medication

hi   i'm hoping someone can help me with info. i hope to move out to costa almeria next summer but am unsure whether i would be entitled to thyroxine on permanent prescription. as i need it to function i thought maybe my exemption certificate may be valid in spain. i look forward to hearing from someone. thanks janbut

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Hi Janbut

I too have an underactive thyroid gland and prior to our move to Spain just about the only thing I was really concerned about was whether I could afford the possibly astronomical cost of my tablets every month. Imagine my delight when I discovered that a box of 30 tablets of 100mcg thyroxine is about €2.60! It´s known as Levothroid here. Unless you require a specific brand you should have no problem buying it over the counter. I have been asked by the pharmacist whether I have a prescription but have never been required to produce it. Another bonus is that you can recharge your batteries during the day with a siesta and no-one will raise an eyebrow! I´m not sure about the validity of the exemption certificate for other prescriptions - perhaps another contributer will be able to enlighten us on that one.

 

I hope you have no other worries and wish you the best of luck with your move.

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Last posting was sent from Mrs Smiley, using Smiley´s computer - sorry!

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hi, we have been going to spain over 20 yrs, i am asthmatic, we were told what you need on prescription here you just buy over the counter in spain at fraction of cost. when we or friends needed anything this was true. certain drugs they may ask you to produce a presciption, just as a precaution.if you dont have a prescription with you if you can produce the package your drugs were in this has been ok.The pharmasist will tell you if you need to register with doctor.

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Hi, Can anyone answer me this ?

I take meds for controlling high blood pressure as does my husband, he also takes meds for controlling high cholestral.

We are currently non residents so we get our meds every two months by prescription from UK Dr.

I have asked at our UK surgery what would happen if we wanted to stay in Spain a few months, no one seemed to know what would happen regarding the meds. They said "ask the pharmacist " which I did & they said "ask the Dr." hmm.....

Having heard lots of meds were cheaper in Spain & in cases you don't need a prescription I asked, whilst in Spain, at a pharmacy about the BP meds I was on. (Hubby hadn't been told to take meds at that time) I showed them the box so there was no confusion. Bearing in mind in the UK I get, roughly, two months supply.. ie 56 tablets of 10 mg.. for £6.65 .. I was gobsmacked to find they only sold tablets in 5mg size so I'd need to take two daily & it would work out around £12 a month for those I was taking ! I have left details in Spain but know it almost gave me heart failure when I worked cost out.

I have not been able to ascertain what happens so I can get my meds though I guess if I ask my Dr here in the UK he'd be obliged to give me a presciption for each two months I was out of UK & I'd be able to pay £6.65 per two months but get all at same time.

If we DO move over I wonder what happens as we need meds. Guess we need to register with a Dr. & they give us prescriptions ! Although we'll be only 60, hubby, 58 (me) so guess we'd need private healthcare insurance.

And some on here seem to think I know it ALL, HA !!!

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Hi JeanSis,

Medication is cheaper in the UK, however, for emergencies whilst you are in Spain, you should get a SIP card.This will get you a discount off of the "over the counter" price of your medication. For instance, if the over the counter price is say 25€ you will pay 16€, but the same medication in the UK would be cheaper, say around 12€. That's a rough guide anyway.

Take your E1 11 to your local health centre in Spain along with your NIE  number and they will issue you with a SIP card. This is valid for 6 months and can be re-newed.

Check with your local health centre in Spain for the times when they issue the SIP card, as they have specific days and times.

Where in Spain are you? Cos I know where to go if you are South of Torreveija Costa Blanca!

 

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Your doctor in UK is only, officially, allowed to give one months worth of prescriptions at a time but most will allow 2 months if you are going away (Our doctors give up to 3 months at a time).

If you are going to Spain permanently, you should contact the Prescriptions Authority at Newcastle who will issue you an E106 (or E121 if you are disabled).  This will transfer your contributions to Spain and you will be able to swap it for a SIP card in Spain which is valid for life.  You can use your EHIC (replaced the E111) which you can use when you register with a doctor in Spain but is only valid for 6 months.  This EHIC is only for emergencies, such as a broken leg etc, and not for on-going and pre-existing conditions.  Private insurance will also probably not pay for pre-existing conditions.

Prescriptions in Spain give you a discount on the OTC.  I think this is a third of the price but I'm not sure.  My son-in-law uses asthma inhalers and the OTC price is about half the UK prescription price.

You should get a prescription in Spain but most chemists will issue a limited amount of prescription medication without one.

I was under the impression that prescription medicine in Spain was free once you reach 60 but I may be wrong on this.  You could see if you get any replies from anyone over there who is over 60 and has registered correctly with the doctor and is not using a temporary SIP card.

Being an eternal optimist, maybe living in the healthy climate and having a mediterranean diet may reduce your blood pressure and cholesterol so you don't need to take the pills.  My son-in-law hopes it will alleviate his asthma when he goes over permanently as he doesn't need his medication half as much as he does in UK.  In fact, last September he didn't use his inhalers once in the second week he was there.

