paris123

Like a dummy, I left one of my prescriptions in the US. I have exactly one pill left for the next 5 days! I went to a pharmacy here in Paris, and they did not have it in stock. Also, the pharmacist said it would take 24 hrs to get it, I would need to have my doctor email a prescription, and he would have to sell me an entire bottle of 60. I'm not sure if what he said was true for all pharmacies or just his, and my french is not so good, so should I keep asking at other pharmacies or does anyone have any experience with this? Thank you, I'm desperate.

kerouac

Is it a two pill a day medication? I don't know of any medicine in France that comes in boxes of more than 30 days.

I would say to try a few more pharmacies, which are often willing to bend the rules as long as the pill doesn't contain opium or morphine or anything like that. At my office, we often bought prescription medicines without a prescription at the request of our foreign bosses. The pharmacy often frowned at our requests but sold the stuff anyway as long as they knew that the medication was nothing really dangerous if used properly.

If you are really stuck, just walk into a "centre médical" (they are all over Paris) and pay 23€ for a visit to a GP (appointments not necessary) to get a prescription. These places have very long hours (generally 7:30 to 19:30 and also open on Saturdays).

FrenchMystiqueTours2

In France pills are not normally sold in bottles where the number of pills is customized for the patient based on their prescription but in boxes with a fixed number of pills. People often have leftover pills in their drawers as a result. Therefore it is very possible that this particular medicine is only available in boxes of 60 pills.

Underhill

Have a friend fax you a photo of the prescription label and take that to a different pharmacist. When I left my thyroid medication at home I made an appointment with a doctor via my trip insurance, but on the way I stopped at the pharmacy outside St-Paul-de-Vence and showed the pharmacist the fax. He had no problem giving me a supply, which was considerably cheaper than back home.

greg

In my experience, the biggest stumbling block were the US doctors. Doctors who frequently travel to Europe understand how the health care system works in Europe and were willing to email an image of a prescription. However, clinics run by doctors who don't travel abroad was a different matter. They would not even entertain an idea of fax/email prescriptions to Europe. They insisted that the pharmacies in Europe don't accept US prescriptions. The European pharmacists I have dealt with where very reasonable with my needs. For medicines where the dosage mattered, they wanted to make sure there was something reliable - my existing bottle (yes, I did not need a prescription. I just showed an empty bottle with the name of the medicine along with the dosage) or a prescription.

paris123

Thank you so much for all of the answers. I think that I painted myself in a corner. If my doc does receive my email, does email a prescrip and the pharmacie is able to order it in 24 hrs, things will work out, and I'll just be out the 100+ euros, but all the ifs are big ones. I split a pill in half for tonight, but the medication has major side effects when you miss a dose. I am so mad at myself for screwing up this vacation.

Michael

Take Kerouac's advice and pay the 23€ for a doctor's visit.

FrenchMystiqueTours2

I doubt it will cost you 100+ euros unless that's what you were quoted by the pharmacist, I don't know of any meds that cost this much in France. Just call a night doctor to your hotel or apartment and get the meds in the morning. If the first pharmacy doesn't have it in stock, try the next one until you find one that has it. The 24/7 service to call a doctor is 3624:
http://www.sosmedecins.fr/ (don't worry, French prices are nothing compared to the US)