 months ... that's it folks until you return and then have to wait 3 months for coverage to kick in again.

OHIP told me that you should report to them prior to your departure that you will be absent and when you will be returning. When you do report to them sometimes they will grant you an extension past the 7 months up to 1 year.

If you think you can travel undetected... think again! I asked "well what if we don't notify you and just leave and return whenever we want to get health coverage". I was told that if they find out (and they have their ways -eg. your passport is scanned every time you re-enter the country) they will cut off your coverage for 2 years. At the end of the two years you will have to reapply and then wait the 3 month waiting period.

Therefore is no such thing as living abroad (permanently or longer than 7 months) and maintaining your health coverage in Canada at the same time!

Hope this helps some other people with the same question.
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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I'd like to echo what Hillbilly said. The only drugs that you need a doctor to write a prescription for are those on the controlled list.

When you know where you are going to locate, those of us who live on the North Coast may be able to make some suggestions re doctors.

Not all doctors have the license to write prescriptions for controlled drugs. A small general practitioner in Sosua, for example, is unlikely to have the license. This doesn't mean you should not settle in Sosua, just that you will have to go to Puerto Plata for medical care. But that will most likely be necessary, anyway, since that is where the specialists are.

But speaking of specialists, to get a really good one if on the North Coast, you may have to go to Santiago. But a round trip by Caribe Tours is a doable day trip.
 

J D Sauser

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Nov 20, 2004
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I think you will have to post the exact medication and I am sure somebody will gladly check at local pharmacies if it's a) available at all and b) if so, under what circumstances.
Please state brand, commercial name and all the active ingredients and quantities.

Most antibiotics are sold OTC (Even when it states otherwise on the package).

There is a list of "controlled substances" they will indeed NOT hand out without a formal prescription. This is mostly limited to medications which are know to cause addictions (dependence)... your Morphine cocktail will most certainly fall under that category and your best bet will be to have a local Doctor provide you with the required form based on your Doctor's written attest.

In any which way, you should have ALL this cleared BEFORE you come.

... J-D.
 

El_Uruguayo

Bronze
Dec 7, 2006
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Adequate health insurance would be a must as mentioned. And also for your prescriptions it would be wise to have the generic names, as medications may have different names in different coutnries - even if they are from the same manufacturer.
 

alicious

Bronze
Oct 2, 2007
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In regards to the post quoted from Fiesta Moma and OHIP...

I was out of the country for over 1 year, and never had any problem when I returned.

The thing is..I do realize this may sound a bit dishonest, and I don't mean it to come out that way...but how do they know you are out of the country?..They don't.

OHIP does not check for things like this. It's pretty much only if you report that you are going out of the country.

As I said, I was gone for over 1 year without returning to Canada. I went for check ups and used my OHIP card as usual when I returned, without any problems whatsoever.

Although, I'm sure it's possible for them to find this out, and you may not want to take that chance, as you would have more to loose and more need for this than I may...

It's great to be sure of course, and I don't want to give bad advice, but it's extremely unlikely OHIP would have any idea that you have been out of country...

And pretty much any prescription drug is available in the DR.

Good luck with your move!!
 

marliejaneca

Bronze
Oct 7, 2003
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Although I was the one that quoted Fiesta Mama's post - there is one bit of info that I was told differently. As long as you cross into Canada within the time frame and stay a few days, and then leave, you are still covered under OHIP. My parents always went through this as well when they would move to their home in Florida in the winter.

When I lived in the DR, I made a point of it to travel back to Canada in six month intervals - I like to play it safe!! You wouldn't realize how great free health care is until you lose it! Better to err on the side of caution, that is all.

I think now with the introduction of the health tax, they must have some type of system to track who is not contributing etc. as it is based on your income and is part of your income tax form.

If you are using a passport, they could catch up to you, there is a lot of information encoded in it that can be used by many agencies of the govt. Just like if you are on Unemployment, as soon as that passport is swiped they know you are not "ready, willing and able to work" !! LOL

Anyway, not really on topic, but felt it necessary to respond. With the OP's health issues, I think it is important for her to consider this, just in case.

Marlie
 

blondie091

New member
Dec 18, 2007
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Thanks everyone for your valuable information regarding this topic.
I intend to list the meds I will require tomorrow if that's okay.
I will try to be clear as I understand that each country has a different name / generics etc.
For instance one med is Hydromorphone Contin which is available here in Canada but not in the USA for example. I will have to be fairly certain that the pain med presribed is one I can obtain in the DR. I would be open to changing meds from the ones I am on now to something that is available down there.
You have all been more than helpful and I appreciate very much,
SR from Nova Scotia, Canada...
 

blondie091

New member
Dec 18, 2007
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I have recieved many pm's on this subject and I certainly appreciate all who have helped me in this regard. It's pretty clear I think that I won't be able to obtain the types of narcotic pain meds that I am prescribed here in Canada,
morhine sulfate, percocet and the like. My hope in an ideal world would be that the climate in the DR will reduce my need for such drugs and perhaps in the future I won't have such a great need for these meds, it is amazing the difference in the pain level when I have vacationed down there in the past as opposed to here in canadian climate so I can try to be positive and hope for the best. I am unclear as to how much I can bring with me initially for transition purposes but I do think they would not allow me to bring bulk amounts of such strong addicting narcotics in to the country.
Would my medical records need to be translated to the spanish language ?
I will approach my doctors here and see what can be done to ensure it's clear why I am in need of these at this time. My accident records are larger than a New York phonebook but I do have full copies of every single page here at home.
Thanks all, you've been very helpful on this thread.

SR from Nova Scotia, Canada ......
 

Rocky

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Apr 4, 2002
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It is my understanding that drugs of this nature are either difficult or impossible to locate.
I suggest you contact a doctor who is local to the area where you plan to move to and make 100% sure of their availability.
If you need good doctor's names in your area, just ask.
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
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blondie091, the doctor that you will want speaks and reads English. If you just want a doctor to check you over and write prescriptions, look at Centro Medico Bournigal in Puerto Plata. If you need more than that, think Santiago. Both are doable as day trips from either Sosua or Cabarete.

My wife and I go to Santo Domingo from Sosua for most of our specialists, but that is only because we first lived in Samana. If we had started off in Sosua, the doctors would be in Santiago

Rocky's point is a very good one. Before burning any bridges in Canada, you should pick your area and your doctor and have a talk with the doctor of your choice about your situation.
 

DrChrisHE

On Probation!
Jul 23, 2006
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My experience on this as a practitioner and patient is:
Access to antibiotics is TOO easy
and
Access to your necessary pain meds may be almost impossible because narcotic use here for any reason is viewed VERY negatively. Of course you can get them illegally but actually prescriptions for MS Contin are going to be hard to come by and they WON'T HONOR your out of country script for a controlled substance. Tranquilizers fall in this group also. You can get weaker stuff like: Ultram (Tramal) or Oxyforted (diclofenac with codeine ) without a controlled substance triple script but my experience has shown me over the past 19 mo that something along the lines of MS Contin or Oxycontin you have to literally be dying. Even post surgery they only like to give heavy duty anti-infammatories.

Others may have different opinions but this just what I've seen. It is EASIER for me to get these "illegally" than to get them as a practitioner. And, either way they are expensive (VERY) here! PM me if you have ?s on this.