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NEW RULES for CONTROLLED PAIN MEDS


Dr.Santiago

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UPDATE -

I just called :

  1. Farmacia la Paz
  2. Address: Av España 1803, Moderna, 44190 Guadalajara, Jal.
    Phone:01 33 3679 7749
    And they will be filling scripts for controlled pain meds without the CURP filled in (at least for the time being) and that it is currently optional.
    I am not sure how long it will be this way but I advise my patients to get their documents (VISAs & CURPs) in order to avoid any future unnecessary & undue stress & headaches.
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Hi,

We have verified with COFEPRIS (The Mexican equivalent of the FDA) that the CURP field on the doctors online prescription system is optional and is verifiable on their web page at http://www.cofepris.gob.mx/Paginas/Recetarios%20y%20libros%20electr%C3%B3nicos.aspxand downloading their user manuals for Pharmacies http://www.cofepris.gob.mx/Documents/RecetariosLibros/ManualFarmacias.pdf and looking on page 13 where it says optional fields and one being the CURP number, best for people to print that page to be able to show Pharmacies that the CURP is not a mandatory field.

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Serenity, you should be able to get a CURP# within four days.

Even if I am here on a tourist visa? From what I researched to get a curp I must leave the country and initiate the procedure at a MX consulate in the US. Right now I am too ill to travel (I was not expecting to become this sick). If getting a curp on a tourist visa is possible, hooray!! If not, I'll just fly out and start the process, and hopefully I qualify with whatever I need to have in savings and in monthly income.

Edit: Yes, just read another post that I am correct in believing that I must start the process in my home country. I'll do just that.

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Spencer, a BIG thank you. My doc called several pharmacies today who said the curp is optional.

No matter what, once I get a refill, I'll return to the US and start the residency process and get the curp, even if it means I need to crawl into that office or rent a wheelchair or some big dude to carry me.

Spencer, you have helped me avoid a heart attack. I was provided with information that wasn't very clear and told it was essentially a new law. I'm not sure if there is an actual law and some pharmacies are just saying its "optional' and not abiding by it, or if there isn't a law that demands a curp number and its more of a recommendation. No matter what, I thank you again for putting a halt to a heart/panic attack and now I can breathe. And maybe have a stiff drink.

A doc once advised me to try and save up meds, since controlled meds can only be given one month at a time. You can't get them early, and you can't ask for extras. As a practical matter its very hard to save up meds, since you are only prescribed exactly the amount you need every month. But if you have a couple good days and can take less, save them up, and refil your meds on time so you can keep those extra meds in case someone runs out of stock or a law changes.

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Hi,

We have verified with COFEPRIS (The Mexican equivalent of the FDA) that the CURP field on the doctors online prescription system is optional and is verifiable on their web page at http://www.cofepris.gob.mx/Paginas/Recetarios%20y%20libros%20electr%C3%B3nicos.aspxand downloading their user manuals for Pharmacies http://www.cofepris.gob.mx/Documents/RecetariosLibros/ManualFarmacias.pdf and looking on page 13 where it says optional fields and one being the CURP number, best for people to print that page to be able to show Pharmacies that the CURP is not a mandatory field.

Spencer: So was the information provided from another source that CURPs were now a requirement simply inaccurate? I don't know a thing about MX law, so is your source an actual legal source, whereas the source stating that a curp was required a non-legal source and more like a newspaper publication for medical professionals? I realize the law can always change and intend to get a curp number but I am very interested in knowing - what is the actual law? Sounds like your link, which I will print out, is just that. Again, thank you.

Edit: That 'other source' appears to be a travel guide, and its obviously not a legal authority on opiate prescription laws. Was there an actual legal source that informed doctors of this new law that curps were required?

Edit: Spencer: I see. Your link isn't the law itself, but appears to be government guildelines about filling opiate scripts, and which clearly states that the fields for curps are optional. You the man.

