Jollygoodfellow Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 QuestionI know I can buy Ibuprofen in the Philippines but can I get pain killers with Codeine in them? Reason I ask and which also makes a second question is I was thinking of bringing my own painkillers with me which are Ibuprofen plus Codeine. Is it allowed to bring that into the country?When I have a headache, just normal Ibuprofen is not quite enough for me and also I am putting up with some teeth pain until I can get Ramon to do some work on them in Cebu so sometimes I need good pain killers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Might want to re-visit this thread. Bringing Medicines To The PhilippinesI'm hesitant on bringing my ibuprofen with me. I've been taking (1) 800mg pill 3 times a day since mid 2009. I think I'm just going to take (4) 200mg pills instead. Plus I don't feel like dealing with my doctor before traveling since I canceled my last appointment and haven't re-scheduled...LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jollygoodfellow Posted January 22, 2010 Author Posted January 22, 2010 Might want to re-visit this thread. Bringing Medicines To The PhilippinesI'm hesitant on bringing my ibuprofen with me. I've been taking (1) 800mg pill 3 times a day since mid 2009. I think I'm just going to take (4) 200mg pills instead. Plus I don't feel like dealing with my doctor before traveling since I canceled my last appointment and haven't re-scheduled...LOL I took some Ibuprofen in last time and also out but its the codeine that I was wondering about in these ones, not just plain Ibuprofen.Maybe it was the first time I was in Cebu that for some reason I ended up with a hangover and headache,I managed to get to a pharmacy and asked for some headache pills,I want a packet I said to them,they did not seem to know what I wanted so I said a full packet,nope that was not right and they talked to each other and came to me with 2 pills,it took awhile but in the end I took a sleeve of twelve I think it was. The look on their faces was like I was crazy but I found out later that most people only buy 2 pills at a time. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMason Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 Might want to re-visit this thread. Bringing Medicines To The PhilippinesI'm hesitant on bringing my ibuprofen with me. I've been taking (1) 800mg pill 3 times a day since mid 2009. I think I'm just going to take (4) 200mg pills instead. Plus I don't feel like dealing with my doctor before traveling since I canceled my last appointment and haven't re-scheduled...LOL I took some Ibuprofen in last time and also out but its the codeine that I was wondering about in these ones, not just plain Ibuprofen.Maybe it was the first time I was in Cebu that for some reason I ended up with a hangover and headache,I managed to get to a pharmacy and asked for some headache pills,I want a packet I said to them,they did not seem to know what I wanted so I said a full packet,nope that was not right and they talked to each other and came to me with 2 pills,it took awhile but in the end I took a sleeve of twelve I think it was. The look on their faces was like I was crazy but I found out later that most people only buy 2 pills at a time. :DIf you have a copy of the prescription with you and the pills are in their original bottle I doubt you'll have a problem with them. All you have to do to avoid any problems at customs is declare things they ask about and answer questions truthfully if they ask you anything else. Customs at the airport is trying to catch smugglers and people avoiding import duty on electronics and stuff like that, they're not worried about your legally prescribed pain pills. Now, if you try to bring in 300 pills you might have difficulty explaining them. Worst case, if the codeine is not allowed they'll confiscate them and you're out a few dollars. I would bring them with me.As for buying 2 pills at a time, my wife does that and it drives me crazy. When we lived in Baguio, it was a 20 minute walk and then a 20 minute taxi/jeepney ride to get to a pharmacy, but would my wife by extra headache pills on hand? Nooooo....she said they might expire before she used them and she didn't want to waste money....yet she would spend jeepney fare back and forth to town 3 days in a row for a persistent headache. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jollygoodfellow Posted January 22, 2010 Author Posted January 22, 2010 Might want to re-visit this thread. Bringing Medicines To The PhilippinesI'm hesitant on bringing my ibuprofen with me. I've been taking (1) 800mg pill 3 times a day since mid 2009. I think I'm just going to take (4) 200mg pills instead. Plus I don't feel like dealing with my doctor before traveling since I canceled my last appointment and haven't re-scheduled...LOL I took some Ibuprofen in last time and also out but its the codeine that I was wondering about in these ones, not just plain Ibuprofen.Maybe it was the first time I was in Cebu that for some reason I ended up with a hangover and headache,I managed to get to a pharmacy and asked for some headache pills,I want a packet I said to them,they did not seem to know what I wanted so I said a full packet,nope that was not right and they talked to each other and came to me with 2 pills,it took awhile but in the end I took a sleeve of twelve I think it was. The look on their faces was like I was crazy but I found out later that most people only buy 2 pills at a time. :DIf you have a copy of the prescription with you and the pills are in their original bottle I doubt you'll have a problem with them. All you have to do to avoid any problems at customs is declare things they ask about and answer questions truthfully if they ask you anything else. Customs at the airport is trying to catch smugglers and people avoiding import duty on electronics and stuff like that, they're not worried about your legally prescribed pain pills. Now, if you try to bring in 300 pills you might have difficulty explaining them. Worst case, if the codeine is not allowed they'll confiscate them and you're out a few dollars. I would bring them with me.As for buying 2 pills at a time, my wife does that and it drives me crazy. When we lived in Baguio, it was a 20 minute walk and then a 20 minute taxi/jeepney ride to get to a pharmacy, but would my wife by extra headache pills on hand? Nooooo....she said they might expire before she used them and she didn't want to waste money....yet she would spend jeepney fare back and forth to town 3 days in a row for a persistent headache. :D These pills are over the counter here in Australia with no prescription needed but I think are limited on how much you can buy at once.lol,the Filipinos sometimes have some strange ideas on saving money,personally I always have extra pain killers on hand. