This week I went to get my usual stash of stuff from the pharmacy that don't require a prescription and was told that I would need a prescription for those things now. I asked if it was just at Walmart or everywhere and she said just Walmart. I went to another pharmacy later and had no issues. It wasn't just me either, she told someone ahead of me and after me the same thing. Anyone know what's up?
I wish I knew what was up with the Walmart pharmacy too! They asked me for a prescription for my allergy medicine several weeks ago. I went to another pharmacy and they told me no prescription is required for the medicine I needed to buy. It seems odd that only Walmart would have this new policy.
Same thing happened to me on Wed. I was getting some Amoxycilan for my daughter. They told me the new policy started the day before. I went around the corner to Yza and it was no problem. Until I read Liz's post I thought it was unique to this medicine at Walmart but it must be everything. I wonder if Mexicans have this same issue or only those of us who look non-Mexican. Liz, you should camp out there and see what happens. Can you imagine the bottleneck if they are having to sort out prescriptions. And what will they do with them once the order is filled? I want answers.
Just guessing based on travel to other countries: They'll hand back the prescription with the medication. They'll put some kind of stamp on it indicating the date the prescription was filled. They won't file the paperwork (can you imagine that nightmare?) and it will be your responsibility to hold on to the paperwork if you need a refill and if the doctor indicated the refill.
It is not just the tourist looking folk. It's Mexicans as well. I also went to Yza's farmacia and the woman there said I was the second person to come in with the same problem. I asked her if it was a new government regulation and she said no. I then asked if maybe it was because lots of tourists come down and get medication without a prescription and she said no, because the other woman that came in was Mexican. Who knows! But it's peeved me off!
Well the good news is that although Wamart is convenient and has everything imaginable for sale, and you can pay your bills there, it is not the cheapest place for things. So for the meds we will all save $$ shopping elsewhere. And it won't be Yza for me as they are not cheap. I just had a flight that day and my daughter wanted some stuff and time was tight. I like Similares and Ahorro for the best prices. What about you guys and gals. Is there a deadly cheap place for meds that you can recommend?
I'm with you, Similares is great except the problem with them is they don't often carry all the things that one would get. Ahorro is ok but I think in terms of saving, depends on the drugs you are getting. The few times I went there to get stuff they were more expensive than Walmart. I feel sort of stuck. I wonder if it's all the Walmarts or just Walmart #1.
I don't know what might have spawned the change at Wal-mart. If it were just Gringos I could surmise that they had an issue with tourists getting things for "recreational" use, but if its locals too...... Either way, it will change back or they will close the pharmacy, as hardly anyone gets prescriptions around here. I'll be going for a refill of something in a few days, and Wal-mart was the only place that I could find it last time, so we will see...
Well... I had no luck at Wal-mart, not because they refused to sell my medicine, but rather they didn't have it, so I ended up going to another place and paid about 80 pesos more.... I did see a few other people getting things without seeing prescriptions, so who knows.
