Need in a RX in PR? There’s CVS! W/ 1 Caveat

In today’s installment of TPOL in Puerto Rico, TPOL learns about controlled substances.

I don’t do drugs but I will pop pills– when I get food poisoning (see Food Poisoning in Paradise). That’s a sound plan until you’re puking blue Powerade in Prague and hadn’t thought to bring any medicine with you for this event. As I wrote in today’s post, Weak Travel Stomach? Bring These Drugs, I wasn’t going to risk another malaria vs. food poisoning debate for my upcoming #NoCollusion, No Albania for TPOL trip.

A nice thing about living in Puerto Rico is that all the amenities of the US are available here (see Relax: When You’re in PR, You Can Call the States the US). One of them is CVS. Despite no longer selling Vanilla Reloads for MS, CVS still serves a purpose. I stopped in to get my travel medication prescription filled and was pleasantly surprised to find that it only cost $35 for those without insurance (in addition to the tax benefits, Puerto Rico does not have the healthcare mandate, but it does have affordable healthcare). I was also surprised to learn that Diphenoxylate, an opioid, used for the treatment of diarrhea is a controlled substance that requires a prescription from a local physician. Since I was only purchasing Diphenoxylate as a precaution, it was not a big deal. However, for those either moving to Puerto Rico part time or traveling here, be sure to have the requisite supply of your medication before you arrive to avoid the headache of trying to get a refill.