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Getting Prescription Drugs in South America
02-09-2011, 12:10 PM
What do guys on here do about getting prescription drugs in South America? I'm taking Doxycycline for malaria / acne, but before I left the travel clinic warned me that in South America, the rate of counterfeit drugs is something like 40%.
My current thinking is to get it refilled in the states, then have a friend pick it up and send it to my current city c/o Lista de Correos and then I can go pick it up at the post office, but that seems pretty complicated/expensive.
Are some pharmacies down here more reliable than others? I'm in Lima at the moment, headed soon to Cuzco. What do others do about getting prescriptions?
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Getting Prescription Drugs in South America
02-09-2011, 02:00 PM
i wouldn't do it. i learned the hard way. I was in Colombia in December and ran out of Ambien. So i asked the pharmacy to give me a sleep aid and he assured me that this stuff was good. This one pill ruined the rest of my trip. I have never been so drugged before in my life and couldn't move or barely open my eyes for more then 20 minutes at a time. It was the worst travel mistake I ever made. Just play it safe and get your stuff here.
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Getting Prescription Drugs in South America
02-10-2011, 06:45 PM
Thanks for the info, oldnemesis. I picked up some Doxycyline from the pharmacy today. They were surprisingly expensive ($0.46 / 100mg pill compared to $0.24 / 100mg pill in the states) but they seem more or less trustworthy.
I'll post a follow-up on this thread if I end up dying as a result of these.
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Getting Prescription Drugs in South America
02-11-2011, 06:50 AM
just watch out what do you buy and get a trustworthy doctor or pharmacist if you don't have enough of medical knowledge. otherwise, it's fine. black market here is so big and you can buy just about anything! even at legitimate pharmacies they sell prescription drugs without bothering you too much. avoid experimental, south america-only, unknown medications. it might be serious shit