Buying Medicines Over The Counter

[Yorkie]

Can Anyone Please Tell Me If It Is Possible To Buy Xenical (orlistat) Over The Counter In Spain. It Is A Tablet To Help Lose Weight.
Thanks

[bombero]

I doubt it very much! when we first bought our place in Spain 5 years ago you could get almost any drugs over the counter at the farmacia, including antibiotics, strong pain killers, ect. unfortunately due to the influx of other europeans buying drugs in bulk and taking them back to their own countries the Spanish authorities have put a stop to this and now the strongest thing you can buy over the counter is the kind of pain killers you can buy in your local supermarket at home.

[Chrisdee]

Originally Posted by Yorkie

Can Anyone Please Tell Me If It Is Possible To Buy Xenical (orlistat) Over The Counter In Spain. It Is A Tablet To Help Lose Weight.
Thanks

Try popping into a Pharmacia and asking for Xenical

[GAL]

You can buy this drug on t'internet (being a Yorkie you'll understand this) it is not cheap around 166 dollars for 40 tabs if you want the web address just let me know

I bought some antibiotics for my husband only this week but as Chirs says I think it is only for personal use as they asked to see the old man before we got any

[sunshinegal]

Originally Posted by bombero

I doubt it very much! when we first bought our place in Spain 5 years ago you could get almost any drugs over the counter at the farmacia, including antibiotics, strong pain killers, ect. unfortunately due to the influx of other europeans buying drugs in bulk and taking them back to their own countries the Spanish authorities have put a stop to this and now the strongest thing you can buy over the counter is the kind of pain killers you can buy in your local supermarket at home.

Most items can still be bought over the counter - I have recently bought Brufen (600mg) over the counter for my boyfriend, also Nilitol a very potent painkiller and no problems.

Antibiotics are more restricted now because of misuse - people were prescribing them to their friends for illnesses that would not be affected by them, such as colds etc - hence a huge advertising campaign and recommendation that you at least speak to the pharmacist before buying the antibiotics.

Other things such as weight loss drugs probably are available under different names, try speaking to the pharmacist to see which they would recommend for you.

[Nalle]

They did a program about chemists selling drugs without prescriptions in Spanish TV a while ago. This was in Madrid and they tested 20 or so chemists and it was surprisingly easy to buy it. only about 60% turned them down and told them to come back with the prescription.
Guess its the same here. just try a few and you will probably get lucky in the end.

[phat wheels]

I've never had any trouble getting anything from the farmacias. My partner has been refused antibiotics, but I followed him in there and they gave them to me. If you have the box or packet from a previous prescription, just show it to the assistant and ask for the same again. They are much more likely to supply them to you if you've had them before (and therefore know what you're doing). It also helps if you look up the active ingredient on the web and write it down, so they can find you the Spanish equivalent.

[bombero]

Originally Posted by sunshinegal

Most items can still be bought over the counter - I have recently bought Brufen (600mg) over the counter for my boyfriend, also Nilitol a very potent painkiller and no problems.

Antibiotics are more restricted now because of misuse - people were prescribing them to their friends for illnesses that would not be affected by them, such as colds etc - hence a huge advertising campaign and recommendation that you at least speak to the pharmacist before buying the antibiotics.

Other things such as weight loss drugs probably are available under different names, try speaking to the pharmacist to see which they would recommend for you.

I stand corrected

[Yorkie]

Thanks To All Who Replied. I Will Go Into The Farmacia
Yorkie