Finding medications that are of the same quality as US meds

Yeah, I’ve never gotten the brand name Xanax before here.

It could be because there is really no such thing as “heart meds”. Beta-blockers, for example, will reduce your heartrate by sabotaging the control loop that your body uses to adjust heartrate. Why not spend some time addressing the underlying causes of your condition rather than masking the symptoms with incredibly powerful drugs, which you will be swallowing for decades until they finally kill you?

There are very effective therapies for (for example) anxiety, although you may have to return to the US to get them. Your tachycardia might have some organic cause that can be corrected with surgery, or it might be related to your anxiety - someone should have given you an accurate diagnosis at some point in the past. I know it’s not what you asked, but the simplest answer to your dilemma is to do whatever’s necessary to escape your dependence on drugs.

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True, but with certain heart issues, I can’t. And there is no procedure (operation ) to do to solve this, and I do eat a good diet. Another issue I found is that not all meds in the US are here. One example is Prazosin. Fortunately they finally found another to substitute it that does fairly well, if not better.

The FDA does not regulate/test drugs in other countries. They only cover the US drugs. That’s why they say we are at our own risk if we use meds from other countries. But I am positive Taiwan has their own version of the FDA. I just am unsure what they are called.

Ding ding ding. That’s what I’m saying the whole time…

Generics work the same as brand name. If it doesn’t it’s just in your head. You understand the placebo effect?

You are very correct. Jian Bow may specify which meds they will and won’t cover. Though I know, if I remember correctly, that you can purchase them without the Jian Bow by request…though they’ll look at you like you’re nuts.

Are you sure you’ve explored every avenue? It just seems highly unlikely that your continued existence really depends on a cocktail of expensive drugs with no other solution available. Hypertension is sometimes a symptom of identifiable disease - in which case, again, the disease itself must be treated - but it’s more usually connected to diet and stress. If, for example, you’re overweight and have a high-pressure job, hypertension pretty much comes with the territory.

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If you bothered to read my post, FDA. They are called the FDA… :roll_eyes:

I used to say and believe the same thing.

Having worked in a pharmacy that’s a myth. While the drugs have an overall effect as the brand, too many factors can make it different from person to person. Some people are allergic to certain generics bc of the other items they use in the meds (fillers, ex). and have to avoid certain generics as a result. It’s not in people’s heads much of the time.

Having said that, I’ve NEVER had a problem with most generics, though I could easily tell the difference from one generic to the next on some meds. That’s what got me into looking into it, and it is true–it’s not always the placebo affect (though sometimes it is). But even healthcare professionals are now realizing that not all generics are the same, the FDA allows a certain (small) percentage of differences when manufacturing for generic meds. These small differences can make a big difference in a small percentage of people who take them.

Besides allergy to fillers…it the same. They have to demonstrate that it work just as well to get approval to sell. But inactive ingredients are just that, inactive. You’d have more variation of effect from the content of food in your stomach than a couple mg of dextrose or something.

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I have a similar question on this topic. I take citaolpram for my GAD and what I brought from the states has almost run out. Where do I go for more/what do I need to do?

I came here on Effexor. That’s a great case in point. I converted to their brand, same dosage, and began going through mild withdrawals. I didn’t want to go through all of that so I finally weaned myself off–I was already going through the withdrawals. It wasn’t easy. But the doctors here listened and understood my concerned, and did give me other meds to help ease the withdrawal symptoms until I was finally weaned off. I would just be upfront and honest with ALL the effects you are feeling–esp the ones that are new that you didn’t have where you came from.

Even in the states, once I got used to a certain generic, if I changed pharmacies, or my pharmacy would change brands, I’d get symptoms as if I had lowered my dosage. The FDA DOES allow generic makers a small margin where they can either go a little higher or lower than what’s in the brand and still market it. YES, this IS true. Their reasoning is that this much smaller margin should not make a difference. But when you are on psych meds, that can make a WORLD of difference for better or worse.

Go to an official psychiatrist. Not just a general doctor. Psychiatrists here seem to really know what they are doing.

Do you know where/how to find one? Is it expensive? Can I not just go to a pharmacy?

Read what you just said here and take it to heart. Your have bigger problems here than availability of pharmacological crutches. The psychiatrists do know what they’re doing, but they can only do what you ask them to do. What you don’t want, you cannot get.

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I’m not sure where you are at, but they are everywhere. I went through a couple before I finally found one that I REALLY liked, They pretty much all speak English. I pay 150NT to see them, but I also have to pay for my meds. They are around 200NT for 2 weeks. So the pricing is still reasonable (esp if you compare it to the states), and I love my dr here better than the one I had back home. He really listens, asks the right questions, and takes me very seriously.

You don’t know of the effects of trying to get off psychiatric drugs. If you want to, there’s loads of forums and information about those suffereing trying to get off. Fortunately that was my plan to begin with as Effexor is complete poison. But coming off can be just as dangerous, if not more so, than someone who probably should be on it. My issue, I finally learned by the educated psychs here, was not something Effexor would deal with. Mine was much more dangerous, and the effexor (and coming off) exacerbated it. Many people have committed suicide simply trying to get off the drug. So I take all people on psych meds very seriously when coming off. It’s not something to play with. And it also takes MONTHS, sometimes years, depending on the dosage, to properly wean off. One wrong move, and there’s been many a patient who committed suicide due to these drugs.

Also, no, pharmacies will not supply any type of psychiatric medicine without a Dr. prescription.

Yes, chemical dependency is no joke, I helped at a rehab for months. I went through my own withdrawals from benzos from PTSD from doctors overprecribing as a crutch instead of telling me hey, go to therapy…drugs are the last solution or a temporary thing to get you through it. Also went through the same thing from opiate from tearing my knee. Sounds like you have become extremely chemically dependent. It’s not that some of the drugs you mentioned are not needed, I don’t know. But dude, it sounds like youre on a whole cocktail of shit including benzos, and I know you got off opitates and now mess with Kratom. You don’t think Kratom also fucks with you? If you have heart issues, i’m certain benzos and kratom arent helping.

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Most pharmacies will sell any med OTC (as long as they aren’t psychiatric or sleep meds) , you are correct. Unless you mean another pharmacy that also will sell those, as well, which is against their laws. But I’ve heard of them.

I trained as a psychologist (never completed my work experience requirement due to becoming disillusioned with the whole thing). I’m well aware how these drugs can fuck you up, which was precisely my point above. It is better not to touch them in the first place. Many psychiatrists no longer prescribe SSRIs (see Noniway’s post) because the experimental evidence suggests that, in the majority of cases where they might be considered, they are either useless or positively harmful.

The same is true of “heart meds” and suchlike: people become psychologically dependent upon them and come to believe that they are “ill”. They stop seeking solutions.

I’m not denying that some people genuinely do have congenital heart disease (ie., mechanical or neurological faults) that must be mitigated with drugs, but it’s become painfully obvious over the last couple of decades that the majority of heart disease cases are self-inflicted and can be repaired or controlled by removing the causes of the disease: typically, some combination of a poor diet, lack of exercise, excessive smoking and/or drinking, and an extremely stressful lifestyle.

Exactly. I don’t have a problem with these things being prescribed for short periods if they have some proven value. Telling people to take them for life is criminal, especially in a random cocktail with unknown interactions.