Crossing the border for RX

[GoLolly]

Hi!
Planning a trip for next December and need to know what Mexico Pharmacies need for a year's prescription?
Thank you!
-Veronica

 

[Southwest]

Hi!
Planning a trip for next December and need to know what Mexico Pharmacies need for a year's prescription?
Thank you!
-Veronica

Money. Living in NM i have heard from some about a 3 month limit .

 

[tx2sturgis]

Scripts? Not needed for most normal stuff like pills for controlling hypertension, blood sugars, or asthma...

Just good ol' American dollars.

 

[highdesertranger]

it all depends on what the prescription is for. for controlled substances you need a prescription and money. for all others you just need money. and of course your Passport or card to get back across the border into the USA. highdesertranger

 

[GoLolly]

it all depends on what the prescription is for.  for controlled substances you need a prescription and money.  for all others you just need money.  and of course your Passport or card to get back across the border into the USA.  highdesertranger

I get levothyroxine and estradiol. Dr. here requires tests every 6 months but the med amounts never change.  I'm thinking maybe one test and yearly RX would save me $150/yr

 

[ckelly78z]

I use levothyroxine also, and several others for my heart/kidney issues. It would save alot of money compared to standard U.S. pricing. I may try this.

 

[Moxadox]

I went to Palomas, the border town south of Deming, NM, and got my asthma inhalers for $7 each instead of over $150 each, for just the copay. And I had a really good lunch for cheap, and consulted a dentist who gave me his opinion about a pesky tooth and didn't even charge me for the visit. It was overall worthwhile.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[GoLolly]

I went to Palomas, the border town south of Deming, NM, and got my asthma inhalers for $7 each instead of over $150 each, for just the copay.  And I had a really good lunch for cheap, and consulted a dentist who gave me his opinion about a pesky tooth and didn't even charge me for the visit.  It was overall worthwhile.

The Dire Wolfess

Thank you!  I haven't heard anything about Palomas.  I was looking into free campsites near towns close to the border and Los Algudonas came up a lot.  Is Palomas very busy?

 

[shadowmoss]

I was in Algodones yesterday getting Levothyroxine.  For 50mmg tablets it is $17/100 at the purple pharmacy just inside the gate.  Had a good lunch and wandered around looking at stuff.  Took almost an hour in like e to get back across the border into the US.  I'll be going back next week when I get to the RTR.  I may check to see how much a doctor there would charge for the checkup.

 

[Moxadox]

Thank you!  I haven't heard anything about Palomas.  I was looking into free campsites near towns close to the border and Los Algudonas came up a lot.  Is Palomas very busy?

Palomas is a sleepy little border town that almost exclusively exists to provide medical/dental/optical/pharmacy services to gringos. There is a medical concierge service in Santa Fe that organizes trips there! Camping on the US side is available at Pancho Villa State Park, which is not free, but very inexpensive. The US border town of Columbus, NM has a tiny RV park that is also very cheap. There is BLM around there too. I went to MX twice when I was staying in Deming at the Loners on Wheels campground, and both times I parked in the free lot at the border (it says to put $5 in a box, but there is no box!), walked across, did my shopping, walked back through customs with zero wait.

The Dire Wolfess

 

[Smitty716]

Customs doesn't say anything about coming across with a couple hundred pills ? Blood Pressure and others ? Do the Pharmacist have a site you can go to and see if they got your medication ? One of mine a Anti-Fungal that I have to take for my ling disease and in the USA I have to com threw my state to get it monthly or have someone pick it up and mail to me. can't get 3 month refills on it. Was just wondering if I could check and see if they had it beforehand.

 

[blars]

While the rule is 3 month supply for yourself only, (per trip) as long as it doesn't look like you are bringing them back to sell there is usually no problem. Only once did they open some of the bottles to check the pills. (When the border crossing was not busy.) You can do another 3 months worth the next day.

 

[GoLolly]

I was in Algodones yesterday getting Levothyroxine.  For 50mmg tablets it is $17/100 at the purple pharmacy just inside the gate.  Had a good lunch and wandered around looking at stuff.  Took almost an hour in like e to get back across the border into the US.  I'll be going back next week when I get to the RTR.  I may check to see how much a doctor there would charge for the checkup.

Thank you!

 

[GoLolly]

Palomas is a sleepy little border town that almost exclusively exists to provide medical/dental/optical/pharmacy services to gringos. There is a medical concierge service in Santa Fe that organizes trips there!  Camping on the US side is available at Pancho Villa State Park, which is not free, but very inexpensive.  The US border town of Columbus, NM has a tiny RV park that is also very cheap.  There is BLM around there too.  I went to MX twice when I was staying in Deming at the Loners on Wheels campground, and both times I parked in the free lot at the border (it says to put $5 in a box, but there is no box!), walked across, did my shopping, walked back through customs with zero wait.  

The Dire Wolfess

That's where I will cross the first time then....thank you!

 

[wanderin.pat]

Palomas is a sleepy little border town that almost exclusively exists to provide medical/dental/optical/pharmacy services to gringos. There is a medical concierge service in Santa Fe that organizes trips there!  Camping on the US side is available at Pancho Villa State Park, which is not free, but very inexpensive.  The US border town of Columbus, NM has a tiny RV park that is also very cheap.  There is BLM around there too.  I went to MX twice when I was staying in Deming at the Loners on Wheels campground, and both times I parked in the free lot at the border (it says to put $5 in a box, but there is no box!), walked across, did my shopping, walked back through customs with zero wait.  

The Dire Wolfess

+1 on what Moxadox says.  

Regards,

WP

 

[wanderin.pat]

 Was just wondering if I could check and see if they had it beforehand.

I would suggest doing a Google Search for "Pharmacy Palomas MX" .... you should find a listing and can call.  

I have called one of them in Algodones before.  Also, many of them have websites you can check.  A little research can go a long way. 

Regards,

WP

 

[PurdyOrnery]

I've been ordering my meds from India for about 8 years now. Online, it's alldaychemist.com. I purchase antibiotics, z-paks, levothyroxine, lisinopril, Diflucan among others. A z-pak averages $4.50 each. I can usually get a year's worth of thyroid meds for less than $20. Same for blood pressure meds. No prescription needed. It takes about 2 weeks for it to reach you, but saves me loads of money. I hope this helps.

PurdyOrnery

 

[Pleasant Travels]

I think what most people wonder (including myself) is not what it takes to get the meds,...but what it takes to get them successfully across into the U.S.

If I'm carrying a shopping bag full of meds back across, even with scripts showing my legitimate use,...at what point does volume become a problem?

Ideally, I'd like to buy a year's worth so that I don't have to make 4 trips a year. But that might be a bit conspicuous.

 

[wayne49]

The US border agents just want to know what meds you have in the bag. Just the medication name.
Don't buy a lot. Bob Wells did buy for family or whatever and was cautioned.
There are meds that cannot be brought into the USA. Example Cipro. Patented.
Anything generic should be fine.
The pills you buy in Mexico are not the exact same pills you buy in USA.
The chemical formulation of the medication would be the same, but the fillers and binders are cheaper. You may not notice.
Also, they do not always have the exact dosage, one may have to slice a pill in half or quarters to get their dosage.
Easy in and out.
Easier than taking a flight.

 

[B and C]

I think the rule of thumb is 3 months supply. Doesn't stop you from going back another day though.