Nogales Pharmacies (Tucson, Yuma: 2013, health insurance, hotel)

[dirtydan57]

We've been working on health insurance. Turns out, under a new plan prescriptions will likely be more of an expense than currently for us. So, I'm interested to learn if anyone on this forum travels to Nogales to get prescriptions filled and hearing about their experience and which one(s) are reputable. I understand one can purchase up to 3 months worth at a time.

Thanks.

[gemstone1]

Pharmacies are a major industry, along with Dentists and eye glasses......in Los Algodones, which is in the Yuma area. I realize it is quite a distance, seeing that you posted in the Tucson forum....but just keep it in mind. I never heard a bad comment about any of them. Nogales tho' is waaaaaay nicer/cleaner than Los Algodones, which seems to exit mostly to serve the winter snowbird population of Yuma. There are plenty of places to stay overnight in Yuma, and even a newer casino/hotel right off of I-8, just inside the California border, at the exit to Los Algodenes.

Regards
Gemstone1

[tijlover]

I just shopped for meds on my trip to Tucson/Nogales early last month. My co-pays on my COPD meds (Symbicort/Combivent) have risen to $100 each, so I stocked up for a year or 2 @$32 each. No prescription needed unless it's a controlled substance. And I've talked to many, in both Tijuana and Nogales, who go over and back without a Passport.

I asked the pharmacist how many I could take across without any worries and he said I could take up to a Hundred, but I do think that's a huge exaggeration, although I've seen buyers over there filling up huge boxes of meds.

I also buy the generic Ventolin/Salbuterol, and the pharmacist talked me out of buying the brand I've been buying, all along, for 21 years, telling me CVS has taken over that generic company and reduced the potency (many have complained) so he steered me to anther brand, more powerful.

Such a treat going to a Mexican pharmacy as they don't talk like robots like they do at Walgreen's/CVS.

"I'm sorry I can't advise you on this or that, you need to talk to your Doctor!"

"Sorry you don't have a prescription for that, you need to see your Doctor!"

[elkotronics]

I just shopped for meds on my trip to Tucson/Nogales early last month. My co-pays on my COPD meds (Symbicort/Combivent) have risen to $100 each, so I stocked up for a year or 2 @$32 each. No prescription needed unless it's a controlled substance. And I've talked to many, in both Tijuana and Nogales, who go over and back without a Passport.

I asked the pharmacist how many I could take across without any worries and he said I could take up to a Hundred, but I do think that's a huge exaggeration, although I've seen buyers over there filling up huge boxes of meds.

I also buy the generic Ventolin/Salbuterol, and the pharmacist talked me out of buying the brand I've been buying, all along, for 21 years, telling me CVS has taken over that generic company and reduced the potency (many have complained) so he steered me to anther brand, more powerful.

Such a treat going to a Mexican pharmacy as they don't talk like robots like they do at Walgreen's/CVS.

"I'm sorry I can't advise you on this or that, you need to talk to your Doctor!"

"Sorry you don't have a prescription for that, you need to see your Doctor!"

Yep - the Mexican prescription drugs not needing a script are one of the nice perks for living near the border. It's more costly to pull that off when you live in the Midwest. Not impossible, just more expensive to get there. I'm going to the doctor in about a half hour here in KC - I'll come home with fresh new scripts to give to either Walgreen's or Express Scripts. Express Scripts saves a bit more than Walgreen's, but not as much as getting prescription drugs south of the border!

[dirtydan57]

Thanks all. The word I'm getting is that my copay will also be $100 until I hit my deductible. And that is $100 per month so $300 for a 3 month supply. I am relieved to read that I can save money south of the border.

[tijlover]

The International Red Cross Clinic's (Cruz Roja's) can be a big money saver if you don't have adequate insurance. There's one in Nogales. I've been to one in Tijuana, and it only cost me $5 to see a Doctor and be immediately ushered into the Emergency Room. Just tell a Tax Driver to take you there, but don't be surprised if they take you elsewhere like to a clinic even cheaper.

When down there last month, my roommate was with, he had a lingering cold that wouldn't go away, so we flagged a taxi driver, told him to take us to Cruz Roja, and? Unbelievably, he steered us to a different clinic because it would be cheaper. $450 pesos to see a Dr., roughly $3.50. Whatever she did, it did the job, perhaps that multi-vitamin injection, which I've had done in Mexico myself, and she wrote him out some prescriptions for antibiotics.

The Cruz Roja I went to in Guatemala City, one time, I even had an English-speaking Dr. and they had their own in-house pharmacy.

It's best to do some comparison shopping. Generally, I hit 3 pharmacies to compare costs for the same medication, and there may or may not be differences. And since there's so many pharmacies so close to one another, comparison shop if you have time, and check expiration dates. Generally, there's some English speaking individuals at the pharmacies.

A number of people are nervous about buying meds in Mexico, fearing the quality is going to be less. Generally, prices of meds for any country is tied to the Gross National Income of that particularly country, and I have found the quality to be equal.

