Non-Prescription Drugs

[costaricabill]

Is anyone aware of a comprehensive source (list) of non-prescription drugs in CR? My wife and I will be moving to Samara in September and (having had a triple bypass) I am “somewhat interested” in what drugs (anti-coagulants, blood pressure, cholesterol) are available versus what scripts I need to keep active in the US. I am confident that this information will be beneficial to others as well – maybe not for the same medical reasons, but for other conditions or symtoms. Thanks in advance for any advice, and good health to all.

[DavidCMurray]

Most, but not all, drugs that are available in the U.S. are available here, or else there are generic equivalents. And most are available without a doctor’s prescription. That said, however, if you would like me to check on the availability of your specific drugs, I’ll take the list to my local farmacia here in Grecia. Whatever they can get you can get in Samara. Send Scott an e-mail with your e-mail address to forward to me.

You should be aware, however, that just because your meds are available doesn’t mean that they’re cheap. Everything I take for my type 2 diabetes, BP and cholesterol is available here, but I get them under my mail-in drug plan from the U.S. due to the cost.

Too, the CAJA system does not provide every medication.

[jeanp]

I have a question regarding this: I thought there was difficulty having packages mailed to Costa Rica. Do you not have to pay duty on these mailed prescriptions? do they just come to your Post Office box without question? Thanks JeanP

[DavidCMurray]

There is no obstacle to having packages delivered to Costa Rica except time. You have at least three options:

First, you can enroll as a customer of Aerocasillas, JetBox, Mailboxes, Etc, or one of the other mail and freight forwarding services. They’ll give you two U.S. addresses (a P.O. box for U.S. Mail and a physical street address for UPS, FedEx, et al) to which mail and packages can be sent. From there, these services bring them to Costa Rica and shepherd your packages through Costa Rican Customs and arrange pickup or delivery to your home.

A second option is to use UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc and have packages delivered to their offices here. I think they, too, will take care of Customs. Shipping this way is very, very expensive.

A third option is to use the U.S. and Costa Rican postal services. If you get a box at your local Costa Rican Correo office, packages can be sent there from the U.S. Or you can use your own descriptive physical address (“From the church in el Cajon, 250m east, then . . .) and a guy on a motorcycle will deliver them to your door. I don’t know how Customs gets involved in the postal delivery system but you can be sure that they do.

[jeanp]

Thanks for the reply, but I’m still wondering, wouldn’t the add-on costs from customs, delivery/mail services negate any savings from the mail-order script companies? jp

[fredo]

Hi David, I was wondering too, have you done this?
Do you know:
If I sent an order for prescription drugs to my mail order drug service, to be delivered to my NY address, will it be expensive (particularly duty) to have someone remail the package to Aerocasillas (I have an acct), and then pick it up in San Ramon?

[DavidCMurray]

Fredo first . . . Don’t have your meds shipped to your New York address; have them shipped to your Aerocasillas address in Florida to be forwarded to you in Costa Rica. Your mail order pharmacy doesn’t care where the meds are shipped. Save yourself the shippng and the delay.

I order my meds online every three months . . . been doing it since ’05 with nary a hitch.

We use Aerocasillas for mail and freight/package forwarding. They charge by the gram for forwarding from Florida to Costa Rica. If it’s a package, it must be massaged by Costa Rican Customs. For that, Aerocasillas does impose a charge because it’s them handling the matter for you. And if Customs tacks on duty, whether it’s meds, books, clothing or a dishwasher, you’ll pay that, too.

The duty on my meds from my mail order pharmacy in the U.S. is little or nothing at all. I take an expensive drug for my cholesterol and another expensive one to control my diabetes. In addition, my U.S. pharmacy provides me with glucometer test strips (so I can monitor my blood glucose) for just the cost of the deductible. That’s much, much cheaper than buying them at retail in the U.S. or here in C.R. And the glucometer I use, which allows me to use a blood sample from my arm rather than my fingertip, and its strips aren’t available in Costa Rica at any price.

There’s no practical reason not to use mail/package forwarding from the U.S. to Costa Rica except for the time delay. My meds usually take a couple of weeks to get here, so if your doctor prescribes something for your acute pneumonia you’d better plan to buy it locally. If something is available here at about the same cost as in the U.S., then get it locally. Save the time, the postage and (maybe) the duty. Otherwise, have it sent.

jeanp, you’ll have to figure out what’s cheaper. If your mail-in pharmacy service is a benefit of a health insurance plan you’re going to keep, and if your meds are expensive, then ordering them in and paying the shipping will save you a bunch. If you’re paying for your meds from the mail-in pharmacy, then go to a Costa Rican farmacia, compare prices and make a decision. It depends on how much of what you need.

Edited on Jun 18, 2008 12:25

[costaricafinca]

We have boxes sent all the time from the USA using the postal service. The true contents/value are posted and we have never had to pay duty.

[fredo]

costaricafinca and davidcmurray, those answers are good enough for me,

thanks,
Fred

[Author]

Posts