Prescription Medications

Hello all, I will be travling in the Galapagos, then on to Quito, but I am on a couple of strong narcotics. If I bring a prescription with me, can I have it filled in a big city like Quito? I'm worried that I will have to cut my trip short!!

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Ecuadorian pharmacies are not going to recognize a Rx from a doctor outside the country, especially for narcotics. You are much better off and safer having them filled at home, and traveling with them in the original Rx bottles that have your name on them.

I agree with azb. Also, I can't help but wonder why you would go off traveling in a foreign country if you are in so much pain to begin with? At one time, both here and in several other countries (like Paraguay), you could just walk into any pharmacy and get whichever narcotics you wanted with no prescription. No more.

Hi JK, I was lucky enough to get a place on a leg of a circumnavigation of the earth on a sailboat manned by persons with MS. WOW I was surprised to have a reply that indicated that people with chronic illness shouldn't get the opportunity to travel, I was looking for HELP not criticism. I will be enjoying every moment of this magical trip even though I have an illness that causes disability. I will get to sail from the Panama Canal to the Galapagos, then I will tour the Islands, then off to Quito for 3 days. Travel is a love of mine which I was able to indulge before I was disabled by MS. This is my 1st trip in years, just looking for advice...

If the OP has their narcotics to take to relieve any pain then they won't have the pain and can still enjoy travelling. That is almost on par with telling other disabled people eg blind or in a wheelchair not to travel because the country they might can't to go to isn't that wheelchair friendly or they won't be able to actually see anything....

I know of travellers who have had prescriptions filled without any trouble if you painkillers are a common brand... Usually generic brands are cheaper and if you look at the ingredients they are identical to the big brand names anyway. If you ever had to get a substitute then make sure the formula and ingredients are the same.

But to be on the extra safe side bring your own if possible and song with the bottles or packets of painkillers bring the prescription and maybe even a letter from your doctor indicating why you need the narcotics...

While it's quite possible to get many standard meds at a pharmacy without a Rx, controlled substances are another matter. When I lived in Quito I had to have a Rx from my employer's clinic to get a refill of my U.S. prescription; they would not accept the unexpired bottle as evidence that it was a valid Rx.

Oops realised a typo but meant along with with \your bottles or packets and the prescription that they were obtained from in your country of origin it might be also a good idea to bring along with your original prescription a letter from your doctor detailing and explaining your condition and the medicines required to help or control it just in case something unforeseen happens to the medicines you are bringing with you from your country of origin... Just a thought.....

Jgcp, thank you so much for being kind. I have a rip-roaring case of MS, and as the nerves in my legs die..they HURT!!

That doesn't mean I'm not allowed to leave the country right? I will actually be sailing from Panama to the Galapagos, on a small boat manned by MS folks. How cool is that! 67 foot boat, 2 weeks open ocean, then tour the islands for 9 days, Then I'm off to Quito for 3 days. Bucket list..literally, I'm 58 years old!!!!

I hope you have a great trip and let us all know how it went because others with disabilities of some sort will be most interested how you got on....

Thanks again for your kind outreach. I'm getting a little nervouse now, as the trip starts in just a week! I can't believe that I'm going on this trip of a lifetime.
I will be gone for a month, and I'm trying to build in rest stops in my schedule so that I don't give myself a relapse and be bed bound.
I'm SO excited, and I will post highlights so that no-one misses the best of the Galapagos!

Hi everyone! First off, my trip was GREAT. I feel like I could have kept going in the Galapagos forever however, there was too much to see in the 2.5 weeks that I had. I had carefully planned the 1st 5 days or so, then I married advice from travelers on site as well as Lonely Planet publications and took off! For anyone with MS, the heat will catch up with you. It's NOT uncomfortable heat 'cause you're on the water for the most part. So, if you make plans that are time sensitive, know that sleep will take over some day. I went to breakfast one day, had a pot of really good Ecuadoran coffee, and then said 'I think I'll need to nap first'. I awakened at 7pm! Just a warning. The other thing is that there is SO MUCH TO LOOK AT, you have to remember to keep looking where you are walking. Some of tthe falls I took were nothing less than SPECTACULAR. They were really great, flying thru the air, landing on all fours, blood on both knees and elbows! All I could think of on the way down on one of them was that I had plans for the next day that I couldn't change!
Anyway, back to topic, the heat also melted my narcotics patched early, so I had to watch that. When I got to Quito, I neede to renew 2 controlled substances. I went to a hospital, to their Emergency Room. The Dr. was great. I was prepared. I had my passport, empty bottles and copies of my original prescriptions. The Doc had no problem writing for 6 days of cover. There was difficulty however, finding a drug store to fill it. There were 4 of them in walking distance. I finally wound up having to go back tp the Doc and have him switch one of the drugs to another in the family. Then I had to go back AGAIN with apologies, and have the Doc re-write one of the prescriptions on special paper. The visit cost a mere 10 dollars!! Truly nuts. The scripts however? $285.00 Wow. I felt better having the coverage for my last week there. Quito's promise of being FULL of pickpockets is VERY true, I was jostled and relieved of my cell phone while on a call! leaning against a building sending photos to my kids. I had NOT backed up all of my photos, a true loss. TRIP WAS GREAT! The handicapped can do it. I refined my skills as I went thru the 4 weeks, and will be better on my next trip. That will be joining the boat in the Med, and sailing to Barcelona, I'll spent about 2 weeks in all there. I need to perfect my Espanol.

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