So, my family and I are moving to Taipei in January. I’d love to be able to stop the dance (fight) I am doing with my insurance company here regarding getting prescriptions filled for several months as opposed to only being allowed to fill one prescription, of any given med, every 30 days.
I was told a lot of antibiotics are available over the counter in Taipei. Anyone have a list of these drugs? I’m only talking antibiotics like minocycline, amoxicillin, etc.
I’d love to know what I can get there so I can cross this off of my list of things to figure out before we arrive.
If you’re going to be in Taipei then all you need to know is:
The Shanghai Union Dispensary & Co. Ltd.
32 Henyang Road
Taipei
(02)2311-6644 shanghai@ms5.hinet.net
They are located on Henyang Road between Chongqing and Bo Ai Roads. You can reach it easily from Ximen Station by walking east on Henyang Road to just past Bo Ai Road and it will be on your right. It is also walking distance from Taipei Main Station or NTU Hospital Station.
As far as antibiotics are concerned, they are often prescribed on an ongoing basis for pretty minor problems like acne, for example, as well as other “minor” afflictions. I have a teenager, so I know these things. There are also “drugs” that a Doc might prescribe like Retin A which aren’t available over the counter. Things like muscle relaxers-not even really strong ones- need a prescription in the States.
So you can share my personal pain, I’m having a problem with my right jaw joint. Have a muscle relaxer that helps a lot. Can only get a 30 day supply here. It would be great to be able to get it in Taiwan without a prescription. My other option is to keep wrangling with my insurance company to get them to pay for a larger quantity to take with me. I’m sure you can imagine how much fun that is. I’m dealing with enough paperwork right now. So if I can just say the hell with it on this end and get the goods in Taiwan, then I’d like to work that option.
Sorry, I don’t have any really gross “dirty woman’s” disease to share with y’all.
Guess I’ll just hoard what I can accumulate here. The stuff I have is “Carisoprodol”-mild stuff. Not in the same league with Valium.
By the by, is there a problem with bringing in things like Valium? Not in large amounts, just say, a bottle one might have left over from a previous surgery.
I know I seem like a big drug addict but I’m as straight as they come, I just like to have the stuff on hand. I hate wasting time in a Doctor’s office if I can avoid it all.
Me likes to be prepared. But me don’t want to go to jail. Please advise.
I really dunno. I was surprised to learn that it is illegal to bring in valium to HK, for example, however, I’m quietly confident a prescribed box of mummy’s helpers lingering at the bottom of the suitcase isn’t going to cop you a jail term in Taiwan.
It used to be that you could get absolutely everything over the counter in Taiwan. This changed around four years ago or so. Same in Thailand.
Making sure I have the meds is actually quite a selfless act on my part. I’ve read quite a few other bits in the forums and I am expecting that there could be a fair number of times I find myself in situations that will cause some serious jaw clenching. A lot of these situations make my jaw hurt a LOT and subsequently lead to mommy being really cranky but with a kind of cool, Sammy Davis like delivery when talking. As time goes on, it just gets worse and things go down hill really fast for daddy and the offspring.
You can get almost any drug/med here otc.(but not opiates or amphetamines)
Buy meds manufactured in local companies. Cheaper(especially in bulk), good quality.I normally get containers of a 1000 at a time, or 10 boxes(1 free) if 100 a box.
All pharmacies should have a thick medicine/drug book in English and Chinese.
Search and order.
Local quality is good, this is not China.
A word about antibiotics… avoid Cleocin or Cleomaycin (however you spell it). I was given that when I went to a dermatologist for an infected wound, and this thing made me rash for like 1 or 2 months! Some doctors give you the strongest stuff they can get away with… In fact don’t take antibiotics unless you REALLY need them because I heard alot of the germs have became resistant to the antibiotics we use today so you could be getting TB or whatever and taking those antibiotics didnt do a thing.
The chemist is your friend. Befriend a local chemist and he will help you out. My experience has been that the doctors are worse than useless and are merely ignorant agents of the drugs companies paid by the weight of pills they dispense to patients. A few vitamin Vs in a proper bottle or the original packaging will probably be OK to bring in. I wouldn’t bring any morphine or other opiates though unless you have a valid prescription for them.
Hard to get full-strength aspirin in Taipei, for analgesia. I never touch the stuff due to its ulcer generating properties, but worth pointing out. Again a decent little chemist’s shop will have the 500mg Bayer tablets.
They give out antibiotics for everything in Taiwan. They are on their seventh generation whereas most people in the UK are still able to take second generation antibiotics as the bugs haven’t mutated there to beat the antibiotics. It’s as if the drugs companies over here are inventing new antibiotic-resistant bugs to keep sales momentum up. Not that a drugs company would ever do anything like that, of course.
Strong painkillers are impossible to get. There is a pain clinic at Taipei University Medical Hospital (or something - not Taiwan University, TaiPEI University) and the chappie there knows all about chronic pain. If you are in agony he has the goods. He’s the Chief Anaesthetist.
And another thing. Doctors here will never tell you what the drugs are. I suspect they’re not even sure themselves. I had a stupid little prick waste my time giving me paracetamol when I was in post-op agony and after I told him I had taken as much paracetamol as can be taken without causing hepatic failure. Insist on getting the correct generic name of what they’re giving you. Often you have told them you are allergic etc. and they still give you it anyway. Get a good quality prescription manual like MIMS from the UK or whatever they use in your country. Merck do a very good Doctor’s Manual for example and I think they do a drugs guide as well.
And finally, if you ever are in the position where you need morphine for pain - make sure they give you enough laxatives. Or you will be pooing cannonballs.
Buy medical insurance from an overseas company. Me and the missus pay US$150 a month for in-patient treatment insurance - can’t be bad to that. The out-patient stuff your Jian Bao card will cover. I have been told that private treatment is better in Taiwan but I have had private treatment and it has been exactly the same mediocre business. Except for the private room - essential.
A lot of people seem to recommend bringing in a lot ibuprofen. A few bottles of Aleve and Extra Strength Excedrin per suitcase should be fine, eh? Cold medicines (NyQuil, DayQuil, etc.), Pepto-Bismol, etc. seem to also have made it onto “must have lists”.
By the by, is their a reputable chain of drug stores in Taipei like Walgreens, CVS, etc. or is any neighborhood store OK? We’ll be in Tien Mou, Section 7 on Chung Shan N. Road.
