Pharmacies Rx Refill

[Abroad in BsAS]

Hi all, I came down to BsAs a little over 2 months ago to start teaching english. I am prescribed diazepam on a daily basis for gen. anxiety disorder. My psychiatrist in the U.S. gave me 3 months worth of medication & bottles that show that they have a refill on them. I thought I would have no trouble getting them refilled, I have the bottles, I have I.D. & am prescribed this medication. As I am starting to run low I went to a few Pharmacies, both off-brand smaller ones & 1 or 2 main ones, presented them with the bottle & my I.D. & I got yelled out of each one.

My castellano is not that bad...I understood what they were saying, which was that the drug is illegal...which I get but again I am prescribed.

Are there pharmacies anyone can recommend where I won't face this problem?

if not, what is the best route for me too take...should I simply have my psychiatrist in the states write another refill, send it to my parents, have them fill it & ship me the medication...would they even get through customs?

Should I simply go to a place downhere, like the Hospital Aleman & explain the situation & hope they give me a prescription?

If anyone has any suggestions as too what I should do please let me know!!

Thanks!

 

[Thereandbackagain]

As I understand it you wanted to get the medication illegally since your prescription is from country other then Argentina (the US?). If you have a valid argentine prescription you should be able to easily get it in any pharmacy, but medication which is highly addictive (Diazepam - a Benzodiazepine) should always be prescribed by a doctor respecting the laws of the country you are in. As in most countries, you have some strict regulations regarding those substances.

I recommend you to walk in to hospital aleman in Recoleta - or any other private hospital - and for a small fee you will be able to see a doctor and walk 15 min. later out with a valid prescription. Not comfortable, but not avoidable and easier than you think.

A personal note: Benzodiazepines are one of the worst possible solutions for any sort of anxiety except short term application in cases of acute anxiety or epileptic attacks. Maybe you should rethink your long term strategy....

 

[Abroad in BsAS]

I suffer from anxiety attacks that result in fainting. I have experienced things in the past that have caused my doctors in the U.S. to feel it's necessary for me to be on diazepam. I objected to it multiple times, however it helps me think more clearly & is more of a -failsafe- more than anything else. Also, there are no specifically negative long term effects of diazepam if not abused & taken excessively.

Trust me, my long term plan is not to be on benzo's for the rest of my life. I'm 23. My useage was much more necessary in college & I have been slowing my intake dramatically & am hoping to continue to do so until I never have to touch another pill in this category for the rest of my life.

With that said, I don't feel like dealing with withdrawal that will come with me loosing access to this medication, I guess I don't see it as trying to get it illegally as I am prescribed this medication but okay I guess your right in that regard.

If I go to the hospital aleman in recoleta, will there be doctors there who speak english? Should I bring a note from my phsychiatrist in the states? Or just explain the situation to them & it will be resolved.

Thank you for your assistance!! Please pm me if you have anymore information....but also please don't judge me/think that this is my long term strategy!! It's not in the slightest, I am not using this drug for fun in anyway whatsoever & would like to be off of it as soon as possible!!

 

[Desde2008]

I suffer from anxiety attacks that result in fainting. I have experienced things in the past that have caused my doctors in the U.S. to feel it's necessary for me to be on diazepam. I objected to it multiple times, however it helps me think more clearly & is more of a -failsafe- more than anything else. Also, there are no specifically negative long term effects of diazepam if not abused & taken excessively.

Trust me, my long term plan is not to be on benzo's for the rest of my life. I'm 23. My useage was much more necessary in college & I have been slowing my intake dramatically & am hoping to continue to do so until I never have to touch another pill in this category for the rest of my life.

With that said, I don't feel like dealing with withdrawal that will come with me loosing access to this medication, I guess I don't see it as trying to get it illegally as I am prescribed this medication but okay I guess your right in that regard.

If I go to the hospital aleman in recoleta, will there be doctors there who speak english? Should I bring a note from my phsychiatrist in the states? Or just explain the situation to them & it will be resolved.

Thank you for your assistance!! Please pm me if you have anymore information....but also please don't judge me/think that this is my long term strategy!! It's not in the slightest, I am not using this drug for fun in anyway whatsoever & would like to be off of it as soon as possible!!

