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I'll be making my 2nd trip to CR on 8/25. I'm looking for information on pharmacies in the gulch and what is or is not available over the counter (no prescription required). I recall having read where a few of you have bought Cialis or Viagra at a place called Pharmacia Italiana. Are other drugs (not controlled substances) like antibiotics available w/o a prescription? If so, do you just walk in, say what you want, and you can buy it?

Thanks.

Zombo......

Several weeks ago I was in San Jose. I bought Zyrtec [for allergies] at Pharmacia Italiana, which requires a prescription in the U.S. No prescription was required and it cost less than half the price in the U.S.

While there, I also inquired as to the price of Viagra. The original [Pfizer], not generic, was close in price to what I pay in the U.S. No prescription required.

Zebra

Zombo,

Do a search of this site for "pharmacies" and/or "pharmacy." This has been covered a whole bunch already.

The search button is up above this next to the FAQ button.

Just trying to help and save some keystrokes for the experts who took the time to write some great stuff before.

https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... pharmacies

https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... t=pharmacy

https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... t=pharmacy

https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... pharmacies

There is a pharmacy on Avenida Central with a beautiful tica doctor in it. She can dispense the meds for what ails you in case Zombo Junior needs a pick me up. She might ask to see your penis to verify.

Don't let this scare you: https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... ht=scabies

There you go.

RHM

_________________
Eu gosto de brasileiras...

I haven't tried looking for antibiotics, but they're probably available almost everywhere without a prescription.

I just arrived in San Jose, and went on an expedition using the CRT 'mongers map' to check the RX's listed on the map. I think you need to be a VIP member to access the map, but it's really worth it. I joined 2 weeks ago, and my stay at the Presidente already saved me more than double the cost of the VIP membership! Anyway, I can't give you specifics re: which farmacias, I just used the map and looked for all the RX notations, and checked any others I came across. Here's what I found:

ED meds (Cialis, Levitra and generic/Viagra): The prices varied about 25%, but all were available everywhere without a prescription. They were somewhat cheaper than US prices.

Blood pressure meds and anti-depressants all available without meds, at least 50% cheaper than US prices (I brought a 'shopping list' from a few friends). These prices varied around 10-20% depending on the pharmacy.

Strong pain meds that are scheduled in the US are not available here. I asked for 'hydrocodone' (Vicodin/lortab/etc) and the first 6 or 7 farmacias said it wasn't available, even with a prescription. I didn't even try anything stronger. However, codeine can be bought over-the-counter. 'Arcedol' is 30mg codeine with a 500mg analgesic ('tylenol' equivalent), sells for from 25 to 40 cents a pill. They sell a stronger one with 50mg codeine, but at $1.50 each I didn't bother, so I don't remember the name. I just asked 'anything stronger than arcedol' and they all brought out the same box of the 50mg version.

Diazepam (valium) is hit-or-miss. About 1/3 of the 20+ pharmacies I went to gave me a direct 'NO', 1/3 said you need a prescription, and 1/3 said 'we can give you a prescription here'. The 'on-site prescription surcharge' didn't vary at all -- 1,500 colones at every place I went to. After that, each 10mg diazepam ranged from 25 to 40 cents each.

I use the pain meds and valium for a chronic condition called 'spinal stenosis', but the farmacies wrote the prescriptions without any question as to what you need them for - only asked for some id to have a name, age and either passport or drivers license number.