(Unless there truly is a new law out there and we just don't know it yet? I wonder where the first source obtain its information for its publication.)

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Guest bennie2

serenity6 for gods sakes, you do NOT need a curp. if its not broken dont fix it. you dont need to pay for a visa or a lawyer, just for medicine. gee, maybe you need to be knocked out cold & sleep for 2 days. there is NO crisis. you have the medicine, all is well. mexico would not do this kind of law. i PMed you. if they did, it would not last. i said this yesterday. your dr was not happy w/this either were, it was stressful for him as well. get your meds & let it go.

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Serenity if too ill to travel with a tourist card you can get an Humanitarian visa. INM does not charge. Spencer can help you. I have covered this subject on my web site under Immigration. http://www.soniadiaz.mx/immigration.html

saludos

Sonia

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People saw the field to be filled in for CURP and freaked out, some doctors assumed that it was a mandatory field, others have had pharmacies be strict and not fill prescriptions if there was an item missing. I was ready to do an amparo but then had to study the issue to see what law I would invalidate and it turned out there was no law.

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Guest bennie2

why should she spend all the money & time? the temp has to be renewed each year. ofcause if she doesnt want to travel every six months then it makes sence. we already established the fact that no one needs a curp for medication. that is clear from the attorney & the doctor. thats one step serenity6 can skip.

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She is de facto a temporary resident and I have found over 50 years of living abroad in various countries that you are better off with a visa that fits the description of your situation.

She can come and go as a tourist but if the definition of a tourist is changed to reflect that of other countries then you are in a jam.

Serenity can do what ever she likes, it is no skin off my back.I just believe in keeping my life simple.

To get my insurrance money in Mexico I need a RFC, I have one and I just give it and it is the end of the story, if you do not have one they can put a generic one but some farmacy do not want it and so on why complicate things?

Tourists being allowed for 6months could change to 3 months or one month or whatever and then it is crying time again..

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serenity6 for gods sakes, you do NOT need a curp. if its not broken dont fix it. you dont need to pay for a visa or a lawyer, just for medicine. gee, maybe you need to be knocked out cold & sleep for 2 days. there is NO crisis. you have the medicine, all is well. mexico would not do this kind of law. i PMed you. if they did, it would not last. i said this yesterday. your dr was not happy w/this either were, it was stressful for him as well. get your meds & let it go.

Bennie, you are totally missing my point. I know I do not need a curp.

What troubles me is my doctor said there was a "new law" that required a curp and refused to write me a script right at the time I was running out. This understandably scared the hell out of me.

Now I discover (unless there is more information out there that I am not aware of) that there appears to be no new law. The one citation we have for this new law is a blurb taken of a Yucatan-specific travel site. That is not an authority on opiate presription laws. That Yucatan article didn't mention its own source.

Spencer, thankfully, along with OneMexicoExpat did some digging and informs us, along with a reliable, government site, that the curp is optional.

So, my question is, did my doctor rely on a Yucatan travel website to make her determination that a new law was enacted? If so, that is very troubling. If there is more info my doc relied on and I don't know, I would like to know. Also, it is still not clear - while I know that for now the curp is optional, was there actually a new law regarding curps that we just don't have information on?

Bennie, calm down, this is important info. If there is a new law floating around there, we need to know. If there is no new law and nothing changed, and my prescribing doc simply read a travel website with an article with no original governmental sources to back the claim of the new law, well, that is is important for me to know in determining whether I am comfortable in relying on my doc in the future. Note, my prescribing doc for these medications is not Dr. Santiago Hernandez.

Get it?

Edit: Bmg: thanks for the info, I didn't know that existed.

I read a bit more, I see there is no "new law". Thus, that means my doc read a non-governmental travel site, decided there was a "new law" and didn't look into it, didn't go to the source, refused to write me a script until I obtained my curp, caused me a nightmare and extensive extra pain because I started taking fewer meds in order to drag out the supply I had remaining.