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RE yours Bob and the change of lifestyle I used to get the most dreadful colds in the UK that would go to my chest and seemed to last for months and just as I was shaking it off it would start again - added to that a kidney infection every three or four months and tests could find no specific reason (except the three bottles of wine a day). Touch wood I have only had one cold since I moved here three and a half years ago and that was after a flight back to the Uk and no kidney problems for three years now - the occasional twang there but I know when they are coming and follow the same regime as the UK with plenty of cranberry juice but it never develops into anything serious the way it would in England. I AM A BELIEVER IN THE ETHOS THAT THIS IS THE HEALTHIEST CLIMATE IN EUROPE.

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I'm rarely ill in the UK. Hubby gets colds from work but I never catch them from him. As soon as I get to Spain, I'm plagued with sore throat, head cold & tight chest. I think it's the air con/heating units we have installed. Many of our resident friends say the same. In fact a friend won't use theirs.

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Janice, the discounts on medication once you are on the social security here seem to vary enormously depending on the medication. If you are not on the social, you can almost certainly buy what you need over the counter without a prescription, but it can be pricey. For example:

Tenoretic (BP - 56 pills) normally €14.55 - with discount €1.45

Prevencor 20mg (Cholesterol, 28 pills) normally €45.74, with discount €18.30

People of a certain age qualify for free medication, although I think you are both still too young. Not certain what age it is for male/female etc. If you go for private health, i'm pretty sure this won't cover prescriptions, and you'll probably also find it won't cover any existing conditions anyway (don't you just love insurance companies? they give you an umbrella when it's sunny, then want it back when it starts to rain)

As for whether you will find your health improves when you live here - the jury is still out on that one. Sure, the climate may help in some respects, but boy, if anywhere is going to get your blood pressure up it has to be Spain!

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Thanks to all who advised us.

Fibby wrote..

Hi JeanSis,

Medication is cheaper in the UK, however, for emergencies whilst you are in Spain, you should get a SIP card.This will get you a discount off of the "over the counter" price of your medication. For instance, if the over the counter price is say 25€ you will pay 16€, but the same medication in the UK would be cheaper, say around 12€. That's a rough guide anyway.

Take your E1 11 to your local health centre in Spain along with your NIE  number and they will issue you with a SIP card. This is valid for 6 months and can be re-newed.

Check with your local health centre in Spain for the times when they issue the SIP card, as they have specific days and times.

Where in Spain are you? Cos I know where to go if you are South of Torreveija Costa Blanca !

First of all, we've NEVER heard of this "sip card" ! We are non resi's just outside Guardamar. Our Dr. always gives us TWO months supply of meds so at the moment we shall not need to concern ourselves with needing meds out there but I just was keen to know WHAT would happen when Chris WAS 60 (March 2008) & retired in the UK & we COULD spend more time than the two months in Spain.

..............................................................

Roberto..

Is that what YOU are speaking about, the SIP card, too ?

(Amazing what we don't know, isn't it ?)

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Hi JeanSis,

I read that you get sick when you get to Spain.....

I too have the same problems, sore throat, tight chest cough etc., and we don't have air con in our apartment.

BUT, I have worked out that if I use the "blower" in the aeroplane above my seat, I get all these symptoms! After all, the air is re-cycled and if the blower is going above you, then you are breathing in all the other people's germs on the plane!

I don't use the blower now and touch wood, have been well on the last 2 trips!

It does mean though that you sweat your guts out on the plane, but it's worth it!!

Kind regards,

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Just when I was thinking "SORTED", Fibby, hubby threw a spanner in the works & said "WHY THOUGH doesn't it work other way round as she isn't ill AFTER flight home & she has blower on THEN, too "

Trust a mere male to think of summat, but he DOES have a point. Still, I CAN but TRY next trip over. Hopefully also, in March, weather will be pleasant enough NOT to have heating on. I'm sure the blower on our air con / heating unit, which is opposite where I sit in the lounge, doesn't help.

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Janice, sorry, know idea what a SIP card is, never heard of it. Fibby, back to you!

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This link is a very good site on how to get medical and dental care in Spain.

http://www.practicalspain.com/Health.htm

 

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Hi Fibbs dont you know that only horses sweat - ladies gently glow - mind you good excuse to replace the lost fluid with a bit of you know what!

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SIP card is the official Spanish health card.

Here's a link to all info:

http://www.practicalspain.com/Health.htm

And of course the E 111 has been replaced by the European Health Insurance Card

As for the sweats on the plane, this may have something to do with my age, but by taking copious amounts of alchohlic fluid (and whiskey marmelade sandwiches), I cope!

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Still got no idea what the SIP card is - is this something for non-residents? The linked website doesn't explain either.

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The SIP card is the Spanish equivalent of the your UK medical card.  Unlike UK, your local surgery will issue you a temporary one.  As in UK, the Spanish Health Authorities will then send you a permanent one.

Look at this site:

http://www.livespainforlife.co.uk/default.aspx?id=84

Hopefully this will explain

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Am I being thick? I hope you don't think I'm being pedantic, but I've just looked at my Tarjeta Sanitaria and I don't see anything like "SIP", and having lived in both Andalucia and Baleares have never come across this. Both the linked websites mention SIP without saying what it actually stands for. I only ask, because I'd hate to think of people going into their local health centre asking for something unheard of, only to be greeted by that familiar contemptuous expression that seems to say "oh no, another bloody foreigner trying to sponge off our social". 

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