My advise is to see an english speaking psychiatrist and get a prescription.

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]You can try Dr. Turner [/background]
[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]Email: [email protected][/background]
She is in Palermo, near the Palermo Subte station.

 

[PhilipDT]

As I understand it you wanted to get the medication illegally since your prescription is from country other then Argentina (the US?). If you have a valid argentine prescription you should be able to easily get it in any pharmacy, but medication which is highly addictive (Diazepam - a Benzodiazepine) should always be prescribed by a doctor respecting the laws of the country you are in. As in most countries, you have some strict regulations regarding those substances.

I recommend you to walk in to hospital aleman in Recoleta - or any other private hospital - and for a small fee you will be able to see a doctor and walk 15 min. later out with a valid prescription. Not comfortable, but not avoidable and easier than you think.

A personal note: Benzodiazepines are one of the worst possible solutions for any sort of anxiety except short term application in cases of acute anxiety or epileptic attacks. Maybe you should rethink your long term strategy....

Let's not make judgements about people for their individual medical conditions. Benzos most certainly cause dependance which is not the same as addiction and it is entirely understandable that someone who takes them regularly would like to make sure they don't run out.

That said, I agree with going to see a doctor. The price of an out of pocket consult plus the meds is going to be far less than the price than what the copay would be in the US. The only benzo that isn't available as a generic here is flunitrazepam which is still available for a fraction of the price of brand name drugs in the US.

I will also second the recommendation for Dra. Turner as posted above, she even works with some foreign insurers (but no local ones).

 

[Thereandbackagain]

Let's not make judgements about people for their individual medical conditions. Benzos most certainly cause dependance which is not the same as addiction...

It is the same as addiction. Withdrawal takes up to two years and comes with psychosis, loss of reality and epileptic attacks. I worked 15 years in a psychiatry. This is simply a aspect of the substance...

Beyond that, off course, I understand and respect the original poster and therefore tried to help him find a solution to get a valid prescription. Dr Turner is good, a bit expensive though....I recommend bringing your files from the us.

 

[nikad]

To the OP: go to some emergency room and explain the situation. If you have health insurance they have 24/7 psychiatry emergencies on call and they will also provide you with a prescription. Or you can go to a public hospital ER talk to the doctor and get your prescription. When asked, don´t say I need pills, but explain how you are feeling ( dizzy, heart palpitations, etc ) and then explain to the dr. you ran out medication.

 

[PhilipDT]

It is the same as addiction. Withdrawal takes up to two years and comes with psychosis, loss of reality and epileptic attacks. I worked 15 years in a psychiatry. This is simply a aspect of the substance...

Not to split hairs especially since with 15 years of experience you obviously are way more qualified than I am on the subject but I always thought that addiction was the inability to stop using a substance and dependence is when stoping would produce physical symptoms.

 

[syngirl]

To the OP: go to some emergency room and explain the situation. If you have health insurance they have 24/7 psychiatry emergencies on call and they will also provide you with a prescription. Or you can go to a public hospital ER talk to the doctor and get your prescription. When asked, don´t say I need pills, but explain how you are feeling ( dizzy, heart palpitations, etc ) and then explain to the dr. you ran out medication.

Yikes, any ER doctor with more than a couple of weeks experience will still identify a young person coming in telling that story as someone looking for pills. Better off to tell the truth -- it's not like the OP doesn't have evidence of a prescription, take the pills and the prescription with you to whoever you see and tell the full story, that you've been prescribed, you're running low, you know that the legality of such pills might be somewhat different here but is it possible to prescribe something of the like.

 

[Gringoboy]

The truth is that the shrinks over here shell out Rivotril like confetti.
I used it for a few years but managed to get off it a couple of years ago after a GP in Nordelta said it would eventually cause memory loss.
He was just a general practitioner and had no problems giving me a prescription at first and not even knowing my history.
I even had moments of panic when I thought I would run out of it but not any more as I realised I was panicking over panic.
You should have no problem if you got to see a qualified doctor who will sympathise with your situation.
As a side note; I once went to see the Turner lady. Once was enough.