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted January 22, 2010 Posted January 22, 2010 QuestionI know I can buy Ibuprofen in the Philippines but can I get pain killers with Codeine in them? Reason I ask and which also makes a second question is I was thinking of bringing my own painkillers with me which are Ibuprofen plus Codeine. Is it allowed to bring that into the country?When I have a headache, just normal Ibuprofen is not quite enough for me and also I am putting up with some teeth pain until I can get Ramon to do some work on them in Cebu so sometimes I need good pain killers. I always bring all my medications with me but only in sufficient numbers for the time we will spend in the Philippines and a little extra in case our flights get canceled. I also bring bottles of over the counter medicines and sometimes will leave some extras in our condo for the next trip and I have never even been asked on the way in, but I always keep them in the original bottles with the over the counter labels and prescriptions medicines in the drug store prescription bottle with the drug store labels on them just in case. In most case that and being friendly and courteous should be sufficient if you do get checked but from what I have read and from what I have been told, narcotics such as codeine may be a problem since narcotics are illegal in the Philippines unless prescribed by a Filipino doctor but again no one has ever checked and if you arrive late then they rarely check anything unless you have a lot of items with you that might require them taking a look. If I were you, I would bring a copy of your marriage license and that should make things smoother if you do get checked because they like those of us who marry and bring our money into the country to spend. Now with that said, I have been checked when leaving and they did open each bottle and look inside but did not make an issue out of it because there were not that many pills left and maybe they were just looking for bomb stuff and were not really interested in the other items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jollygoodfellow Posted January 22, 2010 Author Posted January 22, 2010 QuestionI know I can buy Ibuprofen in the Philippines but can I get pain killers with Codeine in them? Reason I ask and which also makes a second question is I was thinking of bringing my own painkillers with me which are Ibuprofen plus Codeine. Is it allowed to bring that into the country?When I have a headache, just normal Ibuprofen is not quite enough for me and also I am putting up with some teeth pain until I can get Ramon to do some work on them in Cebu so sometimes I need good pain killers. I always bring all my medications with me but only in sufficient numbers for the time we will spend in the Philippines and a little extra in case our flights get canceled. I also bring bottles of over the counter medicines and sometimes will leave some extras in our condo for the next trip and I have never even been asked on the way in, but I always keep them in the original bottles with the over the counter labels and prescriptions medicines in the drug store prescription bottle with the drug store labels on them just in case. In most case that and being friendly and courteous should be sufficient if you do get checked but from what I have read and from what I have been told, narcotics such as codeine may be a problem since narcotics are illegal in the Philippines unless prescribed by a Filipino doctor but again no one has ever checked and if you arrive late then they rarely check anything unless you have a lot of items with you that might require them taking a look. If I were you, I would bring a copy of your marriage license and that should make things smoother if you do get checked because they like those of us who marry and bring our money into the country to spend. Now with that said, I have been checked when leaving and they did open each bottle and look inside but did not make an issue out of it because there were not that many pills left and maybe they were just looking for bomb stuff and were not really interested in the other items. I could be wrong but I think all stronger pain killers have codeine in them,its not really a narcotic in this form I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavrick Posted April 9, 2011 Posted April 9, 2011 Do I need to see a doc to get a refillor just go to the pharm?Also what is the cost out of pocket for a refill?I am a F.N.G(freakin', New, Guy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Lee Posted April 9, 2011 Posted April 9, 2011 Do I need to see a doc to get a refillor just go to the pharm?Also what is the cost out of pocket for a refill?I am a F.N.G(freakin', New, Guy) I do not know the cost but any narcotics will require a local doctors prescription. Also if you bring in any medicines then they must be in the original bottle and you are supposed to have a doctors letter saying what you are being treated for and only have enough medicine for your stay, yet I have never been stopped or asked for such a letter, but I also do not carry any narcotics and travel in and out of the country yearly or biyearly with my wife who is a Filipina. HERE is the reference I refer to. Bringing Medicine into the Philippines Over the counter drugs are available in pharmacies or drug stores in the country. However, if visitors insist on bringing their own prescriptive drugs, they may do so but only in quantities sufficient for the duration of their stay in the country.Visitors taking prescription drugs (tablets and ampoules) should bring a letter from their physician stating the condition for which they are receiving treatment and the dosage. The amount of drugs brought into the country should also be sufficient for the duration of the visit. For those who are travelling onward to another country, they are advised that separate quantity of drugs should be sealed and declared again before exiting the country. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mavrick Posted April 10, 2011 Posted April 10, 2011 (edited) Thanks love the info. Edited April 10, 2011 by Mavrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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