You buy generic Ventolin, 3 for $14 and you think: How lucky they are down here with such cheap medication. What's not showing up on your radar screen, is the low wages, whereas that $14 could be 2 days wages, and the $32 for a COPD medication, that might entail 3-4 days of wages. So they're in the same jam we are!

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by dirtydan57

We've been working on health insurance. Turns out, under a new plan prescriptions will likely be more of an expense than currently for us. So, I'm interested to learn if anyone on this forum travels to Nogales to get prescriptions filled and hearing about their experience and which one(s) are reputable. I understand one can purchase up to 3 months worth at a time.

Thanks.

Just a word of caution. We get several medications through a Canada pharmacy, for the same reason you want to get them from Mexico. The Canadian pharmacy gets drugs from many countries, but never from Mexico or China. These countries don't have reliable quality control. Our family doctor has no problem with these drugs, as long as they aren't from Mexico or china.

I'd advise you to use a Canadian pharmacy, by mail, instead. I'll pm you the one we use, and you can compare costs.

[dirtydan57]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

Just a word of caution. We get several medications through a Canada pharmacy, for the same reason you want to get them from Mexico. The Canadian pharmacy gets drugs from many countries, but never from Mexico or China. These countries don't have reliable quality control. Our family doctor has no problem with these drugs, as long as they aren't from Mexico or china.

I'd advise you to use a Canadian pharmacy, by mail, instead. I'll pm you the one we use, and you can compare costs.

Thanks.

[dirtydan57]

A follow up to this thread. We made our first trip to Nogales to buy meds. After driving around looking for a 'government' parking lot we ended up in Ed's Border Parking Lot , paid $5 USD, and walked a block to the crossing. The parking lot attendant showed us a shortcut so the walk wasn't an issue. Crossing into Mexico is no big deal - just walk in.

The plaza is right there upon entering. You just can't miss it. Keeping in mind that more savings can be had by going outside the plaza, we first wandered around getting a feel for the place. There are many pharmacies and dental clinics. I really didn't find a lot of information on the internet about which pharmacies are reputable. So I looked for one that seemed to be a chain and chose Pharmacias Benavides. They had what we wanted but not in sufficient quantities for one of my meds so we also went to Pharmacia De La Salud.

At Benavides, the woman behind the counter didn't speak English but it didn't matter. I have very rudimentary Spanish skills, but they weren't necessary. We just gave her our prescriptions and she got what we wanted. She gave me prices in pesos but I asked for them in dollars and she did that. Buying in quantity qualifies for additional discounts. By quantity, I mean buy 2 instead of one. The only communication issue was that while I can count to 10 in Spanish, I run out of steam after that. So she just wrote the numbers on a piece of paper. No problemo. We paid up and left. You will get change back in pesos. Take an assortment of UDS so you can pay pretty much the exact price if you don't want a lot of pesos back. The other pharmacy had English speaking counter staff so getting more of what I wanted presented no problems.

Next we went to a taqueria for carne asada tacos. Best darn tacos I've ever had.

Walked back to the border to cross back into the US. The line was pretty long - I'd been told go during the week. We went on a Friday. Not sure if Friday is weekday or weekend in terms of numbers of people. I saw a few older guys walk toward the front of the line - where ever that was, when I remembered being told that people 60 or over skip to the front of the line and pass through the turnstile where you resume a place in line. So we did just that unsure if we'd get chewed out. Upon finding the turnstile, I tried to let a senorita go before us and she insisted we go first. At this point, the line isn't very long. However, it did take some time just to pass through this line so the ability to jump to the turnstile is a huge benefit. We would have spent a looooong time in line otherwise.

The border agent asked if it was my first time across and it was. He asked what I had to declare and I told him prescriptions. He asked what kind and I told him. He briefly glanced into my bag and said 'Ok, have a nice day'. I wished him the same and proceeded to the scanner. I open the bag, showed it to the guy running the scanner and asked if I needed to scan the bag. With a less than brief glance into the bag, he smiled, shook his head and said just go ahead. We walked back to the car and headed back to Tucson.

Price wise, my med was about the same price as that quoted as the cash price by Walmart. One of my wife's meds was the same. However, we saved $75 USD for a 3 month supply of her other med. Both of us have other meds that would be more expensive here so big savings can be had on certain drugs by going down there.

We also stopped at Dental Laser to ask about cleanings. I was told a basic cleaning costs $35 USD but if my gums were inflamed they do a deeper cleaning and it would then be $60 USD. A few people here at the resort use Dental Laser for cleanings and more and are happy with the service.

Skipping to the front of the line is a big advantage. Waiting in that long line would have been a huge PIA. That said, overall it was a good experience and we'll certainly go again and really stock up. The town wasn't scary and having looked up the brands we bought, the drugs look to be the real deal. One has to learn to say 'no thanks' the endless hawkers. But if you ask them a question, you'll get friendly answers about what and where.

Oh, and those tacos...

[RichCapeCod]

I'll be going to Dental Laser this coming Friday for my twice yearly cleaning. $30 bucks (they give you $4 dollars back for your parking! Bring a receipt).

Rich