That is scary. If my doctor is not capable of going to the original source when a travel blog posts a blurb that significantly affects my health, I don't think I need to explain why I would fear the next non-govt website. These scripts for opiates haven't changed in awhile, that field has always been there, and many people got scared over nothing.

Edit: In fairness to my prescribing doc, I just learned she was notified from the Secretary of Health that there IS a new law requiring curps, but despite her efforts to get more information, nobody had any for her. Spencer's work reflects that the curp is currently "optional" (although that opinion comes from the current guildelines, not from an actual discussion of the law...maybe the guidelines will be changed sometime soon. Seems like nobody has answers for either the docs or the lawyers, but as of now, based upon the info I was given by my doc, there is conflicting info. But, I am told, there is a new law.

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Bmh: Thank you. I am just so relieved there is no "new law" that I want to go out and celebrate. As soon as I am capable of traveling, I'm heading to the US and applying for residency so I never have to worry about this again. Of course, I'll return back, be in need of a refill, and the entire country wlll be out of stock. (This happened once in the US. I hit up 6 pharmacies over a four hour drive and every single one couldn't get my med. That was a scary time.)

I'll also look into your suggestion if I can't travel. Believe me, if I could, I'd hop on a plane right now.

Edit: And, another edit. I was just informed that my prescribing doc was actually notified by the Secretary de Salud that there IS a new law requiring curps. So, my doc did the right thing and did not rely on a non-governmental source for her refusal to write me a script. Despite my doc's many attempts to clear up the situation, nobody has any answers for her. At best, all we know right now per Spencer's work is that the curp is optional. But according to the Secretary of Health, it is a requirement. Ahh, Mexico.

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Guest bennie2

serenity6, i get it. there "may" be a new law they are considering. spencer will be on top of this. get the meds now & relax. im no dr. but a tranquilizer may help to calm your nerves. let this go for a week or so. spencer will be updating.

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serenity6, i get it. there "may" be a new law they are considering. spencer will be on top of this. get the meds now & relax. im no dr. but a tranquilizer may help to calm your nerves. let this go for a week or so. spencer will be updating.

I don't get why you feel the need to keep telling me to calm down. I am discussing the fact that there are in fact contradictory laws out there, and I think its important that this is known to people who need to know.

serenity6 for gods sakes, you do NOT need a curp. if its not broken dont fix it. you dont need to pay for a visa or a lawyer, just for medicine. gee, maybe you need to be knocked out cold & sleep for 2 days. there is NO crisis. you have the medicine, all is well. mexico would not do this kind of law. i PMed you. if they did, it would not last. i said this yesterday. your dr was not happy w/this either were, it was stressful for him as well. get your meds & let it go.

Just a few post earlier you told me to calm down because "All is well, Mexico would not do this type of law." It appears they DID do this type of law, and right now all is not well, because we have no idea when the curp will be enforced. You state I don't need to pay for a Visa? Yes, I do. There is a new law.

Why are you saying "Spencer will be on top of this". Did you hire him to figure this out? I didn't. Its not Spencer's job to do anything unless someone hires him to do it. He is not our free lawyer to handle any issue that arises.

You aren't required to read what I write. But you are dead wrong in saying there is no law. Please don't make assumptions on my "nerves" because it just makes you look utterly foolish. I am trying to know what is going on so I can be responsible for my own health and plan for the future in case they start enforcing this law 2 weeks from now.

Bennie, do me a favor and just leave me alone. You are not helping, and if anything reading your posts is just causing me irritation where none exists.

You telling me, on a public forum, that I "need to be knocked out cold" and sleep for a few days is rude and pretty damn creepy. Stop.

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Guest bennie2

after misinterpreting the (possible) law, i myself needed to be knocked out. if i needed painkillers i would get them right away. there is an "ignore" feature on this site. anyone can use it. bennies posts will dissappear.

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