Gscq

hey everyone
Stuck in NY because of the pandemic and running low on my medication. My London pharmacy is ok on shipping a 3-6 month supply . Needing advice on shipping and if any rules i need to be aware of. I have been looking at UPS or Parcelforce. Had a bad experience with Hermes so never using them again but would like to hear from anyone who has shipped meds from the UK

Any advice/tips would be appreciated.

yellowroom

Be very careful.

https://www.fda.gov/industry/import-...al-importation

tom169

Given you live in the USA haven't you established a Dr here?

civilservant

I would never consider doing this, it's just too risky.

I agree with Tom. You need a US MD pronto.

Pulaski

Good advice above, and I lean more towards the "don't do it" end of the spectrum.

I would suggest that there is a good chance that your pharmaceuticals will be confiscated - US customs isn't going to spend any time at all investigating what the package contains, whether what is in the packet is what the labling says it is, or that there are no recreatonal uses for it. IMO if US customs notice it they will confiscate it and destroy it.

civilservant

OP you have to remember that the differances are just too great.

As an example, you can buy Neurofen Plus over the counter in the UK, which contains Codeine. In the US Codeine is a Schedule III-IV narcotic that is available by prescription only.

Try bringing that across the border and you're going to have a very bad day.

Pulaski

Having your name on a 3-6 months supply of anything like that could create a very bad day indeed!

Jerseygirl

I agree with all the above...don’t do it. Plus if you are not a UK resident you are not entitled to use the NHS for services. Of course you may be a private UK patient and pay full price for the meds. Either way...don’t do it.

jkeller

If you just haven't gotten around to finding a US doctor you can try a walk in clinic. I used CVS's ready clinic in front of Ballys casino in Vegas 3 years ago when I got flu. Got an appointment for 90 minutes later on the CVS app. Real doctors, she wrote me a prescription for tamiflu. I asked what kind of patients she saw....alot of people like you with colds/flu and a lot of "walk of shame" birth control types.

petitefrancaise

so long as it's not a controlled substance and you are still not an LPR or citizen - from the link posted above:
https://www.fda.gov/industry/import-...al-importation

Nutmegger

Your link talks about visiting the US, not living there. Surely there is a difference?

Pulaski

Just checked - the OP is on an O-3, so neither a citizen nor permanent resident, and therefore PF's quoted information appears to apply.

petitefrancaise

I wondered about that too but:
sounds like they will be ok and I think the OP is on an "O" visa so isn't LPR or USC. Just check on goodrx that it's not a controlled substance.

Nutmegger

I’m sure you are both correct—it was the “traveling for work” language that gave me pause. It seemed to imply something different from residing here on a visa, however temporary.

yellowroom

Petitfrancais has already quoted the relevant part of the link, but you still have to be careful as it really depends on what the medication is. FDA has some pretty arcane rules on drugs and basically if it isn’t licensed by them then it doesn’t have a legitimate medical purpose in the USA. If it doesn’t have a legitimate medical purpose and it has a potential to be abused then it will be a controlled drug, and simply possessing it could technically land you in a whole heap of trouble, let alone importing it. The fact that the drug may be licensed in the U.K. carries no weight with US authorities.

an example. One time I was travelling back to the US and had a persistent lingering cough. Knowing it would get worse on the flight, I stopped by at Boots in the airport and picked up some pholcodeine linctus, over the counter. Travelled back and through customs ok, didn’t get stopped. When back at work, I wondered why I couldn’t get pholcodeine in the US - in the U.K. its preferred by pharmacists to codeine linctus as it’s a lot harder to get high from it and only slightly less effective at suppressing coughs. I then discovered that FDA considers pholcodeine to have no legitimate medical use, and it is Schedule 1 - the same as heroin!! I went cold at the idea of what could have happen if customs did stop me with a bottle of schedule 1 drug in my bag.

moral of the story. Get your prescription filled in the USA. It might be more expensive, but you’re on the right side of the law.